Page 10 of Claimed By the Hunter

Nicole nodded before she grabbed a rag and started wiping everything down. Both of her friends had already gone and come back with their mates, and she was still waiting for hers.

Brenna’s mate, Roman, approached her but stayed several feet away, knowing it would hurt her to be closer.

“He’ll be here, Nicole.”

She sighed. “I know.”

“I know the pain is getting worse?” he said.

Nicole nodded.

“Keep moving. I’m sorry that no one but Hunter can help you.”

“I know. Thank you, Roman.”

She watched him walk out. She’d done everything she could to keep busy but was running out of things. “I’m going to take the garbage out.”

Her friends nodded.

“Take a walk around the block,” Simone said. “See if that helps.”

“Yeah, I might do that.”

Nicole lifted the two garbage bags and slipped out the back. The cool air blew over her, helping to make the heat lessen a bit. She closed her eyes, lifted her face to the sky, and deeply breathed.

The pain in her head was unexpected and hard enough to knock her out for a brief moment. When she woke, she was lying on the ground, and she felt herself being lifted. The person carried her and violently dumped her in the car trunk, making her unconscious again. The strong smell of bleach woke her up. She groaned and held her head, and looked out of the trunk the person left open. If she’d had any energy, she would have tried to run.

The person was wearing a mask, so she couldn’t tell who it was.

“Please. The sheriff is my mate…”

“Shut up.”

The voice sounded distorted for some reason, so she couldn’t tell if it was a man or a woman. She thought the pain in her head had something to do with it since the person looked bleary. Nicole was pushed back down, and then the bottle of bleach was set next to her, making her gag.

“Wait,” Nicole cried out as the person slammed the trunk door closed.

Her last thought before she passed out was praying Hunter would get to her soon and help her.

Nicole had no idea how much time passed since she went in and out of consciousness when the car started to drive over rough terrain. That and the smell of the bleach were making her head hurt worse, and her nausea grow. The mating heat was at a level that made her feel horrendous pain, and she could only curl into a ball and try to hang on so she wasn’t jostled about too much.

The car finally stopped, and then she heard the driver’s side door open and footsteps. The door to the trunk was jerked open.

Nicole blinked as the light from the sun hit her eyes, blinding her for a moment. “Why are you doing this?”

“Shut up.”

The person lifted her from the trunk and carried her into a rundown cabin. Nicole screamed when she was dropped onto a thin mattress. Every bone in her body hurt, and her head and stomach from the mating heat got worse. It dazed her enough that she didn’t realize the person was putting a shackle on her ankle. She tried kicking, but the person just laughed.

“Stop!” Nicole yelled as she tried to fight.

“Listen up, cunt. If you keep it up, I’ll shackle both arms and legs to the wall. So, I suggest you shut the fuck up.”

Nicole stilled. She was trying not to show how much pain she was in because it might make her seem weak. “Can I know why you’re doing this?”

“It’s because humans are inferior and shouldn’t be able to take away our males.”

Now she knew she was dealing with a shifter, which made the situation even more dangerous.

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