Page 15 of Wild in Spirit

“I don’t know. I want to see what my life would be like if I was in charge, if I was the one running it. For now, that’s what I want, and when that changes, I know where to find him.”

Even coming from her mouth, those words sounded selfish and entitled, so she flushed in embarrassment. “It does feel good to tell someone other than Ava. Thank you for listening and all, but do you think you could keep it between us? Please?”

“Sure. So, it has to be someone in her inner circle at the Black Hills. One of the other Alphas?”

She could still see him trying to work through it in his head, so she took a deep breath and tried to feel like herself again.

“Can we drop it? I already think about it enough. I want to focus on the psycho trying to force me into his pack.”

“Of course. You want to go back to sleep? My lap is still open and waiting for you.” His charming smile was back, and she couldn’t help but appreciate the light-hearted flirtations.

“Maybe another time. I’m starving.” She called out, stepping between the two middle captain’s chairs and back to her seat. “Gio? When are we getting food? I’m not gonna make it all the way to Atlanta.”

“There’s almost nothing on this highway. Literally in bum-fuck Georgia. But I think there’s a small town coming up soon with a sub shop. Will that work?”

Once they had gotten food from the gas station, she was feeling better about her plan. This weekend would fly by. Then she could head home and try to figure out how to get through the ceremonies without seeing her mate. That would be the real test of her abilities. Cassandra would help her. The Dark Daughter of Danu would love to get over on the Tuisa wolves. That wasan interesting thought. Maybe she could hide out at the Rathlin Coven, and they could put some more spells on her. Or on him.

Rathlin was the neighboring coven, and centuries long ally of Tuisa. They were in business together, and in charge of protecting Tuisa magically. Aisling Pack was a product of the current High Priestess’s mother separating from the coven and mating with a wolf. She created Aisling from Rathlin’s share of Tuisa land almost eighty years ago. It was meant to be a more relaxed, hybrid home to witches and wolves alike, a safe haven pack that took on any rogue wolf or witch, opposite of the closed off and private Tuisa. Which is why Ava was the perfect Alpha—a Daughter of Danu, granddaughter of the current High Priestess, the youngest in a line of powerful witches who kept peace in the world, and a hella strong Alpha wolf from her other bloodline—she was a hybrid who presented strength from both supernatural sides. Yeah, once she was home, the stalker would never think about coming near her, not with Ava by her side.

In the Suburban, Travis had laid down in the back seat for a nap again, and Gio was driving, so she settled into the two captain’s seats in the middle. Keoni had several small bags of snacks in his lap, settling into his map duties in front of her, when they both stopped talking.

“We gotta go north on 75 a couple more hours, and then we’ll be right in Atlanta before dark—what the hell is that guy’s problem?”

“Is he going to stop? What the fuck?!”

She looked up just in time to see an older model truck, a big diesel something with a sturdy grill guard on the front, barreling straight at them. They hadn’t left the gas station parking lot and were sitting in the opening, waiting to turn onto the highway. The guy was coming the wrong way down the service road, blocking them from pulling out, and he angled straight for the passenger side of the Suburban.

Gio tried to put it in reverse, to avoid the collision, but the other truck only sped up, and they didn’t move fast enough. When the truck slammed into the front passenger side door, they were pushed several yards into the grassy area, Gio’s door crushed into a light pole.

Thrown to the floorboard, her head hit something hard, and her world went dim. She didn’t completely black out, but the sounds and lights were soft and dreamlike. The yelling and movement around her barely registered, so when the door near her opened, and she was dragged out, she didn’t fight. The gravel and dirt around the cars still hung in the air, and she clung to whoever carried her from the car, coughing as she went.

The pounding in her head was the only thing she could concentrate on until she was dumped into the driver’s side of another vehicle. The steering wheel dug into her hip as she was pushed over roughly, and she tried to sit up. Despite the dizziness keeping her motionless, it registered that she was in the other truck, staring through the side window at Keoni. He was stuck behind his crumpled door, and the look on his face was confusing as he began punching the glass, shattering it. Why did he look so afraid?

It finally occurred to her what was happening, but everything felt like it was in slow-motion. By the time Gio had climbed through the middle and come out her door, they had backed up and were barreling down the service road. Thrown against the door again when they pulled out, she grabbed her head, realizing she was covered in blood. Fuck.

The stalker.

The man driving was a big dude, clearly a shifter, but with no discernable scent. He had a black hoodie on his head, and a black bandanna covering his nose and mouth. She could make out the gray in the hair around his temples poking through,and the lines around his eyes. An older shifter is not what she predicted.

“What the hell are you doing? Pull the fuck over, now.” By now, she had recovered, and she did the first thing that came to her mind—tried to throat punch him. But he had rapid reflexes and strength more than overpowering hers. Yep. Alpha, and a full Alpha, not just alpha-born like Keoni. That meant he ran a whole pack, and had full Alpha strength and magic, not just born from an Alpha.

“Sit back. No point in fighting this. We have a long drive, and you’re not going anywhere.”

Like hell. Turning to the door, she reached for the handle, but there was nothing. It had been removed, the whole door unopenable. “Are you fucking kidding me? This is psychotic.”

“Don’t make me knock you out. I prefer not to hurt you, but you’re going to give me no choice if you try to escape.”

“Are you insane? It will be a cold day in hell before I just sit here.” Leaning her back against the door, she pulled both her feet back and, with the hard wedge of her heels, started kicking him in the side, in the arm, and hopefully in the head. When he swerved, then grabbed her arm, pushing her to the floorboard, she grappled with him, scratching, hitting, and lashing out. No fucking way was she going out like this.

When the crackle of electricity popped, a zing of pain burst through her body, taking over every nerve. Arching hard, muscles contracting, she screamed in pain until he pulled away, leaving her weak and whimpering. The snap of electricity popping again had her eyes flying open, and she cautiously eyed the stun gun in his right hand. Calmly, he kept his gaze forward, and she saw they were going ninety on the two-lane highway. The further away they got, the more her chances of escape dwindled. She had to get out of the truck somehow.Recoveringslowly, she slid back into her seat, keeping her eyes trained on him.

“I didn’t want to hurt you, Bailey, but you left me no choice. You’ll come to accept it eventually, that this is your destiny. Stop fighting it.”

She stayed silent, her eyes scanning everything, looking for something, anything, to break the window. Then she would jump. But there was nothing.

“Look, I don’t know what you want, but when my Alpha finds you, it’s not going to be pretty. Maybe you’ve heard—”

“She won’t be your Alpha for long. Soon, you’ll belong to me. Don’t worry.”

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