Page 23 of A Mate Betrayed

“I said unhurt, you asshole!”

He shrugged.“I took that as alive, and she is.I can’t have her go running to her alpha asshole mate and fuck up my plans for you.Now, come on.A deal is a deal.”

He held out his hand and she looked at it for a moment.She didn’t want to do this.She didn’t want to touch him, but she had no choice.He was forcing the issue and he still had a gun.Grasping it, he hauled her to her feet and led her outside, away from the office.Many people glanced at her, and then him, and she could see they realized something bad was happening.

“Don’t try anything,” he warned.“It’s the reason I have a gun.A bullet travels faster than a set of claws.”

She believed he’d use it, so she let him drag her away.Off the sidewalk and between buildings, yanking on her hand in order to break his hold.She was strong, but still no match for an alpha male.

A few streets over, she spotted his car.He stomped toward it, then opened the passenger side to shove her in.The few seconds it took for him to get to the driver’s side, she stealthily as possible reached into her pocket and placed a call to Jericho, turning the volume down so Vaughn wouldn’t hear any noise.

They sped out of town, but to her surprise they didn’t head to the Interstate that led back to Oregon.

“Where are we going?”she asked, hoping Jericho could hear her.

“Shut up.”

“No, tell me where we’re going.I thought you wanted to go back to Lightfang.”

“We will, but we have to pick someone up.”He flashed her an evil grin.“Someone you fucked over just like me.”

“Annette,” she said flatly.

“Bingo.”

They turned onto a road, clearly long abandoned if the weeds growing between the cracks were anything to go by.He pulled behind a truck that waited there.

“Where are we?”she asked.“Is that a falling-down barn by that stream?Are we still in Sheridan?”

“Shut up,” he snapped.“Come on.”

He exited the car and rounded it to yank her out, partially dragging her along.Now that they were away from Sheridan, and specifically away from Payton, she could plan her escape.

“My father is going to kill you,” she said, trying to rattle his calm façade.Vaughn actually thought she was going to follow through with his deranged plan.The only good thing about this whole fiasco was discovering that she felt absolutely nothing for him except disgust.One thing was very clear, however, and that was Vaughn had to be put down.

“I doubt it,” he said, sounding smug.“We’re going to be mated in a few minutes.”

Shock caused her to stumble as cold dread slid down her spine.Surely, she misunderstood what he implied.The only thing she could think about doing was to continue to taunt him.

“You’re weak,” she sneered.“That’s why you need me, because you can’t start your own pack.”

“Shut up!”he screamed, turning to face her.“I was gonna be alpha and you took it from me!Now, I have no pack.No future.This is your fault.”

“The consequences of your actions lay on your shoulders, not mine,” she snapped.“Besides, you would've made a shitty alpha anyway.”

Before she could blink, he backhanded her.Caught off guard, she fell sideways and landed awkwardly on her arm.Pain exploded and she let out a stifled groan.It took her a moment to collect herself and push to her feet.Vaughn’s fists were balled by his sides as he watched with malevolence.

Anger lit her up, and she spat the blood that had pooled in her mouth at him.The red stain landed on his cheek.In response, he grabbed her chin, squeezing hard.Tears welled in her eyes but she’d be damned if she let him see her cry.Bringing her knee up, she meant to incapacitate him, but he must have sensed her intention and blocked it.

They stared at one another, and she knew it was now or never.

The air crackled with a raw, hostile energy, and any pretense of civility vanished.Vaughn was too close, and he made her skin crawl.She let her claws out and swiped them across his face.He roared with fury, letting her go as he held his damaged cheek.Crimson stained his fingers.Kinleigh backed up as quickly as possible, keeping him in sight, but he moved with terrifying speed.Hatred poured from him as he became the hunter and she the prey.She turned to run, but his massive hand clamped around her arm like a vise, pulling her back into his front.It sickened her that this was turning him on, and he made sure to grind his hard dick into her ass.His intention was very clear.

As she tried to free herself, a surge of adrenaline made her kick back and her heel connected solidly with his shin.He cursed under his breath, so she followed that with a sharp elbow to his gut.Vaughn grunted in pain, momentarily loosening his grip.She used the opening to turn and unleash a flurry of fists and claws, each blow landing with satisfying force.Her punches landed against his jaw, making him stagger back, giving a sense of relief.She was strong, with a fighting spirit, but the downside was he was built like a tank.

She knew she couldn’t win this fight so she took the only option she had.Her wolf was fast, hopefully faster than his wolf.When she turned, however, she came face to face with Annette.

“I hate you so much,” she said, just as she swung a board and delivered a crushing blow to the side of her head, sending her tumbling into darkness.

---