Evernight Publishing ®
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Copyright© 2015 Jessica Coulter Smith
ISBN: 978-1-77233-415-9
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Juliet Kafri
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WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SEALED EMBRACE
SEALed with a Kiss, 1
Jessica Coulter Smith
Copyright © 2015
Prologue
She struggled, punching and kicking, fighting with everything she had against her restraints. With a silent cry, she broke free. The scent of decaying leaves burned her nose. The faceless man wouldn’t give up and came after her again. Isi’s heart pounded in her chest, the beat echoing in her ears. Her lungs ached with the strain.
The covers tangled around Isi’s legs, trapping her as she fought to disentangle herself from the demons chasing her. Long hair wrapped around her neck, cutting off her air supply, just as the man’s hands had done in her dream. A scream built in her throat as she fell out of bed and semi-woke. She untangled herself from the covers and stood, looking around in confusion. The woods were gone, no one was there. A shiver ran down her body as the threat to her safety still hung heavy in the air, the feel of the man’s breath still hot and heavy against the back of her neck. The cloying scent of his sweat and determination assailed her nose, making bile rise in her throat. Needing to escape, she dashed out of the bedroom at her parents’ home and ran. Behind her, she heard her mother’s voice call out, but Isi didn’t break stride. She burst through the front door, heedless of her scantily-clad state, and ran to the nearby woods, needing the freedom of the night, the cool breeze, the incandescent moonlight.
Her feet slipped and slid as she ran up the incline, dirt squishing between her toes as twigs dug into her soles. Scrambling up the hill, she gripped the trunk of a tree and hauled herself upright. She looked over her shoulder, convinced the man from her dreams was still chasing her. Sweat slicked her skin and she trembled as a breeze caressed her. Her breath came out in pants as she moved further into the woods, fallen acorns bruising her feet. She ignored the pain and picked up her pace. A walk turned into a jog, then a run. Isi didn’t know how long she’d been outside, or how far she’d traveled.
She’d thought she was alone, that she’d escaped the phantom man behind her, so she let out a shriek when an arm wrapped around her waist. Her captor placed his hand over her mouth, a cloth in his grip, and she struggled. Her hands grabbed at the arm holding her prisoner, her feet kicking against her attacker. Her heels met the man’s shins time and again, and she had no doubt it was a man from the height and breadth of him. The steely arm around her had hair that was crisp against her fingertips. The sickly sweet smell of whatever chemical he had put on the cloth filled her nose and her arms and legs began to feel sluggish. Her sight began to dim, and then she struggled no more.
Chapter One
Blackness surrounded her. She couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face. She had no idea how much time had passed, but she guessed it had been at least a day, maybe more. She explored the cell on her hands and knees, the cement scraping her soft skin. She prayed not to run across any spiders or rodents.
She discovered a bucket in the corner. Her nose had wrinkled in distaste as she’d realized what it was for, but eventually she’d caved and used it, being left no other option. There had also been a small crate with two bottles of water and a small package of crackers. Not enough to fill her up, but enough to keep her alive—she hoped. No one had come for her, no sounds could be heard. She hadn’t even found a door, which left her a little perplexed and more than a little scared, until she’d felt along the ceiling and discovered a hatch of sorts. What the hell kind of place was she in?
Was anyone looking for her? She’d had a falling out with her family during one of the few times they’d acknowledged her existence, would they care that she’d been taken? Why had she been taken? She was a nobody, both in the human world and in the pack. As a shifter unable to shift, she’d been an outcast, beneath almost everyone’s notice.
Her family had been embarrassed when it had come time for her first shift and nothing had happened. She’d turned her face toward the moon, closed her eyes, and waited. But nothing, not even a twitch. No tingle, no awareness of her wolf coming forward, nothing. It was shortly after that her parents had informed her she’d been adopted. They’d been told she was a wolf shifter—knew she was a shapeshifter of some sort by her scent—but it seemed she was defective.
It was later that she realized what she was. She had felt her cat caged in her mind, felt her pacing on many occasions as if she was ready to burst free, but the beast never emerged.
She’d never known why her birth parents had given her up, and probably never would. From what she’d gathered, ocelot shifters rarely had more than two children, if even that many. Quite a few were barren. Why give one up when they were so uncommon? She couldn’t remember her life before living with the Mayhews, but her adoptive mother said they’d brought her home when she was three. Why couldn’t she remember her other family? Surely she should remember a face, a scent, a place. Something.
She breathed in the stale air, and not for the first time she wondered how long the oxygen would last. The place seemed to be airtight. Had they put her in here to die? Was she being held for ransom? Now that was laughable. Who would pay to get her back? Not Jill and Mark Mayhew, that was for certain. They’d probably consider themselves lucky that she was gone, and since it was a kidnapping, they could play the part of the victims. They’d probably even squeeze out a few tears, all for show, of course.
Sweat poured down her face and neck, trickling down into her shirt and making it glue to her body. As badly as she was sweating, no amount of water would keep her hydrated. Did anyone even care if she died? Perhaps her kidnappers had taken her by mistake. If they had, surely they would’ve realized that by now? But if there wouldn’t be a ransom coming for her, would they merely leave her to rot in this small prison, or would they release her? Did she dare hope for a happy ending or was it merely a dream? She fought against feelings of hopelessness, against the depression pressing in on her, fought for the courage to go on. It would be so easy to give up.
She drifted in and out of consciousness, the heat and lack of food and water taking its toll on her body. It could have been mere minutes, few hours or possibly days before she heard it: a squeak, a squealing noise and a thump. Then air, blessed air! A cool breeze drifted over her skin and she cracked her eyes open. Stars shone above her as she gulped down the fresh air, sucking in as much as her lungs would hold.
Two shadowy figures leaned over the opening and she closed her eyes, unable to hold them open another second. The sound of boots striking concrete rang out in the small space and she assumed one of the men had joined her. Strong arms supported her and cool water greeted her lips. She drank greedily before he took it away. She moaned and tried to reach for it back, but her arms hung limply at her sides. She must have been more far gone than she’d thought.
“Easy there, princess. We don’t want you to take in too much too soon or it will just come right back up.”
The voice wasn’t familiar, but it was deep and soothing. She tried to open her eyes again, to no avail. The man lifted her into his arms and
rose with her in his grasp. She could feel herself being lifted up, then another pair of hands gripped her and lifted her out into the cool night air. Sucking in more air, she scented sandy soil and little else. Wherever she was, there were no flowers or trees nearby, no civilization. Just where had they taken her?
“Miss Mayhew, you’re safe now,” said the second man, his voice not quite as deep as the first’s, but pleasant just the same.
She opened her eyes again and saw one of the men press the side of his ear before speaking again.
“We’ve got her. Tell the parents she’s safe and on her way home.”
They knew who she was? How had they found her? Who had sent them? She moaned, wanting to ask the questions circling in her mind, but nothing else came out. It seemed her questions would have to wait a little while longer. They’d mentioned her parents, but surely she’d misheard. Her mother and father wouldn’t care if she were to suddenly disappear.
She must have blacked out again because the next time everything came into focus, she heard the whirring of a helicopter and appeared to be inside the machine. Her eyes, now fully open, took in her surroundings. Four men sat nearby, two on either side of her. Each was dressed in black camo pants and black t-shirts, firearms strapped to their hips and rifles of some sort slung across their backs. At least, she thought they were rifles. She really knew next to nothing about guns.
One of them saw she was awake and smiled at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners. His green gaze seemed friendly as he assessed her.
“What happened to me?” she asked, needing to know.
“You were kidnapped by a rival pack, transferred to yet another pack and held captive in the desert. The Rickshaw pack decided you weren’t worth anything except a ransom. Once they figured out where you’d come from, they sent a note to the alpha demanding seventy-five thousand for your safe return.”
Her eyes widened. “He’d never pay that for me.”
“He paid a pretty penny for us to extract you, so don’t discount your worth. You obviously have value to your pack, whether you believe that or not.”
She snorted. “As if anyone in the McGraw clan would pay a penny for me. I’m surprised Alpha Henry paid anything for my return.”
The man frowned. “It wasn’t a Henry that we dealt with, but a Sean McGraw. We assumed he was the alpha.”
“No, he’s the alpha’s youngest.” She had to admit, if anyone was going to pay for her return, it would be Sean. He’d always been kind to her over the years. He hadn’t turned his back on her when she couldn’t shift, unlike most of the other friends she’d made. Besides Sean, she had three close friends that had stuck by her side through it all.
She pushed herself into a seated position, holding her head when the world spun.
Another of the men steadied her. When he spoke, she recognized his voice as the second man who had pulled her from that death trap. “Easy. You should probably rest. The flight to your home will take a few hours.”
Someone handed her a package of peanut butter crackers. She wasn’t sure it would stop the hunger pains, but it was certainly better than nothing. That, coupled with the bottle of water someone thrust into her hand, was like heaven after doing without for who-knew how long.
“You seem to know who I am, but I don’t know who any of you are. Since you saved my life, it only seems fair that I know what to call you.”
The man with the beautiful green eyes tipped his head to the left. “That is Parker Adams, across from him is Lee Mathers. The man with his hand on your shoulder is Dagan O’Neal and I’m Garren Douglas.”
“As you already know, I’m Isolde Mayhew, but everyone calls me Isi. Thank you for rescuing me. I don’t think I had much time left.”
Dagan patted her shoulder. “Rest, Isi. We’ll have you home in no time. I’m sure your family has missed you.”
She highly doubted that, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
The hand on her shoulder was warm and soothing. She hadn’t had much interaction with men since her shifting episode. No one wanted a defective mate. Her gaze flicked up to Garren and found his warm green eyes assessing her once more.
There was enough testosterone in the helicopter to drown a woman, but she rather liked being surrounded by such blatant maleness, each man tall, broad shouldered and divine in his own way. Parker’s white-blond hair and dark-chocolate eyes were rather striking; Garren’s black hair and green gaze made her blood heat; Dagan’s golden good looks and kind blue eyes were enough to make her heart melt; and Lee, with his close-cropped brown hair and hooded gaze, had bad boy written all over him. She imagined each and every one of them was lethal to the female population. Her sense of smell told her they were all shifters of some sort and she wondered what they were. Wolves? Bears? She wondered if they would stick around long enough for her to find out.
She must have dozed off, for all too soon the trip came to an end and they were landing in a clearing at the edge of the pack’s village. She couldn’t think of any other way to describe the collection of homes and duplexes owned by the pack. She’d lived with her adoptive family until she’d turned eighteen, then she’d gotten a job and moved out. Still, once a week she went to stay with them, trying to be a loving daughter. She preferred being at home though. Her home. Her place wasn’t huge by any means, but the duplex was comfortable enough. Tomi, her neighbor, had quickly become one of her best friends.
The helicopter touched down and before Isi could stand, Dagan lifted her into his arms and stepped down. Garren shot him a fierce look, but the golden god just smirked at him. She wasn’t sure what all of that was about, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. Once they were away from the noisy helicopter, she pointed them in the direction of her home. Dagan frowned.
“I think we should take you to your parents.”
“They won’t be pleased to see me,” she admitted.
Garren narrowed his eyes. “Why is that?”
“I’m something of an outcast in the pack, and an embarrassment to my family. Not only am I adopted and definitely not a wolf, but I can’t shift.” She hated telling them that, but she didn’t know what else to do. She had to make them understand. The last thing she wanted to do was confront her parents right now.
Dagan and Garren shared a look.
“Then we find Sean McGraw. He paid for your rescue, he should know you’re safe.” The look on Garren’s face told her it was non-negotiable. “But you should know, we’ve been in contact with your parents. You may think they don’t care, but they sounded concerned to me.”
“If they sounded concerned, I can assure you it was all an act. I’ve done everything I can to be a good daughter to them, but I can see the hatred in their eyes when they look at me. I’m not what they bargained for and they resent me.”
With a sigh, she told them how to reach the alpha’s son. He had a log cabin on the outskirts of the village, on a large wooded lot. The man liked his privacy, probably because of the numerous panty-throwing women he dealt with all the time. She’d had more than one laugh at his expense over the years as she’d watched him dodge one wolf after another, each with a one-track mind: to nab the alpha’s son as a mate. But Sean was determined to mate with his true mate and none other, and so far, that woman didn’t exist within the McGraw clan.
The men commandeered an old Jeep from somewhere, she didn’t want to ask, and they arrived at the cabin in no time. Dagan and Garren got out and walked up to the porch, with Lee and Parker trailing behind them. Garren knocked on the door.
Sean answered, looking haggard, his hair standing up every which way, his eyes bloodshot as if he hadn’t slept for days. The moment his gaze settled on her, there was stark relief on his face and he moved forward to take her from Dagan.
“Isi, thank God! I worried they’d never find you.”
She hugged her friend. “I’m fine, Sean. A little worse for wear, but I’ll be okay.”
“She could use a decent meal and some more wat
er, preferably some with electrolytes in it. She’s dehydrated.” Lee smiled. “She’s a trooper though.”
“What I need is a shower and a change of clothes,” Isi corrected. “I reek.”
“You’ve been gone nearly three days,” Sean said. “When the ransom demand came and dad refused to pay it, I thought I’d never see you again. But I was talking to Jack Wellby, you remember him, and he mentioned these guys to me. Apparently his brother served with them. You, my dear girl, were rescued by a team of retired Navy SEALs. I wanted the best for this job.”
Parker nodded. “Nick Wellby is a great guy. We tried to get him to join the team, but he was ready for a break. Last I heard he was kicking up his heels on a beach down in the Keys.”
Sean stepped through the doorway and motioned for the guys to follow. He settled Isi on the sofa in the living room then moved—with the grace only a shifter could have—to the kitchen to fetch her a bottle of water. It was Vitamin Water in her favorite flavor. She knew he kept it on hand for their hikes through the woods. They went every week like clockwork on Mondays, weather permitting.
“Now, who wants to tell me what happened?” Sean asked, looking at the men expectantly.
“We don’t know for certain why it happened, but someone from the Wilkerson clan kidnapped her then passed her on to Rickshaw. As you know, Rickshaw decided to use her best by asking for a ransom. For that, you should be thankful. I don’t think Rickshaw is as twisted as Wilkerson, but I’ve heard of slavery between packs, even women being sold down in Mexico. With your dad refusing to pay the ransom, if you hadn’t sent us after her, I’m not sure what her fate would’ve been.” Garren glanced her way, as if he wasn’t sure he should continue in her presence.
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