Page 67 of The Runaway Mate

I didn’t hear any more. There was just white rage in my head as I ran for my car.

Chapter forty-two

Mai

Iblinked my eyes open and found myself staring at the back of a seat. My head felt fuzzy, my limbs weren’t working, and I couldn’t remember where I was or how I had gotten here.

“Wharrrrttt,” I gurgled.

I guess my tongue wasn’t working either.

Seth looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. My gaze caught on the steering wheel that he was gripping. My thoughts came slowly but I realized that we were in a car.

“Hiya, sleepyhead.”

“Fuuucccck yuuu,” I slurred, my tongue only just coming back online.

Seth laughed. “I always did love that mouth of yours.”

It took about ten minutes before I could feel all my limbs again. My hands were tied in front of me by an old rope that smelled of fish, but I managed to pull myself up so I was sitting.

“Feeling better, are we?” Seth mocked from the driver’s seat.

I was about to swear at him again when I saw a passing sign.

“Sampton?” I whispered, not believing it. That was over two hundred miles from the Three Rivers.

“You’ve been out, Mai. I gave you a little something to make you sleep. Just enough to give me time to put some distance between us and your old Pack.”

I dropped my head against the backrest. Two hundred miles. There was no way Ryan, Jem, or Sofia would be able to find me. I was on my own. My stomach cramped as I remembered Ryan not calling after his meeting, and the silence on the end of Sofia’s radio.

My hands were still tied to each other, but I leaned forward and grabbed Seth’s hair, yanking his head back. “What did you do?”

He slapped my hands away. “Sit your ass back, Mai.”

“Tell me what you did to them!” I growled.

“Me?” He laughed again, and I wondered how I ever liked that sound. “I didn’t need to do shit. I got contacted by someone in your Pack. Told me you were in the Three Rivers. Said your brother wouldn’t be Alpha for long, and they would clean house afterward. So, no need to worry about anyone coming after us.”

My heart tried to burst out of my chest. He couldn’t be right, could he? My wolf howled inside of me, wanting me to Shift, wanting to be in control. I took deep breaths and forced her back down.

“I… I’m going to throw up,” I gagged, fighting to keep the bile down.

Seth whipped his head around to look at me. Whatever he saw, he didn’t like as he hissed, “Fuck!” and swerved the car over to the side. He grabbed the keys, jumped out, opened my door, and pulled me out by my hair, dumping me on the ground. I threw up, barely missing his boots, and sending him scurrying back a few paces.

“Fuck!” he repeated.

I had to get away from Seth. I had to get back to my Pack and see if Ryan, Sofia, and Jase were okay. I had to stop whoever was planning to take out my brother. My wolf squirmed, and I felt her pushing against my skin. No! I’d be too vulnerable Shifting now. As soon as Seth saw it, he’d stun me again. I had to stay human, at least for now.

“You done?” Seth growled at me, his disgust obvious.

I wiped my mouth and nodded, waiting on all fours until Seth came closer. The tips of his black motorbike boots came into view, and as soon as they did, I drove up, smashing my fists, still bound together, into his face. He reared back, and I followed, kicking him in the gut. Seth doubled over, and I sent my knee into his face, feeling the satisfying crunch of bone under my kneecap. He hit the ground, clutching his nose and writhing in pain.

With shaking hands, I patted my pockets, but my phone was gone. I sprinted to the car, quickly searching it. My phone wasn’t here, but Seth’s was. I punched in his code, but it didn’t work.

Shit! He must have changed it.

I eyed Seth, still on the ground. “What’s the new code?”