Page 36 of Curvy Hostage Mate
Slowly, I tried the door, breathing easier when I found it still locked. But that brief flash of respite evaporated the second I pulled open the door onto a dark, empty cabin.
“Morgan?” I called.
No answer. I frowned. Her scent was stale, several hours old, as if she’d left not long after I had and hadn’t come back. I raced through the house, trying to catch any smells that might give me a clue as to what had happened. There were no other scents. No one had come and grabbed her, then. She had gone off on her own.
I ran outside, continuing to try catching her scent, but I couldn’t smell her, or anyone else.
Where was she?
My blood ran cold. I knew exactly where she had gone.
She’d gone to find Cain.
Chapter 16 - Morgan
Running off hadn’t really been part of the plan. It had just sort of happened. After Chris had stormed out, the entire house rattling with the force of the slammed door, I stared at it for a long moment, my mouth slightly parted in disbelief. Anger, hurt, and betrayal coursed through me. To me, lying by omission was as bad as straight-up lying to my face.
Once again, a man had taken away my autonomy. He’d bent me to his will and strung me along, not giving me a say in my life or my choices, all in the name of keeping me safe. And he had locked me in here. Again.
The longer I stared at the door, the angrier I got, my fingers curling into tight fists. It took a lot to get me angry. It turned out I had found my limit.
I made up my mind within a few minutes. I was done. I was done with men dictating my life. I was going to take matters into my own hands, even if it was risky. I wasn’t going to sit around for Cain to come find me, or for Chris to whisk me away to some other location where I would still be locked away “for my own good.”
I wasn’t going to let my baby be stowed away out of fear, either. I had spent the last several years of my life without having a say in what happened to me, who I was sold to, or where I was going, barely allowed to use my magic. I wasn’t going to subject a baby to that sort of life if I could help it. I needed to do something.
Cain was a threat, and he needed to be taken down. I couldn’t stand by and not help. And I could do something that none of the Gold Wolves could do.
I came up with a plan fairly quickly. It was risky. I wasn’t an idiot. I knew what I was doing was dangerous at the best of times. But I couldn’t sit idly by. Not anymore.
I wouldn’t need much. I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and walked over to the door. I tried it, and the knob jiggled back and forth but didn’t budge. I hissed, my hand falling to my side. Chris may have locked the door, but he forgot I had my magic back.
Murmuring under my breath, I twisted the handle once more. This time, the door glided open, revealing the woods beyond as a gentle breeze trickled through.
If only getting rid of Cain would be that easy, but the ruby ring he wore made it impossible to get to him.
Which was why I planned on taking it from him.
Ever since Chris had asked me about Cain’s strengths and weaknesses, thoughts of how to get rid of that protection without Cain realizing it had churned and rolled over and over again in my head. Eventually, I had come up with an idea. One that, though reckless and risky at best, would make him vulnerable when the Gold Wolves came hunting, without him even realizing.
I created a portal that would bring me near Cain, no matter where he was, and stepped through. When I reemerged, it was in a patch of forest. Flickering firelight to my right beckoned me through the woods, and I pushed through the trees, hearing murmuring voices. I slowed as I neared, coming to a halt before I became visible.
I saw them through the branches. Cain lounged by a fire, several of his Inner Circle and his biggest cronies milling about as well. As I neared, I caught the glint of gold and ruby red as the campfire light caught the ring on Cain’s finger. I sucked in abreath as I stared at it. I remained crouched behind the bushes. Slowly, I pulled out an identical ring: a gold band with intricate runes and designs carved into it and a large ruby with a tiny black flaw in the middle, a result of the spell. This one, though, was as magical as the stick resting on the ground three feet from me.
Whispering, speaking just loud enough to cast the spell, I muttered an incantation I used to use when Kendra and I were grounded and sent to other rooms. Back then, we had passed notes between us. They hadn’t been on someone’s finger, but I had gotten stronger since I was a kid. Even if I hadn’t tried this precise execution of this spell before, I knew I could do it.
Still, I wished I hadn’t had to be in such close proximity to the item. I’d rather be safely in the cabin. But this had to be done if we had any chance of stopping Cain. If that meant being here, despite my skin crawling and all instincts screaming at me to run, then so be it.
The ring in my hand shimmered and disappeared. A split-second later, what looked like the exact same ring reappeared, precisely where it had been a moment earlier. Except this one thrummed with magic. I gave a grin, then glanced back through the woods. My heart pounded as I waited to see if Cain had noticed. He was still talking to one of his men, completely unfazed.
He hadn’t noticed, then. I breathed a sigh of relief. Another spell, and the magical ring vanished entirely, transported far away.
I turned, ready to make my escape and return to the cabin, when I heard something behind me.
“Quiet.” Cain’s voice was a command as it echoed all around. The other voices went silent, as if cut off by a knife.
I twisted back around to peer through the bushes. My heart had jumped into my throat. Had he noticed something was wrong with the ring? It was impossible. He shouldn’t have been able to notice a difference, or have even felt the switch.
Cain had risen to his feet. His nostrils flared as he straightened, head swiveling in my general direction. Fear lurched through me. He hadn’t noticed the ring at all—he could smell me. I’d dropped the spell I used to mask my scent when I switched the rings, and I hadn’t brought it back up.
