Page 56 of Wolf's Forbidden Curse

“Or maybe her parents?” suggested Matt. “Maybe Nic’s idea that she was possibly going to help her parents get back into the States was right.”

“Maybe, I don’t know. We don’t have time to speculate. I need your guys’ help. Please.” I locked eyes with Cornelius. “You’re the best tracker out of all of us. Can you please just see if you get anything in the air? I know you don’t approve of?—”

“Of what?” he said, walking up to the table and picking up the shirt. “Approve of your relationship with this woman? That’s not true. I’m glad you found someone who makes you happy. And no matter how I feel about her or other people meddling in magic they shouldn’t—that doesn’t mean I wish this person ill will. Of course, I’ll help.”

He brought the shirt to his nose and breathed in. “Take me to where you last saw her.”

I nodded. “Got it. Come with me.” I went for the back door but paused when I realized everyone was following me. “What are you doing?”

“We’re coming too,” Nic said.

“Yeah, otherwise, you woke us up for no reason.”

“I woke everyone up because I wasn’t sure Cornelius would help me pick up the scent,” I said. “But I don’t want you all to come looking for her with me. It could be dangerous.”

Nic laughed as she tugged a sweater over her shoulders. “That’s exactly why we’re coming, you moron.”

“Yeah,” Matt said with a smile. “We’re not going to let you have all the fun without us.”

CHAPTER 24

DAPHNE

The car came to a jolting stop, and once again, I was unable to brace myself for impact. This wasn’t the first time the car had moved like this since Missy had taken over as the driver. I had a feeling she didn’t know how to drive a stick shift, and once she got behind the wheel, things were anything but smooth. The jerking motions that plagued the rest of the ride made what little food and wine I had in my stomach slosh around nauseously. I was afraid of what might happen if I threw up while my mouth was taped shut, so I tried very hard to concentrate on my breathing and not think about anything that would set off my gag reflex. When she slammed on the brakes this time, however, I nearly lost control. I squeezed my eyes shut and drew in one deep breath after the next, praying to a god I wasn’t even sure I believed in.

Thankfully, I not only kept my dinner down, but the car didn’t move again.

Missy put the car in park and sighed happily. “We made it.”

She got out of the driver’s seat. The door to the back opened, and she grabbed me first by my pant leg. I was wearing thin pajama bottoms, though, so she couldn’t get a very good grip. She pulled as hard as she could, but I wasn’t budging. At this rate, she would sooner rip the pants from my body than move me an inch. Groaning, she gave up fairly quickly.

“Get up,” she snapped. I stayed perfectly still. “I said get up! I know you’re awake. You really don’t want to fucking test me right now.”

I huffed, unable to speak, and still didn’t move. She climbed into the car and rolled me over on my back. “Ah, yes. I forgot you had this one.” She smiled as she tore the piece of tape from my face in one quick move. “Now, what were you trying to say, dear?”

“I can’t fucking move,” I spat. “You drugged me and tied my hands behind my back, or did you forget?”

“Last I checked, your legs weren’t broken. Come on—get up!”

“No way. It’s not my fault you got in a fight with your muscle and don’t have the strength to lift me up. You should’ve thought about that before you let the guy walk away.”

She slapped me. It wasn’t too painful, but god, did it hurt my ego. There was nothing quite as humiliating as being slapped when your hands were tied behind your back, and you could do nothing to stop it. “I didn’t ask for your opinion. I told you to get out of the car!”

Again, I didn’t move.

“Fine,” she said. “We’ll do this the hard way.” I watched Missy reach underneath the back seat and take out a solid black box with a little lock on the side. She laughed. “I don’t know why he bothers with this kind of thing. He has to know that I’ll figure out the code. It’s the same fucking one he uses for everything.” She spun the numbers around on the padlock, and it clicked open. From the box, she retrieved a shiny silver gun. She checked to make sure there were bullets inside the pistol, then switched the safety off and held it directly up to my forehead. The metal was cold, sending a chill down my spine.

“Are you ready to cooperate now?”

“You’re not going to pull that trigger. If you kill me, you won’t be able to sell me, and then you won’t get the money you’re so desperate for.”

“That’s where you’re wrong,” she said with a gleeful look in her eye. “These black market sellers like to have live creatures, but they take pelts as well.”

“Pelts?” The words seemed so foreign at the moment, so disconnected from anything that I, as a human being, could comprehend. I didn’t know how to absorb this information.

“That’s right,” she said. “And based on the brown growing in at your roots, I bet you have some very pretty fur.”

“You still couldn’t kill me!” I tried to argue, even though I had no idea how any of this worked. “I’d be in human form.”

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