Outsider (Outsider Series) (24 page)

“I won’t,” she said and then was gone, closing the hatch back up behind her. I noticed she didn’t lock it.

The dog’s bark stopped. I knew that bark though. It was Archie. Just as I was about to start worrying that something had happened to my familiar he started barking again.
This time much louder and much closer.

“Sophie!” several voices called.

I heard Peter yell and then his wife’s hushing tones.

“Sophie!” yelled again followed by a grunt and then ferocious animal growls.

“I’m in here!” I screamed as loudly as I could which wasn’t very loud. I swallowed
several times to moisten my throat. “In here! I’m in here! Help me! Please! I’m in here!” I yelled over and over again. The growls sounded like they were right outside the hatch. I heard a yelp followed by a loud thunk and I feared the worst. Had someone gotten the best of Caeden? Please, God no, anything but that. I heard yet another thunk and it sounded like an additional wolf had joined the fight.

“She’s in there!” I heard Leslee say before she cried out in pain. More growls erupted and then the tearing of flesh. I heard her scream again and then her screams were silenced.

Wolves growled at each other. I could hear them pawing the ground. And then someone made the first move and an all-out war was launched.

The fight seemed to go on forever before I finally heard the voice of an angel, the voice of Caeden, say, “Sophie, I’m coming!”

The hatch opened and he descended. “Oh, Sophie,” he choked. My beautiful angel, my wolf,
my mate,
my everything
,
strode forward. “What have they done to you?” He came forward, his hands shaking, and ripped the bands from my arms and legs. Drops of moisture sprinkled onto my bare skin.
For a moment I wondered at what they were and then I understood.

“Don’t cry,” I whispered, stroking his cheek as he leaned over me.

His tears turned to sobs and he knelt beside me. He laid his head beside me. I ran my fingers through his silky brown hair. “I thought you were dead. I thought I had lost you.”

“I’m here,” I whispered. “I’m not going anywhere.
”

“I didn’t think I’d ever find you and if I did I was sure you’d be dead. Lucinda said that I would know though, if you died, she said I’d feel it,” he said putting his hand to his heart. I saw then that his chest was bare and he wore only a pair of jeans.

Tears began to leak from my eyes even as I wiped away his. He stood and gently pulled me against his chest, careful of my cuts and bruises.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Caeden,” I breathed against his neck. “I love you.”

“Oh baby,” he said, “I love you too. I thought I’d never get to tell you. But I do. I love you so much. I’m never letting you leave my side again. Never.”

“I love you,” I whispered over and over again. It felt so good to finally say those words.

After a few moments Caeden pulled away. He looked into my eyes and gently traced a cut on my brow. “Let’s get you out of here. It’s time to go home.”

“I am home,” I said folding myself into his arms. “You are my home.”

He cradled me in his arms and kissed the top of my head. “I’m so sorry, Sophie,” he said and started crying again.

“Why?” I asked tracing his brow. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I have everything to be sorry for. I shouldn’t have left you. This is all my fault,” he said. I wiped away his tears with my hands.

“Oh Caeden,” I breathed. “This isn’t your fault. They were waiting for their chance to get me and they took it. They used me to get to you. Caeden,” I cried, “they want to kill you.” Tears ran down my face with a force akin to the Niagara Falls. Our tears mingled together. “I’m willing to die so they can’t have you. I won’t let them hurt you.”

“Oh baby,” he said. “Please, don’t talk like that. Your life is so much
more important than mine,” he pulled away and for the first time really looked at me,
“Look what they’ve done to you. They’ve hurt you so badly. I promise that I will make them feel everything they’ve done to you. I
will
make them pay for it. They deserve to be tortured like you have, to be held prisoner, and treated like an animal.”

“Caeden, please don’t talk like that,” I begged. “Please don’t.”

He ran his fingers through my matted, dirty, hair. “Alright,” he said. “Come on, up you go,” he said lifting me into his arms.

“I can walk,” I pleaded with him.

“I doubt that,” he said. “You’re no more than skin and bones and you’re hurt. How long have you been strapped to that table?” he asked.

“How long have I been here?”

“Almost a week,” he replied starting up the steps.

He paused when I said, “Almost that long.” Suddenly, remembering something, I asked, “Caeden, what happened to Leslee Grimm? Is she okay?”

He gulped. “She’s dead, sweetie.”

“What? What do you mean? You didn’t
did
you? Please, tell me you didn’t kill her? She promised to keep you safe. She said she wanted to leave her pack that she wanted to join your pack.”

“Oh, honey,” he said, “I didn’t kill her.
She… she died protecting me. She jumped in between me and Peter. He killed her.”

“He killed her?” I repeated as he continued the rest of the way up the steps.

“Like it was nothing,” he said, and I could tell he was choking on his words, “he didn’t even hesitate. Travis saw, he and his dad got into it and then ran off. I don’t know where the rest of their pack is. It was only the three of them.”

The hatch came open and Bryce smiled down at us. “Hey Sophie. Man, you look like crap.”

“Really?” I replied sarcastically, “No one told me this wasn’t a five star hotel.”

He laughed, “Sorry
,
thought I’d try and get you to smile.”

“Bryce,” scolded Caeden, “I don’t think she feels like smiling right now.”

When the light hit my skin I soaked it up like a starved child. It felt like it had been months, not days, since I had seen the sun. We were in a thickly wooded area.
Snow still covered the ground in splotches but I could see it quickly melting. It had to be over forty degrees.
Trees surrounded us completely. The only buildings were a small log house, that looked more sinister than it did cozy, and the underground cellar area we had just emerged from. 

Then my eyes lit upon an odd shaped formation in the dirt. A strange noise escaped my throat. It was a cross between a sob and a scream.

Her glassy green eyes stared up at me. Her blond hair was matted with dirt, twigs, and other woody debris. 
A slight smile covered her death frozen lips. Crimson red seeped out of a gaping hole in her neck. I could see the teeth marks around her slender neck and claw marks covering her body. Like, Peter had forcefully held her down and then bit into her throat.

“Sophie,” breathed Caeden, “don’t look.”

“It’s kind of too late for that,” I replied. He winced and started walking away from her body. Bryce was at our side. I didn’t see anyone else but I would’ve assumed it wasn’t just the two of them. “Wait!” I cried and he stopped.

“What is it?” he asked.

“What’s going to happen to her? It just doesn’t seem right to leave her like that. Can… Can we bury her?”

The brothers exchanged glances and then both nodded, decided.

“Alright,” said Caeden, “I can see this is important to you.”

“It is,” I said.

“Let’s get something in your stomach and then we’ll worry about that. Okay?”

“Okay,” I said and realized that for the first time since I had been kidnapped I felt hungry.

We walked for about a mile while I complained that I was too heavy and he was going to hurt himself. “You’re light as a feather,” he said. “Don’t worry. I won’t drop you, I promise.”

I huffed and didn’t say anything else because I was pretty sure that I
wouldn’t
be able to walk. We finally came down off a hill to some sort of a side road. I could hear Archie barking madly. Caeden’s
Jeep
was there, so was Bentley’s GMC Sierra. His black truck looked like a big hulking monster.

“The others left,” said Bentley stepping away from his truck. “It’s just us,” he said indicating him, Logan, Chris, and Charlotte.

“It’s probably for the best,” said Caeden. “They’re getting too old for this.”

“Old?” screeched a voice. “Caeden Henry Williams, I better not have heard you right. If I recall, you needed our help.”

“Gram,” I breathed and she smiled.

“I wasn’t about to risk anything when it came to removing her safely. I may be young but I’m not stupid,” he muttered.

“I know that,” she said to him, patting his bare shoulder, “but you young people always seem to forget
that there’s still some fight left in us older folks. And your parents’ aren’t old anyway,” she said turning to glare at the various wolves. Her gaze
traveled back to Caeden, “Your
mom was amazing out there. If I hadn’t held her back I think she would’ve single handedly shredded Peter Grimm to pieces.”

“I believe you,” said Caeden, “she was pissed.”

“Watch your mouth,” Gram said with a smile.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Caeden with a tilt of his head.

Bryce opened the trunk of the
Jeep
and Caeden gently set me down. He handed me some crackers. “Sorry, it’s all I have.”

“That’s fine,” I said, “I’m not sure I could stomach much else.”

Charlotte and Chris came over. “We were so worried about you,” said Chris.

“Caeden’s been beside himself with worry,” said Charlotte.

“We all have,” said Bentley. That surprised me coming from Bentley. I didn’t know him that well. He was Caeden’s best friend and a part of the pack, that was about as far as our relationship went.

Caeden shook his head, “I’ve never been more scared in my entire life. I thought my soul was gone.” He sat down beside me and held me against him while I tentatively nibbled the crackers.

Bentley cracked a smile and looked at me. “He was like a crazy man. I’ve known him since we were in diapers and I’ve never seen him freak out quite like that. Not even when his dad was found dead.”

“Thanks for bringing that up,” said Caeden.

Bryce and Caeden both looked sad at the thought of their dead father. Bryce sniffled and walked off into the woods. 

“Sorry,” said Bentley and he looked like he truly meant it. I saw Chris lean against him
and
rub his arm reassuringly.

Caeden looked at me to explain. “Bryce, found our dad’s body. He’s never gotten over it. Not that I can blame him.”

“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking, you don’t have to tell me,” I assured him.

“We don’t really know. We thought it was
an
accident but now I’m not so sure. He… He was caught in a hunter’s trap… But… while we were scanning this area for you… I saw the same kind of trap.”

“Here?” asked Bentley.

“Yes,” whispered Caeden.

“You think Peter had something to do with it,” said Bentley, it was a statement not a question.

“I thought it was
an
accident before, that he had been careless and gotten stuck, but dad never was careless. I think he was lured into it by Peter.”

“But why?” asked Bentley.

Gram had joined us. Caeden answered Bentley’s question but he was looking at Gram. “Because, that meant I would become Alpha. Once he kills me, Bryce will become Alpha. Once he takes out Bryce the line ends and h
e can become Alpha. He’d have the
control of two packs. He craves power. The power of this pack is the only thing he wants.”

Gram nodded her head, “I’ve suspected as much.
It’ll only get worse if he finds out that Sophie is a true Beaumont. He still doesn’t know does he?” Gram asked turning to me.

“No,” I said. “Leslee said she knew who I was. That I have my mom’s eyes. He made her test my blood but she lied to him. She told him that I was only a human that I really was adopted. She also said that he still believes that my mom is truly dead. She says the pack has never suspected otherwise.”

“That’s good,” said Gram. “The less he
knows
the better for all of us. Peter Grimm is not one to be angered.”

“Gram,” I said looking down at the crackers in my hand so I wouldn’t have to meet her eyes, “if all the Grimm’s are
so evil why is my mom different?
She’s always been nice to everybody and the best m
om anyone could ask for.”

“Christine always rebelled against what her parents wanted her to be. She was always a sweet girl. She was different than them. I think that’s why they always clashed. I mean, the poor girl, had to fake her own death. When she met Garrett I worried, like any mother. She was a Grimm and I thought she was going to corrupt my son. I thought she was leading him on. Finally, your dad came to me and told me that he believed that he and Christine were mates. We started researching the legends and I was positive that he was right. I had gotten to know her better and genuinely liked her. But I still worried. If her family, or even if my husband, had found out… They would both be dead, of that I’m certain. When she got pregnant with you they had to leave, it was the only way to keep you and them safe. I sent them money every once in a while and they would send me pictures of you to a post office box. When your grandpa died they started sending you here every summer. It was the highlight of my year.”