Claimed by the Pack: A Reverse Harem Paranormal Romance Page 3

  He had opened the door to bring in my food. I had to admit that he fed me well. The first day I refused to eat anything. I was afraid he was drugging me again. But my hunger got the best of me. I was never one of those girls who picked at a salad and worried about my calorie intake...as evidenced by my “curvy” stature.

  He'd fed me barbecued rabbit for dinner last night along with some kind of fish that was really tasty for breakfast this morning. But by lunch time I was antsy again and when he opened the door I charged him.

  Now the tray of food was scattered all over the floor and some of it was on the wall. He had caught me so easily too, it was almost embarrassing. One big arm around my waist had me lifted up off the floor and completely in his control.

  “I don't promise anything!” I said, defiantly. “How dare you do this to me? Who do you think you are? Put me down!”

  He carried me over to the bed and dropped me. The bed indented and I bounced up and back down. As soon as I stopped moving, I tried to get back up again. Ridge sat down and took hold of my wrists, pressing me down into the bed and putting his face right in front of mine.

  “Stop this.”

  “Why don't you just get it over with?”

  “Get what over with, my love?”'

  “Don't call me that! I am not your love! I think you're a little bit crazy. Just do whatever you brought me here to do and get it over with. Rape me or kill me or boil me in your stew...whatever! Just do it!”

  He was laughing. It really pissed me off when he did that, like my angst entertained him. “Boil you in my stew? Do I look like a cannibal? I'm hurt.”

  “Oh, I'm so sorry. I didn't know kidnapping maniacs got their feelings hurt.”

  “You're so feisty.” He was grinning, like we were on a date and he was giving me a compliment.

  “And I won't stop fighting, ever. So just shoot me already, or slit my throat or...”

  “Cheyenne, stop. I'm not going to kill you.”

  “Then what do you want from me?”

  “I want you to be mine...my mate.”

  It was my turn to throw my head back and laugh. When I finished laughing I said, “How pathetic are you that you have to kidnap a woman to convince her to be your...mate? And why do you call it that? It makes you sound like a...like a...”

  “An,” he said with a sarcastic grin. I narrowed my eyes and said, “Excuse me?”

  “An. Mate, sounds like talking about an animal's better half. Which is what I'm...” The sound of the door in opening in the outer room got both of our attention. He jumped to his feet and I started screaming.

  “Help! Help me! He's holding me hostage!” Ridge reached down and placed one of his giant hands over my mouth. I tried to bite him, but he was pressing down too hard. I brought my hands up to scratch at him and I heard a voice from the other room say,

  “Ridge! Is everything okay in there?”

  Relief washed over me. Surely there couldn't be two of them crazy enough to believe they could get away with this. I wasn't encouraged by the fact that Ridge took his hand off my mouth. That told me that he wasn't afraid of whoever was in the other room, finding out that I was in here. “Everything is fine, Chase. Don't open the door. I'll be right out.”

  “Chase? Your cute little friend is in on this too?”

  Ridge's features changed suddenly. The look on his face grew much darker and the frown he held caused a deep line to appear out of nowhere between his eyebrows. “You think Chase is cute?”

  “Are you kidding? Are we in middle school again?” He turned his head sideways as he looked into my eyes, like he was trying to understand what I said. I thought it was simple and self-explanatory. He had me hostage and he was going to worry about me calling his friend “cute”.

  “Do you?” he asked again.

  “You're insane.”

  There was a knock on the door and Chase's voice sounded urgent as he said, “Ridge, I need to talk to you, now!”

  Ridge rolled his eyes and looked back down at me. “Don't move,” he said.

  I sneered at him as he got up. He walked backward to the door, making sure I wasn't going to charge him. I waited until he opened the door and I got a glimpse of Chase on the other side, he was naked.

  What the hell?

  I felt my head spin.

  Was he here to join in on the rape and torture? Why else would he be naked? My thoughts were racing and tears were streaming down my face. Every so often I had to let out a sob and I hated that. I didn't want to appear weak to him, or his naked friend. They were out there plotting and soon, they'd be back in here...with me.

  I wasn't going to let them rape me.

  I had to find a way out and I had to do it now.

  4

  Ridge

  “Chelsea is really pissed.”

  “I can't believe you gave me up that easily. I never had you figured for a snitch, Chase.” I felt bad calling him a snitch. I knew as soon as I took Cheyenne that when they pressured him, he would crack. It was his nature to be honest and to be honest myself, I was impressed that it took him two days. I wasn't going to tell him that though.

  “Damn it, Ridge! She had it all figured out already. There are posters of this girl's face in the post office in town. She disappeared at the same time you did. You're not answering your phone. Did you think you'd just waltz back in with a mate in a week and no one would notice?”

  “Once she's mine there won't be anything anyone can do about it. Once she changes...there's no going back.”

  “Do you know for sure that you can even change her?” Chase hit an exposed nerve with that one. We had both lost our pack so young, before we had reached the age of maturity where the elders took us aside and explained it all to us. I'd seen the mating rituals growing up. I'd watched them bite each other underneath the full moon and become as one...but I'd never seen it happen with a human. I'd heard tales of how female humans were taken and bitten and changed, but I honestly had no idea if a bite was all there was to it. That's why I hadn't bitten Cheyenne yet. I wanted to make sure I got it right on the first try.

  “I can change her,” I said, more confidently than I felt. “I'm waiting for the moon to be full tomorrow night.”

  “Then why didn't you wait and take her tomorrow night?” Chase asked.

  “Because she goes to the club on Friday nights. It was the safest place to take her. I'm sure her employer has cameras set up and she lives with a roommate in an apartment complex.”

  Chase was pacing and every time he heard a sob come from the other room, he stopped and looked in that direction with a distressed look on his face.

  “Is she okay?” he asked. “Is she eating?”

  “What kind of monster do you think I am? I've caught a rabbit or fish or squirrel every day and I even cooked it for her. She's eating well, and she's fine. She just doesn't understand yet that this is what she wants, but she will.”

  Chase snorted and shook his head. “Sometimes your confidence borders on arrogance. What if she doesn't want this? You're not just talking about changing her. You're talking about changing her and everything she knows to be true, Ridge. What if it makes her miserable? Will you be okay with that?”

  “I can sense that she wants me, as much as I want her. She'll come around to it soon, I guarantee you she will.”

  “None of that matters. Chelsea will be here in a few minutes, and unless you want to go back to being a lone wolf, you better be ready to do whatever she says to clean up this mess.”

  “I'm not giving up my mate,” I said, stubbornly.

  Chase started to say something else, but the sound of the pack's Jeep driving up out front, had both of our attention. Chase's eyes were wide. He looked like he was the one about to get kicked out of the pack. If that was the worst that Chelsea had planned for me, I could live with it, as long as I had Cheyenne.

  I braced myself as Chelsea stormed inside. She was carrying the baby carrier and I could hear the little guy cooing inside. I al
most chuckled at the thought of our fearless alpha, taking her pup to work with her. Luckily for me, I was smart enough not to underestimate our alpha. She was strong and smart and capable enough to lead an entire pack made up mostly of men. She never backed down from a fight, or a challenge and judging from the fire in her eyes now, I knew I had to be ready for both.

  “What in the hell are you doing? Have you lost your damned mind?”

  She spun on Chase before I had a chance to answer and said, “And you! You tell me where he is and then race up here to warn him? We're you plotting to get him out of here with the girl and I got here too fast?”

  “No Chelsea, I...” She was finished with him, for the time being. She turned back on me and said,

  “Well? You've got two seconds to explain yourself. This will be your one and only chance before I meet with my mates and we decide what your punishment will be for this. You've put the fate of our entire pack in jeopardy, Ridge...do you even realize that?”

  “She's my mate, Chelsea. Once I change her...”

  “Change her? You brought her here to change her, against her will?”

  “No! I thought after a few days she would warm up to me. I know she has to go into this willingly. I just needed some time to...convince her.”

  Chelsea sat the baby carrier down. “I had such high hopes for you, Ridge. Let me talk to her.”

  “Chelsea...please understand. She's my mate. I know she is just as clearly as you knew who yours were.”

  “None of my mates tried to force anything on me, Ridge. That's the difference. This is our home, or it was. What do you think will happen when this girl goes back and tells everyone you kidnapped her? Our business here will be ruined. Our lives here will be ruined. You made a one-sided decision that affects this entire pack and unless I can think of a way to smooth this over...our down fall is on you. Now, unlock that door and let me talk to her. Chase, take the baby out to the car. There's a pair of emergency sweat pants and a sweatshirt in the back. Get dressed and wait for me there. The keys are in it if he wakes up, he likes to listen to the radio. We don't need the shock of seeing your white ass making things worse.”

  Chase put his head down in shame as he picked up the baby carrier and headed outside.

  I was trying to think of some way to refuse what Chelsea was telling me, but it was hopeless. I'd never fight her, and even if I did, she had four alpha mates who would have me in pieces just minutes afterwards. I took the key to the door out of my jeans and walked over and unlocked it.

  I expected Cheyenne to charge me again and when she didn't, I stuck my head in the room. The door to the little bathroom was open. I walked over to it with Chelsea on my heels and stopped dead in my tracks when I got there.

  “I'll be a son of a bitch.” The toilet was one that was manufactured for a motor home or trailer house. It was light and when the cabin was constructed, it had simply been sat on top of the hole that emptied down into the sewer underneath. The toilet was sitting in the bathtub and Cheyenne, was gone.

  Cheyenne

  I couldn't let myself think about what I'd just waded through or I'd be too sick to run. I had nearly lost my lunch when I lowered myself down into that hole. The worst part was that I had to duck my head under and push up through the pump that was set up alongside the house.

  I couldn't think about that though, I had to get far enough away that they couldn't find me, and go from there. I didn't know which way to go. The trees and foliage around me all looked the same. I looked up at the sun which was getting low in the sky, like the afternoon was going to turn to evening soon. It was bright and looked like it was about to descend down behind the mountains. I pictured the little town on the island.

  The mountains were to the west, and the beach to the east. I had to go away from the sun which would take me right past the front of the house. I didn't have any other choice though. If I got up deeper in the mountains before the sun went down, I'd be lost for sure, out in the night with God knows what kind of creepy, crawly things, or wild beasts.

  Dripping with funk of the sort I'd never imagined I would be bathed in, I began to jog along the side of the cabin, stopping at the edge of it and sticking my head around to make sure the coast was clear. I was shocked when I saw the Jeep, and even more surprised that it was running. I was about 12 or 14 feet away from it and I could see the front driver and passenger seats.

  There was no one in there...they'd left me an escape vehicle.

  Maybe.

  What if it was a trap?

  I was torn. I knew I should just keep running, but I had no idea where I was or how far I was from town. There were too many variables in the little island jungle at night. When I first moved there I was warned about a population of wolves that lived near the mountains, and different species of poisonous spiders and snakes...things that could be on me, things that could kill me before I even knew they were there. I decided to chance that someone had just stopped by, and maybe didn't know Ridge was harboring a captive.

  It was my best shot.

  I wasn't a runner. Never have been.

  But I ran toward that Jeep faster than I'd ever run in my life. I was practically still in motion as I grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, swinging myself up into the vehicle practically in one motion.

  It's amazing what you are capable of when the adrenaline kicks in.

  I threw the Jeep into drive without even closing the side door and floored the accelerator. The radio was on and between the loud music and the roar of the engine, not to mention the roar of the blood in my head, I didn't hear a thing. I flew down the dirt path until I came to a windy, paved road. I was moving the Jeep around those curves as fast as it would go when I reached up and adjusted the rear-view mirror...and saw a pair of green eyes, filled with fear, staring at me from the back seat. I screamed, he let out a bizarre little sound and then as I slammed on the breaks at the first clearing I came to, a baby started to cry.

  5

  Chase

  I was surprised when Cheyenne jumped in the car, but even more surprised at how badly she smelled. I was going to say something when she first floored it and took off, but she was flying down the hill so fast, I was afraid to startle her. I looked over at the precious cargo next to me. So far, the 10 month old baby was sleeping...like a baby. It was only when Cheyenne slammed on the brakes and started to scream that the baby woke up and chimed in himself.

  “What the hell is that?” Cheyenne screamed.

  I reached over and unbuckled the baby and took him out of the seat.

  “Just a baby,” I told her, holding the little man up and turning him so he was facing her. “See.”

  “Jesus!” she said, with her hand over her heart. “Whose baby is that?”

  “He belongs to our...to the employers of the company Ridge and I work for. His name is...”

  “I don't care what his name is. Take him and get out.”

  “Seriously? You're going to put me and this innocent little baby out along the side of the road?”

  “I was kidnapped. I swam through shit to escape. You were in on it. Get! Out!” I sighed and put the baby back in his carrier. He started to cry again while I buckled him into his seat. I was taking my time and Cheyenne realized it.

  “Hurry!” she snapped.

  “I think he's hungry. I need his diaper bag up there on the passenger seat...”

  “There's no bag here. Get out! You can call for a ride once you're out. He'll be fine.”

  “Oh, there's no cell phone service up here...”

  “Then walk back to the cabin. Your buddy is there, and whoever belongs to that baby too, I guess. Is your entire company twisted and in on this? What's your end game? I don't know anyone with money to pay a ransom.”

  “It's not about ransom. Ridge likes you.”

  Cheyenne laughed.

  “Well, I guess that answers my question about why he's single.”

  “We do things a little...differently,” I told her,
“But honestly, Ridge doesn't mean you any harm.”

  “He has a funny way of showing that...all of it. But, I don't care to hear excuses. Get out, now, and take that baby with you.”

  “Can I get the bag out of the back?”

  “Get out!” Before she finished yelling those two words, the baby was crying again and the passenger door was pulled open. She was obviously surprised to see Chelsea standing there. Chelsea wrinkled her nose, probably at the smell in the Jeep. I was sure I'd get the job of cleaning it out when we got back to the compound, and that would only be one of my punishments.

  “Leave me alone,” Cheyenne yelled at her.

  “I'm not going to hurt you,” Chelsea said, “I'm here to help you.”

  It was obvious that Cheyenne didn't trust her.

  At this point, I would be surprised if she trusted anyone.

  “If that's your baby, you better take him now, or I'm taking him with me. Either way, I'm getting out of here.”

  “Cheyenne, I can't let you do that until we have a chance to talk, okay?”

  “No! Not okay...” the door opened behind her and before she could react, Ridge grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out. She was kicking and screaming and Ridge was trying to wrestle her around so that he could get his hand over her mouth. When I took the baby and got out of the Jeep, it was just in time to hear Ridge yelp in pain and see Cheyenne with a mouthful of his flesh.

  He tried to pull his hand away, but it looked like she was biting down harder.

  I saw the transformation.

  It was likely caused by pain and rage, but Ridge lost control for just a second. His hazel eyes flashed yellow and his canines dropped.

  Cheyenne had to have noticed because she let go of him and suddenly she was as still as a statue. She stared at him for several seconds and then opened her mouth full of blood and began to scream again.

  It was only when Chelsea screamed “Stop! Enough!” in what the rest of us in the pack refer to as her demon voice, that she suddenly stopped. The baby stopped crying too and Ridge and I both froze. That was Chelsea's “I mean business” voice and if anyone didn't comply, there would be consequences.