Page 4 of Curvy Hostage Mate (Gold Wolves Black Ops #4)

I screamed into his hand as the masked man dragged me through the streets. He knew the layout well enough to avoid the populated areas, and we never saw a single person.

My mind had gone blank with terror as I tried to worm my way out of his grasp. My heart thundered at triple speed. He held me tight, ignoring the struggles.

“Hold still,” he hissed in my ear. When I continued struggling, he gripped me tighter. “I’m trying to help you. I’m on your side.”

I wanted to laugh. Like I was going to believe that after what I had just seen him do to those two men before snatching me against my will.

I hated Cain. Hated everything about him.

But if this man was bold enough to steal me away, I didn’t know what else he’d do, how dangerous he was.

Right now, I would rather be staying with the known danger, rather than being kidnapped and taken to wherever this stranger intended to drag me before doing God knew what to me.

As I continued to struggle, I heard him give an exasperated sigh. The hand not covering my mouth went to my neck, and I froze when I felt sharp claws poking at my skin again.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he whispered in my ear. “But stop struggling, for crying out loud.”

I did. The feel of his claws is a compelling argument against fighting him. I followed along limply, letting him guide me, still not sure what was going on. Everything felt like a blur or a bad dream that I couldn’t wake up from.

I didn’t realize where he was taking me until I saw the portal, streaks of black and purple swirling inside it.

My eyes widened, and I tried to scream louder as I thrashed and struggled to get away, no longer caring about the claws.

I didn’t know where he was taking me, but if he took me out of the Underside, I was in even more danger.

No one would find me. Not Cain, not my sister, or anyone else who might come looking.

If he took me out of here, I would be entirely at his mercy.

With a grunt of frustration, he loosened his grip on me.

At first, I thought it was an accident, and I tried to break away.

It wasn’t until he grabbed me by the waist and hauled me over his shoulder that I realized he was just trying to get a better hold of me.

I let out an ear-piercing shriek as I kicked and thrashed again, but I knew it was already too late.

He took three steps toward the portal, and I watched the Underside vanish as he stepped through, carrying me like a sack of potatoes.

My chest tightened as I was dragged through the portal, my breathing constricting. Then, light burst all around me, and I breathed fresh air for the first time in months. For a moment, I paused, forgetting to scream as I took in my surroundings.

I was out of the Underside.

I had never expected to see the blue sky ever again. I hadn’t expected to see green grass or smell the fresh scents of the forest. Even the winter chill, nipping at my skin through my too-flimsy clothing, couldn’t bother me.

My kidnapper dropped me on the ground and loomed over me. I tried to scramble away, feet digging into the dirt as I scurried across the ground.

“Don’t try to run,” he warned.

He took off the cloth covering his face, revealing a dark-haired, bearded man with large hazel eyes. He crouched next to me, and I shuffled back away from him.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

I didn’t answer. All I did was stare at him in disbelief.

“It’s okay,” he said. “You’re safe.”

Safe? After he’d kidnapped me? I gave a disbelieving scoff.

“I’m serious,” he said. “I’m not—”

I didn’t give him the chance to finish. I scrambled to my feet, my heart thundering in my chest as I spun and began sprinting through the woods. I heard the crunch and crash of brambles behind me as he gave chase, but I was fast.

I hissed as my bare feet hit stone. I muttered a spell, and warm shoes, perfectly fitted for me, appeared on my feet even as I continued sprinting.

For a wild moment, I thought I had gotten away. Then, a great tan wolf with rippling muscles cut me off, facing me directly ahead. It snarled at me, slowly approaching as a growl emanated from his throat.

My back pressed against rough bark as I backed into a tree with nowhere to go. It approached slowly, and I recognized with a jolt the hazel eyes of my kidnapper.

I held up my hands, trying to cast an incantation around me to stop him from coming any closer.

I felt the magic fizzle and die in my hands.

I guessed the new restraints on my magic extended to kidnappers.

I stayed motionless, my heart pounding, waiting for his next move and knowing I was helpless to do anything about it.

I feinted left, then darted right. The wolf, as if reading my mind, cut me off.

It gave a soft growl, not threatening, but telling me it had no intention of letting me get away.

I ignored it and tried again, and once more, he blocked my path.

He took several steps toward me. I waited, barely able to breathe as I waited to see what would happen, half-expecting him to eat me.

Then it crouched. The look it gave me told me in no uncertain terms what it wanted. I didn’t have any choice; there was nowhere to run. Taking a deep breath, I clambered onto the wolf’s back.

My fingers gripped his fur. For a moment, I was taken aback by how soft it was.

I had to fight the urge to run my hand through it, having an inexplicable urge to touch it.

Before I could act on that impulse, though, the wolf had risen to his feet.

He shook his head as if getting used to my weight.

Then, almost without warning, he bolted, racing through the trees,

Cold wind stung my face as my hair whipped behind me.

I dug my fingers tighter into his fur, going breathless with exhilaration.

I had ridden on Kendra before, but this felt different.

Maybe it was just because I’d been cooped up for so long; maybe it was the adrenaline and fear mixing inside me.

Either way, I found myself grinning, almost laughing.

He finally came to a stop in front of a small cabin tucked away in the woods, so inconspicuous that I might have missed it if I’d been on my own.

The wolf crouched again, allowing me to slide off his back.

I obeyed. When he saw me glance around, looking for the best escape route, he let out another snarl as if he could read my thoughts.

He nudged me, cold nose pressing against my bare midriff as he ushered me toward the door.

Any time I slowed or looked around or tried to go somewhere he didn’t want, he let out another growl.

The door was unlocked. I stepped inside a small two-room cabin with a kitchenette in one corner. A sofa faced an unlit fireplace. A door at the back led to what looked like a bedroom.

I heard a creaking sound behind me and turned to see the wolf nudge the door closed, leaving me alone.

I stared, looking around, still trying to get a grip on what had happened over the last thirty minutes.

I’d been kidnapped, dragged out of the Underside, and brought here for who knew what reason.

Was it ransom? Had some idiot decided he wanted to kidnap me to sell me back to Cain?

Or was it something else? A rival? Just some idiot who decided antagonizing Cain was a good idea? Or was it something else entirely?

Before I could even process all these options, let alone parse them out to see which one might be correct, the door opened again.

The man who had grabbed me strolled into the room.

I sucked in a breath. He was gorgeous. The beard was gone, as was the dark hair, revealing a clean-shaven, square-jawed man.

His dirty-blond hair fell casually around his face, that sort of effortlessly mussed look that I had always found wildly attractive.

He was tanned, almost golden. He’d been wearing a wig and a fake nose and beard, all incredibly convincing.

Without them, he was distractingly good-looking, and for a moment, he was all I could think about.

Something stirred inside me as I looked into his hazel eyes.

I should have been afraid; I was afraid, but there was something lurking beneath the fear, a tug of longing that I couldn’t explain.

As terrified as I was, part of me wondered what it would be like for him to hold me in his arms, or how his hands would feel against my skin.

I blinked and shoved those thoughts away. This man had kidnapped me. I didn’t know why, but he was dangerous, and I was in a world of trouble. The last thing I needed was to think about him in that way.

A long silence filled the air between us. I waited to see what he would do or say, knowing that whatever it was, it would give me a clue as to why he’d dragged me here.

“It’s okay,” he said. His voice was deep, with the faintest hint of gravel around the edges. “You’re safe.”

Safe? Once again, I wanted to laugh. This guy, whoever he was, had just snatched me from underneath Cain’s nose and pulled me out of the Underside.

On the surface, it seemed like a wonderful thing.

It didn’t feel like it. All I knew at the moment was that this man had kidnapped me and brought me to this cabin without giving me the chance to say no.

“Let me go,” I said. “Trust me, you have no idea what you’ve stepped into.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You can’t tell me you want to go back to that asshole.”

“Cain?” I said. “It doesn’t matter whether I want to go back to him. It’s a matter of when. He’s going to keep looking for me, and he isn’t going to stop until he gets me back. And if he finds you here with me, he’ll kill you before you can say a single word.”

It felt bizarre, using the threat of Cain as a defense, but if it meant this man would let me go, I didn’t care.

“I know,” the man growled. “But he won’t find you here.”