Wolf's Captive

by Selena Cross

  Russ looked at her, curious about what she meant, “What do your parents have to do with this?”

  “They have everything to do with this,” she retorted. “If my parents hadn’t killed Josh’s mother, his father would have never gone crazy and challenged their Alpha for the Pack. He would have never done my parents’ bidding and kept our Pack separate from the disgusting humans, like we should be. He would have been content to just be a Beta and live out his useless life as nothing.”

  “If your parents killed Josh’s mother, why did his father listen to a damn thing they said?” Russ asked, blown away by this revelation.

  “Oh, he didn’t know about it, stupid,” Alana said, as if it was nothing. “Josh’s father thought our old Alpha killed her because he wanted her for himself. My parents talked him into challenging the old Alpha, and he killed him, securing the Alpha position and my parents’ plans.”

  Russ felt bile rise up into his throat, but he pushed it down. Alana’s family was nothing but a bunch of sociopaths, and she was the sickest of them all.

  He knew then he had to do something to stop Alana from whatever she planned. He would continue to play along with her, until he knew her plans, and then he would stop her.

  He watched her get up with a smile on her face, and make her way to the small bathroom of the hotel room.

  “I’m going to take a shower, and then you’re taking me out tonight,” she demanded. “We’re going to celebrate because this time tomorrow, Josh will be mine, and I will be she-Alpha.”

  With that, she slammed the door, and Russ slumped in his seat, regretting ever laying eyes on the she-wolf.

  *****

  Sidney awoke in Josh’s arms, her head on his chest, and her legs wrapped around his waist. At first, she wanted to just snuggle into him and never move, but then the memory of what happened the day before came back to her in full swing.

  He had bitten her and she drank his blood. He had claimed her, and now she was forever tied to him.

  She scrambled off the bed, wanting to be as far from him as possible. Luckily, he didn’t seem to have noticed her movements because he just continued to snore and cuddled the pillow she had used. She went to the dresser and pulled out some fresh clothes, which she dressed in quickly, before going to the bathroom to brush her hair out and pull it back in a ponytail. Then she slipped on her socks and shoes, and left the room with a soft click when she shut the door.

  What had she done? She had allowed him to claim her. She had even begged for it.

  Why would she do that? Now she was stuck here.

  It wasn’t that she hated being there. The Pack was nice and she had really felt a connection with everyone, especially Tricia and Emily. She just didn’t want to become what she knew she would once Josh claimed her, a servant and a prisoner—forever.

  Now it was too late and she had given up her freedom to become what she feared the most.

  She ran out of the house, stopping at the top step of the porch, afraid to take another step or else Josh would tackle her and drag her back. However, when she stood there for long minutes and nothing happened, she mustered up the courage to go down the steps and walk very quickly but not suspiciously toward the forest border.

  She had almost made it to the tree line when a large hand landed on her shoulder and spun her around.

  “Where are you going?” Josh growled, looking disheveled and barely dressed.

  “I-I just wanted to take a walk,” she lied.

  “Is that why you jumped out of bed and ran out of the house like your ass was on fire?” he asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

  “Look, Josh,” she started, becoming irritated. “I just need some space to think. What happened yesterday was a lot to take in and I need a moment, alone, to adjust to the fact that I’m stuck here for the rest of my life and my life at home is gone.”

  She saw the hurt in his eyes and felt guilty for her words, but she refused to take them back.

  “This is your home now,” he snapped. “If you didn’t want to be stuck here, you shouldn’t have begged me to claim you.”

  His voice rose when his said the word “stuck” placing emphasis on the fact that he didn’t like the way she described her lack of freedom.

  “I didn’t beg you to claim me,” she argued. “I begged you to fuck me—big difference.”

  “You agreed you were mine,” he stated, and Sidney automatically felt the flush of embarrassment on her cheeks because she knew he was right. “You stated you always had been.”

  She lowered her eyes, not wanting him to see the fear his revelation brought. However, he wasn’t having any of it. He pushed her chin up with his fingers and forced her to face him.

  “Don’t turn away now, you’ve already racked up your punishment for later, you might as well make it good,” he warned, but she saw the teasing glint in his eyes.

  “I don’t want to be your slave,” she stated, as tears burned her eyes. “And have you kill me when you’re done with me.”

  He reeled as if she had hit him, and the teasing disappeared from his expression. At first, he looked confused and even a bit angry, but then his facial expression softened, as if he realized something.

  “You think that’s what this is?” he asked, almost as if he could barely choke out the words, but she still nodded. “I told you last night that I’m in love with you. I don’t want you to be my slave and I would never hurt you. You’re my mate, my partner in everything. Hell, you are my everything.”

  She saw the sincerity in his words, but something still made her hold back. Something inside her still held the fear when she confessed her love he would use it against her. Perhaps it was because Brian had hurt her more than she realized when she found him with his secretary. Not that she truly loved him. Not the way she loved Josh. But he did betray her trust.

  “Who is this Brian guy?” Josh suddenly asked and Sidney shot him a surprised look.

  “I didn’t say anything about Brian,” she answered.

  “You were thinking about him,” he stated. “Something you should probably know about shifters when they mate with their true mates. We can read each others thoughts.”

  She pulled away from him, shocked by his news, but stood her ground, “Then you should already know how I feel and who Brian is to me.”

  He smiled, but it was cold, “Yes, but I want to hear you say it out loud, and I want to kill this Brian guy for putting this mistrust in you.”

  “He isn’t the only one who put this mistrust in me,” she stated.

  He frowned, “Then who else? So I can kill them too.”

  “I doubt you would, unless you’re suicidal,” she retorted. “You put it in me when you said I was below you and your Pack because I’m human.”

  “I said I was sorry for saying that,” he growled. “I was angry and I didn’t mean it.”

  Before she could argue against him, he grabbed her wrapping his arms around her waist and kissed her hard. She gasped and his tongue shot out, sinking into her mouth to duel with her tongue. At first she stiffened, wanting to fight him, but as the kiss went on she relaxed into the spell his lips were weaving and wrapped her arms around his neck in surrender.

  After what felt like an eternity of sweet kisses, he pulled away from her lips, trailing his mouth down her jaw, until he pulled away completely to rest his forehead against hers and look into her eyes.

  “I meant what I said when I said I love you, Sidney,” he whispered. “You should be able to hear it in my mind and know it through our connection.”

  She closed her eyes, trying to listen to his thoughts, then an overwhelming sense of love and possessiveness swept over her. Her eyes popped open when she realized they were his emotions and not hers, and he smiled.

  “I know how you feel, too,” he stated. “But I can wait to have you say it, if I need to prove to you this is forever to gain your trust. Then I will.”

  Sadness crept into his features, and Sidney felt guilty. Ho
wever, before she could apologize, he kissed her fleetingly and pulled away completely before walking away from her, leaving her stunned and alone in the middle of the village.

  Chapter Seven

  Sidney wondered the village for the rest of that day. Many of the Pack members came up to congratulate her on her recent mating with Josh and hale her as their new she-Alpha. However, all of them gave her a suspicious look and Sidney was beginning to worry.

  It was Tricia, though, who made her realize what the look was for. Tricia had also met her in the village on her way to Josh’s home and looked at the marking on her neck, then had congratulated her for mating with Josh finally. She then got the same look on her face that Sidney had seen on everyone’s face in the village.

  “Where is Josh?” Tricia asked.

  “I don’t know,” Sidney blushed. “We got into a fight and he walked away.”

  Tricia went from suspicious to understanding as a small comforting smile spread across her face, “Emotions are really high after a couple mates. Sometimes it’s too much to take in all at once.”

  “I don’t think that’s what it was,” Sidney looked away from Tricia, biting her lip.

  She darted back into Sidney’s view, “Then what happened?”

  Tears welled into Sidney’s eyes and before she knew it, she was in Tricia’s arms as the woman cooed and comforted her.

  “Come on,” Tricia said, pulling her along. “Let’s get you home so you can have a nice shower and clean clothes. You can tell me about what happened then.”

  Sidney followed her back to the house and listened when she turned on the shower and told her to get cleaned up. As the hot spray hit her skin sobs racked her body and she felt like crumpling to the shower floor, but she held herself against the tiled wall.

  In seconds, Tricia was there washing her hair for her and helping her get rinsed and dried off. Tricia treated her like her mother used to when she was little. It made Sidney cry more because she had lost her mother when she was a teenager, to cancer.

  She remembered how her father had remarried—twice, after her mother died, but he never looked happy again. Their relationship disappeared, and now she was lucky to get a Christmas card from him and his new wife.

  Tricia handed her the clothes she had set out on the bed for her and helped her dress, then had her sit on the bed while she brushed her hair.

  “You have such beautiful hair, Sidney,” Tricia pronounced, brushing out another knot.

  “It’s plain and dull,” Sidney replied, then felt guilt for lessening Tricia’s compliment. “But, thank you.”

  “Nonsense,” Tricia huffed. “It’s beautiful and I think you should leave it down today.”

  She put it over Sidney’s shoulders and then guided Sidney to a mirror to look at it.

  “See?” Tricia said, still playing with the strands. “It’s beautiful, thick, and long.”

  Sidney noticed how Tricia placed it to cover up the large bite mark that Josh had left and felt appreciation for her friend’s efforts. She smiled at Tricia in the mirror, and grabbed her fiddling hand to squeeze it.

  “Thank you, Tricia,” Sidney said. “You’re a great friend.”

  Tricia gave a watery smile and squeezed back. “Come on, you need to tell me what happened now.”

  Sidney thought about how to word it for a moment, but the only word that came to her mind was foolish.

  “Am I a fool?” she asked.

  Tricia gave her a confused look in the mirror, “It depends on what happened.”

  “Yesterday, I allowed Josh to claim me, and I think I remember drinking his blood. Is that some sort of bonding?” Sidney began with a question.

  “Yes,” Tricia said. “Now you will live as long as Josh does, be stronger, and be able to know each other’s thoughts and feelings.”

  “Is there a way to get him not to know my thoughts?” Sidney asked, biting her lip.

  Tricia chuckled, “Men can become a bit intrusive with that. But yes, there is a way. All you have to do is picture a wall between his mind and yours, and you should be able to block him from reading your thoughts.”

  Sidney closed her eyes and imagined the wall and sure enough, she felt, more than knew, that Josh was blocked from reading her.

  She smiled at Tricia, “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” Tricia answered. “But I doubt that’s why Josh left you to wonder around the streets of the village aimlessly right after you guys mated.”

  “It’s not,” Sidney said, and left the bathroom to sit on the bed with her head in her hands.

  She felt Tricia’s hand touch her shoulder, “Talk to me. I want to help.”

  Sidney looked at Tricia, “I love him.”

  “That’s a good thing,” Tricia beamed. However, she frowned in confusion a second later. “So why are you so sad about it.”

  “I’m afraid,” Sidney admitted. “Before I was brought here, I was with a man for a number of years. The only man I had ever been in a relationship with. I thought I would marry him, but I found him with his secretary recently.”

  “Josh will never be unfaithful, Sidney,” Tricia said, placing her warm hand on top of Sidney’s. “Once we mate, we never wish for another. Besides, he has been waiting for you for so long, he would never do anything to mess it up.”

  Sidney heard the sincerity in her words but something held her back still.

  “The last time we fought, he said I was not as good as a real shifter. That shifters were better than humans were. I don’t think I was really what he wanted,” Sidney argued.

  Tricia gasped, “What? Why would Josh say such a thing?”

  Sidney blushed, “Well….he had accused me of not putting my clothes away because I thought you were my maid. I told him at least I don’t require any special services from you.”

  Tricia laughed, surprising Sidney, “That a girl. Don’t let him talk to you like that.”

  “But I insulted you,” Sidney said, apologetically.

  “Oh, I’m not offended,” Tricia said. “I know you were just getting him back for being an ass. We both know you were too tired and disoriented to know you should have put the clothes away. He just wanted a reason to bitch.”

  Sidney laughed, even though she still cried, and hugged the woman who had become her best friend, “I love you like a sister, Tricia. I would never want to offend you in any way.”

  Tricia hugged her back, “I know, and I love you, too.”

  They pulled away from each other giggling, and then Tricia became serious again, “I’m still lost.”

  Sidney swallowed, “Well. I told him about Brian and then I pointed out he also made me afraid because he told me I was lesser than everyone else because I was human. I didn’t want to be his slave until he tired of me and killed me.”

  “Oh wow,” Tricia said, sympathy coloring her tone. “I see how that could have hurt a bit.”

  “I know I hurt him,” Sidney replied. “But I’m so afraid to tell him how I feel because I’m afraid he will use it against me.”

  “Josh would never do that,” Tricia said, sounding offended for him. “He’s a good man underneath all the grumpiness and he loves you.”

  “How do you know?” Sidney countered, wondering if Josh had confided in her.

  “I can see it in the way he looks at you. You are the center of his world and all he sees when you’re around,” Tricia said, wistfully.

  “Did you ever want to be Josh’s mate?” Sidney asked, feeling almost jealous for their past together.

  “Goodness no,” Tricia said, immediately. “I always knew I was Richard’s mate. He was the stubborn one, who thought I was too young and foolish for him. Josh and I have always just been friends. Sure we fooled around when we were teenagers, but we were always just friends.”

  Sidney felt guilty for her jealousy, and looked away from Tricia, causing the woman to laugh.

  “You were jealous,” Tricia announced, laughing.

  “A little,�
�� Sidney admitted, her face burning.

  “Oh, that’s wonderful,” Tricia giggled. “It shows you care for the fool.”

  Tricia stood and grabbed Sidney’s socks and shoes, “Put these on. We’re going to go out for a while. I have a feeling I know where Josh wondered off to, and you two need to reconcile your differences, so you can live happily ever after.”

  *****

  Josh stood on the edge of the stream, staring into its rippling waters as if it would give him the answers he sought.

  He loved Sidney so much, but he couldn’t find a way to convince her of it. Even when he let her into his head, she still pushed him away.

  Rustling in a bush on the other side of the stream drew his attention, and he positioned himself for a fight until he smelled the sweet vanilla scent of his mate wafting to him on the breeze.

  His body was still rigid when she emerged, alone, but it was more localized than it had been before. Mainly on lower parts of his anatomy.

  He couldn’t help his sudden arousal when seeing his mate with her hair down, biting her beautiful plump lip. She was everything he had ever wanted in a mate and both—his heart and body ached for her.

  Still, he tried to act indifferent, even though the evidence of his arousal stood proudly between them.

  “What do you want, Sidney?” he said more harshly than he meant to.

  Hurt passed over her face, but she quickly looked down at the ground hiding her expression.

  “I-I’ve come to say I’m sorry for hurting you earlier,” she whispered, so low a human wouldn’t have heard it, but he did. “I was afraid and stupid for the way I acted.”

  He growled, hating it when she demeaned herself in anyway. She looked at him in surprise, and then fear. It made him even angrier.

  In seconds, he was across the stream and holding her chin to push her head up to look at him.

  “Don’t you ever call yourself names again,” he commanded.

  She backed away, but he wouldn’t allow her to get far. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to him.