I rear back at that and my heart swells a little. Xander barely knows me. I’m just Michelle’s best friend and his brother’s crush. It means a lot to hear him say that even though I can’t really believe it, just yet.
“Okay,” I say, nodding. “Well, if you want to help me, find Micah. I’m freaking out. Aren’t you? The guy who wants to force me to come back with him is Dax and he said he’ll kill Micah if I don’t go.”
It’s Aaron who speaks next, “She’s right. I’m gonna call his work and see if he’s come back yet. Mason, maybe you could track his phone? Since he’s not texting back.”
“Yeah, good idea.”
Everybody kind of scatters to do something useful and Xander goes to join Mason, but before he does he comes over and squeezes my arm. “I meant what I said, Luna. From what I can tell, none of this is your fault. And if I’d have been you, I would’ve kept myself a secret too. We’re not pissed.”
“Thank you,” I say quickly. “If you keep talking, I think I might start bawling though, but thank you, Xander.” He smiles and joins Mason.
I thought they’d be more worried about Micah. I suspect they’re not used to the idea of bad things happening to them, and, sure enough, I hear Aaron telling Michelle that they’re going to take it seriously but that he suspects Micah is just being careless not contacting them.
I think they’re wrong.
I’m edgy. I walk over to the window of the study and look out into the woods. I’ve had fantasies before that the Tremblays might find out I’m a shifter and that they’d welcome me into their home. I tried not to think about it because it always seemed impossible. But those fantasies never looked like this. I’m just so afraid of them getting hurt because of me.
When my phone buzzes, nobody notices because they’re all busy doing something else. Mason and Xander are struggling with a laptop to track down Micah’s phone. Apparently there’s a password problem.
When I see that I’m getting a call from Micah, I gasp. Maybe I’m wrong after all.
“Micah?” I whisper.
The voice on the other hand makes my blood run cold. “Hey there, Luna. How are things?”
Dax. Shit.
“Why do you have his phone?” I hiss.
“You sound awfully upset considering I know you weren’t there ready and waiting. I wasn’t there myself but I had somebody come by. Not much of a surprise. I knew you’d give me trouble. That’s why I took the initiative. Found your fancy boyfriend. He and I are having some fun.”
“I told you, I would go with you. I was going to-”
“But you didn’t,” Dax says. “Did you? Guess that true love only runs so deep for a whore like you, but it’s okay. Don’t panic now. I’m gonna give you another shot. You come alone. Right the fuck now, and we’ll release him.”
“Do you promise? Because I’m telling you, if you hurt him, his brothers will kill you.”
“Oh, I promise,” Dax says. “I just want you. I don’t give a shit about this fancy boy. I’m gonna give you the address and then I’m destroying his phone so you better get here quick because in an hour I’m gonna kill him if you’re not standing in front of me.”
Fuck.
I memorize the address. It’s way up in the mountains. There’s no question of what I have to do. If I give the address to Xander, he’ll bring a whole army on Dax and then a bunch of good people will get hurt. There’s no reason that should happen when I can just turn myself in. I pocket my phone and my heart is racing when I casually ask Michelle where there’s a restroom. I think it’s the act of my life, not giving myself away right then.
On my way, I see Michelle’s purse on a side table in the front hall. I feel like I’m having an out of body experience as I walk over and take her keys like it’s nothing. But I can’t use the front door where the butler is hanging around, facing the other direction.
Even the guest restroom at the Tremblay estate is pretty opulent and luckily it’s got a nice big window that’s easy to open and lets out on a lawn that leads to the driveway. I’ve never climbed out of a window before. It’s not as exciting as I would have hoped. I’m mostly just terrified of not getting to Micah in time.
I dash to Michelle’s car like my feet are on fire and peel out of the drive, praying I’m not too late.
It’s weird, but I actually find myself smiling as I speed in Dax’s direction. I can’t stop thinking about how sweet Xander was. I really don’t know the guy, but I’ve heard enough about him. He’s been so built up as the big, stern alpha (not that the word ‘alpha’ was used when nobody knew I was a shifter, but it was obvious); the big brother who bosses everyone around and calls the shots and always seems to have a chip on his shoulder. I never expected somebody who simply wants to do the right thing and care for his family. I suppose it’s because my examples of an alpha was so horrible. Xander seems like the best kind, though; what an alpha really should be. Micah’s been lucky to have him as a brother and a leader.
I’m putting my pedal to the metal but I feel like I’m just not getting there fast enough. That’s assuming that Dax keeps his word and lets him go. He’s already tricked me once. But this place up in the mountains that comes up on my GPS as an animal sanctuary is a little more than an hour away from the estate, so I’m going about eighty whenever I get the chance and pray I don’t get pulled over.
My phone is going nuts in the drink holder, buzzing its little heart out. Michelle is calling me. I inwardly apologize to my best friend and hope she’ll understand. If I’d been there when Dax sent his guy to check on me, maybe he would’ve let Micah go already. If I’d agreed to go along with him days ago, none of this would be happening at all. I probably think this way because even when I was a starving little kid, I was told it was my fault. I’m used to bad things being my fault, even if it was nice to hear Xander tell me otherwise. If my life was different, maybe I could start to believe that for real.
Forty-five minutes later, I’m speeding so fast on the winding road up the mountain, I’m lucky I don’t run myself into a ravine. I feel as if Micah and I are connected by a rope or something, and he’s pulling me towards him. Even if this is the last time I ever see him, at least he’ll know I love him. And even if Dax claims me as his mate, Micah will always know I was truly his.
There are both wolf and human guards in front of the animal sanctuary. When they see it’s me, one of the humans makes a call; I assume to talk to Dax.
“She’s here.”
They make me get out of the car and escort me down the long walkway to the squat, broken down, old building. If I inhale deeply, I can make out Micah in there. But I don’t smell fear. All I smell is anger.
“You tell Dax, I want to see Micah before anything else,” I say.
. As they walk me through the building, everyone seems to know exactly who I am, and they all seem way too excited about it. I can just imagine what they’re thinking: The old alpha’s daughter and the new alpha’s mate. The bitch who thought she was too good for Hardwidge is coming back home. Whether she wants to or not.
“There’s my girl!” Dax comes striding down the corridor just as a guard grabs my wrist to shackle me.
“I want to see Micah and then you’re letting him go. That was the deal.”
“That was the deal, wasn’t it?” Dax says, nodding. “And I am a man of my word. C’mon, let’s let her say goodbye to her sorry excuse for a wolf before she takes her rightful place as my mate.”
I’m coming for you, Micah, I think as they lead me down the hall.
I can’t help but wonder if I’ve walked into a trap but when I think about Dax’s maniacs going after the Tremblays when I could have just turned myself over to them instead, I don’t see that I had any other choice.
When Dax wraps an arm around my waist as we walk, as if I already belong to him, I let him. I’ll have to get used to it anyway. And besides, he doesn’t own my heart. Micah will always have that.
Chapter Sixteen: Micah
/> Everything is pain. Everything is torment. Or at least more than I’ve ever experienced. But I don’t cry and I don’t beg. I think of how Xander would handle this, or how my father would have handled this when he was young. I’ve always wanted to be like them. But maybe I’m already more like them than I thought I was.
Dax has gone off somewhere, but the guards are having fun. I’m chained up to the wall and they keep shocking me just to test the effectiveness of the dampener. It apparently works very well because they’ve shocked me several times and I haven’t shifted. They’re quite entertained seeing me squirm however; a rich, spoiled Tremblay turned helpless.
I’m sweating bullets and my gums are bleeding. I keep shaking but I clench my fists, trying to resist it. I hate the idea of them seeing me weak.
It occurs to me that I could offer them money. They don’t look like the kind of guys who have seen much of it. But my pride won’t allow it. They don’t deserve a cent and I don’t think this is the kind of problem my family can buy its way out of anyway.
Luna…
I’m starting to pass out. I’m afraid if I do, I won’t wake up again. I don’t want to die and not see it coming. I keep myself conscious thinking of her; the honey brown wolf with the sharp tongue.
The guards are laughing. They sound like hyenas. Everything is starting to blur.
I have to warn Luna, I think. So she doesn’t come here. She should just run. If I’m lucky, my brothers will find me in time. But Luna...Luna shouldn’t…
“Luna,” I murmur. I feel like I wasn’t supposed to talk. There’s a reason I didn’t want to talk.
Strong. I’ve gotta be strong. I have to show them what a Tremblay wolf is. I have to be like Xander and my father…
“Luna…”
“Aw, poor baby! He misses his girl!” Somebody is shouting in my ear. They shock me again and I scream as the wolf fights to break through my stupid, fragile human body and is not allowed out. It doubles the pain of the shock. I’ll die if it keeps up. I’ll die and I’ll never see her again…
“Hey! Dax wants to see you.” Somebody is talking. I don’t know who. I’m having trouble tracking what’s happening. I’m jumpy now. I keep expecting another shock.
“Where’s Luna,” I mutter. I have to warn her. Maybe Michelle knows.
“Leave him,” somebody said. “He’s not going anywhere.”
They’ve left me alone. It’s hard to tell the passing of time. I’m not sure if it’s been five minutes or an hour. When they stopped shocking me, I at least started to clear my head. I’m not sure that’s good. I feel even worse now.
My cell smells like animal excrement and it looks disgusting. I rub my temples, which is awkward with how limited my range of motion is in these shackles.
Everything fucking hurts.
I try to ground myself by inwardly grabbing a hold of things I know are true or likely to happen. First, I know where I am and it’s not too far from the Tremblay estate. It’s familiar territory, our territory. They’ll find me eventually, once they start looking. Might take a few days. Of course, I’ll most likely be dead by then. The second thing is that I trust Xander not to let Luna get hurt.
I do find it comforting that, if my brothers don’t rescue me in time, Dax will just kill me eventually. The thought is such a relief, it gives me the strength to hold on. Which is also frightening. I’ve never been comforted by the thought of death before given that I’ve always been a fairly upbeat person. But everything hurts so much right now that death sounds like a warm blanket. I won’t ask for it though, and I certainly won’t beg for it.
I’ll withstand it.
I’ll take what they give me.
I’ll show them what a Tremblay wolf really is.
“Do you want some water?”
The voice is soft. It’s so soft I barely hear it. I fell asleep after all. Or rather, I snoozed, caught halfway between sleeping and dreaming. Just conscious enough that any movement or itch made me anticipate a coming shock and I’d jerk and clench my teeth before I saw that nothing was there.
The voice is a girl. One of my eyes is swollen nearly shut so everything is pretty blurry but I can make out a figure on the other side of the bars.
“I’ll bring you some water,” she says. Her voice is wispy, like leaves blowing away.
The figure leaves, and I mumble, “Come back…”
I was trying to shout but I couldn’t.
I fight to stay alert, and she comes back in a couple minutes. I see her looking around to make sure no one else is around as she unlocks my cell. She looks very young. I peg her for maybe eighteen or nineteen. She looks terrified too. I don’t need 20/20 vision to smell her fear. She’s dirty, wearing some camo jacket that swims on her but doesn’t totally hide her scrawny frame.
She looks just as scared of me as she is of whoever would catch her. That makes me wonder.
She doesn’t speak as she unscrews a murky looking bottle of water and holds it up to my lips. It could be poison for all I know, but I don’t peg Dax for being into weird mind games like that. He wants me to know when he’s going to hurt me.
I drink until I start coughing and it echoes in my cell. The girl is looking me up and down. She looks pretty horrified at what they’ve done to me.
“You’re really a Tremblay?” She whispers. “Like the aerospace company and everything?”
“Yeah,” I rasp. “Fortune 500. That’s us.”
“And you’re her boyfriend?” The girl whispers. I blink, trying to make her out more clearly. She looks vaguely starry-eyed. “Dax’s mate-”
“She’s not Dax’s mate,” I say fiercely. “She’s my mate. She’d tell you so.”
“Hmm.” She nods. “It’s romantic.”
Great. I’m being tortured to death and she thinks we’re a cute love story. That’s just great.
“Then let me out,” I whisper. My head is pounding. It sounds like thunder between my years. “So I can help her. I could help you too. If, if you let me out…” I cough, I think there’s blood in my throat or something. She’s looking at me wide-eyed. I can’t read her. “Mmm not...b-bullshitting… If you help...let me out or...or call my brothers…”
“I can’t let you out!” She hisses. “They’d kill me!”
“Then call my brother! I can...give you the number…” It’s taking every bit of energy and concentration I have to even focus on the conversation. I hiss the number at the girl who just stares at me. Not that I thought she had a pen to write it down or something. But she lets me repeat it several times.
“I don’t know,” she says, shaking her head. “I don’t know…”
“I’ll help you,” I say. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-four,” she says.
“Twenty-four? Jesus, they don’t feed you much.”
She looks down, as if ashamed. “I’m not a good hunter.”
“What’s your name?”
“Alice.”
“Alice,” I say, trying to keep my eyes on her. It’s distracting because now I’ve got a double-vision thing going. “I swear to you, on my blood, on...on the life of my mate, I will help you if I get out of here.”
“Um...I don’t know.” Her eyes well up with tears. I almost feel bad for making her so scared. I’m sure her life has been rough as hell. “Maybe. I’ll try.” She backs away. I’m not having much faith in Alice helping me out. “I’ll try, I don’t know…”
“Alice,” I whisper. “Please...please…”
“I’ll try,” she says once more, before running away down the corridor.
“What difference does it make?” Someone is saying. “We’ve got a dampener on him, he can’t shift. And he’s weak as a kitten in his human form.”
There are people coming. I straighten up, which really means leaning against the stone wall behind me instead of hunching over and letting the chains hold me. My wrists and ankles are red and raw from the chafing on the metal.
It takes me too long becaus
e of the shape I’m in but then I smell her. It’s like smelling fresh cut grass when you’ve been locked inside all day or smelling the rain after years of an unforgiving arid desert.
Luna.
It’s wonderful for only a moment and then I whisper, “No...no why is she here, she shouldn’t be…” I’m shaking. I’m angry and scared. She shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe for her.
It can’t mean what I think it means.
That’s the only thought that races through my head. She must be working with my brothers or something. They’re going to trick Dax. I feel tears sliding down my face finally.
It can’t mean what I think it means.
They’re shoving her into my cell and shackling her ankles to the wall behind us. They’re locking the bar door. She’s beautiful and she smells so good and I am weeping because I suspect that it means exactly what I think it means.
“What did you do,” I say under my breath. “Luna, what did you do…”
“I’m going to go with him,” Luna says calmly. “Like I should have from the beginning.”
“No…” I choke on my own sobs, all the terror and pain pouring out of me.
Luna’s arms aren’t chained and she rests her forehead against mine and wipes my tears and blood away with her fingers. “I’m so sorry, my love. My poor darling. What did they do to you?”
She kisses my cheek and it almost eases the pain but my heart is breaking. “You don’t belong with them,” I say, struggling to form the words. She’s gently pushing my hair back and ignoring everything I’m saying. She’s murmuring over my wounds and looking absolutely gutted at how they’ve hurt me. “You belong with me, with us…”
“Of course, I do,” she says simply. She reaches up to hold my hand, tenderly, hissing at the sight of my red, raw wrists. “Because you are my mate. And your family is my family. Which is why I have to protect them. I have to make the trade-”
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