Bears of Burden: STERLING

by Candace Ayers

  She left the hospital, her Taser firmly in her hand. Her finger was on the trigger button. She looked around the parking lot before setting out to her car. Her pace was rapid. She wanted to get to her car as fast as possible. Her keys rattled in her hands. She reached her car, and pushed the key into the lock. The click let her know the door was open. But before she could pull on the handle, she was knocked to the ground. Her head slammed against the concrete floor of the garage and she screamed in pain.

  There was an animal-like growl and she turned her head. Her vision was blurry from the impact.

  “Doctor Green, so nice to see you.” Her vision returned slowly, and she could make out Matt. He looked horrible. There were bruises and cuts all over his face. It looked like he had been in a serious fight. She wondered if Shane had done the damage. Probably.

  “Why are you here? We’re not together. I’m not even with Shane—” she started, but he interrupted.

  “It doesn’t matter sweet stuff. He still cares, so you’re the best way we have to get to him.” Matt bent down and brushed her hair out of her face. “I have a surprise for you. I’m not sure that you’ll be thrilled to see him, but he’s certainly excited to see you.”

  From behind Matt’s bulk, another man stepped forward. He stood over her. His gorgeous blond hair was longer than she remembered it, and he looked more muscular, but there was no mistaking that terrifying grin. The grin that she had once loved. The grin that meant she was about to get very hurt.

  “Adam,” the name left Lexi’s lips before she could stop it. Her scar throbbed as she looked at the man who had caused her so much pain.

  “Hey, Lex. It’s good to see you. I’ve missed you.”

  Chapter 12

  Lexi awoke with a throbbing head. There was a dirty cloth stuffed in her mouth, something was covering her eyes, and her arms were tied behind her. Her ankles were tied to the legs of a chair. Her breath hitched as she felt a panic attack coming on. She tried desperately to dampen the rising panic but she couldn’t. She shut her eyes tightly, praying that it was just a horrible dream. But it wasn’t. And Adam was back.

  She didn’t know why she wasn’t notified that he was no longer in jail. Someone must be responsible for telling her something like that. Her heart pounded and she closed her eyes again. She thought about what she was taught to do in her self-defense class if she felt panicky.

  She took three deep breaths and situated herself into her body. She was here. She knew how to fight, and she would get out of this. Just as Adam had left her with scars, physical and mental, he had also left her with an intense knowledge of who he was and how to handle him.

  “What are you thinking about Lex?”

  Any calm she had disappeared completely with the sound of his voice. She tried to speak but the gag prevented her from saying anything that actually sounded coherent. There was a soft chuckle and hands at the side of her face. Then the gag was removed.

  “Adam?”

  “I’m here.” His hand on her face made her skin crawl. This was Adam in true form, the sweetness after the injury, the kindness that had drawn her in to him and kept her hanging on. Making her believe that he had to punish her for the things she did wrong.

  She wasn’t that girl anymore.

  “Let me go,” she said firmly.

  He withdrew his hand. “I can’t do that, Lexi. If the only way to keep you safe and away from that monster is to keep you tied up and safe here with me.”

  She wanted to laugh but she knew it would only infuriate him. She needed Adam calm, especially if she was going to figure out why the hell he was hanging out with Matt.

  “Adam, is Matt here?”

  Adam scowled, clearly not thrilled that she was mentioning other men in front of him. “He went out a bit ago. I decided to stay and make sure you were okay.”

  She sighed. “I appreciate that. Could you take off my blindfold? I’m really uncomfortable right now.”

  “I’ll take off the blindfold but I’m not going to let you up.”

  She nodded and braced herself for his touch.

  Everything inside of her was tense and coiled as she felt him brush her hair back and take the blindfold off. His hand lingered in her hair for a moment. “You cut your hair,” he said, sounding annoyed.

  She had cut it. It had grown out quite a bit but after he went to jail, she cut it super short because he had liked it long. “Uh, yeah,” she said uncomfortably.

  He stepped away from her and she let out a slow breath she hadn’t been aware she had been holding. She ran her fingers along the rope tied around her wrists, trying to figure out how tightly it was tied.

  Adam just stood there, watching her. She looked at him, her chin raised. She wasn’t going to show him that she was afraid.

  “Have you let that monster touch you?” he finally asked.

  “What are you talking about, Adam?” She was pretty sure that he meant Shane but she wasn’t about to play into his psycho possessive bullshit.

  “You have. He’s a fucking freak, Lex. Why would you let him touch you?”

  “Adam, nothing has happened,” she said, hoping that she sounded convincing. “I’m assuming you know about him and Matt then?” She wanted to know how the hell Matt had gotten Adam involved in this.

  “Matt told me about Shane’s…ability.”

  “But Matt didn’t tell you about his ability?” She hoped that Matt had lied, then she could use that information against them.

  “He did. It’s how he helped me out of jail. He hates what he is Lexi, which is why he wanted me to save you from Shane. He feels responsible for keeping women away from monsters like Shane.”

  Bullshit, Lexi thought. Clearly Matt didn’t mind putting women back into the hands of monsters like Adam. Lexi knew what she had to say, but the idea of actually saying it was killing her. “Thank you for keeping me safe, Adam.” She wanted to vomit as she watched a grin cover his face. She needed time to scope out the room without him there. “I’m thirsty. Can I have some water or something?”

  “Of course, whatever you need. I’ll be right back.” He approached her, and she cursed silently, hoping that he wasn’t going to blindfold and gag her again. Instead, he leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. She felt vomit rise in her throat. That moment of tenderness was worse than anything else he could put her through.

  “Thank you,” she said, kindly as he walked towards a heavy-looking door. He looked at her one more time before he pulled open the door and left the room.

  She turned her head frantically, trying to absorb as much of the layout as possible. She wasn’t sure if she was in a warehouse or just a very dirty half-built house. The cement and lack of paint made her think warehouse. There was one door, the one that Adam had left through and no windows. There was a small cot in the corner of the room. She assumed that was where she was supposed to sleep. She tested the rope around her wrists again. It was exceptionally tight, and was cutting off the circulation to her hands. She pulled and tugged. She heard the door open, and she stopped wiggling. Her wrists ached and felt burned.

  Adam approached her with a bottle of unopened water. He opened the cap and held it to her lips. Even though she hated having to drink with his assistance, she so desperately needed the water. She sipped carefully, trying to get the most water possible before he took it away. And she knew he would. He wouldn’t be able to resist playing games with her. She would rather starve than play his mind games. He soon took the water away from her, and although she was still thirsty, she didn’t complain.

  He petted her head again and put the bottle down on the ground. She kept her mouth shut, waiting for him to make a move. “Are you tired?” he asked.

  “A little,” she said, even though she wasn’t. She just wanted him to untie her and let her up from the chair.

  “I made up a bed for you in the corner. But if I let you up then you need to promise to be on your best behavior.”

  “Of course, Adam,” she lied.


  He moved behind her and untied her hands. The relief was instant as blood rushed back into her fingers. Then he untied her legs. She stood slowly, trying to get her sea legs back. Once she felt steady, she turned to him and brought her knee into his crotch just as she slammed her palm into his nose. He screamed in pain and she leapt towards the door.

  Her hand wrapped around the handle, and she yanked but the door didn’t budge. It was locked. Adam must have a key. She turned to him, ready to grab it from him but before she could move, she was on the floor. Adam’s body pressed her down.

  “You fucking bitch. I’m going to kill you.” His hands wrapped around her throat. She tried to buck him off but couldn’t get leverage. Her hands clawed at his. “Fucking whore. I try to save you and this is how you repay me.” His eyes were darkened and she could do nothing but try to get a good grip on his tightening fingers.

  Blackness filled her vision and Adam’s threats filled her ears and then she knew no more.

  Chapter 13

  Shane had never been so angry and distraught in his life. Matt had sent him a text with a picture of Lexi tied to a chair, and knocked out. He immediately called his friends and found a scrub shirt of his that Lexi had worn while she stayed with him. It was ridiculous to watch four wolves sniff a shirt in his living room but he was going to find her, and then he was going to make Matt pay.

  The thoughts that went through his mind troubled him slightly. He thought about skinning Matt in wolf form, and presenting the pelt to Lexi as a gift. He knew she wouldn’t appreciate it, but goodness, he would probably feel a whole hell of a lot better if he did it.

  He and his friends went to the hospital, the place from which Shane assumed Lexi had been abducted. They went to the parking lot and two of them shifted while two of them kept watch. They found the place where Lexi had been taken. There was a small amount of blood on the floor that smelled just like her. It wasn’t enough for a serious injury, but Shane felt his own blood boil at the sight of it.

  They were able to follow her smell to her car, which had been driven a couple miles away and dumped off the side of the road. The keys were in the glove compartment. Shane drove the car back to her apartment. It smelled overwhelmingly like Lexi, but there was another smell. The smell of a man. It was fresh. Was Matt working with someone?

  It would make sense. Matt wasn’t smart enough to do much on his own. Shane took another deep breath of the man’s scent before pocketing Lexi’s keys and walking down the block to meet his buddies. The next course of action was to make sure Lexi’s life stayed as together as he could keep it. He had Amanda call the hospital, pretending to be Lexi, to cobble together a leave of absence.

  He arranged to have people come to her place to clean. He wanted to make sure she was going to come back to as normal of a life as he could provide. And she was going to come back. She was. To think otherwise was not an option for him right now. He spent most of his time wandering around the city, sniffing for her. Any sent of her. It was almost impossible with so many people around. Scents that were more than a few days old were hidden under exhaust fumes, and collective sweat.

  At the end of the second day, he called together the council and told them what was going on. He was going to do everything he could to politically fuck Matt. Shane was the next Alpha, and he was going to find his girl, come hell or high water.

  He was leaving a coffee shop, a tray of coffee for his buddies in hand, when he caught the scent. It wasn’t Lexi. It was the scent from the car. The man.

  He spotted him in the crowd. He was a bulky guy, muscled, and angry-looking. He wasn’t sure how he was related to Matt’s scheme but he was going to find out. He shot off a quick text to his friends, and followed the man.

  When he man got in his car, Shane followed him, keeping two cars in between them. At first, it seemed like the man was running a bunch of errands. Shane was about to give up hope. Perhaps the man was a simply a mechanic and Lexi had brought her car in recently. The man turned off a main road.

  Shane followed carefully, all the way out to the warehouse district. The man pulled into a parking lot at a storage facility and Shane rolled down his window. He needed to smell the area without leaving a scent track for Matt. He leaned out slightly and took a deep breath. Matt’s smell was everywhere. And under it, was Lexi’s.

  Shane’s heart pounded in his chest. He knew where they were keeping her, now he just needed to figure out how the hell to get to her. He turned the car around, planning on stopping by the side of the road to keep an eye on the facility. He wanted both the strange man and Matt gone for his rescue. He didn’t want Lexi to get caught in the crosshairs of a fight.

  He sat in his car, a few blocks away, completely focused on the building. And then someone walked into the parking lot. A woman. He took a deep breath and caught her scent in the wind.

  It was Lexi.

  Chapter 14

  Lexi woke up on an uncomfortable cot. Her neck and throat ached horribly. She rolled over, and she heard her bones creak.

  “Welcome back to the world, princess.” She looked up. Matt was sitting on the chair that she previously been tied to.

  “Fuck you,” she hissed as she pushed herself up to a seated position. She could tell that Adam kicked her around a bit when she was passed out. Her stomach and ribs ached.

  “It’s good to have you here. I’m sure Shane is going crazy trying to find you.” Matt reclined slightly and observed her. “He’s not going to find you. And his anger will make him sloppy. And when we fight, I’ll kill him, and then you’re free to go. I’m not a monster.”

  “I guess you didn’t hear me the first time, fuck you.” Matt grinned but didn’t strike her, as she expected him to. Instead he stood up.

  “Well, it may be a few days. Hopefully Adam will feel like feeding you. Because I certainly don’t have the time to take care of you.” She wanted to ask him why he was doing this, why he was so focused on hurting Shane, but she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction.

  “Toodles,” she waved, hoping she seemed braver than she felt. Matt unlocked the door and closed it behind him. She took a deep breath, and tried to hold back her tears. She was screwed. She was going to die here. And she was probably going to lose her job.

  She took a moment to freak out about everything. She wrapped her arms around her knees and let the tears fall onto her pants. She hiccupped and wiped her eyes. She was done being upset. She wasn’t going to give Adam and Matt the satisfaction of seeing her like this. She stood up, picked up the chair and walked towards the door. She sat on the floor next to the door, the chair close enough to grab. She was getting the hell out of here.

  She didn’t know how long she was sitting there. Her butt was starting to go a bit numb and she was getting tired. Her stomach ached with hunger and the bruises that dotted her side didn’t help. She fidgeted every few minutes but stayed as quiet as she possibly could. She needed to make sure she could hear any footsteps coming in her direction.

  She had nodded off but when she heard the door creak she jumped up. She held the chair in her hands, and lifted it over her head. She saw just a glimpse of Adam before he completely entered the room. She brought the chair straight down on his head. The chair splintered, and Adam’s shocked eyes connected with hers before he hit the ground.

  His body was in the doorway, keeping the door ajar. She kicked his side gently, hoping that she had truly knocked him out. He didn’t budge. She took a deep breath and stepped over him. She rummaged around in his pockets and pulled out a small key ring. She pushed him into the room and shut the door behind her.

  She was in a long hallway with a couple of doors, all similar to the one she had just closed. She tried to open it but it was locked. She pushed a few keys into the lock but the door didn’t budge. Her heart beat faster. Why weren’t the keys working?

  She moved onto the next door, and tried another key. It didn’t work. Panic threatened to overwhelm her. She tried the second key, th
en the third, and finally the fourth. And then the lock clicked, and the door opened. She moved quickly, pushing it open. The warm light of day hit her face and she cried out in relief. She pocketed the keys and began to run away from the building. It looked like a storage facility. There was large parking lot and a small road leading away from the warehouses. She wasn’t sure if she should follow the road or not. She didn’t know where Matt was, and wasn’t sure if he would be coming down the road. She stopped a few feet from road, and looked around. There was a line of trees on the opposite side of the road. She quickly crossed to it and stood in the shade of the trees.

  Lexi started down the road, keeping close enough to the tree line that she hoped she wouldn’t be terribly noticeable if a car happened by.

  She made it a few feet when a car came screeching by her and slammed on the breaks. She moved quickly, turning to run, cursing the fact that she had been caught so quickly.

  “Lexi!”

  She turned automatically at her name, and then her entre body stopped, heartbeat and all. It was Shane.

  He stood there, his clothes slightly rumpled, his hair an absolute mess, his eyes full of fire.

  “Shane,” her voice sounded raw and her throat ached.

  He took two steps towards her, as if he wasn’t sure of what he was seeing.

  She quickly moved to close the gap. Tears filled her eyes.

  She threw herself into Shane’s arms. He caught her and wrapped his arms around her. He kissed her head and then pushed her away, holding her at arms distance. His eyes scanned her entire body. “Are you hurt at all?”

  She shook her head. “Not really.” She didn’t want him to be worried. She had already taken stock of her injuries, and none of them were worrisome.

  “Good.” He pulled her back into his arms and lifted her. He carried her bridal style to his car. He carefully placed her in the passenger’s seat and kissed the top of her head.