He slammed his fist on the table and leaned over toward me. “Don’t ever fucking call me sir!” he screamed.
I startled at the harsh sound of his voice, dropped my fork, and began to sob from the terror. I didn’t know what he wanted. I was terrified that as his anger raged out of control he’d hurt me.
He walked over to me and pulled my head against his bare stomach, rubbing one hand down my hair while his other hand held me by my chin.
“Don’t cry, my pet. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hollered at you.” He kept smoothing my hair. I could feel the warmth rolling off his body. His fingers threaded and combed through the length of my hair several times before he held a handful tight in his grasp and leaned my head back to force me to look up at him.
“Will you forgive me?” he asked. His gaze was fixed on me.
I nodded my head.
“I need to hear you say it.”
“Yes, I’ll forgive you,” I whispered.
His heated eyes never moved from mine and his hands held me tight. His piercing blue eyes darkened while his jaw ticked, his stare pinning me in place. I kept my eyes on him. Then, without warning, he released my hair and took his hands off of me.
“Let’s eat. I’m starving.” He returned to his seat and began cutting his meat. “I hope you like it, sweet Daci. They’re venison chops.”
Deer was my favorite meat. I preferred to hunt it and eat it raw, but cooked was good, too. I cut off a bite and placed it in my mouth. As my lips closed around the fork, my eyes closed and I let out a low moan. My Coy-wolf was skipping around in delight. I slowly pulled the fork from my mouth and began to chew the delicious meat, then opened my eyes to find Maximus staring at me. Smiling at me.
After we finished every bite on our plates, I offered to clean the kitchen. It was the least I could do for such a fantastic meal. Plus, I wanted to ingratiate myself again. I didn’t want him to holler at me or do anything to hurt me in any way. If being nice was the price I’d have to pay to keep myself safe, I could do it.
“When you’re finished in there, my love, please, come join me,” Maximus said.
It took me a couple more minutes to finish washing everything, then I walked in and sat on the sofa on the opposite end from him.
“Please, my pet, come closer. I won’t bite you, unless you want me to.”
I edged closer until I was halfway between the arms of the sofa.
“Come on. You can do better than that. Come all the way here, right next to me.”
I did as I was commanded. I moved all the way next to him, so there were inches between us. That was close enough, in my opinion.
Maximus thought otherwise. His long arm reached around my shoulder and pulled me until our thighs were touching. He pulled my arm across his waist and held me tight to him. I let out a deep sigh before resigning to the position he held me in. I wasn’t hurt, my belly was full, and I wasn’t locked in a cage. I was in survival mode. Things could have been a whole lot worse than sitting with my arms around a decent-looking Warlock who smelled clean. It could have been a whole lot worse.
But he wasn’t my soul mate.
I’d pretend to concede to him until I could figure out a way to escape, or kill him.
Chapter 10
Daci
“Face it, the guy’s strange. He only had one or two friends, and he’s some kind of Comi-con nerd or something now.” Veronica stared at me. “What’s wrong with you, anyway? Why do you always stick up for him?”
My best friend, Veronica, was a snob. I’d known it since I met her in first grade, when my family moved into town. I loved hanging out with her most of the time. I immediately became one of the cool kids when she befriended me. Now that we were in college, she knew all the right people to get invited to the best parties, and how to have a great time. A great time as long as she was happy and controlling everything.
“He wasn’t that bad. He was quiet. That didn’t make him a weirdo,” I said.
“That’s your opinion. I can name about fifteen people who agree with me and I can’t think of one who agrees with you.” Veronica rolled her eyes. “Wait a minute! Are you in love with that freak?”
“No! Just drop it, Veronica. You’ll never see him for the kind-hearted person he is. I don’t want to hear you belittle him, because he doesn’t deserve it,” I said. I felt sad that so many people thought Barry was strange or weird.
“Anyway, you’re probably just pissed because he didn’t give you as much as a glance when he was around.” I smirked. Veronica loved male attention, and he never gave her one iota of his time. When he saw me, his eyes never strayed.
“Eww. You’re so gross. There’s no way in hell I’d want that,” she said.
“Okay. Keep telling yourself that.” I chuckled. I knew she was getting furious.
There was so much Veronica and her friends didn’t know about Barry. It wasn’t like I was interested in him in a romantic way, or wanted him to be my boyfriend. We loved to hunt and play together. I felt an unshakeable bond between us. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. I just felt like I had to defend him because I knew he’d do the same for me, if circumstances ever called for it. And he’d stayed a good friend since I met him. He was someone I could always depend on.
He may have been a little different than the other boys, but I admired that about him
“Here comes your weirdo boyfriend now,” Veronica said.
I looked in the direction Veronica’s eyes were focused and saw him. I was shocked. Why would Barry be on our campus? He didn’t go to school here -- he was attending the community college.
He was walking toward us with purpose in his step. His stride was like he was stalking prey. His face was void of any expression. He was on a mission. I’d remembered seeing him look like that when we were hunting rabbits in the fields.
Barry was more handsome than I’d remembered. His body was more muscular, and his face had thinned and looked much more defined. My Coy-wolf howled and kept flipping her tail wildly in the air. She’d never been so restless before.
“Daci,” He called my name when he was within five feet of me.
“Yes, Barry?”
He kept walking, but he was marching in place. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t get any closer to me.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you coming closer?” I asked.
“I’ve been looking for you. I’m so close, but I can’t quite reach you. I love you, Daci,” Barry said. His arms were outstretched toward me. I tried to reach him, but it felt like there was an invisible wall between us.
“Daci,” Barry said as he disappeared before my eyes. He appeared to have been mysteriously yanked away.
“Barry, please, don’t leave me. Come back. I love you, too.”
I jumped out of my sleep and sat up straight.
I looked around at my surroundings. I wasn’t on the couch, and I didn’t see Maximus. I was in a huge four-post canopy bed with a beautiful eyelet comforter wrapped around me. My eyes shifted over to the desk near the window, where I saw the pink robe I’d been wearing draped over the back of the chair. I let my hands roam my naked body.
I hope this freak didn’t rape me, I thought.
I quickly jumped out of bed and grabbed the robe, wrapping it tightly around me, and then I tied the belt tight.
I walked into the hallway and made my way into the bathroom. After relieving my bladder and washing my face, I walked into the living room and saw Maximus’ tall form curled up on the couch. For a brief moment, I felt bad for him.
I looked down and rubbed my eyes. As I looked up, I screamed. Maximus was standing in front of me. I hadn’t heard him get off the sofa and move.
“It’s okay, my pet. I didn’t mean to startle you. Did you sleep well?” His fingers pushed the hairs back from my face, then down my long mane.
“Yes.” I drew out the ‘s’ for an extra second or two.
“I sense a but. What’s wrong? I want you to be completel
y comfortable in our home.”
“How did my robe get removed?”
“My love, I took it off your beautiful body. You certainly would have gotten way too warm with it on. Not to mention, it would have been extremely uncomfortable wrapping around your legs. I assure you, as tempting as you were, I didn’t do anything to violate you.”
“Thank you for thinking of my comfort, I think.”
“My love, my body aches to feel yours, but I want you to want me. I reiterate: I’m not a rapist.”
I pulled my robe tighter. “Do you have any clothes I can wear?” I asked.
“I’ll see what I can find for you. Are you hungry?”
“I’m starving. I feel like I haven’t eaten in weeks.”
Chapter 11
Holt
Between my hunting and eating, and trying to run to only Goddess knows where, I wasn’t getting too far, or at least I didn’t think I was.
I stopped to take in my surroundings. It was so quiet and peaceful, wherever I was. That was when I heard him. In my head. Dolph was talking. My eyes closed as I concentrated to hear and understand what he was saying. He was talking to Trey.
My Wolf made circles and my tail wagged with excitement. I quickly sat down and with all of my concentration I asked him, “Dolph, can you hear me? I could just hear you talking. I think we’re linked.”
It took a few minutes before he replied. “Loud and clear. Over.”
“Idiot. We aren’t on walkie-talkies.”
“Oh yeah, my bad. Well, you’ll be happy to know Trey and I have everyone who was locked up back home. Even your friend, Veronica, is here.”
“Ugh! Can you take her back?” I giggled at the thought of Dolph carrying her and tossing her back into the crate, then slamming the door shut and locking it on her.
“Not funny, Holt. But it’s good to see your Alpha powers are kicking in,” Trey said.
“Oh, you heard that?” I laughed.
“Yeah, smartass. Are you having any luck finding your soul mate?”
“No, not really. I had a vision that flashed four or five times, but I couldn’t tell who it was.”
“Trust me, when you get close enough, your Wolf will let you know exactly where she is. Keep going, and be safe.”
“I’ll keep you both posted. I need to get moving. I’ve been at this for far too long and I really need to find her so this Hunger can be satiated.”
“Ah, young love. I remember those days. And I remember when your dad found your mom.”
“Thanks, Trey, but I’ve heard enough of those stories to last a lifetime. I’ll keep you posted and let you both know if I need you to join me.”
I had been so focused on linking with my Pack mates that I didn’t notice the fawn that had settled in to graze just a few feet from me. Poor little creature was getting ready to become my snack. When I pounced, it didn’t stand a chance of escaping. My jaws locked tight around its thin small neck and the blood oozed down my parched throat. Tasty and tender, I thought.
I made quick work of my meal, then kept moving. I saw a sign thanking me for visiting Allamuchy Mountain State Park. I was twenty-two miles from home. I had no idea how far I needed to go, but I knew I had to pick up the pace. There was not going to be any sleeping for me.
“Trey, how do I know I’m going the right direction?” I couldn’t help but wonder if I should have gone east instead of west?
“What took you in the direction your heading? Did you use your instincts?”
“My Wolf sniffed the air and took me in this direction. I let him lead me.”
“Trust your Wolf, kid. His nose is keener than your human nose. If your Wolf says keep going, then you’re heading in the right direction.”
“Okay. I’ll trust you on this. Thanks.”
“No problem, kid. Let me know if you want some company. And not to add more to your role, but right now, you don’t have a Beta. You may want to give that some thought and get someone in place quickly in your absence.”
“I just thought Dolph would become my Beta when I became Alpha. What do I need to do?”
“Dolph’s a good kid, but he has no idea how to be a solid Beta for you yet. He was fine as a guard because your father had others guarding you as well. Let me take him under my wing. He can be a Beta-apprentice.”
“I never heard of a Beta-apprentice. Did you just make that up?”
I heard Trey laugh. I hadn’t heard him laugh in all the years I’d known him. “Yeah, kid. I made it up. But I can teach him everything he needs to know; then he’ll be more suited for his new position.”
I laughed. I didn’t even mind that Trey was back to calling me ‘kid.’ I inhaled deeply, then exhaled.
“Trey, would you be my Beta, like you were for my father? And Dolph can be your protégé.”
“Yeah, kid. I’d be happy to be your Beta. And for the record, I think you’re going to make a really strong Alpha soon. That is, if you ever find your way back from wherever the hell you’re heading.”
I continued on my journey, letting my Wolf take the lead. I kept Highway 80 in my sights and used it as a guide. If worse came to worse, I could always find my way back by retracing my path along the road until I reached home.
By daybreak, I’d made it to the entrance sign at Worthington State Forest. This was where I was going to rest. My legs ached and my feet felt like they were getting raw. I’d have given anything to change back to human form but I had no clothes to put on. I was forced to let my Wolf continue taking the lead.
I could scent fresh water and my Wolf led me to the river. The cool water was just what I needed.
After feasting on a large deer and getting a little more water, I retreated to a wooded area where I could sleep in peace. Once I’d found the perfect spot, hidden from sight, I lay down and closed my eyes.
“Hi, Barry,” Daci opened their door.
“Hi, Daci. Can you come out and play?”
“Let me check with my nana.” She shut the door and left me standing on their front porch.
I heard the door open and spun around to see Daci standing there, her mouth pulled down in the corners.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“It’s Nana. She doesn’t feel well. We’re going to go the hospital. Can you come with us? Please?”
“I’ll ask my father and be right back.”
“Hurry back; the ambulance is on its way.”
I ran home and told my father what was going on. He told me to go with them and to keep him updated on Margaret’s status. They said they’d come up as soon as they could. By the time I got back to Daci’s house, the paramedics were loading her nana into the back of the ambulance. Daci was sitting on the porch, her face buried in her hands, as she sobbed uncontrollably. I made my way up the steps and sat next to her.
“Aren’t you going with your nana?” I asked.
She raised her head. Her eyes were red and swollen, and tears covered her face.
“Nana died,” she cried. She buried her face into my chest and wailed. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tight to me.
My own tears welled in my eyes. Nana Margaret was a really good woman, and was always nice to everyone. If you needed a meal, she’d cook for you. If you needed somewhere to shower, she’d get you a towel. Anything she could do for you, she would do it. She was a special woman and seemed to love everyone. And everyone loved her.
Not even realizing it, my hand was stroking down Daci’s silky jet-black hair over and over. Her wailing had turned to quiet sobs and sniffles, then she sat up and looked at me.
“What am I going to do? I have no one now,” Daci said.
“That’s not true. You still have me. I’ll always be your friend.”
“Thank you, Barry.”
There was a brief moment of silence. “I still have to go to the hospital,” Daci whispered.
“I need to go tell my father what’s going on. Come with me and he can take us to the hospital.” I intertwined
my fingers with hers. “I’ll be with you. And my father will be there if you need anything.”
“You’re so kind. You’re so lucky. You have your mom and dad. And your dad is Alpha.”
“Yeah, I’m just Omega. A nobody.”
“You’re somebody to me.” Daci leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I love you. As a friend of course.”
“Of course.” I love you, too, I thought.
I was startled out of my sleep when the screen thingy reappeared and flashed the image again. I noticed I had an erection, again. I was so happy no one was around to see me, or it.
I didn’t move from my spot; instead, I closed my eyes to see if the image would flash again and if I could see what or who it was.
I sat still for a few more minutes and then the image stayed. I couldn’t believe I had been so blind, but I knew exactly who my soul mate was now.
Chapter 12
Daci
We finished eating and I cleaned the dishes while Maximus sat at the table, staring at me. His leering eyes disgusted me, but I bit my tongue because I was determined to stay in his good graces until I could find a way out of this hell hole.
“Do you work today?” I asked over my shoulder.
“Yeah. But don’t worry; I’ll be back later this evening. While I’m gone all the doors and windows will be locked.” He stood up and walked over to me, standing so close to me that I could feel the heat radiate from his body, and his manhood pressed against me. Gross! He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me tight against him. “Soon, my love. Soon, we’ll seal our bond and I’ll make you mine. Are you ready for me to claim you?”
I’d rather stick my hand into this garbage disposal and turn it on, I thought.
“I’d like to get to know you better before that happens,” I said.
Maximus shoved me until my hip bones crashed into the counter top. I placed my hands down to steady myself before he wrapped his long fingers in my hair and pulled my head back.
“Ungrateful bitch. I’ve been nothing but nice to you, and very patient, and this is how you repay me? Maybe I should force you to give yourself to me.” Leaning over my shoulder, he craned his neck and licked my face, his tongue slimy. “What do you think of that?”
Holt: A Wolf's Hunger Alpha Shifter Romance Page 5
