Page 37 of Forbidden Daddy Mate

I picked up my phone, preparing to call her, then stopped. I wasn’t going to have this conversation over the phone. There was a chance she would slam the door in my face, but I was willing to take that risk. I wanted to see her, to hold her in my arms and press my lips to hers and carry her to bed. I wasn’t going to let her get away.

Grabbing my coat, I hurried out into the evening after Freya.

I walked over, my step lighter than it had been in ages as I picked up my pace, eager to get to Freya as soon as possible.

But when I got to her house, the lights were off. Her scent was stale and faded. She hadn’t been anywhere near here since before she came to talk to me. Had she maybe gone to Jenn’s? I doubted it. Jenn had told me they hadn’t spoken much since we got home. I couldn’t imagine she would go to her about a problem like this.

She’d probably just gone on a run through the woods to clear her head. Understandable. On that arm, though? Maybe just a normal hike or jog. It would make sense, and yet, that unpleasant sensation that kept crawling in my stomach laughed at me, telling me I was wrong.

Wherever she was, I could wait until she got back.

I marched up the steps to the door, freezing when I noticed the sheet of paper taped there, blowing softly in the breeze. It was folded once, with my name on it. Had she left a note for me? Except it didn’t look like Freya’s handwriting. And why leave a note on her door when she could have just texted me?

I plucked it off the door and opened it, wondering what I was about to read.

It was much worse than anything I could have imagined.

We have your mate. Surrender yourself willingly, and she goes free. If you don’t, she’ll become one of us. You have three days to decide. – Varin

Chapter 18 - Freya

I paced back and forth in the cramped room they had thrown me in. My arms still ached and burned from the magic rope digging deeper into my skin every time I’d struggled, which had been a lot. I would have taken consolation in the fact that they’d untied me when they locked me in here, except I knew that meant they were confident I couldn’t break out.

I ran my hands along the door, but I knew it was no use. After all, there was no handle on this side. My entire life currently consisted of a room with a cot and the occasional meal.

I knew I needed to get out, but what then? I didn’t even have any idea of where I was compared to Brixton. Were we up near the cabin? Somewhere else? And how was I supposed to get past who knew how many vampires? I’d heard enough voices walking past to know there was a decent number of them here.

No matter what Malcolm might have said, I was no Silver Wolf. How the hell was I supposed to escape?

I leaned back against the wall, staring at the blank door. For the first time, I desperately wanted to give up. What else was I supposed to do?

As I found myself teetering on the verge of despair, footsteps sounded outside of my cell. As I listened, my stomach clenched as I realized I recognized the two voices.

“What are we going to do about the girl?” Tyr asked. “You know he’s going to want to see proof that she’s alive and hasn’t been turned.”

“And we’ll give him just that,” Varin responded.

“And, what, we just let her go after?”

“If we want to agree to the terms we left in the note, that would be the plan, yes.”

“I’m not giving her up,” Tyr snarled. “She’s mine.”

“You’ll grow bored of her in a few days. Or a month, or a year, or a decade. You always do.”

“So?”

“So is it really worth it? I’m all for you having a plaything, but does it have to be her?”

I sucked in a breath, moving closer to the door as I tried to listen in.

“It’s not as though you’re planning on abiding by the agreement, anyway,” Tyr argued. “We’re still going to go after the rest of them once this is over. Or did you have a change of heart?”

“Of course we are. Don’t be stupid. But the letter I left didn’t mention anything about sparing the rest of them. It might have been implied, but that’s not the same thing.”

My breath stopped. They were going to attack the rest of the Silver Wolves regardless of what Malcolm did. He would die for nothing.

“And besides, it isn’t like you can’t have her after we’ve killed him,” Varin said. “The agreement says nothing about leaving her alone for good.”

---