Doria was there. She was tied to a chair in the center of the room. Sheets had been nailed to the walls over all of the windows. The place had no furniture, but several of the members were sitting on steel folding chairs. Doria was scared; her eyes were wide with fear. From what Rob could tell the ropes holding her were ordinary ropes, but as he looked more closely he could see the odd color tinge to them. It was hard to see in the dimly lit room, but he could just make out that the ropes were wrapped up in silver. Silver was deadly to hybrids. If it got into their bloodstream then they would die within seconds; if it touched their skin it would burn a hole in them and then it could seep into their system almost immediately and kill them. They were even repelled by the glamor of it, almost as if it were an invisible force field. Doria could barely move a muscle without putting her life in jeopardy.
Rob knew that his family, his tribe had to act swiftly; time was of the essence. He did not see Kade. He could tell just by looking that all of the wolves below him were betas. The alpha would have sensed their presence that closely. They were in luck. But he still needed to find Kade and kill him.
Kade and his tribe were most likely feeding on humans; that was the easiest way that hybrids could grow their power, but it had limits. Killing a pride of pure bloods would take them all to the next level. And if pure bloods killed humans… they would be by far the most powerful force on earth, virtually indestructible.
It was time.
Rob gave the signal to his tribe and then leapt over the railing. The second he hit the floor the hybrids were up and leaping at him. He quickly killed the first one. He was a young guy who could have been a college student before he was recruited by Kade for his own selfish reasons. Rob felt guilty about having to kill these people, but they made their own choices. They would have to live with the consequences.
The other wolf, a woman of about thirty was almost on his back before he could blink. He started to spin on her but Steph was already snapping her neck. The woman hit the ground motionless.
Rob went to work on removing the ropes and the silver from Doria’s bonds. She was frightened but so relieved to see him; he could see it all on her face and he could hear it in her heart beat. He was so glad she was alright. He had to get her out of there now.
Several screams came from behind him as three other hybrids crashed into the room. Rob stayed busy with the ropes and shackles as his parents took care of the other hybrids. They were foolish; apparently Kade had never told them that beta hybrids were no match for purebloods. It was over too easily.
“Let’s get out of here,” Rob said as he threw Doria’s shackles to the side.
“What about the leader? We have to take him out,” Alex said.
“Mom, Dad—get Doria to the car and take her out of here. I’ll meet up with you. I’ll find you. Alex, Steph—you guys are with me. We will wait for Kade to show up. He is probably close by.
“Closer than you think,” a voice said from the doorway.
Rob looked up at the face of a monster. Standing there was a tall, well-built man with long chestnut hair. He looked almost like some sort of a Gothic model. His skin was white as powder. He looked almost human, except for the eyes. He had the eyes of a demon and they were looking right into Rob’s.
“Kade,” Rob said.
“Rob,” Kade replied. He walked slowly into the room as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He observed the dead members of his tribe on the floor. “Well, that is a pity. You break into a man’s house and kill his family. Now you are taking his most prized possession? No…that will not do.”
“Take Doria out of here,” Rob said to his parents.
“Oh, I imagine your parents will want to watch as I rip you limb from limb,” Kade said.
Before Rob could blink Kade belted him with a hard right punch across the face and sent him flying into the wall. Rob felt some of his bones crunch and start to heal, but the pain was intense. He realized then that Kade was stronger than he ever thought possible. The evil wolf was older than anyone else realized; he must have been biding his time and building up his power for years and years. This was going to take them all working together to kill him.
Steph and Alex attacked him at once. She punched Kade in the face and he staggered back as Alex swept his legs out from under him. Kade turned this into a back flip and landed behind them clanging their heads together with a sickening thud.
Rob’s heart soared as he worried about the well-being of his family, but he had to take the chance while Kade was distracted. Rob charged at him and burrowed every bit of his weight into Kade’s stomach knocking him through the air where he crashed through a window and hit the ground outside.
Rob could see Steph and Alex starting to get up out of the corner of his eye. He did not want to waste any time for Kade to recover and charge them again. And Doria was out there with his parents; he had to get out there.
Rob leapt through the window out into the darkness, landing on his feet ready to face Kade.
But he was gone. There was nothing there but the night. Rob inhaled deeply trying to track his scent. There was nothing. His trail had vanished. He was an alpha and he had speed that betas did not. Rob possibly could have tracked him down, but it would have taken too long. He was already out of range.
He knew that Kade would return; he was not through yet.
But Rob was going to be ready for him.
Chapter Six
“I don’t know what to say,” Doria said. She felt like her head was going to explode. Her whole body was drained and it took every ounce of will power she had just to stay conscious. She’d had to stay awake for over a day and a half since she was abducted. She did not trust herself to go to sleep, especially since that psycho cult or whatever you would call them had placed her in those bonds. She knew that the silver would kill her; it was one of the first discoveries she’d made since becoming a wolf.
Rob had just finished explaining everything to her. It was insane to process it all. What was happening? That guy was going to kill her because she was special; this was not random. She was supposed to be Rob’s mate? She could hardly wrap her head around the insanity of it all. She had barely met him and she didn’t like so many things about him, but she was supposed to be mated to him for life? And she had no choice in the matter? She resisted the information as soon as it went into her head. It had to be wrong.
But she knew it wasn’t. It explained why she could not get Rob Thompson out of her mind. It explained why she had such overwhelming urges to run to him, why the kiss had meant so much to the both of them, and how he’d known simply from the kiss that she was meant to be with him.
But what if someone was wrong? What if this was not the way it was supposed to be?
Doria knew that it was. Somehow, she just knew. When she heard it from Rob’s mouth every word he spoke rang true to her and no matter how much she wanted to fight it, she could not hide the way she was feeling. Ever since he’d come into her life she had felt complete somehow. It felt fantastic, but this realization was also maddening. She hated feeling as if she had no control over who she was or how she felt, but when it came to Rob she just didn’t have it.
“I’m sorry to tell you all of this,” Rob said. “I am sorry for what happened to you.”
“It isn’t your fault,” Doria said. “I blame that psycho. Kade, is it?”
“Yeah. He is more powerful than I thought he was; he isn’t going to be easy to beat, but I can’t rest until I find him.”
“What about baseball? What about your life?”
“There are more important things than baseball,” Rob said.
Doria leaned back on the couch. He’d brought her to his place, advising her that it was not safe for her to stay by herself right now. She hated the idea that she could not go home, but she understood that he was right. She didn’t want to be alone; that guy had taken her from her home when she was sleeping. She’d never been that scared before in her entire life and she hope
d that she never again would be.
It was crazy, having this power of the wolf, but right then she was like a little rag doll. She tried to fight the man when he took her, but he was immensely powerful, and the next thing she knew she was unconscious and waking up a prisoner. It was going to be a while before she slept soundly. But having Rob close by would make it easier.
“So, you are the alpha of your tribe? That’s why Kade wanted you?” Doria asked.
“Yes. I’m not sure exactly how it happened, but at some point, I became the alpha. With pure bloods, alpha power chooses you; you don’t control it the way that Kade has done.”
“And Kade is a hybrid, like me?”
“Yes. But you aren’t evil, he is.”
“I want to thank you for saving my life,” Doria said.
“Well, I feel a bit responsible for your life being in danger. He took you to get to me.”
“That’s the part I’m still having trouble trying to explain to myself. I’ve been chosen to be with you? And this guy knew that? It seems like everyone was informed but me. It’s weird.”
“I know. It doesn’t make sense even to me. The way this thing is chosen for our kind is a mystery to us all. And many of us never really find the one we are supposed to be mated with. But when you do find that person then you know; if you look deeply inside yourself you will feel it too. I’m an alpha pure blood, so my powers are stronger than yours. That is why I felt it so easily when I touched your lips. I knew it right then.”
“Why didn’t you say anything? I mean, you took me to that diner and told me that you knew what I was and what you were, but you did not mention this huge thing,” Doria said.
“Would you have believed me? Or would you have thought I was feeding you a line?”
Doria thought a moment. “Yeah, I guess you are right. Even now I can’t wrap my head around it.”
Rob walked into the kitchen and grabbed them both a beer. He handed one to her and sat back down beside her.
“I’ve never knowingly met any other werewolves before. I was beginning to think that I was alone, or that I was a freak. It’s nice to have someone else who knows what it’s like.”
“Yeah, there are only a handful of us in the world; most are peace loving normal people who lead very normal lives. They have a part of themselves they keep hidden from most, but for the most part it is just ordinary day to day life for them. Then of course there are those who use the wolf for evil, like Kade, and like the one that attacked you; the one that made you a wolf.”
“Yeah. I’ll never forget that day; I wonder who that person is? Do they know what they did to me that night?”
“It wasn’t their intention to make more of their kind. It sounds like they were trying to kill you and got interrupted.”
“Yeah, I was lucky. Why don’t more wolves make more of our kind?” Doria asked.
“Well, mostly it’s to keep the numbers small and to stay under the radar. We can’t have the public at large knowing about us. Pure bloods have almost no reason to create a hybrid; but a hybrid wolf who wants to cause carnage can make others a wolf, and some do it accidentally when their prey survives, or when they are an alpha and they are building a pack. You see when an alpha passes the curse he is strengthened by it, but when a beta passes the curse he is weakened by it. The only way to strengthen one’s self to alpha status is to kill another alpha, and the only way to hope to be strong enough to do that is to kill a lot of innocent people as the wolf.”
Doria felt tears welling up in her eyes. She cleared her throat and tried to force the tears back down. “That’s awful. Just thinking about how many people Kade has probably killed… It makes me want to kill him even more. But of course, I know I can’t.”
“No, you can’t. Unless you become mated to a pure blood. Then you are just as powerful.”
“You mean mated like we are?”
“No, I don’t mean just promised as we are. I mean when you have formed an actual physical union and that union results in an offspring. Then you are truly mated.”
“Wow, I didn’t know there could be so much wild information that I just don’t know. It’s all so crazy. I feel a bit sick just trying to get it all to make sense in my head.”
“Relax. Take it easy. All of it will make sense in time,” Rob said.
“I hope so,” Doria replied. “So, what should I do about work? Do I have to worry that Kade or one of his minions will come for me?”
“No, I doubt it. As long as you stay in public then you should be ok. Kade isn’t going to risk exposing what he is to the general public. There are cameras pretty much everywhere. That sort of thing would be in government hands before the day is out and we’d all get rounded up.”
“That does not sound like fun,” Doria said.
“I’m going to bed,” Rob said. “I’m beat. You sure you can find everything ok?”
“Yeah. This place is huge, but I’ll manage.”
As he started to walk away, Doria realized she had to come clean about something.
“Rob?”
He stopped and looked to her.
“Kade told me all about The Ganno’s and everything. I have to tell you something. The Ganno’s killed my parents. I didn’t realize it until I was bitten and became a werewolf. But my parents were attacked in their home while I was sleeping over at a friend’s house. The cops said it was a mountain lion that somehow got inside. It crashed through the window. It didn’t make sense to me then, but now I know the truth. I can recognize the signs that I saw that day when the cops got me from my friend’s house in the middle of the night.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Yeah. It was Kade and his tribe, or maybe it was just Kade. I don’t know.”
“We will find him and make him pay for everything.”
Doria went to her own bed about ten minutes later. It was the most comfortable bed, the most serene room that she had ever slept in. It was a guest bedroom, but it was bigger than the downstairs of her own house. Plus, it had its own bathroom that was also humongous with a large glass shower with marble walls and flooring, and a Jacuzzi big enough for six people. She was definitely going to try that out in the morning.
If she had time that was. She really had to get to work and finish the story. She was still scared to go anywhere, as if Kade was going to leap out at her at any moment and take her away. This time he would probably kill her and then try to get Rob to come to him. Something told her this maniac was not the kind of guy who liked to lose.
She tried to get those negative thoughts out of her head and focus on something more positive, like Rob. And the fact that he might be sleeping naked right now. She was getting wet at the very thought of it. She wished he was right there beside her in the bed. The more time she spent with him, the more irresistible he became. She wanted him in every possible way and she wanted to be there for him. She felt her body responding to these thoughts, undulating as she grew wetter with every single fantasy. She could smell him on her, his sensual, masculine scent; she wanted to lick up every drop of it.
Maybe she would go to his room and knock on the door. Would he invite her in? There would be an unspoken want between the two of them and they would begin to make love, right then and there.
Oh, she wanted it so badly… she was aching for it, her mind racing, her heart pounding, sweat pouring from her body as the wetness between her legs grew by leaps and bounds. Oh, she was so swollen, so wet, imagining his tight, hard member pounding away at her tender body.
She had to resist the urge with everything she had right then; it was not time. It was too soon. Doria didn’t fully understand what was going on and she didn’t know if this was what she really wanted.
But the more she tried to fight it, tried to put a leash on her feelings, the more they started to overwhelm her.
Somehow among the chaos of her mind, she found sleep.
Chapter Seven
Doria woke up to the smell of food wafting through
the air. She was instantly starving, her stomach rumbling loudly. She concentrated slightly and she could hear the bacon sizzling, and smell the eggs cooking in the pan.
She usually woke up early, grabbed a protein bar to power her workout, and then ate a quick bowl of oatmeal at her desk at work. This was usually enough to keep her satisfied most of the morning, but she had gotten pretty good at ignoring the rumblings of her stomach lately, especially when she was staring down a deadline and she was really focused on the work in front of her.
Doria made her way downstairs to find Rob standing over the stove cooking the delicious breakfast. For some reason, she figured he would have a butler or a full-time chef to make all of his meals and keep him happy and fed. But there he was cooking up a storm like it was something he always did. She could not deny how sexy it was to see a man fixing her breakfast, especially when he was only wearing a pair of silk pajama bottoms.
Nothing had prepared her for the sight of him totally topless. His body was incredible. Every single muscle was rippling and defined, so hard. He appeared to have been chiseled out of marble with flesh stretched over it. It was like a Renaissance sculpture come to life. She felt the warmth of desire spreading over her body. She tried to ignore it and took a seat.
“Hey there,” Rob said. “I hope you are hungry this morning.”
“I am,” she replied.
Rob sat a plate in front of her and scooped three eggs, six slices of bacon, and a sliced-up avocado on her plate.
“Wow, that is a bit more than I usually eat for breakfast; it’s delicious.”
“Really? I thought I gave you a small portion. Well at least its small to my usual,” Rob said.
Doria noticed he had about eight scrambled eggs, ten slices of bacon, two avocados, and a bowl of oatmeal with fruit and peanut butter in it. Plus, a large mug of black coffee.
“Wow…” Doria remarked. “How do you stay so ripped eating all that?”
“It’s because I eat all this. High protein, and good healthy carbs. I am very active. I lift weights two hours a day and about another hour of cardio, plus I’m practicing baseball most of the year for at least three hours on non-game days and a good hour on game days if we are at home. I have to feed the beast,” Rob said with a smile. “There is more oatmeal on the stove if you want some.”
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