Page 53 of Wolf Fated
“Did you think you could hide it from me?” he sneered, digging his fingers into my skin. “You think I’m that stupid? That I wouldn’t figure it out?”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Did he know about werewolves or that I was one now, technically? The video of my dad flickered in the back of my mind about hunters and how they killed him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His laugh had me breaking out in a cold sweat. “You really are a dumb blonde, aren’t you?”
I tried to pull away again, but Stephen dragged me down the walkway to his car parked in the street.
“Stop or I’ll scream,” I threatened.
“Do it.” He clicked a switchblade, holding it under my chin. “And you’ll die right here. Everyone will think your three fucking lovers did it.”
“Is that what this is about?” I huffed, though I was shaking. “I didn’t fuck them.”Though I came very, very close.
Stephen opened the car door and shoved me inside. When I tried to unlock the passenger door to jump out, it wouldn’t budge.
“Please, Stephen,” I said as he closed his door and started up the car. “I didn’t—”
His slap came out of nowhere. Pain crackled across my cheek, and I pressed a hand to my face.
“Stupid bitch. I don’t care what you did or didn’t do. You were supposed to stay with them for thirty days and you couldn’t even fucking manage that.” He pulled out onto the street, speeding toward the freeway.
“Where are we going?” A sickening feeling hit the bottom of my stomach. Was he taking me to one of the twenty-four-hour chapels here in Vegas? Though I’d had doubts trickling in for days now, I couldn’t marry him. I saw that now. He didn’t love me. Axel, Drake, and Nathan treated me with more respect and passion than Stephen ever did on a good day.
When he didn’t answer me, I swallowed, straightening in the seat as we merged onto the highway. “I don’t want to marry you.”
His grin had me squeezing myself against the car door. “What makes you think I ever wanted to marry you.”
“But—you asked me to marry you. We were engaged.”
“A means to an end.” He sped past a semi-truck. “Those three fuckers wanted you and I wanted money. So, arranging ourweddingon the day of the game was pure genius.”
Tears stung my eyes and if we weren’t going ninety down the highway, I’d punch him and leave. I’d been so wrong about him. Blind.How could I not have seen what an asshat he was?I thought he’d get better after we were married. One of the things that irritated me was me just being nit-picky. And after we were married, all his rough edges would smooth out. Now I could see that he’d never change. He’d only have gotten worse.
“Ever heard of the long con, Brookie?” He swerved in front of a BMW. “Consider yourself having first-hand experience.”
I swallowed, my face still pulsing from where he struck me.A long con?What is he talking about? He couldn't know about me... could he? Then something clicked in my head like pieces of a puzzle snapping together.What if he was a hunter? Like the one who killed my father... Oh, God. What the hell did I get myself into with him?
There wasn't anything I had on me that could get me help. My phone was back at the mansion, and I didn’t have a weapon or even mace on me. Hopefully, Axel, Drake, and Nathan would find my phone and realize I never would have left on my own without it. Unless they stayed away all day, thinking they were giving me time to think things over and decide if I wanted to stay.
But how long before Stephen reached our destination?
I shuddered. There had to be something I could do to stop Stephen or get away. I needed to stay calm. Which was easier said than done since I felt like I was going to throw up and my head hurt.
Making him talk seemed like a good idea as much as his words hurt me, I hoped I could use the information. “So, this whole thing was planned? Even losing?”
“Nah.” Stephen shook his head. “That was a bonus. Either way, I win.”
“If you had won the game, then what?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Oh.” He winked with a crooked smile. “You asking if we’d be married? No way, Brookie. I have had other plans for you and the money is simply the icing on the cake.”
I nodded to the side of the road. “Drop me off anywhere and I’ll find my way back.”
“Back to those three?” He chuckled. “Not without them paying out their noses to get you back.”
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Ididn't even bother to ask what Stephen was talking about because somehow, I already knew that Axel, Drake, and Nathan would pay whatever he wanted to get me back. Yet, I was pretty sure Stephen wouldn't even toss a penny at them if the situation was reversed. I didn't know if it was because I'd been away from Stephen since the poker game or that I'd seen more passion with the guys than ever with him that made me see what a mistake it would have been to marry him. Stephen didn't love me; he probably never did. All he loved was the high of gambling and money.
