Page 12 of Moon's Call

The sedan tried to swerve out of the way as the avalanche began in earnest, boulders crashing down around them. Chuck had to divert, swerving aside as a massive rock slammed into the spot he’d been aiming for. The sedan fishtailed, its driver finally abandoning the vehicle as it teetered on the edge of the cliff.

Already shifted into his wolf, Draken leaped out the passenger door, torn between chasing the fleeing abductor and protecting his mate. Lorelei’s fear blazed through their bond like a beacon, making his decision for him. He spun back toward the crumpled sedan just as it toppled over the edge.

Without a second thought, he flung himself over the cliff after her.

The wind rushed through his fur as he slipped and slid down the ravine’s steep side, debris showering him from the avalanche above. He twisted side to side, desperately trying to pinpoint where the sedan - and his mate - had landed in the chaos.

There. Her scent led him to a crumpled heap of metal half-buried under a fresh pile of rocks. Draken landed hard, bones jarring, but he didn’t slow. He dug viciously into the rubble, flinging aside boulders and twisted pieces of the sedan’s frame with his enhanced strength.

Finally, he found her - battered, unconscious, but alive. Draken’s wolf snarled at the sight of her injuries, but he forced it back. Carefully, he stretched through the shattered window, grabbed her shirt in his powerful jaws, and pulled her free of the wreckage.

“Draken!” Chuck’s shout came from above. “We’ve got rope ready!”

Draken looked up to see Chuck and Scorpio anchoring a rescue line over the edge of the cliff. He gave a soft whine in response, not wanting to let go of Lorelei to shift back, but knowing he had to get her to safety.

Gently, he laid her down and retreated a few paces. The shift rippled through him again, reforming his human body with dull aches from the impacts. He scooped Lorelei up carefully, cradling her against his chest as he grabbed the line and wrapped it around his wrist.

“Pull us up!” he shouted over the din of shifting rocks. He clutched Lorelei tighter as they ascended, her shallow breaths warm against the bare skin of his chest. Her face was pale, a trickle of blood trailing from her hairline, but she was alive. His mate was alive.

They reached the top and Draken immediately carried her to the waiting SUV, settling her in the back seat with her head pillowed on his lap. Chuck peeled away from the cliffside, leaving the trail of destruction behind them.

“You’re safe now,” Draken murmured, gently brushing Lorelei’s hair back from her face.

SIX

LORELEI

Consciousness crept back slowly. Each throb of Lorelei’s head felt like a hammer against her skull. She blinked, trying to focus in the dim light that filtered through what looked like... was that a medieval torch mounted on a stone wall?

“Oh good, I’ve time-traveled. That explains everything,” she muttered, pushing herself up from what felt like solid rock beneath her. Her palm scraped against rough stone, and she realized she was lying on some kind of stone platform.

The room spun as she sat up, forcing her to close her eyes and breathe deeply through her nose. When she reopened them, details of her surroundings appeared from the shadows. Rough-hewn stone walls formed a small cell, maybe twelve by twelve feet. No windows, just that single torch casting flickering shadows. The air held a musty dampness that made her think she must be underground.

“At least the zip ties are gone,” she said, rubbing her wrists where the plastic had bit into her skin. Her architect’s mind couldn’t help but analyze the construction. “Load-bearing walls, probably limestone... definitely pre-modern construction techniques.”

She cataloged her injuries: dried blood matted her hair on the right side, various bruises dotted her arms and legs, and her designer shirt was absolutely ruined. “Happy birthday to me. Instead of a much-deserved spa day, I get kidnapped and suffer a concussion.”

The events leading up to her current situation filtered back - the construction site, that intense guy claiming to be a prince, then Gideon grabbing her, the car chase, and finally...

“We went over a cliff,” she whispered, touching the tender spot on her temple. “How am I not dead? And where exactly am I?”

She stood carefully, using the wall for support, and made her way to what appeared to be the only exit - heavy iron bars that looked like they belonged in a museum, not actually containing prisoners in the twenty-first century.

“Hello?” she called out, wrapping her hands around the bars. “Is anyone there? I’d like to file a complaint about my accommodations. The amenities are severely lacking.”

Footsteps echoed down the stone corridor, and Lorelei stepped back from the bars. The torchlight caught Draken’s profile as he approached, highlighting the sharp angles of his jaw and those impossibly broad shoulders wrapped in what had to be a custom-tailored charcoal suit. Even in this medieval setting, the man looked like he’d stepped off a GQ cover.

“Thank you for alerting me,” he called out to someone in the shadows. His voice carried authority like someone used to being obeyed without question.

Lorelei crossed her arms, ignoring how the motion made her head throb. “Love what you’ve done with the place. Very thirteenth-century chic.”

His expression remained impassive. “You’re here for your safety.”

“Right. Because nothing screams ‘safe’ like being locked in a dungeon.” She gestured to the stone walls. “You know, usually when someone says they’re keeping you safe, they don’t do it behind iron bars.”

He planted his feet shoulder-width apart and began speaking slowly. “Your car went over a cliff into a ravine. There was an avalanche. The car was buried under rocks. I got you out.”

The memory suddenly flashed through her mind - the terrifying sensation of falling, the crash, the darkness. Her fingers trembled, and she tucked them under her arms. “And your solution was to... what? Lock me up in your personal fortress?”

---