Page 133 of Taming the Alpha's Daughter

I regain consciousness to find a blurry dark figure's lips covering mine. My chest feels like it’s been compressed in a vice. Panicking slightly, I choke, sputtering and coughing. I lurch upright, and the figure leans back and then stands. A sense of confusion washes over me, my last memory is of the car plummeting off the bridge, the fear of my imminent death, the terror of leaving Sage and my family and then…darkness. Yet, here I am lying on the damp ground, staring up at the night sky, with the silhouette of towering figures looming over me.

“You're lucky we found you,” a deep voice resonates above me. It belongs to a large, imposing man, his features are all blurred. I cough and choke on the water, trying to breathe normally. Once my vision clears, I take in the surrounding men. Squinting against the bright light of the full moon, I take in the shadowy figures standing over me. All I can tell is that they’re large, muscular and have broad shoulders, and I'm 90% sure a man just gave me the kiss of life or rather air. I sniff the air, taking in their strange scents, familiar, and I get a strange sense of déjà vu when Donnie speaks up.

“Were-bears!” he growls.

“Chief?!” I blurt in shock, peering around I see two men dripping wet, one shakes out his hair while the other pulls on a huge coat, not bothering to dry himself.

“You saved me from the river?!” I peer at the black water in disbelief and at the two younger men. They both nod before looking down at my leg, my eyes follow theirs to see my leg bent awkwardly from being broken, the bone jutting out the skin. Pain suddenly ripples through me the moment I notice it.

“Sorry, we had no choice but to break it,” the younger were-bear tells me.

“And your foot” the other tells me, causing me to notice - with a sick lurch in my stomach - my foot twisted the wrong way. As I do, he grabs it, ripping it the other way, causing pain to ripple through my body as a deafening scream escapes my lips. I fight the urge to punch him.

“But how? Why are you even here?” I manage to ask, still dazed. The explanation that follows only adds to my bewilderment.

“Our forest has been destroyed,” Chief says with a somber tone. “We were searching for the Moon Goddess's pack, seeking refuge.”

I struggle to move, so I use my hands and pull myself toward a nearby tree, propping myself against it while I peer down at my leg when Sage's voice flits through my head.

“Andrei?!” Sage shoves the mindlink open. Donnie whimpers in my head at the sound of her voice, and my heart beats quicker. “Andrei?!”

“I'm here!” I rasp, just relieved to hear her voice.

“Where are you?!” I ask her, pointing to my leg. Chief points at himself, and I nod.

“I don't know!” Sage tells me, and I feel her fear loud and clear when Chief leans down, grabbing my leg. I need it setback in place for Donnie to heal it. Sage falls silent, and I bite my tongue when the two men who pulled me from the river move closer to grab my arms.

“We went inside some warehouse and then a tunnel,” she tells me.

Donnie and I think for a second about what warehouses are around here, but there isn’t much was besides farmland. “Wait!” she blurts at the same time Chief breaks my leg back in place. My breath lodges in my throat, and I fight back the urge to scream out as Donnie quickly heals the wound.

“I'm in the old mine shafts at the base of the mountains!” she tells me.

“I'm on my way!” I tell her, getting to my feet, using the tree.

“No! Get the others first,” she mindlinks.

“I'm not leaving you in their hands!”

“Yes you are! This isn't some meeting spot or hideout,” she tells me. Meanwhile, Chief helps me hold my weight as I test my leg.

“This is their base, Andrei. You'll need the others.” My stomach drops knowing if that's their base means she is surrounded by hundreds of men who could destroy her, yet I hear the determination in her voice, feel it vibrate through the bond.

“But Sage, Satish is …”

“Wait for the others! I'll be fine, Love.”

“I can be there in an hour, and I'm not alone. You won't believe who found me!” I reply, and I shake off Chief’s arm as I peer up at the bridge and then the mountain, looking for a path up.

“Wait for the others.” She does not expect me to simply sit back and wait, does she?

“No fucking way!” Donnie growls in my head.

“You need to wait, you will be outnumbered,” Sage tells me, and I can feel that she is moving, feeling the bond tugging me toward where to find her. That urge is overwhelming when I spot a path leading up through the mountain.

Chief taps my shoulder. “My mate, they took her,” I tell him, but Sage has suddenly fallen quiet. “Sage!” I snap at her, needing to know what is going on.

“Sage?!” I growl when she doesn't answer.

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