Page 8 of Secret Guardian (Fated Mates Collection #4)

SEVEN

It’s been thirty minutes since Aarick and his father went to the hospital, and I’ve done nothing.

I sit in silence. No noise, no phone, just me at the kitchen table with the past few days a roller coaster in my mind.

Aarick’s injury, the unbearable heat, our four-day-long sexfest, being attacked by his jealous stalker.

I mean, it’s been one thing after another.

I know I have to make a choice—to stand by his side or to reject our bond.

That’s the term he used. What happens if I reject the bond, though?

I never feel whole? He’ll take a mate of some sort—he’d have to as alpha—but it wouldn’t be destiny.

She wouldn’t fill all of his crevices the way I supposedly will.

What kind of bullshit is that? That one person can complete you?

I know in my bones that it’s true, and my life with him would be perfect.

But I also despise the secrecy, the hiding and spying.

Realizing I’ve been being watched my whole life, whether for my own safety or not, is a lot.

My phone buzzes and I grab it from its facedown position, then swipe open the notification. Renee wants me to come over.

With a sigh, I reply that I’ll be right there, then slip on my sandals and head out.

Should I be afraid of someone from Addision’s pack coming after me?

Probably but I don’t even give a fuck anymore.

I traipse across the apartment complex rather than driving, deciding the fresh air will be good for me.

And I don’t see anyone messing with me right now; it’s midday and plenty of people are out walking their dogs or letting their kids run around.

Why did I never make friends with any of these people?

That would have been the right thing to do, rather than always being shy and hiding away.

Then I might have caught on about the shifter thing sooner, before my heat started.

Renee’s door is wide open, of course. What will I ever do with that woman? I step inside, glancing around carefully. My skin prickles uneasily as I step through the house, but then a pain shoots through the bottom of my sandal.

“Oh shit.” I wince, reaching down to grab the glass from my foot. But then something hard lands a blow on the back of my head, and everything goes woozy, my vision blurring before me as I try to make out shapes and shadows.

Then a soft familiar voice in my ear hisses, “Nighty night, runty bitch.”

When I come to, my eyes are still bleary, and my head feels like a rock thrown into a pond.

I can’t hold it up, but I keep trying to.

I move to rub my eyes but can’t. My wrists are chained together behind me, and no matter how much I struggle, they won’t come free.

Finally, my vision clears and the room comes into view.

The musty scent of the room makes me think of the earth.

My chains are attached to a giant metal hook in the floor, and my gaze follows the metal to a second set of chains.

Renee is still unconscious, lying on her side on the dank floor.

My head is pounding. I know they’ve drugged me with something. Renee too, no doubt. They must have trapped me by texting me from her phone.

That’s not important right now, though. Right now, I have to get out of here. I don’t even know where here is, or how long I was asleep.

“Renee,” I hiss, trying to wake her without alerting our captors. Her head stirs but she doesn’t open her eyes.

Struggling with the chains, I pull and yank but to no avail. I’m locked in.

“God, why are my wrists not smaller?” I drop my head onto my hands, the cold of the floor soaking through my shorts.

And then it hits me. If I shift, I’d slide right out of these chains.

But is that too easy? Are they wanting me to shift?

After a moment’s hesitation, my decision is made and I close my eyes, focusing on my muscles like Aarick taught me.

The stretching of muscles, the light under my skin hitting each joint, and that feeling of turning to jelly hits.

The clanking of the metal as the chains fall off my paws echoes around the room, and I open my eyes, freshly shifted.

My paws move soundlessly across the floor to Renee, passing a cracked mirror propped against the wall.

I stop, staring at my reflection. My glorious panther, black as coal and almost as large as Aarick. A perfect match for him.

Renee’s breathing is even. If I can wake her, she can shift too. Then we can get the hell out of here and they’ll never know.

Nuzzling my face against hers does no good; she just turns away from me. I press my paws into her shoulder, barely extending my claws, and hiss in her ear. She finally stirs, her eyes opening slowly, then widening in understanding as she takes in her situation.

I growl a low warning to be quiet. She shifts immediately into a cute striped tabby, slipping out of her own chains, and we both begin searching for a way out of the room.

The place is sealed tight and full of random junk, as if someone routinely chucks things they don’t need down here.

The scent around the door is familiar, and my hair stands on end when I hear the voice of a woman.

“They’re not going to come for them, Dad. I told you, it’s over.” Addison’s tired tone surprises me. She seemed so feisty when we met before.

“We’re not giving up on a decades-old deal, Addy,” the gruff male voice answers. “Our two packs will become one, and you’ll be the first omega of the unified group. Our line will live on as royalty forever.”

“He doesn’t want me, and I don’t want him.” A crashing sound follows—glass shattering on tile—and a small feminine whimper.

“Get out of my sight,” he growls, and the footsteps come pounding toward the door.

I rush out of the way as it creaks open and Addison slips inside. Tears are streaming down her cheeks, and she wrings her hands together, her shoulders shaking. When she turns to survey the room, she stops suddenly at the sight of our empty chains.

Oh no. Oh no. No, no…” she whispers hoarsely. Her nose wrinkles as she inhales deeply, and I do the same. So that was the familiar scent. She darts around the room on light feet, as if hoping to find us in a corner.

Then Renee shifts into her human form out of nowhere, grabbing Addison from behind and covering her mouth. She’s holding a jagged piece of wood to the girl’s throat. “You better not scream,” Renee hisses. “I won’t hesitate.”

I pad over to the two women, dreading transforming in front of them and being naked. I’m definitely going to start tying something to my leg even if I have no plans to shift.

There’s a wooden door propped against the wall nearby, so I squeeze behind it before shifting, then peek my head out at Renee and Addison.

“Quit fighting,” I growl, and they both freeze. “Let us go. We won’t hurt you.”

Addison’s muffled sob tears at my heartstrings.

“Uncover her mouth, Renee.”

“No, Darian! She’d slit your throat without hesitation.”

Addison shakes her head.

“Just do it, Renee.”

She shoots me a dirty look before warning her captive, “If you make one wrong move, I won’t hesitate. Understood?”

The scared woman nods in agreement, and Renee slowly drops her hand.

“I can’t. My dad will… He’ll hurt me.”

I want to reassure her that surely he wouldn’t, but his actions a moment ago lead me to believe her.

“I didn’t even know he going to kidnap you guys, I swear. I came home and he and his cronies did it. I’m…I’ve given up on Aarick. I don’t want someone who doesn’t want me. I realized after I saw you the other night, it’s over. There was never anything to be over.”

Something in her tone makes me believe her, even though I know it seems stupid. I nod at Renee.

She shakes her head at me. “You and your strays.”

“Come back with us,” I tell Addison. “We can sneak out while he’s distracted, and I’ll protect you.”

“How can you protect me?”

“Well, from what your dad said, I’ll be the omega of Aarick’s pack, correct?”

She snorts. “If you accept the bond, yes. What if you don’t? Where does that leave me?”

“It has to be better than here.”

She glances over to the door, where the sounds of the loud TV and cans being crushed float from.

“Okay. Let’s do it. Let’s get out of here,” she decides. “We have to shift first.”

In one swift movement, we’re each on all fours, and although Renee practically rolls her eyes at me, we follow Addison to a small hole we would have probably found soon had we kept looking.

We bound out into the night, and I realize I’m late for work.

Shit. Of all the things to think of right now, it seems silly, but I also worry about Aarick and his dad. I wonder if Sam’s wife has passed yet.

My mind still trails off to a way to heal her.

They have literal magic. Shouldn’t there be a way?

As we run through the night, following Addison and hoping she knows the way home, I retrace every step and the medication that Mrs. Miller took under my care.

Her brain activity… That would have to be a magical fix, right?

When the apartment complex comes into view, I’ve never been happier to be home. I’ve got to hurry to the hospital and try to save my job. I wish I could save my patient as well.