Page 20 of Wolf Forgotten

“I hit the guy that kidnapped me with a chain and then scratched him across the face with a key.” I grimaced. I hadn't enjoyed hurting someone, even if he was an asshole.

“I bet that pissed him off.” The microwave beeped, and she got the dish out without a potholder and placed it in front of me. Didn't it burn or was she just a badass? "Dig in."

I took a spoon she held out to me and started eating as she sliced a few pieces of bread from a loaf. It was some of the best stew I'd ever had. The meat was tender, and the vegetables and broth had so much flavor it was like an explosion in my mouth.

I'd just finished when there was a sound at the front door. The deadbolt clicked, and the door creaked as it opened. I dropped my spoon with a clang and knocked over the stool I was sitting on as I scrambled to get my hammer and move to the other side of the room.

“Ivy.” Cole walked through the door with another man I didn't know right behind him. They were both without shirts and shoes, which was odd because Cole had on those things when I ran from him. “Let me explain.”

I turned and ran, fumbling with the lock on the sliding glass door but getting it open just as a hand clamped down on my shoulder. I turned, swinging the hammer right at the other man's face.

He shrieked and let me go. In my panic, the hammer dropped to the ground, and I didn't bother picking it up. Time was too precious and both of them were in fantastic shape. They were muscular, but the type of muscles that held a lot of speed and power, not just strength.

I ran for the trees yet again. I felt like I was going to puke after the water and stew I'd eaten on a starved stomach. I should have known Sara was being too nice. Did the sisterhood mean nothing anymore?

I had to be in a nightmare. Had this been Cole's plan all along since meeting me in the bar? Maybe it was part of something bigger that Barbara was part of. You couldn't trust anyone these days.

My mind spun out of control as I ran. I couldn't hear anything behind me and looked back. I stumbled as my feet caught on a downed branch and fell forward, my hands taking the brunt of the fall.

Sitting up, I wiped my palms on my sweatpants. A small whimper made my head snap back the way I came. A female wolf—not sure how I knew it was female, it was just a feeling I had—hopped my way on three legs.

She sat down and stared at me with kind eyes. What was with all the solo wolves approaching me?

"Ivy." Cole came from behind some trees. I hadn't even heard him.

I scrambled away and got to my feet. The wolf had gotten up and then sat down again in between us. She faced Cole as he walked forward, and I backed into a tree.

He glanced down briefly at the wolf before she hobbled away with a gait that was half hop. Confused, I watched her retreat. It was possible I was hallucinating, and the wolves were a way for my mind to calm down.

“I’m not going to hurt you. I need to explain everything so you'll understand.” He held his hands up in mock surrender and took a few small steps toward me. “This isn’t what you think it is.”

"Then what is it? Did we even crash? How long was I locked up?" I wanted to run again, but my ankle hurt from the fall. He'd catch me in an instant. "The woman called the cops. They'll be here any minute."

"Sara called me." He stopped and ran a hand over his face. "We crashed. It's Saturday."

"Saturday." I shook my head. "I was in a cage since Wednesday night?"

"Yes." He took another step forward and my eyes widened. He backed up again. "I'll stay right here."

I looked down at my body and then looked at him from head to toe. “How? We both should be dead. I saw the car in the driveway. Do you mean four or five Saturdays after we crashed? There's no way we could heal from a crash of that magnitude in two days."

“It's been two days. We aren’t human. Let’s go back to the house and I’ll tell you everything, please." He watched me closely, ready to pounce if I tried to make a run for it.

"We aren't human?" I looked at my hands and then back at him. "Don't tell me we're mermaids." It was a weird comment to make, but my best friend was a siren and her three boyfriends were mermen... err, tritons.

His head cocked to the side and a small smile flashed across his face before he got serious again. "We are definitely not mermaids. Can we go back to my house so we can talk about this?"

"I think I'll just walk home. I could use the fresh air. We can't be that far from Arbor Falls." I stepped to the side and turned to head in the direction I thought Arbor Falls was.

Before I could get more than a few steps, he lunged forward faster than a rattlesnake and wrapped his arms around me in a bear hug, lifting me a few inches off the ground.

"Let me go!" I thrashed and kicked out with a leg but met solid muscle. It was like hitting a brick wall, and I gasped as a jolt of pain from my ankle spread up my leg.

He twisted me around in his arms, my hands going straight to his bare chest, and with a grin, he put me down briefly before slinging me over his shoulder like I weighed nothing. His arms locked securely across the backs of my thighs, and even as I flailed around, he didn't drop me.

“Put me down!” I pounded my fists into his back as hard as I could, getting a few grunts out of him, but not doing any real damage. I even tried open palm slaps, which just left red marks and made my hands burn.

He was stronger than expected and didn't seem to feel pain. I wouldn't go back to that basement if it was the last thing I accomplished in my life.

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