Page 8 of Kidnapped by the Wolf (Gold Creek Wolves)

CHAPTER EIGHT

CASSIE

“I want you to stay here . . . with my pack. You will remain unharmed as long as your father’s bears leave Gold Creek for good.”

I cross my arms over my chest. Even if I had that sort of power, it doesn’t sound as though I’d get anything out of it — except that Adrian won’t un-alive me. “What’s in it for me?”

Adrian nods, his eyebrows knitting together. “One of my pack brothers owns a small house. He’s been renting it out the last few years, but it’s vacant right now. The house would be yours, free and clear, as long as you stay in Gold Creek.”

My heart does a funny little skip. Adrian’s offering me a place to stay?

“You want me to stay here ?” I say slowly. “As what? A permanent hostage?”

He shakes his head. “Not as a hostage. As part of my pack. You’d need to pay your father a visit once or twice a year as proof that we were holding up our end of the bargain.”

Right . . . the part where he agrees not to un-alive me.

“And, of course, it’s imperative that you not reveal the terms of our deal — to your father or anyone else.”

I shake my head. “I don’t understand.” It sounds as though Adrian is offering me a solution to all of my problems — both a way out of my father’s pack and a permanent home.

“To your father, it will appear that you are our prisoner, but you’d be free to do as you please.” He shrugs. “There are plenty of pack-owned businesses in town that would hire you. Or, if you’d rather sell your jewelry . . .”

“H-how do you know about that?” I stammer.

Adrian’s lip curls. Sebastian .

My heart beats faster as I replay the offer in my head. He can’t seriously intend to let me stay here rent free and just . . . live my life. It sounds too good to be true.

“Why would you do that?” I ask, glaring at him suspiciously.

Only an idiot would look a gift horse in the mouth like this, but I don’t understand why the alpha of the Gold Creek pack would offer me a fresh start.

He shrugs and leans back in his chair. “It’s not as if I can just let you go. The second I did, your father would be back to his old tricks. This is the only way to ensure his bears stay out of our territory for good.”

“But I’d be your prisoner. Technically.”

He shakes his head. “You’d be a member of my pack.”

Right . I just wouldn’t be allowed to leave.

Adrian’s insistence that I’d be “one of them” is hardly reassuring. I’ve been part of Pack McGregor my entire life — ignored at best, but more often despised. All because I’m human.

I’d just be trading one savage band of shifters for another. Only this time, I’d be branded as the enemy’s daughter.

The last few months in my father’s pack might have been rough, but at least I’d been allowed to come and go as I pleased. I was no one’s prisoner.

“And . . . what if I say no?”

Adrian shrugs. “Then I’ll just have to find another way to make your father’s bears behave.”

“I-I’m not sure it would even work,” I stammer, staring down at my plate. “He doesn’t care about me.”

“No bear shifter wants his only daughter living with a pack of wolves.”

I take a moment to consider that statement, chewing on my bottom lip. While my father has never been the paternal sort, bears are prideful creatures.

It would kill him to know I was with the Gold Creek pack — even against my will. But I’m not certain that my being here would do anything to curb the pack’s behavior. If anything, the insult might just stoke my father’s ire and lead to even more violence.

If things went south for Adrian’s wolves, I can’t imagine his pack would lift a finger to protect me. There’d be nothing to stop my father’s bears from dragging me back to McGregor lands and forcing me to mate with Dane.

“Can I think about it?” I ask.

I’ve already made up my mind, but there’s no point in pissing off my captor now.

Adrian nods, though there’s a strain in his eyes that wasn’t there before. “Take your time. We can talk more over dinner tonight.”

My stomach does a little tumble at those words.

Dinner? With Adrian?

He glances toward the back windows, inhaling deeply as he scents the air. “I have to go into town today, but Remy will be here if you need anything.”

“Remy?” I repeat. “Who’s Remy?”

As if in answer, I hear the patter of paws on the deck. I turn in my seat and give a start when I see a pair of bright amber eyes staring back at me.

A beautiful red wolf is standing on the other side of the sliding glass door. My heart skitters at the unexpected intrusion, but then the wolf’s breath makes a little cloud of condensation on the glass, and she wags her tail in greeting.

I stare. I’ve never seen a wolf this close before. Wolf shifters are a lot bigger than mundane wolves, and I feel grateful I’ve never crossed paths with one alone in the woods.

I turn back to Adrian. “You mean she’ll be here to guard me.”

He gives me a flat look, though he doesn’t deny it. “She has explicit orders to remain outside unless you need her. Make yourself at home.”

I open my mouth, but Adrian rises to his feet, sweeping up the dishes to take them to the sink. I watch in stunned silence as he moves around the kitchen, his powerful muscles rippling as he stacks the plates and washes them with soapy water.

I don’t know why, but I can’t seem to take my eyes off him.

Get a grip , I chide myself. I cannot be attracted to the psycho alpha holding me hostage. Stockholm syndrome is not a vibe.

Once the dishes are drying in the dish rack, Adrian slips into the bathroom, and I hear the shower running. I get up and walk over to the sliding glass door, watching as Remy bounds down the deck steps and scampers into the ravine.

At first, I’m not sure what made her run off, but then I catch a glimpse of a wily black squirrel. He’s taken refuge in one of the tall pines, and Remy has caught his scent.

Rising up onto her hind legs, she places her paws on the trunk of the tree, tail wagging and tongue lolling out as she watches her quarry.

In this moment, she looks less like an apex predator than a happy Labrador.

I glance back toward the bathroom. If Adrian really plans to leave me alone all day, that means I could take a shower.

My whole body quivers at the thought.

I haven’t had a hot shower in weeks, and my body is in desperate need. I’d been driving to the Y to use the locker room showers, but I had to let my membership lapse at the end of last month, and I’ve been washing in the creek ever since.

When the alpha finally emerges, a hot flush surges through my whole body. He’s wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, which leaves very little to the imagination. Water droplets glide over sun-kissed skin, racing down his broad chest and into the divots of his chiseled abs.

My gaze drops lower, and I know I’m not imagining the hard bar of his erection straining against the towel.

I hurriedly tear my eyes away, but not before I catch the barest flicker of a smirk.

I keep my gaze trained on Adrian’s feet as he stalks toward the dresser and pulls out some clothes before disappearing into the bathroom again. My cheeks are still blazing when he emerges a second time and heads out the front door.