by Claire Pike
“We can try it on a trial basis,” Abby said, crossing her arms and raising her chin. She needed to maintain some semblance of control here. “I’ll give it a week. And if I’m not happy at the end of the week, you’ll find me a new apartment…a better apartment. And if you want to provide for the baby, you’ll take care of the rent and whatever else I need. You can afford it.” One way or the other, she was going to get what she could out of this situation.
Merek growled, a deep rumbling in his chest. He ground his teeth, and he glared at her in a way that made her break out into a sweat. She didn’t think he would get violent. In fact, something in her gut told her that he wouldn’t be able to physically harm her if he wanted to. But she could still tell he was a dangerous man, and the feral look in his eyes made her think it was more than just how rich and powerful he was. Like there was something more to him than that. Something inhuman.
“Fine,” Merek said. “But you come home with me tonight. I’ve already called my family doctor to examine you. I want to make sure my baby is okay.”
“Fine,” Abby said. She felt a cold chill at what she was agreeing to, but she’d put her cards on the table. If nothing else, she figured, she would finally have the financial support the baby needed.
The next thing she knew, she was in a car, being taken to Merek’s apartment. He was silent the whole drive, except for when he was on the phone, making arrangements. Abby felt trapped, and it was hard to keep a positive attitude in the midst of what was going on. But this was the situation she was in. She’d simply have to accept that.
She just hoped that getting even more deeply involved with Merek Armstrong wouldn’t prove to be a terrible mistake.
Chapter Eight
A week after she had moved into Merek’s apartment, Abby was starting to wonder if she was going through Stockholm Syndrome.
She was having breakfast in his expansive kitchen, and like every other meal she’d had since arriving here, it was an extravagant affair. Merek had a personal chef who swore he could make anything her heart desired, so she was feeling a little bit like Belle in the Beast’s castle. The only things missing were the dancing plates and silverware.
Of course, Merek had proven himself to be a bit of a beast in his own right. She had barely seen him during the last week. He was out the door by the time she sat down for breakfast, taking only a cup of coffee with him on his way to the office. They had dinner together each night, but the dinners were cold and impersonal. Oh, he could be charming enough, pulling the chair out for her and paying her sweet compliments. But he kept her at arm’s length the entire time, making her feel more like a prisoner than the mother of his child.
She couldn’t be sure, but she got the feeling there was some reason why he was keeping her distant. He had been obsessed over getting her here and making sure the baby was okay, but it seemed like now that he had her here, he didn’t know what to do with her. And it was almost as if he were afraid of letting her get too close. It was possible he simply had intimacy issues, but Abby got the feeling there was something else. Something he was hiding from her.
After she finished breakfast, letting the housekeeper clear the plates, Abby wandered into the living room. Her bodyguard, Hank, followed her and then stood off to the side, keeping out of her way. She had argued with Merek about the need for a bodyguard—What possible danger could she be in, right there in the apartment?—but he had insisted, just as he had insisted on every other aspect of their strange living arrangements. It was a bit weird, having a man following her from room to room. He even stood right outside the door when she was in the bathroom. But she supposed there was the possibility of danger. Merek didn’t talk much about himself, but somehow she got the feeling that he had enemies.
She spent most of the morning lounging around in her pajamas. Not having to work anymore was a bit nice, and it felt good to be able to relax throughout the day and not put on real pants. It was like a vacation, or at least she told herself that so she would feel less like a prisoner. She spent some time catching up on Netflix before she finally decided she actually should get dressed and not let herself be a complete slob.
She dug through one of the boxes of her stuff, looking for a change of clothes. Merek had had a full wardrobe of designer clothes delivered for her, and after looking at the price tags she had realized just one of the dresses he’d bought her had cost more than a month’s rent at her old apartment. But she had stubbornly continued to wear her own clothes. She didn’t want to give Merek the satisfaction of being able to control every aspect of her life.
Almost everything she owned, except for some personal effects like her toothbrush and a few changes of clothes, was still packed up in boxes stacked to one side in the living room. She refused to consider unpacking until she decided whether she was going to stay here long term. She still hadn’t made up her mind. On the one hand, it was a luxurious apartment, with fine china in the kitchen, an elaborate entertainment center in the living room, and a personal gym in a room down the hall, not to mention the huge Jacuzzi bathtub that she had fallen in love with. But it wasn’t her home. She felt like she couldn’t ever belong here. She wasn’t even sharing a bed with Merek yet. There had been no intimacy between them since she arrived there, and she had been sleeping in the guest bedroom for now.
She went into the bedroom to get changed, with Hank standing right outside the closed door. She was still in the middle of getting dressed when she heard the sound of the deadbolt being unlocked in the other room, followed by the apartment’s front door opening.
“Merek?” she asked through the door. “Is that you?”
She quickly pulled her pants on and then headed out into the living room.
There, standing in the center of the room, glaring at her, was a tall, blonde woman with a perfect face and an amazing figure. Abby recognized her; she’d Googled information about Caroline Montgomery as soon as she’d first learned Merek was engaged. The woman standing in front of her was Merek’s fiancée.
“Caroline…” Abby said, standing there awkwardly. She hadn’t expected the other woman to just show up at the apartment like this. She had asked Merek about Caroline a few times, but he’d been evasive, and he’d closed off each time she tried to bring the subject up.
“Who the hell are you?” Caroline asked. A low growl built in her throat, just like the primal, feral growl Merek always got when he was angry.
“I’m…I’m…” Abby took a step back, glancing over at Hank. She didn’t know if Caroline knew anything about her. Surely she’d seen the tabloid newspaper from a few months back about Merek being caught with another woman on the night of his engagement. But there would be no way for Caroline to know that woman had been Abby.
Caroline tossed her keys onto the coffee table and stalked forward, swaying her hips like a predator on the prowl. “Who. The fuck. Are you?” She planted her hands on her hips, eyeing Abby like she was trying to decide the best way to skin her alive.
“Abby. I’m Abby.”
“Abby,” Caroline spoke her name like it was a curse. “Abby, do you mind telling me what your fat ass is doing in my fiancé’s apartment…and in his bedroom, no less?”
Abby backed up against the wall. She looked at Hank again. He stood out of the way, watching the building confrontation. She didn’t know if he would intervene if Caroline got physical with her. It was Hank’s job to protect Abby, but at the same time, he looked uncertain. In fact, he looked almost afraid of Caroline. Like he was sure she’d tear his skin off and wear it as a coat if he so much as took one step toward her.
Caroline leaned forward, baring her teeth. Abby almost thought they looked like fangs. “If you don’t tell me what the fuck you’re doing here,” Caroline said, “I’m going to rip your throat out.”
Abby’s breath caught in her throat. She looked into Caroline’s eyes and saw murder there. And for a moment, she was sure she saw a flash of gold in Caroline’s eyes, like a lioness on the hunt.
Caroline slammed a fist into the wall next to Abby’s head, punching a hole right through it. She snarled in Abby’s face, and Abby squealed, flinching away and covering her face with her hands. “Why would he bring you here?” Caroline snapped. “We’re engaged. He belongs to me. And I don’t want some fat hussy around my territory.”
Abby sank down, leaning against the wall, clutching her belly protectively. Caroline watched her movement, her eyes narrowing when she saw the way Abby clutched at her belly. “What’s this?” Caroline snatched at Abby’s shirt, lifting it up to reveal the swelling baby bump. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Whose child is this? Tell me!”
Abby couldn’t find her voice. Her throat was choked up and tears fell down her face. She was afraid to say anything else, sure that anything she said would only stoke Caroline’s anger even further. She couldn’t tell Caroline the truth about the baby. If she did, she was certain that Caroline would kill her. And there was nothing Abby could do to stop her.
Chapter Nine
Merek was exhausted. It had been a long week, and dealing with Abby living under his roof was just one of his issues.
He was at the office, dealing with a troublesome meeting with the Montgomery clan. The meeting had been kept a secret from most parties, including Caroline herself. He didn’t want her to know what was going on until after the details had been worked out.
“This is an insult,” Gabriel Montgomery, Caroline’s father, said. He rapped his fist against the conference table, glaring at Merek. “We have been in negotiations for nearly a year. And now, when we are so close to closing the deal, you plan to renege on us?”
“I’m not reneging on the land deal,” Merek said. “I still plan to finish the land acquisition. I’m in the final stages of negotiations now. Once I’ve acquired the land, I’ll still be transferring it over to Clan Montgomery, just as I promised.”
“The land isn’t even the point,” Gabriel said, making a sweeping gesture with his hand. “The point is the insult to my daughter’s honor. You and she were promised to each other. Now you call us here and tell us you’re leaving her for…for…a human woman?”
Merek held back a growl. He clenched a fist on top of the conference table. “The woman you’re referring to,” he said, “is my mate.”
There was a round of murmurs throughout the room. Merek hadn’t revealed that bit of information before. He hadn’t expected that it was possible, not before he’d found out Abby was pregnant. It was one thing for him to bed a human woman. He had done that plenty of times in his life. But this one had been different, and he hadn’t even realized it. Not on a conscious level. It was something more primal. Something that had happened without him realizing it. Their night together hadn’t just been about sex. It had been a joining. Something that had affected him deeply and touched the animal that dwelled deep inside of him.
It explained why he had been so obsessed over her. Why he had been instinctively drawn to seek her back out. The urge had been so strong that he had done something foolish, buying the hotel that she worked at just so he could have her once more. The rational part of his mind knew that buying the hotel had been a ridiculous venture. But the rational part of him hadn’t made the decision.
Gabriel sat up straighter in his chair, raising his chin and straightening his jacket. “That’s impossible,” he said.
“She bears my child,” Merek said. “You know as well as anyone here that is only possible with a woman I’ve become bonded to.”
Gabriel ground his teeth. “But why, Merek? You have the opportunity to mate with a woman from one of the most prestigious clans in North America. Why would you ever choose to mate with a human woman?”
Merek looked away, a stern set to his jaw. He didn’t have a reason why because he hadn’t mated with Abby on purpose. He’d been with her in a moment of weakness, but he had thought it would just be about sex. Had he realized what would happen…
“My reasons are my own,” Merek said. “And they’re not open for discussion.” In truth, he didn’t want to admit to anyone from either clan that the mating hadn’t been intentional. It could be seen as a weakness if the others knew he had let his baser urges control him. Better to avoid the topic altogether and let them draw their own conclusions.
“As I’ve said,” Merek continued, “I’ll continue with the land acquisition deal, as promised. Your clan will gain control of your old ancestral hunting grounds once more. And it is my hope that this deal, even without my marriage to Caroline, will serve as the beginning of a long and fruitful alliance between our clans.”
Just then Tammy stepped into the room, giving Merek a sharp look. There was deep worry in her eyes. Merek immediately knew something was wrong.
“That will be all, gentlemen,” Merek said, rising from his seat and heading for the door. “If you have any further concerns, you may bring them up at the meeting next week, when I sign the land over to you. Good day.”
Merek left the conference room, ignoring the questions the others shouted at him. He didn’t have time to deal with their squabbling right now. He stalked down the hall toward his office, Tammy right on his heels. “What’s going on?” he asked her, keeping his voice low.
“There was a call from your apartment,” Tammy said. “The chef. He wanted to warn you.”
“Warn me?” Merek stopped in his tracks, his blood running cold.
Tammy hesitated for just a moment. “Caroline is there…”
Merek’s entire body tensed up. Caroline. In his apartment. With Abby. And with his unborn child.
He turned away from his office and headed straight to the elevator. “Get Hank on the line. Tell him to lock Abby in the bedroom and wait for me to get there.”
“Yes, sir,” Tammy said. She made the call while they were riding the elevator down to the parking garage. As soon as they got into Merek’s car, he peeled out of the parking garage at top speed, racing through the streets of Philadelphia as fast as he could, traffic laws be damned.
If Caroline learned the truth, that Abby was his mate, there was no telling what she would do.
Chapter Ten
Abby was so scared she could barely move. She knew for sure that Caroline was out for blood, and it looked like she had completely lost her mind. She was growling like a feral beast, and the look on her face was almost inhuman. Abby was sure that she had to be hallucinating. Because what she thought she’d seen was impossible. Feral, golden eyes. Razor sharp fangs. A twisted, animalistic face. It couldn’t be real.
Caroline lunged at her and Abby ran for the bedroom, pushing past Hank on her way. She felt Caroline swipe a hand at her, grabbing her shirt. She pulled away, the fabric tearing. She felt a hot flash of pain in her side just before she got out of Caroline’s reach and slammed the door shut behind her.
Abby leaned against the door, bracing it shut. Her breath came in rapid, sharp gasps. She didn’t know what to do. There was no way out of the apartment.
There was a commotion in the other room, and she heard Hank cry out in pain. Something slammed against the door. Abby screamed and ran away from the door, ducking down beside the bed. She grabbed the portable phone off the nightstand and fumbled with it, trying to get her hands to stop shaking long enough to call 9-1-1. She pressed the numbers three times without it working before she realized she had forgotten to hit the phone’s power button first.
She hit the power button and then froze when she heard the apartment’s front door slam open. She heard shouting and growling, followed by the sound of breaking glass. Abby stayed ducked down low, holding her arms over her head. The commotion in the other room continued for several minutes, until finally the shouting stopped. The door slammed shut and then the apartment was quiet. The only things Abby heard were the frantic sound of her own panicked breathing and the dial tone from the phone.
The bedroom door opened. It was Merek. He came straight over to her, taking the phone from her and setting it aside. He cupped her face in his hands. “Abby? Abigail, are you all right? Don’t worry. She’s gone now.”
Abby tried to slow down her breathing, but she was on the verge of hyperventilating. “She…she…”
“It’s all right, Abby.” Merek stroked her hair, whispering soothingly in her ear. “She’s gone now. She can’t hurt you or the baby. Are you all right?”
Abby felt the dull throb of pain in her side. She looked down. Her shirt was sliced open in four long gashes. She pulled the fabric aside. There were four long red scratches, shallow but painful, across her side.
A crazy voice in the back of her mind told her the scratches didn’t look like they were made by fingernails. They looked like claw marks.
Merek helped her up onto the bed. “Wait here,” he said, his voice surprisingly gentle. He headed into the bathroom and returned a moment later with a first aid kit. He carefully tended to her wounds, applying an antiseptic and bandaging them up. The scratches were shallow, and they weren’t even bleeding anymore, but the wound burned like fire.
Abby sat there, staring at the wall, her mind a complete blank. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, she felt numb. It was like she was dead inside. Nothing about her life made sense anymore. She was sure she must have imagined what just happened. The images in her mind couldn’t have been real. But she could still see the inhuman features of Caroline’s face. She could still hear the feral growl that had come from her throat.
