by Bella Colt
“Let’s go!” I say, not thinking about it for another second as I get up from my desk.
“Wait!” Mason speaks up, “All of us can’t be seen going next door. What if Cassius decides to show up?”
“Cassius?” My mother asks. “What does he have to do with this?”
“EVERYTHING!” I growl without looking at her but hear her gasp clear as day.
“Mason, you come with my mom and me. Dad, you and John wait here in the study until we get back. If he does show up... play along for now. I won’t risk him hurting Amara.” My orders clear as I leave my office.
‘He will hurt’ Wolf chimes in for the first time in a while. His eagerness to be doing something for our mate matches my own.
“Yes, he will!” I whisper back in response as I follow my mother and Mason as we walk right next to the house her and my dad recently moved into after I took over as Alpha. Looking up to the stars in the sky, I hear Mason ask how the girl is doing and can tell from his voice that he has some interest in her. I watch as my mom unlocks her front door, and we follow her in, allowing her to close and lock the door behind us. She must have caught my quizzical look because without me asking anything, she explains. “I started locking it a few days ago!”
“Second door on the left, I’m going to the kitchen to make her something to eat. Poor thing doesn’t look like she’s eaten in days.” She says as she hands me a key while pointing down the hall. I can hear her mumbling as she walks off towards the kitchen. Walking to the door, I stop as I place the key in the slot and knock.
“Raina? It’s me, Declan, the Alpha of this pack and my friend Mason is with me. He’s the one who rescued you, we’re coming in!” I inform her before turning the key and opening the door. I leave the door wide open as I step in quickly, followed by Mason. Clearly reading her confused expression at the open door, I explain.
“You are not a prisoner here. However, it’s safer if you stay here and inside for now.”
“Fine, I have no intention of leaving until the doctor and Amara are safe and away from him!” She states almost successfully in a calm tone.
‘Kill the traitorous bastard!’ Wolf demands.
“So, Cassius is the one who took her?” I yell fiercely, causing her to take a step back from where she was initially standing by the bed. Mason is quickly stepping in front of me, placing himself between myself and Raina holding his hands up.
“You need to calm down; she won’t tell us what she needs to if she’s afraid of you hurting her!” Mason explains.
Sighing heavily, I try to breathe deeply while trying to center my thoughts, nodding at her to continue when I feel like Wolf, and I can hear more. Struggling to keep him under control is becoming more difficult as he fights to act.
“Cassius told me what he plans. He wants to make it look like the doctor is responsible for abducting Amara. Like he took her to run experiments on her or something. He wants you to kill the doctor and then Amara by accident when you try to wake her up.”
We growl low and feral in response to this; my skin is tight and tingly with the need to shift.
“It isn’t true, though; she’d be dead without the doctor. Cassius had to take him to help Amara because I screwed up his initial plans.”
“Help her, how?” I grit out through my teeth; my jaw is so sore from fighting myself.
“Ummm... she’s pregnant, and it’s affecting her ability to shift.” She says quickly, and as soon as the words came out of her mouth, they hit my ears like a mac truck had just run full force into me knocking all the air out, bringing me to my knees.
“W-what?” Is all I can manage to stutter out. Trying desperately to get some air back into my lungs as Raina looks at me and then to Mason for reassurance before continuing.
“Well, the doctor said that she’s in too much pain from her body trying to fight the shift because she’s pregnant.”
“I haven’t felt any pain, why?” I interrupt her, demanding an answer.
“She’s been sedated ever since the doctor found out; he said it’s the only way she’s going to make it through this. The physical pain is too much for her to bear, it will kill her and your pup. The doctor said he’s sure about that.”
“Does she know?” I ask, tears streaming unhindered down my cheeks.
“No. I only talked to her briefly when I first got there, and she was too concerned about me to pay attention to herself. The next time was for only a minute when she woke up sick, and all she was worried about was how she was going to get back to you!”
“Did Cassius say anything else to you?” Mason asks her, realizing that I’m too lost in my own thoughts to be of any more use here. Looking down to the ground, Raina shakes her head no, I can tell Mason doesn’t buy it, but he leaves it alone.
“Okay, stay here and rest and I’ll come back and visit when everything is over if that’s okay?” I hear Mason ask her.
“That’d be okay.” She half-smiles at him as he offers me his hand without looking at me and helps me off my knees. I notice as he glances back at Raina as we make our way through the open door.
“I know exactly what we’re going to do!” I tell Mason as we walk towards the front door.
Chapter 27
Cassius
That’s one problem gone, and two left to go. I’m going over what I need to do next in my head, utterly unnoticing of the long walk here. I’m kneeling on all fours in the brush back at the Den before I even realize it. Out of nowhere, an ice-cold sensation passes through me, down to the bone. The contents of my stomach twist in my gut. Breathing rapidly, I take a quick second to recover from whatever the hell that was as I look around to make sure no one is about before I step out and onto the path. Dusting myself off as I begin walking towards my house to change before making my way to the doctors. Reaching my apartment in no time, I shower and change quickly, picking up my iPod and cologne on my way out. Turning it on and looking through my contacts, I find the doctor's address and head for his house.
Once there, I see the porch light left on, as well as one in the kitchen. I creep around the back of the house, looking in the windows to make sure it’s empty. The doctor isn’t mated, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a girlfriend or friends for all I know. Looking inside a side window, there are papers scattered across the kitchen table and a laptop with a black screen sitting next to an open full beer bottle on the table. The lights are off everywhere else, and after five minutes of vigilant watching, I see no movement.
Reassured no one has been there since the doctor was, I move around the house to the back door. Quickly jiggling the handle to check, relief instantly washes over me as it easily turns, and the door opens. Stepping inside and quietly shutting it behind me, I crouch down below the windows and crawl the ten feet or so into the living room. Once I’m in far enough that I’m sure I can’t be seen from outside, I stand up and start searching the darkened house for a few personal effects.
A picture frame of his family is in hand as I walk down the hallway past the open bathroom door on my left. I note the closed-door on my right, continuing further down the hall towards his bedroom at the end. Walking through the open door, I glance around at the doctor’s room. The first noticeable thing I see is his king-size bed, dressed in a frilly-pink comforter that does not belong in a bachelor pad. Everything else screams bachelor, team posters, and a few degrees hanging randomly on his wall and dirty clothes scattered on his floor. These things and a dresser are the only things in his room. Walking to the dresser, I grab some clothes from the drawers and throw them on the bed. Grabbing a pillow and liberating it from the case, I start stuffing the clothes and the picture frame into it and head back out down the hallway.
The open bathroom door catches my attention this time, and I walk in and look around. Seeing a toothbrush, razor, and cologne on the counter, I push all of it into the pillowcase and head out to leave. Once again, I crawl through the kitchen and let myself out the back door, making sure it�
��s closed behind me. Pillowcase in hand, I make my way back to the house to finish this.
Once back at the house, I quickly layout the doctor's things, shoving the only item I keep here, a toothbrush, into in my pocket. Now that his effects are in place, I grab the bag of medicine that I kept from the doctor and sit down on the cot. Opening the bag, I grab out a couple of pill bottles, setting them on the floor, pulling my iPod out of my pocket, I quickly pull up Google.
Grabbing the first bottle I read Augmentin 5mg, using Google, I find out quickly this won’t help unless he has a bacterial infection of some kind. Even if he did, it’s not like I want him healthy, so moving along to the next bottle, I pick it up and read Oxycodone 10mg; without using Google, I know these are going to be of no help to me. Still, I take a few out and set them next to me anyways. Picking up the last bottle to be pulled out, I read Zolpidem Tartrate 5mg, the name not ringing any bells I Google it. Surprise, surprise, this is precisely what I need. According to Google Zolpidem, Tartrate is most commonly used to treat insomnia, nervousness, and anxiety disorders. It also stated that there’s a dosing difference of 5mg from men to women. So I’ll just mix 10mg into his food, and within a few minutes, depending on the doctor‘s weight, he should be out for hours.
Taking out two pills, I add them to the pile of Oxycodone, taking them and setting them on the counter while I rummage through the cabinets. Looking through the stock of dehydrated food, I look for the best option to mix the pills with. I probably should have been feeding them once a day. I’ll be lucky if he eats this without suspicion, however not feeding him may work out for me too if he gives in to his hunger. Finding the soup, I grab a bag of potato cheddar ripping off the top of the package. I turn on the sink and add the water after letting it run until hot. Looking around, I find a spoon in a drawer to help smash up the pills. Spooning the powder off the counter into the soup and start mixing, inhaling deeply as I do. I’m barely able to smell that its off thanks to its strong aroma, the cheddar smell overpowering the scent of the pills. Taking the bag of soup and grabbing an unopened water bottle, I walk down the hall towards the room.
Chapter 28
Dr. Adams
The sound of running water wakes me up, and I’m standing in a defensive position before I realize it was the water from the toilet. My senses have been on high alert since being kept locked in this room, that coupled with the amount of sleep I’m getting, is causing me to be an extremely light sleeper. Sighing aloud, I try to rub the kink out of my neck from how I fell asleep in the doorway to the bathroom. Stretching my arms and legs briefly as I walk towards the bed to check on Amara. Opening her eyes one at a time, looking for reactions to the light from the room, pleased with the response, I move on and start checking the rest of her vitals. While checking her pulse, a resounding kick comes through the door, making me lose count when I hear him... Cassius, the same as always yelling.
“Back away from the door!”
Waiting no longer than two seconds, I hear the click of the key before he swings open the door. Immediately I smell cheese coming from a silver bag in his hand, and note he is also carrying a water bottle in the other. I watch as he closes the door behind him with the heel of his foot.
“Here.” Is all he says as he throws the water bottle at me, catching me off guard. Choosing not to grab for it, I let the bottle hit me in the chest before falling to the floor, causing Cassius to raise an eyebrow at me.
“What do you want?” I snarl, staying on my toes. I need to fight him so I can get out and get help for Amara. But then I can’t leave her here alone, no one will be here to stop Cassius. Shit, what should I do? Cassius taking a step in her direction, breaks my chain of thoughts, putting Wolf and me on edge, and we growl at him low in warning.
“What are you going to do?” He laughs as he takes two steps back. “I’m curious how she’s doing and figured you might need some food...When was the last time you ate?” He asks as he extends the hand holding the silver bag.
“What’d you do to it?” I ask without making a move to grab for it as he chuckles at me.
“Nothing, why would I? I need you alive right now.” He says, smile plastered on his face as he looks between Amara and me. “If you don’t believe me, don’t eat it, but you are a wolf, no? Use your senses!” He states while staring at me with his hand still extended. Not taking my eyes off him, I take a step forward, quickly grabbing the bag from his grasp, making its contents slosh around, causing some to spill out as I hastily step back.
“So, when will she wake up?” He growls, his impatience written all over his face.
“I’m not exactly sure... possibly another five days or so,” I tell him honestly as he eyes me up and down. “What did you do with Raina?”
“She’s gone.” He answers me calmly, showing no emotion at all.
“Gone, how?” I demand.
“That’s not any of your concern. SHE is!” He says with a hint of annoyance in his voice as he points towards Amara.
“You might want to eat that; I’m not sure when I’ll be back or in such a giving mood again.” He says with a smile as he backs up towards the door keeping his eyes on me as he does so. Damn, this guy is severely bipolar! If I’m going to try something, now would be the time, I think, as his hand reaches behind him for the door handle. One look back at Amara, and I’ve decided that I’m needed here, to make sure she makes it through this. It’s annoyingly loud this time...the click of the lock as the key is turned. Cassius is now gone, and so is any chance that I had to fight back.
Exhaling a breath, I look down at the bag in my hand. Bringing it up to my nose, I inhale, not detecting anything except cheddar and potato. My stomach starts rioting by making loud gurgling noises, bringing the soup away from my nose. I walk over and kneel to pick up the bottle of water off the ground where I let it fall. Looking at the cap as I stand up, I can see the seal is unbroken. At least I know the water is good for sure, I think, as I walk towards the closest wall and slide down it with my back against it until I’m sitting on the ground.
Looking at the soup in the bag, I’m tempted to just drink it, but my instincts are screaming at me otherwise. Bringing it to my nose again, I breathe in and out deeply several times, and the only thing I can smell is soup. Taking a small sip, I don’t taste anything off, but I force myself to wait several minutes. Sighing, I accept that the soup is okay to eat; stirring it in my hand by swirling it around a sharp pain starts shooting through my head. Holding the bag away from me, I breathe deeply until the pain subsides.
Thinking for a minute about all possibilities for me to have that strong of a reaction, before bringing the soup back to my nose and repeat the smelling process. Almost instantly, this time, there is an intense sharp pain, and the hairs on my body are standing up. Again, holding the bag away from my face, I wait for the pain to go away. When it does, I know the soup has to have something in it. My wolf must sense something that I’m not.
Obviously, Cassius has different reasons for bringing me food...but what for, what is his next move? Walking to the bathroom, I fight against my stomach's loud protests as I pour the bag of soup in the toilet and flush. Walking back to where I was sitting against the wall, I toss the empty container to the ground and grab the water bottle from where I set it. Inspecting the cap again for any tampering, not seeing anything noticeable, I twist it feeling the seal brake as I do. Knowing the water is good, I down half the bottle in one gulp. Turning the cap back on and setting the bottle down, I begin to stretch and work out my limbs.
I need to be ready for anything, based on the medications I remember having in my bag he was most likely trying to put me to sleep. I can play along with that, and the first chance I see, I’m taking it and getting Amara out of here!
Chapter 29
Cassius
Standing in front of the door, I take a deep breath hoping that the doctor actually ate the soup as I kick it hard three times and wait for any noises. It’s been an hour and a half since
I left him with the soup and water, he should be entirely out by now. After another minute of waiting and not hearing anything, I insert the key and turn opening the door cautiously. I can’t see the doctor standing by the bed like he usually is when I enter. Stepping into the room, I can see the lower half of his body sticking out of the bathroom doorway. Looking around the room, there is an empty water bottle by his leg, and the silver bag that held the soup is against the wall bare.
Exhaling loudly with relief, I walk over to him, where he’s lying face down on the bathroom tile. He must’ve been trying to crawl to the toilet to throw up when he passed out from the drug. Deciding I should check just to be sure, I kick him hard in the stomach once, and I watch him closely for any reaction at all. Satisfied that he is out, I bend down to pick him up and throw him over my shoulder. Walking out of the room, I leave the door open as I carry him out to the living room and throw him down on the cot that I had been using. Walking back down the hallway to the room, I quickly close and lock the door with the key and just as quickly make my way back to the living room.
Walking over to the cot, I stare at the doctor before slipping the house key ring in his pocket. Taking one last look over everything I scan the house for anything that might be mine, not seeing anything I walk to the door. Stopping to spray myself with the last little bit of my cologne to cover my scent as I step out of the door and close it behind me. I start digging in my pocket for the key only to realize it’s with the keyring I gave to the doctor. Oh well, it won’t matter anyway by the time I bring Declan back here. He’s going to tear the whole house apart when I tell him what I found and suspect the doctor of doing to Amara. Filled with anticipation, I rush towards the Alpha’s house.
Chapter 30
