Rejecting the Alpha

35 Kylie

Nothing smelled right or familiar. I opened my eyes to find everything was spinning around me. The last thing I remembered was going to bed like I usually did when Vander was away, and falling asleep, although it was a lot harder when he was not with me. Nothing had been out of the ordinary.

But now, I was somewhere dark and unfamiliar, bound and gagged in the back of some sort of vehicle because I could feel the movement, being driven somewhere. Panic, familiar and unpleasant, bubbled up inside of my stomach. Where was I? Had Alpha Gavriel found me? Please, no.

I tried to call for Vander and then for Alpha Timothy and the pack, but it was like my links had been blocked by a locked door, I could not hear or feel either of them. I could feel they were still intact, but limp and cold. I tried to summon the strength of my wolf, but she was quiet and still, and I could not shift as if I were disconnected from her.

My heart pounded in my ears as the desperation of my situation became more and more apparent. I didn't want to go back there, not to that cold monster who had forced me to do whatever he wanted me to do, without caring what I wanted. I was Vander's now, and the alpha had no right to me, even if his mark had remained unfading on my neck even after Vander had marked me.

Strange as it was, I bore two marks, and neither claim seemed willing to give way to the other. Had the one I fled somehow been able to find me through it?

Found me, and stole me away from the one who I had chosen?

But when had my choices ever mattered to the Stonemason alpha? The sound of the vehicle hummed as if in answer, chanting never, never, never at me.

Past my panic, I tried to come up with a plan. I had escaped before, I could do it again, and this time I had somewhere to go. But did I? He had found me at Lightwood, so it would be the first place he would check if I escaped again.

But Vander was there, and I had to get back to him. Maybe Vander and I could flee together, somewhere else in the world, somewhere where my first mate could never, ever find us.

First I had to escape, though. I could see just a pinprick of light at the corner of the door at the back, so I knew it was daytime. How long had I been gone? I had no way of knowing.

If I could get myself loose, I could slam against the back doors and maybe knock myself out. The first step was to regain my mobility. I started wiggling my hands and ankles to try to get more space. The ropes were quite tight, and I picked at the knots on my wrist with my teeth.

I didn't get very far before the vehicle slowed. I tried to look helpless as the door opened, flooding light into the interior of the delivery van. It wasn't too hard since I was nearly defenceless, tied up as I was and unable to access help.

The man who came in was unfamiliar. My sense of smell was diminished along with my other abilities, but I did not need heightened werewolf senses to smell that he was a rogue and not a member of Stonemason. I was surprised, since why would a rogue be bringing me to Alpha Gavriel? Was I being taken somewhere else? I tried to speak but it came out as incoherent mumbles, and he acted as if he could not even hear me through the gag.

A second rogue thug joined the first, this one a bit shorter and less heavyset, and I watched them nervously as they walked into the back and hoisted me up. I squirmed but they mostly seemed to ignore my protests.

There was not much to see once they carried me out, just an overgrown yard surrounded by trees, with a house and a few old sheds out behind it. It looked exactly like the place in a movie that someone might be carried off to by cannibals, and I struggled harder, again to no avail.

In spite of my best efforts, I was carried inside and deposited on a musty smelling old couch. I was increasingly certain that my abduction had nothing to do with Alpha Gavriel, so I tried to think of anyone else who might have a motive to kidnap a random werewolf. I quickly ruled out the possibility of either the hunters or a shadowy human organization because the place was a clear hovel, and if these rogues were attacking Lightwood there were dozens of better targets than the delta's mate.

Could Vander have made an enemy in his business? From what I had learned Jack was far more involved in the day to day matters of it, but he didn't have a mate yet, so maybe I was the weak link in their partnership?

My questions were not destined to be answered. My active panic slowly faded into a constant buzz of anxiety. The two rogues guarded me carefully, and I could not even properly work at the knots because they would see me. Unfortunately—and fortunately—these rogues seemed to have their sanity and cunning intact.

Finally, as evening fell, they ungagged me and provided me with water. I managed to get the cup up to my mouth awkwardly with my bound hands. Once my throat was less dry, I asked, my voice raspy, "Where am I?"

They ignored me. They were incredibly silent, as if they could neither hear me nor talk themselves.

"Please, I just want to know what you want from me. Please?"

Still no response. They gave me a bowl of some thin soup, which I drank before they replaced the gag. As evening wound into night, they injected me with something in my arm, and I fell quickly back into unconsciousness.

—————

I didn't wake up again until what I guessed was midday the next day, and my time consisted of the same ordeal as the previous day. They allowed me to drink and fed me a bit, but other than that I sat in the chair where they had placed me and tried to think of a plan that could get me out. So far, I had seen no openings, and they would still give me no answers, only speaking when they were well out of earshot.

After long hours, the silence and sounds of the forest was broken by an engine. Both my rogue guards were within sight, so I understood it had to be someone else. My throat tightened with that knowledge, because whoever it may be was an unknown in a dangerous situation.

My ears strained to hear anything else after the engine faded. The door cracked, and swung open with a protesting squeal.

And my eyes were caught by two deep, dark blue eyes.