Page 20

20

KEANE

My head pounded, and I tried to reach over to pat my mate, have him help me… or I didn’t know what… but I needed his comfort and a pain reliever at the minimum. I couldn’t remember having a headache like this before.

Except when I went to grab him, my arms didn’t move. I tried again and again, but it was like they were stuck, filled with lead. They didn’t move even an inch.

A voice I didn’t recognize, far too close, far too sinister, broke through the silence. Something akin to a smelly pillowcase was pulled from my head and before I could adjust to the lighting, water came gushing down on me. Cold-ass water.

My eyes popped open.

I was sitting in a chair, not lying down like I’d originally thought. I was so disoriented. I blinked, trying to clear my eyes as water still cascaded over me.

“Where am I?” It came out harsh and broken, like when I first woke up after being drugged. Had I been drugged again? No, that didn’t make sense. I went to the library, and then?—

Everything started coming back to me. Following the man I half recognized. Turning down the dead end. Getting caught. Being thrown in the trunk of a car. A bag being shoved over my head. It had been moist, and everything tasted weird.

And then… nothing. Nothing until I woke up like this.

“You were far too easy to catch.”

He was right. I forgot everything Boaz had trained me in as far as personal safety went. Every single thing. I was 100% responsible for my own predicament.

The water stopped, and the sound of plastic hitting concrete echoed in the room. I still couldn’t see anybody. The voice was coming from behind me, but I already knew who it was. It was the person I had followed. Those other ones weren’t the mastermind—they were bodyguards. Or probably bodyguards.

“You… why? Why?”

“Because.” The person behind me walked in front of me, and sure enough, it was the face of the man I’d followed, just like I’d suspected. “Because you made it so easy. My plan was to do recon, to find your weakness, and you handed it to me on a silver platter. I guess what they say is true—curiosity killed the cat, or at least it is about to… very slowly and painfully.”

Why had I been so stupid? I promised my mate I’d be safe, and I’d been anything but.

“Why me?”

He reached out and slapped me. Hard.

“Try again,” he seethed.

“Who are you?”

Another slap.

“You followed me. You know who I am.”

“Except I don’t. I recognized you, but I don’t know from where or from when.”

This time he didn’t slap me. Instead, he pulled out a gun and aimed at me.

“Let me remind you. Mister ‘My Suit Doesn’t Fit and I Take Money Without Giving Back What I’m Owed.’”

Suit. Money. Fuck. Why had I ever gone to Moonbound?

“You were in the room that night.” I didn’t remember him being there exactly, but I did recognize him, so it made sense. But if he was, how was he alive? My mate killed them all.

“I wasn’t there yet, but I was at the club. My mate was getting us a nice little treat.” He ran the gun along my cheekbone. “And what did you do?” He smacked me with his pistol. “You brought your men in. Slaughtered him. Slaughtered my mate. Mine. He wasn’t yours.”

Fuck.

Everything fell into place. This was the mate of that piece of shit Cassian who drugged me. And now he was seeking vengeance. As sick as it was, I understood where he was coming from. Had I lost my mate… I couldn’t think about what I’d do.

“What kind of Alpha does your pack have, letting his mate work at a place like that. If I’d known you weren’t some disposable omega, I’d have picked another. It’s your fault my mate is dead and vengeance will be mine.”

Boaz had taught me so many ways to protect myself. Not a single one of them was helpful right now. I was tied to a chair. I couldn’t kick. I couldn’t move my hands. I couldn’t feel my cat.

The best I could do was wiggle, but if I wiggled too hard, I’d end up on the floor.

Basically, I was fucked.

But I had to be strong. Because it wasn’t just me—my baby was here. I was entrusted with their safety until they came into this world, and my own dumbass mistakes weren’t going to be the death of them and me.

Please let Boaz realize I’m gone. Please let him realize he has a way to find me . I should have just told him to leave an AirTag in my wallet. That would’ve been easy. He could find me when he needed to. It wasn’t like I didn’t trust him—I’d just been throwing a fit that day because I’d been shocked and surprised. This whole life was new to me.

I thought to shift, to bring forth my cat. Maybe I’d be able to get out of my bindings then. But the man in front of me—his beast would take me out. And we weren’t alone. I could tell where the others were, based on his subtle little head nods to different corners behind me.

My lack of scenting ability was making all of this more difficult. I didn’t know if there were one or fifty people behind us or if they were human or shifter.

I needed to buy time.

“Your mate picked me.” I instantly regretted the words. Another slap. “I mean… to serve. To serve him.”

“No. I picked you. It was me who saw you and thought you’d be fun and asked him to fetch you. I saw you walk into the bar and had you moved over to VIP. You think that was an accident? You hadn’t earned your way to the prize position. That was me.” He squatted down to be eye level with me and put the gun against my temple. “And what did you do? You took what was mine.”

He scented the air deeply and then again, stood up, and barked out orders. “Find out what that is, and if someone is the cause, end them. I don’t care if it’s teens thinking they are funny.”

I couldn’t smell it at first. But then—smoke. The unmistakable scent of smoke. Even with my dulled senses, it was overtaking me.

“I should kill you now.” His eyes kept darting back and forth. Then his foot came up and knocked me back, the shock of it stealing my breath.

“Burn, kitty, burn.”

He ran out of the room, leaving me all alone.

I had to get out. I had to leave. I called my cat—he wasn’t there. I called him again. Still not there.

Whatever was on the smelly bag that was over my head when I woke up— had made it impossible for me to shift.

Fuck.

Growls in the distance grew closer. The smoke worsened. There were shots—multiple shots—and I flinched at every one, my head the only thing moving. I had to get out of here. I did. I needed to save my baby.

I started to squirm. Back and forth. Back and forth. Hoping to inch the chair across the floor. Making no progress.

Then—the sound of a door being broken open gave me a surge of hope.

Cassian’s mate would have just opened it. He had the key. This was someone else. Someone here for me.

Maybe it was a firefighter. Maybe it was my mate. It didn’t matter who it was.

I needed out.

“Help!” I called out. My voice came out as barely a whisper, turning into a fitful cough. My eyes were getting heavy.

The last thing I remembered before everything went black, was the entire chair being picked up with me in it.

My mate was here.

I was safe.

And then there was nothing.

I came to in the car. I was in my mate’s lap, and we were going fast.

“Please, please wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up,” he said over and over again. I couldn’t crack my eyes open. I tried to move. I must’ve moved enough where he noticed, because he could feel it too.

“I’m here. I’m here. It’s me.” His kiss on the top of my head gave me the strength to open my eyes for the first time.

“Mate,” I croaked. It was crackly and awful.

“Don’t worry. You’re safe now. You’re safe.”

I tried to say something—tried to tell him I was sorry.

Instead, I went out again. My body too weak. My lungs burning. It was too much.

When I woke up the next time, I was in our bed. My mate’s wolf was curled up beside me, protecting me.

I reached over, my arm finally working, and placed my hand on his chest. “I’m so sorry.”

He got up, licking my face, then jumped off the bed to shift.

“Maybe we could go back to AirTags.”

He chuckled.

“Please tell me everyone’s all right.” My hand went to my belly.

“Our baby is fine. And we’re all fine. But Cassian’s mate, Asher—his men—they’re gone. They will never harm you again.”

“Please tell me you tore his flesh from his body.”

“I didn’t have time. I had to rescue you instead.” He tapped my nose. “I shot him.”

“That’ll do,” I whispered. “That’ll do. Please hold me. I need to know this is not a dream and I’m really here.”

He took me in his arms and promised me that everything would be okay.

I was home.