Taken (6 page)

As he walked into the smoke-filled bar, he saw several of the pack at the pool tables. Their gazes followed him as he neared. His Uncle Tim sat on a stool near the small lip jutting out of the wall where several empty bottles of beer were lined up, and he was just finishing off another.

“Caleb, let’s go talk in the office.” Tim stood. At sixty he was still an intimidating sight, and even though their kind aged a great deal slower, his uncle still had a splash of silver at his temples. It was what marked him as the alpha of this pack.

Sitting at his mother’s desk, he watched Tim as he leaned up against the wall and absorbed the information he’d given him.

“You two boneheads really got yourself into a pile of sh—”

“Tim, don’t talk to him like that,” Tammy snapped at her twin. Their mom may be an outcast, but she wasn’t afraid of her alpha brother at all.

“Look, even if you do manage to get him here by tomorrow evening, the cops will most likely be casing this place out. If this Trites and Henderson are as well-connected as you think they are,” Tim said, glaring at his sister as he talked to Caleb.

“Well, that’s where you come in as the distraction,” Caleb said. Tim looked at him with a leery stare.

Caleb waited as Tim seemed to mull the idea over for several moments and then took a step away from the wall.

“Let me discuss it with my boys. We haven’t had a good chase in a long time. Oh, and Caleb, as far as the girl goes…bite her first,” he said as he turned to go talk to the pack.

“Caleb, are you sure she’s the one?” his mom asked after she took a long chug on her beer. Lately she looked tired. Having a mate grow old had been hard on her and them. Now their father lived in his native country and only spoke with them on the phone. It’d been for the best as it wouldn’t raise too many questions about his very slow-aging wife and sons.

“Yes, Mom, she’s the one, but I’m not sure if I should bite her. She’s so small and fragile-looking. I don’t know if she’ll survive the change.” His own fears echoed in his voice.

Tammy walked over to where he sat and roughed up his hair with a loving tousle like she used to when he was small.

“Do it, Caleb, then you’ll be part of the pack and so will she. They’ll protect her with their lives then, and you won’t need to worry about those men.” She kissed him on the head.

The sound of the office door opening made them both look up to see Tim enter. A grin played on his face.

“They would love nothing more than to run interference with the cops. So you’d best make sure you get your ass out of there before seven tomorrow night,” Tim said.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, but you need to keep up your end of the deal and bring a breeder into the pack,” he said and then left.

Caleb took a deep breath. This wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d planned it to be. Although, if he did nothing, Kitty would end up dead and more than likely he and Kaiden would take the fall for it.

“Go on, Caleb, you can do this,” his mother told him with pride in her eyes. She’d wanted grandchildren so desperately, but until now, neither he nor his brother had found their mate.

* * * *

She’d worked her wrists hard trying to get them free. Blood trickled down her arms. She cried out as she pulled down harder and the metal bit into her flesh a little more as her thin wrists slipped a smidge farther through the handcuffs. The searing pain was nauseating. She took several deep breaths before twisting and pulling down, and with a small scream into her gag, her arms flopped onto the bed.

Laying there she caught her breath before tugging the gag from her face. She tumbled out of the bed and grabbed the phone, but found the house line was dead. She didn’t bother taking the time to wrap her injured wrists before running downstairs. Her jacket was in the basement and her boots she’d seen in the kitchen. Something was going to happen tomorrow, and she didn’t think Gregory was about to let her live to tell the cops what had happened. No matter what her kinder abductor told her.

Cautiously, she reached the back door. She listened and prayed he hadn’t returned. She’d heard a car leave but not return. She quickly stepped outside and peered around into the late night. She couldn’t see any vehicles in the drive. Unsure of what to do now she stood looking all around. The moon was full. It lit the snow-covered area. The old farmhouse sat in a large open area surrounded by woods along three sides. A huge field was off to the left. That’s the way she’d run and nearly drowned her first night there.

If she took the road, she’d run the risk of being found by her kidnappers. But if she made for the woods, she could get lost. She looked for anything to give her an idea of where she was. Kitty saw blinking red lights far off to the right. The radio towers…she only needed to head toward those and she’d find people. It was in an industrial park just before the mountains. From there they looked far away, but it was her safest bet, and she ran off toward them.

By the time she’d lost sight of the house her hands and feet were frozen. She had no socks to put on and her winter boots really weren’t made for walking up to her bum in snow. She tucked her hands under her arms as she walked to try to keep them warm. It only helped a little. The woods were very dark, and Kitty was soon stumbling and falling over. She slowed her pace, taking her time, feeling her way as she walked in what she hoped was the right direction.

Time passed, and she was numb to the core. Her nose and cheeks felt as if tiny pins were stuck all through them, and she shivered. She was so tired and cold, every step was a laborious act. If she stopped she’d not get back up. She thought about her folks, how much she missed her father and mother, and how her grandmother had had wanted her to go on the trip so badly. Kitty had had the chick pox and had to stay home with Nigel to take care of her.

Kitty hoped if she died, she’d at least get to see them again, that there was a place one went after death and was reunited with their loved ones. Tears were on her cheeks as she felt the heartache and loneliness. Maybe she should have stayed at the farmhouse then she wouldn’t be alone when she died. Her handsome kidnapper would at least be with her in the end, she thought.

She stepped into a tree and blinked wildly. Her eyes had closed and she’d drifted as she’d walked. She staggered back a few steps, but her legs were weak. Oh no, she thought as she slumped to the ground.
Get up, girl
.
Come on now, get up.
She screamed at herself. Her legs burned as she managed to stand and then as took a few more steps before she collapsed. She was tired and lay in the snow. All she wanted was to fall asleep.

“Sleep now, little one, we’re with you,” she heard her grandmother whisper as her eyes fluttered closed.

* * * *

Kaiden looked at his Uncle Tim with more than just shock at what he’d explained of Caleb’s plan.

“A breeder,” Kaiden said a bit too loudly.

“He says she’s the one,” Tim replied.

“But how the hell would he know.” Kaiden had always assumed it would be him who would find his brother’s and his mate.

“Trust me, when you find the one you know it instinctively. It’s a primal thing.”

“You want him to bite her?”

“I told him he has to. It’s part of the deal.”

“She could die from it.”

“I know the risks, so does he, but it’s what needs to be done or she’ll die trying to have your babies.” There was a sad hint to Tim’s voice.

Kaiden’s mom had told them about Diana. She’d been Tim’s girlfriend. He’d been too afraid to turn her when they’d been younger. When they’d found out she was pregnant it was then too late to try. Her human body rejected the fetus, causing an extreme type of toxemia. She and the baby had died. That was thirty years ago, and although Tim had had lots of women come and go, he’d never had a mate again.

Fear now washed over Kaiden. Caleb had found their mate, would change her, and he hadn’t even laid eyes on her yet. What if she died? What if he never got the chance to even meet her face-to-face.

“Tell him to wait.” Kaiden growled.

“Excuse me?” Tim asked, glaring at him. He wasn’t used to anyone talking to him in such a tone.

“Tell him to wait. I want to meet her. I need this, Tim. If she dies before I get the chance…” He let the words trail.

“All right, Kaiden, but it needs to be done before either of you mate with her. Do I make myself clear?” The alpha’s pheromones filled the air. Tim made the demand as alpha, not his uncle.

* * * *

Caleb smelled the blood the second he opened the door. He saw several droplets on the floor, and his heart lurched. He raced up the stairs and then burst into the bedroom. Bloody cuffs dangled from the empty bed. By the looks of them and the bed, she was bleeding bad enough to need medical attention. He saw the phone hanging from its cord. She’d tried to call for help, and smelling the air, he knew no one else had been in there with her. As he ran outside it didn’t take him long to find her escape route.

Caleb ran after her trail as he entered the woods. He used his more heightened senses to keep track of it in the snow. He moved faster than a mundane man could, and he was quickly getting closer as her scent became stronger. The drops of blood in the snow aided his sense of smell. He should have cuffed her ankles to the bed, he thought, and then this wouldn’t be happening again.

Cresting a small hill, he froze at the sight before him. Curled up in the snow, unmoving, was Kitty. The fleeting sound of a woman’s disembodied voice singing a lullaby echoed ever so softly in the air around her. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and he rushed to Kitty’s side. Turning her over, he checked her pulse, and to his relief, he found it beating. He scooped her up into his arms and rushed back toward the farmhouse with the feeling of something watching him, fading away as he left the spot he’d found her.

He carried her inside and then stripped her out of her cold wet clothes again. Caleb washed her up and bandaged her wrists. They would heal, but would most likely leave nasty scars. Brushing the hair from her eyes, he was relieved to have found her in time. He tucked the blanket around her naked body after he cuffed her ankle to the footboard. Just in case he never got the chance again, he leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. Soft, silky and warm, her lips felt like heaven caressing his. The brief touch was like a shot in the heart, and he wanted so much more than just one kiss.

He’d planned on sleeping in the chair, but instead he crawled in under the blankets beside her and held her close. Caleb wanted to protect her, keep her safe and make love to her. He needed to get her someplace out of harm’s way from his partners and then he could bite her. She’d be his mate. He just had to try to explain it to her first. However, he didn’t think it would go over entirely well. Especially when she learned about Kaiden. As sleep stole him away, his thoughts were on them as mates, running as werewolves in the woods.

* * * *

As his eyes fluttered open, he found a head resting on his chest and a warm body curled up half on top him. His arm was wrapped around her, holding her close. Nothing had ever felt so right in his life. Caleb’s hand rested on the naked flesh of her back. The heat radiating from hers on his inner thigh was more than a little arousing. She sighed softly in her sleep, and as he attempted to move, she stirred, caressing the hard bulge in the front of his pants. The feeling sent a shock wave of pleasure coursing over him.

He swallowed and tried not to push himself against the hand resting on his hard-on. Kitty stirred again and this time her sighing stopped. She became a little stiff as she raised her hand very slowly off his crotch. Her head moved and she looked up at him. Her face turned a bright red as she stared him in the eyes.

“You need to stop running away,” he said. His voice was very thick and husky.

Her embarrassment at touching him in her sleep didn’t seem to fade, and she looked so shy and innocent. He had to fight the feeling to take her into his arms and do more than just hold her as he had been.

“What happened? How did you find me again?” she asked.

Caleb slid out from under the blankets and grabbed her extra set of clothing from the bag on the floor. “Get dressed,” he said, tossing them at her.

“Please…if you let me go, I can help you.” She clutched the clothing, but made no move to put them on.

“Kitty, do what I tell you to. Now get dressed.” He looked at the clock. It was past lunch time.

“Please…I don’t want to die.” Tears welled up in her eyes as her small frame trembled.

“Look, you need to do what I say when I say and you’ll be okay,” he said, trying to get her to calm down.

“He’s not going to let me live. You know that. He’s going to kill me!” She sobbed as he sat and tenderly pulled her into his arms.

Caleb held her close, kissing her head. He wanted nothing more than to take her from there now and hide her away someplace safe. His brother, however, depended on him seeing this through. As Kitty calmed down he knew she’d run again because she still didn’t trust him.

“Come on. Get dressed.” He tugged the blankets off her feet before undoing her restraints.

“Will you at least tell me your name?” She sniffled.

“Caleb.” He watched her as she got dressed under the blankets.

Chapter Seven

She thought the name suited him nicely, and as she sat eating her supper, he drank a beer at the other end of the table, staring at his phone messages. When she’d awakened earlier, she’d had her hand on his privates. The large hard bulge told her he was more than a little attracted to her, and for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why she felt so attracted to him as well.

“Caleb, can I ask you something?” she ventured. He raised an eyebrow and stared at her. His intense gray-eyed gaze held hers, and she felt her face turn red.

“Yeah, but I may not answer it.”