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“Vaila! Thank you so much. I did not want to be here and accidentally hear something. I have been locked in my room with headphones on for the last few hours.” I walked back to my room to finish packing up the stuff I wanted to take with me.

Truthfully, I hadn’t packed anything. I didn’t want to leave, but I really didn’t want to hear what was going on upstairs. I would find out in time on my own, thanks.

“It’s no problem at all. I’d do anything for you, so it was a no brainer. Your dad agreed, so here I am.” Vaila stepped into my room behind me.

I found it a little strange that Dad didn’t want me with him, but maybe something was going on over there that had him tied up again. It wouldn’t be the first time I was left to my own devices and had to sort something out so I wasn’t alone all the time.

“So nothing’s packed. I couldn’t decide what to bring,” I lied as I stood in the doorway of my closet and stared down at the empty suitcase. “It’s getting cooler, but it’s still so nice outside some days. What do you think, Vaila? Oh! How about I pack random stuff and we go shopping! I have been stuck here for far too long. I could use a couple cute sweaters and maybe some new jeans. I have so many dresses and shorts right now. I did not order the right stuff—”

“Ellie,” Vaila said, and I turned to her.

“What? Am I talking too much?”

“Yes.” Her face fell into a scowl that I had never seen before as she stepped closer to me.

I stepped back as my eyes grew wide. “What’s going on, Vaila?” She had never behaved like this before. I had known her my entire life, and she had always been happy and helpful to me.

The hairs on my arms stood on end, telling me to get out of here, but my only exit was blocked. Even if I got out of here, there was nowhere to go and no one to help. Three of the people who would fight for me were upstairs and unavailable for who knew how long, and the other had—had he? Had my dad actually told her to come get me? Did he even know what was going on?

I had placed so much trust in her that I didn’t question it. She played the liaison between us so often I didn’t think twice about it.

“A lot, Ellie. I need you to hurry up, or we are leaving it all behind. You won’t need it anyway.” She said the last part under her breath as she turned away, but I heard it.

“What do you mean ‘I won’t need it anyway’? Why wouldn’t I need clothes? I don’t have any at your house. Are you ditching me at my dad’s? That’s not cool, Vaila.” That’s what I was hoping she did, but something told me that wasn’t happening.

I might be able to knock her out and hide away until Cy and Odie came to. They taught me well enough, but Vaila was trained as well. She wouldn’t stand a chance against them, but I was chopped liver compared to them.

It was worth a shot though. I wouldn’t lie down and accept my fate if I could prevent more shit from happening. I picked up the Tae Kwon Do bamboo stick I had in here—Cy left it in hopes that I would pick it up again—and stepped forward, hoping Vaila wouldn’t hear me. I pulled back and swung. Instead of connecting the stick with the back of her head, I met air.

Vaila ducked and spun before punching me in the gut and stealing away the weapon. I groaned and dropped to the ground. It was painful enough to train with Cy and Odie, but clearly, they had been taking it far more easy on me than I thought. Pain reverberated through my abdomen as I slumped to the ground. I wasn’t ready and didn’t stiffen up, so I would definitely be feeling that deep inside for a while.

“Really, Ellie? They taught you better than that.” She reached down and gripped my upper arm.

“Fuck you.”

“Language. Your father taught you better than that.” Vaila tried pulling me to my feet, but I refused, going limp and collapsing back down. “If you’re going to play that game…” Vaila got on the phone and called in reinforcements.

While she was distracted, I slipped my phone from my pocket and chucked it under my bed. I knew they’d find it eventually and put the pieces together that Vaila took me thanks to the text messages, but that wouldn’t help them find me.

Shit. Maybe I should have kept it on me so they could track it. But Vaila would probably think of that and destroy my phone or leave it anyway. Better they have the messages than risk it.

They’d find me one way or another. It was their job to track people down. At least, that was part of their job.

Two men came in, and I scooted away. The first one was clearly an Alpha, large and terrifying, looming over me at about Cy’s height. Instead of her lean form, he was like a brick wall with black hair and dark eyes that promised pain and death. The second man was on the shorter side around my dad’s height with dark brown hair that reminded me of Mine’s, but it was cut short on the sides with longer bits on top. His light brown eyes mirrored the Alpha’s, but this Omega didn’t ooze pain, he oozed worry and intrigue, and I wondered how Vaila couldn’t feel it.

“I thought you were going to handle this. What if she controls me?” The Alpha’s voice was gruff but higher than I expected.

“Pfft, you don’t have to worry about that. She’s useless in that department. Besides, she can’t do anything with our little helper here.” Ouch. My lips turned into a frown as I looked up at the woman I thought I knew, and all happy memories of her vanished.

She would pay for this, and I couldn’t wait to see it.

“Well, in that case,” the man said before he stepped forward and grabbed me, tossing me over his shoulder.

It dug into my sensitive stomach, but that didn’t stop me from kicking, punching, and screaming as we went.

Vaila might have been able to waltz in here and take me, but Cy had security all over this damn place. Her face and anyone else’s who came here would be on camera. The vehicles would be too. There were clues everywhere, and I trusted them to find them.

If only I knew where we were going or why, I’d yell it out to make sure they got all the details before I was chucked into the SUV that sat in the driveway.