“Help is coming, Nico! The rest of the pack is on their way. The best thing you can do is wait here.”
Nico goes still in my arms, and I relax, sighing with relief. The second I let my guard down, Nico twists free of my hands and bolts out into the yard.
“Nico!” I scream, going after him. I barely make it to the doorway before someone grabs me from behind.
I struggle like crazy, trying to kick and punch, but the person is too strong. With one arm around my waist and the other on my throat, they drag me through the house and out the front door.
As we cross the front garden, I hear howling in the backyard and make a desperate struggle to get free. I feel a sharp blow across the back of my head, then everything goes black.
When I come to, I’m being carried on someone’s shoulder, jiggling up and down as they jog through the woods. My hands are dangling down their back, and the person has a firm hold on my legs to keep me in place.
I gather my strength, then struggle for all I’m worth, trying to grab the guy around the head and claw at his eyes. He grunts and tries to drop me, but I go down kicking, trying to wound him in any way I can.
“Stop it!” he growls, throwing me to the ground. Even though it knocked the wind out of me, I try to get up and launch myself at him. At the last second, I see his big black boot coming at me and manage to throw myself backwards so it doesn’t get me in the face.
I can’t entirely avoid the hit, and his foot slams into my ribs. I roll across the ground, panting and shivering from the pain. When I hear his heavy footsteps behind me, I try to gather myself for another attack, but I can barely breathe, let alone move.
I hear the guy humming softly as he fumbles around, then grabs my hands and ties them together. His jaunty little tune reminds me of how I was humming to myself in the kitchen this morning.
So, a bit of kidnapping and assault is how this guy likes to start his morning on a good note. How can anyone be so casual when they’re treating another human being like this?
He binds my wrists together, the thin rope brutally tight and digging into my flesh. I struggle again, and he completely ignores me, moving to my feet to tie them together.
I examine my kidnapper carefully, recording all the details for later.
Long, dark brown hair, kind of curly. Longish beard. Gray eyes. Dressed like a biker. Not from our pack. He must be one of the drifters.
My heart sinks as I realize Galen should have just run them out of the territory the first day he saw them, or at least questioned them about their motives.
What do they want with me? Is it a good sign that they didn’t kill me?
The burly guy finishes with my ankles and picks me up like a sack of luggage. I thrash some more, finding my voice and screaming, even though it makes my ribs burn.
Probably cracked a few with that last kick. I don’t care—not if it alerts the others to where I am!
The guy drops me in disgust and smacks me across the face. I hear a ripping sound as he tears his shirt, then he binds a filthy gag around my head. As he picks me up, a few drops of blood drop from my nose onto the ground.
That’s all Galen needs to track me!
I go limp in the big guy’s grip, tilting my head down so my blood drips regularly onto the ground. It’s not enough for my kidnapper to notice, but it is more than enough for Galen to track me.
He’s got to be on his way right now. All I have to do is hang on.
After a couple of miles, I begin to wonder how far we’re going and what the plan is. The further we go, the harder it will be for Galen to find me.
And it looks like we are going into neighboring territory. Do they have a safe passage from other wolves?
Finally, my kidnapper begins to slow down, and I hear other men talking. The sounds get louder, and we come into a small clearing where the guy tosses me to the ground like a sack of potatoes. My breath blasts out of me, and the pain streaking through my cracked ribs makes me choke on my gag.
“You got her! Good job.”
I recognize the voice, and sick fear rises in me.
Dan.
The weirdo who showed up in Galen’s yard and who approached me in town, making all sorts of strange comments.
What does he want with me?
