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Blowing out a breath, she turned around, her gaze moving quickly over the room. Until recently, she guessed it had been used for storage. Now, there was a twin bed covered by a patchwork quilt, a small round table and a ladder-back chair in one corner, a sink and a porta-potty in the other.
Filled with restless energy, she removed her shoes and paced the floor. She had to get out of here before her father showed up with a priest, before she was forced into a marriage she didn’t want to a man she loathed. She had no doubt Victor would let her go once she gave him a child; she was just as certain that he would not let the child go with her, thereby keeping her under his thumb, at least until the child was grown.
It sounded all too horribly familiar. Only a short time ago she had declared that she never wanted to live the way her mother had.
I know, her mother had replied. But I’m afraid you don’t have any other choice.
Kay shook her head. She refused to believe that. There was always a choice.
Right now, her biggest concern was Gideon. Was he all right? Had her father killed him?
She closed her eyes, searching for him with her mind, but all she found was a dark abyss. “Calm down,” she murmured. Pressing one hand to her heart, she fought down her rising panic. The sun was up. He was probably asleep. Please, Lord, let him be resting.
Sinking down on the bed, she stared at the ceiling. He had to be all right. The worst times of her life, the best times, had been spent with Gideon. She couldn’t lose him now. It didn’t matter that he was a vampire and she was a werewolf, or that they were supposed to be enemies, or that she would have to change her lifestyle to be with him. Without Gideon, nothing would ever matter again.
Tears stung her eyes and she blinked them back. She had endured worse than this at Verah’s hands and survived. She wouldn’t cry, wouldn’t give Victor or her father the satisfaction of hearing her beg or seeing her tears. She was the daughter of an Alpha and she would act the part, even if her heart was breaking.
* * *
Chapter 22
Gideon woke with the setting of the sun. It was an odd feeling, rising up out of the ground like some resurrected being, but when he was among strangers, there was no safer place to hide from his enemies or from the light of a new day than in the welcoming arms of Mother Earth. Miraculously, the creatures who spent their lives underground avoided him; dirt did not cling to his body or his clothing. When he had first been made, he had spent months trying to figure out why; now, he simply took it for granted, as he did so many of the other supernatural perks that came with being one of the Undead.
Running a hand through his hair, he opened his preternatural senses, searching for his link to Kay.
Gideon?
Her voice rang out in his mind. The relief he felt at hearing it was a palpable thing. I’m here.
Thank goodness! I was afraid they’d killed you.
I’m all right, Kiya. Are you?
Yes.
Where are you?
Victor took me home to his pack. I’m his prisoner.
Does your father know?
He was in on it. For all I know, kidnapping me was his idea. Her father was a smart man. Little escaped his notice. She supposed she shouldn’t have been surprised that he knew her well enough to suspect she might try to run away and that he would take measures to ensure that she didn’t succeed. One way or another, he always had the last word.
Gideon heard the bitterness in her voice. Well, he couldn’t blame her for that. Fathers were supposed to protect their daughters. What makes you think he was behind it?
I think he overheard you propose to me. That’s the only thing that makes any sense.
Gideon mulled that over for several moments. She was probably right. Like vampires, werewolves were supernatural creatures. No doubt the Alpha’s hearing was as acute as his own.
Gideon?
Just sit tight, sweetheart. I’ll find you. Finding her would be the easy part. Getting into the home of the Alpha werewolf unobserved and uninvited might prove a little more challenging. It was unlikely that the Green Mountain Alpha would welcome him inside.
Be careful, Gideon. Don’t take any … oh! Someone’s here!
He sensed her trepidation, swore as her voice ended abruptly, breaking their connection. But the blood link remained, as clear and easy to follow as a lighthouse beacon on a cloudy night.
Victor’s home place was set in a shallow valley thick with ancient oaks and evergreens. Like the Alissano compound, it was surrounded by an electrified fence.
Instead of a large house set amidst a number of smaller, individual dwellings, there was one main residence flanked by a pair of apartment complexes, each with its own covered patio. This compound also provided outdoor games and a swimming pool.
There were two sentries patrolling the perimeter.
Standing out of sight in the shadows, Gideon timed them as they passed by. The fence wouldn’t slow him down. He could take the sentries out before they knew what hit them. Locating Kay would be a snap. It was getting into the house that presented the problem. One way or another, he had to convince someone who lived in the house to invite him inside.
But first, he needed to hunt.
Leaving the compound behind, he sniffed the air. The smell of burning wood and cooked meat drew him into the hills where he found three families—six adults and seven kids—roasting hot dogs over a campfire near a narrow stream.
Smorgasbord, he thought, and settled down to wait for the campers to turn in for the night.
It was well after midnight when Gideon made his way back to the Green Mountain compound. Most of the lights in the house and the apartments were off. Two new sentries patrolled the fence line.
Gideon went suddenly still as a light went on in the main house. A moment later, the back door opened and Victor and his father stepped outside. The two men spoke for a short time, then shed their clothing. The air shimmered around them, followed by a palpable surge of preternatural power.
When it was over, a large black wolf and a pale brown wolf touched noses, then turned and loped across the yard toward the back fence. In unison, they leaped the barrier with effortless grace and disappeared into the night. Moments later, a wolf’s howl rang out, and was quickly answered by another wolf, and then another.
Gideon blew out a breath. From the sound of it, the Alphas were running the hills together. For a moment, he was tempted to shift into wolf form and join them, just for the hell of it, but he quickly discarded the idea. With the Green Mountain Alpha gone, this might be his best chance to get into the house.
Vaulting over the fence, he moved silently through the night, every sense alert. He paused outside the patio door, listening to the hearts beating inside the house. There were three people inside—two females and a male. He recognized the beat of Kay’s heart, knew she was asleep. The male was also asleep. The other female—Victor’s mother—was awake.
