Page 7 of Claimed by the Pack

“I'll let you go, if you promise to stop trying to run every time I open the door.”

He had opened the door to bring in my food. I had to admit that he fed me well. The first day I refused to eat anything. I was afraid he was drugging me again. But my hunger got the best of me. I was never one of those girls who picked at a salad and worried about my calorie intake...as evidenced by my “curvy” stature.

He'd fed me barbecued rabbit for dinner last night along with some kind of fish that was really tasty for breakfast this morning. But by lunch time I was antsy again and when he opened the door I charged him.

Now the tray of food was scattered all over the floor and some of it was on the wall. He had caught me so easily too, it was almost embarrassing. One big arm around my waist had me lifted up off the floor and completely in his control.

“I don't promise anything!” I said, defiantly. “How dare you do this to me? Who do you think you are? Put me down!”

He carried me over to the bed and dropped me. The bed indented and I bounced up and back down. As soon as I stopped moving, I tried to get back up again. Ridge sat down and took hold of my wrists, pressing me down into the bed and putting his face right in front of mine.

“Stop this.”

“Why don't you just get it over with?”

“Get what over with, my love?”'

“Don't call me that! I am not your love! I think you're a little bit crazy. Just do whatever you brought me here to do and get it over with. Rape me or kill me or boil me in your stew...whatever! Just do it!”

He was laughing. It really pissed me off when he did that, like my angst entertained him. “Boil you in my stew? Do I look like a cannibal? I'm hurt.”

“Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know kidnapping maniacs got their feelings hurt.”

“You're so feisty.” He was grinning, like we were on a date and he was giving me a compliment.

“And I won't stop fighting, ever. So just shoot me already, or slit my throat or...”

“Cheyenne, stop. I'm not going to kill you.”

“Then what do you want from me?”

“I want you to be mine...my mate.”

It was my turn to throw my head back and laugh. When I finished laughing I said, “How pathetic are you that you have to kidnap a woman to convince her to be your...mate? And why do you call it that? It makes you sound like a...like a...”

“An,” he said with a sarcastic grin. I narrowed my eyes and said, “Excuse me?”

“An. Mate, sounds like talking about an animal's better half. Which is what I'm...” The sound of the door in opening in the outer room got both of our attention. He jumped to his feet and I started screaming.

“Help! Help me! He's holding me hostage!” Ridge reached down and placed one of his giant hands over my mouth. I tried to bite him, but he was pressing down too hard. I brought my hands up to scratch at him and I heard a voice from the other room say,

“Ridge! Is everything okay in there?”

Relief washed over me. Surely there couldn't be two of them crazy enough to believe they could get away with this. I wasn't encouraged by the fact that Ridge took his hand off my mouth. That told me that he wasn't afraid of whoever was in the other room, finding out that I was in here. “Everything is fine, Chase. Don't open the door. I'll be right out.”

“Chase? Your cute little friend is in on this too?”

Ridge's features changed suddenly. The look on his face grew much darker and the frown he held caused a deep line to appear out of nowhere between his eyebrows. “You think Chase is cute?”

“Are you kidding? Are we in middle school again?” He turned his head sideways as he looked into my eyes, like he was trying to understand what I said. I thought it was simple and self-explanatory. He had me hostage and he was going to worry about me calling his friend “cute”.

“Do you?” he asked again.

“You're insane.”

There was a knock on the door and Chase's voice sounded urgent as he said, “Ridge, I need to talk to you, now!”

Ridge rolled his eyes and looked back down at me. “Don't move,” he said.

I sneered at him as he got up. He walked backward to the door, making sure I wasn't going to charge him. I waited until he opened the door and I got a glimpse of Chase on the other side, he was naked.

What the hell?

I felt my head spin.

Was he here to join in on the rape and torture? Why else would he be naked? My thoughts were racing and tears were streaming down my face. Every so often I had to let out a sob and I hated that. I didn't want to appear weak to him, or his naked friend. They were out there plotting and soon, they'd be back in here...with me.

I wasn't going to let them rape me.

I had to find a way out and I had to do it now.

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