Page 40 of Kidnapped By the Wolf

Tears sting the corners of my eyes as Dane rolls on. I can’t hear what he’s saying anymore. My only thoughts are of the wolf I left back at the cabin.

I should have stayed and confronted him about what I overheard. Maybe Adrian would have had some explanation, but I can’t go back now.

“Answer me!” Dane hollers, but I didn’t hear the question.

Before I can open my mouth to tell him so, his fist connects with my ribs. I let out a strangled grunt and curl in on myself, wishing I was back in Adrian’s bed.

Dane sniffs me experimentally, though how he can smell anything over the putrid stench of his own vomit, I have no idea. “If he fucked you, he’ll be back for more. A wolf can’t resist marking his territory.”

A sinister grin spreads across his face, and the sick feeling in my stomach intensifies. There’s only one reason why Dane would be smiling like that. He wants to use me to get to Adrian.

“I think I’ll give your wolf a call,” he muses.

“N-no,” I manage, shaking my head. “He won’t come anyway. A-Adrian doesn’t want me. I mean nothing to him.”

“Adrian?” Dane’s voice is low and gleeful, and I instantly realize my mistake. “That’s the wolf you fucked?”

I shake my head frantically, but it’s too late. The damage is already done.

“You didn’t tell me you were whore to the alpha of the Gold Creek wolves.” He gives a dark chuckle. “Clint will have a field day.”

A feeling like poison seeps into my gut at the mention of my father.

“I wouldn’t tell him if I were you,” I say, my voice quavering with desperation. “You don’t want the whole pack to find out that I passed you up for a wolf.”

I figure it’s safest to appeal to his ego. But then Dane backhands me again, and this time, I see stars.

My knees hit the filthy carpet, and I feel his boot connect with my side. I make a noise halfway between a grunt and a cry, and Dane’s cruel face blurs in my vision.

“Don’t you worry about me,” he growls. “Not that you ever did.”

Then Dane lifts his boot and brings it down on my splayed hand. I scream as his weight comes down on the fragile bones and tendons, and he bends down until his ugly mug is nearly level with mine.

The stench of beer and liquor is overpowering, and I glare up at him through my haze of tears.

“You know, I’ve always wanted a wolf’s pelt mounted to my wall.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

ADRIAN

My skin itcheswith the urge to shift as I press the pedal to the floor. My beast has been thrashing just beneath the surface ever since Cassie left. And when that asshole Dane called to gloat that he had our mate, my wolf went ballistic.

It’s a miracle I’ve managed to contain him this long, but I can tell from the way Sebastian keeps fidgeting in the passenger seat that my driving is making him nervous.

I know this road like the back of my hand, and I take the turns at a breakneck speed. I haven’t put out the call to the rest of the pack yet. That’s what Dane wants me to do. For the safety of my wolves and my mate, I need to handle this surgically, which is why I called Sebastian.

Though I might find him annoying at times, Sebastian is a smart motherfucker. He also knows the layout of Camp McGregor better than anyone else. If there’s one wolf who can help me infiltrate the bears’ land and rescue my mate, it’s him.

I park half a mile from the McGregors’ shitty dirt road and roll my shoulders back. My skin feels uncomfortably tight, and every cell in my body is vibrating with the urge to shift. My wolf is furious that I let Cassie go, and he’s straining at his leash.

The grass is so dry it crunches underfoot as we make our way up the embankment along the east edge of their camp. Wind rustles the aspen leaves, making an eerietic-tic-ticsound, and I catch the musky scent of bear.

As the trees start to thin, I see the sunlight gleaming off an old airstream trailer and several beat-up white campers. I don’t know where Dane might have taken Cassie, but there’s one way to find out.

Cool air pricks my skin as I peel off my clothes. My whole body shudders as I succumb to the Change, fur covering my bare skin as my bones break apart.

There’s no sweeter agony than shifting when the animal is this close to the surface. My wolf bursts out of me, ravenous for blood, but I have enough presence of mind to lift my snout to scent the air.

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