Page 79 of Red Captive

The male shifts, too, and then he runs; he still has Jen’s limp form in his arms.

No! Jen! What have they done to her?

The male is sprinting, but with the extra weight, he is no match for me. He turns back to look at me and I recognize his face in an instant. I falter. What the fuck? It’s the last thing I expected. Then again!

The male turns again; his face is filled with fear when he realizes that I am gaining fast.

Yes, motherfucker! I’m coming for you.

I roar, sounding more like my beast, even though I am in human form. It proves too much for the male, who puts her on the ground and then shifts and takes off.

I want to go after him, to bring him down, to beat some answers out of him, but I can’t. Jen is sprawled on the floor. She isn’t moving at all.

“Jen!” I yell as I get to my knees. “Jen!” I try again as I turn her onto her back. I touch her face, saying her name over and over.

She does not respond. She’s deathly pale. Her breathing is shallow. What the hell am I going to do? Who tried to take her? I doubt it was Arctic. It has to be Ice, but I can’t be sure. The more I think it through, the more confused I become. The fact of the matter is that I can’t trust anyone right now. I have to do something, though, because Jen needs help. It can’t wait!

I look down at her prone form. I need somewhere safe for her to recover. I need her to wake up. Please let her wake up! Once that happens, we will need time to think this through. It can’t be anywhere near a royal or the palace. I shift and then take her to the only location I can think of. It isn’t ideal, but what can I do?

Jen

I wake up slowly. It almost feels as if it’s one limb at a time, starting with the tips of my fingers and toes. My brain is the last to come back to me and when the fog lifts, or mostly lifts, I have a splitting headache.

I groan, clutching my head.

“Oh, thank fuck!” Steel growls. He grabs me and pulls me into his chest.

I instantly feel a little bit better. I groan softly, one of my hands pressing against his skin. I breathe in his scent. There’s a smoky edge to it that he gets after a shift.

“I was so worried about you,” Steel says into my hair. “For a while there, I wasn’t sure you would come back. It’s been hours.”

“What happened?” I croak. My memory is a little hazy; the fog is slow to lift. “I was asleep and then…I felt a sting. I opened my eyes and saw… No, that can’t be right. It was very dark. I…um…” I’m wracking my brain. “Did I have a bad dream?” I’m frowning hard. I slowly blink, groaning again.

Why does my head hurt so much? Did I fall?

Steel pulls back, and I take in my surroundings. “Where am I?” I try to sit up, but it feels like my skull might split in two.

“Lie down,” Steel says. “Easy,” he adds as I settle back against soft pillows.

I’m in a bedroom I’ve never seen before. It’s sparse but comfortable. I feel slightly better when I do as Steel says and lie back down. There is a water stain on the ceiling. The paint is peeling a little from the wall on the one side.

“I’m confused. You need to tell me what’s going on. I get the feeling we’re no longer in the palace.”

How is that possible? I wish my head would clear enough for me to think straight.

“I’m pretty sure that you were drugged. Two males took you from your bedroom last night.”

“How? What…what happened? Wait a minute, was one of them…?” I frown, my head still hurting. “It can’t be,” I whisper.

“One of them was Rex.”

I gasp. “It was dark, but I recognized him. Then everything went black. I felt a sting…did they inject me with something?” It would explain how I blacked out and would explain my throbbing head right now.

“Yes, there is a mark on the side of your arm. That’s why they were able to be so quiet. They almost got away with it.” There is a growl in Steel’s voice. He bristles, looking pissed off.

“I left the window open. I’m an idiot. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t your fault,” I try to reassure him.

“It was my fault, Jen. I’m the idiot. I wanted to show you that I trusted you, but I should have left the boards in place. A big window is always a safety risk. I struggled to fall asleep last night, and when I finally did, I must have dropped like arock.” He rubs the back of his head. His eyes are blazing with frustration and anger. He also looks guilty, which makes me feel bad.

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