Page 39 of Forced By the Alpha

“I’m keeping you safe,” he said in an even tone.

“I don’t need you to keep me safe. I can make my own choices.”

“Obviously, you can’t,” he snapped. “I’ll be back to check on you later. The coffee will be done soon, and I left a Styrofoam cup on the counter so you don’t break any more glass.”

Without another word, he left. Obviously, he had just been making sure I hadn’t broken free of his manacles yet.

I’ll show him.

There had to be a way to free myself. Magic was out of the question, but maybe I could pick the lock. Once I did, I would prove to Franco that I could handle the spell and any of the ramifications that came with it.

I shuffled to the kitchen and opened a drawer, looking for anything small enough to fit in the keyhole. There wasn’t much to choose from, but I found a carving fork that just might do thetrick. I placed one of the tines on the edge of the counter and pressed down as hard as I could to bend it at a ninety-degree angle. It took some effort, but once I was pleased with it, I took it back to the couch with me. I figured that I might as well settle in, since this could take a while.

By holding the fork facing toward me, I managed to get the bent tine into the keyhole and began twisting it around to locate the pins.

The door burst open, and I nearly dropped it, thinking Franco had been spying on me and was about to take away my means of escape. Instead, the room filled with a group of men. Their appearance startled me even more, and I jumped to my feet, ready to fight with my makeshift lock pick. It was then that I recognized one of the men.

“Killian?” I asked in amazement.

“Sienna! Thank the wolf god we found you,” he said with a sigh of relief. “When we heard you didn’t get back to Sparkle Hollow, we tracked your route. I recognized Franco’s scent, but it took a while to find his pack. I can explain it all, but we need to get out of here.”

If he had shown up yesterday, I might have argued, but now I truly was a prisoner. I still wanted to help Franco and his pack, but if he wouldn’t let me do magic, then my presence here was useless.

I followed Killian and his men out of the cabin, and we bolted for the forest. Once there, they uncovered a service vehicle, and we climbed inside. Leah was waiting in the driver’s seat, and she threw it into gear before the door slid shut behind us.

“Sienna! They found you!” Leah exclaimed. “Killian, take over driving, would you?”

Killian slid behind Leah into the driver’s seat and took over the controls while she shimmied out of the front and joined me in the rear of the van. The seats had been removed, so we all sat in a huddle as Killian drove at a breakneck pace through a field and back to the highway.

One of the men brought out a bolt cutter and removed the lock, allowing me to slip out of my restraints. As soon as my arms were free, Leah launched herself at me, wrapping me in a long-awaited hug.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said. “Youareokay, right? Did they hurt you?”

“I’m not hurt,” I assured her, carefully skirting around the fact that I had, in fact, been hurt when Franco marked me as his mate.

“I’m so sorry for bringing you into this whole mess,” Leah said. “We should have known that Franco would try to take revenge on Killian again. He’s such a piece of work. I just had no idea that he would target you.”

“It wasn’t because of Killian. And he isn’t all bad. You don’t even know him.”

Leah looked shocked at my outburst, but I couldn’t take it back. He may have done horrible things in the past, but no one was perfect. He wanted to make amends, but if we didn’t find a way to break the curse, I feared that would never happen.

“Okay…” Leah replied uncomfortably.

“I didn’t mean to sound harsh,” I said with a sigh.

“It’s fine, you’ve been through a lot. I’m just glad we got you out of there.”

“How did you do that, anyway? Didn’t the pack’s guards stop you?”

I hadn’t considered until now that they may have injured or killed some of the pack to get me out. My stomach felt uneasy as I awaited her reply.

“No, we were quick. Simple in-and-out rescue mission, and we left right away,” Leah explained. “I doubt they even know you’ve been rescued yet.”

I breathed a silent sigh of relief, knowing that everyone in the Forsaken Shadows pack was safe. The rest of the car ride back to Sparkle Hollow was silent. The adrenaline had passed through our systems, and we all dozed off until Killian announced we had arrived.

“Can you drop me off at my dad’s?” I asked.

Now that I had the chance, I wanted to confront him about Franco’s claims. If my father put the curse on his pack, I needed to know. Even if it wasn’t true, he could still be the key to helping me access the power I would need to lift it.

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