"Yes," I choked out.
"I'm on my way. Whatever you do, don't leave that room."
Another loud crash sent the door flying inward. Christian scrambled behind me as he cried harder out of fear. My hands shook as I realized who was here. The phone slipped through my finger tips in shock but I could still here Titus calling my name.
The Master walked up to me slowly, a sinister grin played on his lips. He bent down to pick up the phone as I instinctively moved Christian as far as possible from the man.
"Beta?" The Master asked.
"Who is this," Titus demanded.
"I am taking back what is mine."
"Don't touch them," I could hear Titus growl in fury.
"I don't want the boy. He is of no use to me but Elizabeth will be coming with me."
"She doesn't belong to you."
"Clearly, she hasn't told you much of her past," the Master said as he grinned at me.
His cold, stone-like hand trailed down my cheek, followed down my neck and traced the line of my collarbone. I wanted to slap his hand away but I feared any reaction from me would cause him to use Christian against me. I wasn't about to risk Christian because my stomach churned at the thought of that man touching me.
"I will leave your son here, unharmed, but you will not see Elizabeth again."
With that, he crushed the phone with a light squeeze of his hand. His full attention turned to me causing every vein in my body to run cold in fear. I knew what he wanted from me. I knew why he never slaked his lust with me when I was younger. I had been promised to him by my parents and he was collecting on that promise.
"Come," he commanded.
I pushed Christian further out of the Master's view, if that was at all possible.
"I don't care about him. You are the one I've come to collect," he assured.
I looked back at Christian; his cheeks were red and puffy from crying, more tears streamed down his face. What choice did I have? If I fought, I was grossly outnumbered against vampires and they would kill Christian or at least harm him until I agreed to go.
"Please, just don't hurt him," I begged.
"I have no reason to, ma chérie."
I turned around and knelt in front of Christian. I pulled him into a tight hug as he cried into my chest. Try as I might, I could not stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks.
"Momma, I'm scared," he cried.
"I know but you have to be brave right now," I whispered.
"Like Dad?"
I nodded, "Exactly like Dad. I have to go with this vampire but I want you to stay right here until Dad comes to get you. Can you do that?"
I prayed he told Titus I said this man was a vampire. It was the only clue I could give my son without flat out telling him.
"But where are you going," he begged.
"This vampire raised me. I have to go with him."
"But I don't want you to go," he wailed.
His emotional anguish forced more tears from my eyes as I memorized every feature of his face. It would be one of the only things to keep me going while the Master kept me in captivity. I would do anything for Christian, even if it meant a life of servitude to keep him safe.
"I know, Christian-"
"As touching as this is, I am done with it. We are leaving now unless you would like to see something happen to him."
I hugged Christian one last time and kissed his cheeks; they were salty from his tears and I would never forget that taste and smell. I would never forget how terrified his milk chocolate eyes looked or how his small body trembled. It was the single most crushing experience in my life.
"I love you, Christian. Don't ever forget that, okay?"
He nodded and wrapped his small arms around my neck, sniffling and still bawling.
I felt a hand tangle to the base of my scalp and pull me away from Christian. He cried out for me but the Master didn't care. He roughly drug me from the room as I gripped his forearm to get him to stop pulling my hair but he wasn't stopping. I was shoved into the arms of another vampire and hauled downstairs.
I listened carefully to make sure no one harmed Christian and to my surprise, no one did. Everyone left the house with Christian still upstairs crying. The sound of him crying had never been more welcomed as I was thrown into a car and sped off. Now all I had to do was form a plan.
*********
"Did you honestly think I wouldn't come for you?" He asked casually.
I didn't respond. I simply stared out the window as we drove the winding roads. He had this idea that if he produced a child with a werewolf, it would be the start to a superior race but that's not how genetics work. I was certain the lines couldn't be combined naturally; not that there had never been a werewolf and vampire couple, but it was rare. If a child was produced, it was either vampire or wolf, never a blend. Maybe some day, in a test tube, a blending of the lines could be possible but this man was delusional.
"I expect a verbal response when I ask a question," he bit out.
I knew angering him would not do me any good so I chose to comply.
"Yes, Master," I responded nearly silent.
"Ma chérie, you may call me by name. You will be mine in every way."
I cringed at the thought.
"Now tell me, did you think I wouldn't find you?"
"I hoped you wouldn't," I said, still staring out of the window.
"That is rude, Elizabeth. Please don't force me to punish you."
"I won't."
"Good girl. Tell me, what have you been doing all these years?"
It took everything in me to actually respond to him. I wanted to scream and shift but I knew I didn't stand a chance at getting away from this group on my own. I wasn't sure how I was getting out of this but I had faith Christian would tell Titus that they were vampires and that they raised me. He would be able to put the pieces together with that information. I had never regretted not telling him more about my childhood until the moment I saw the fear in Christian's eyes.
"I've been married."
"I have heard. Claire was none too pleased about that," he commented.
Bitch. I should have fucking known. The second Rachel told me where she was from I should have known Claire had something to do with this beyond the kidnapping. Was she really so hellbent on getting Titus back that she would tell the Order where to find me? Obviously, she was.
I felt Andre's eyes on me but I refused to meet his gaze. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing he had me in a bind.
"You have nothing to fear from me as long as you comply," he said, "However, I will not tolerate bad behavior."
"What do you consider bad behavior," I asked.
"Back talk, trying to escape, any contact with the Beta or his son-"
"Christian is my son, too."
"He is Claire's son again. She wants the Beta and I wanted you so we made an arrangement. I would take you out of the picture and she could win him back."
The entire situation disgusted me. Andre was the worst kind of person and Claire was his female counterpart. Why couldn't she just accept that I married Titus and adopted Christian after she abandoned them both? She was selfish, that's why. He couldn't have gotten a sane woman pregnant, could he. It just had to be her, didn't it.
I instantly felt bad for thinking that way. It's not like he intentionally got Claire pregnant. It was an accident. One, big, horrible, accident that resulted in Christian. Christian was the only thing that made this situation tolerable. He was the only reason I wasn't angry with Titus for his indiscretion. If Christian hadn't been born, Titus and I would probably be on a very different level. I would have had a reason to be mad at Titus but how could I be mad when I gained Christian from this? I couldn't explain why I wasn't mad at Titus for sleeping with Claire before he met me but I wasn't. However, if Christian wasn't there, I would have been furious. I didn't even understand it myself.
"Why couldn't you just let me be?" I asked, void of any emotion.
/> "You belong to me," he simply answered.
"My parents promised me. I didn't agree to anything."
"Yes, well, your parents were devout followers. They believed in something bigger than them and that is why you were born. You never belonged to anyone except me."
Even though that was nothing new, it still hurt to know my parents never actually wanted me and they made that very clear through my short time with them. They had me out of necessity. My brother knew it too and resented me for it. He saw me as the reason they moved from the pack to live with the Order. When I had to live with him while I was in school, he didn't speak to me once. I knew he hated me and over the years I had accepted it but my acceptance never eased the pain of knowing the people that were supposed to love me wanted to give me to this power hunger vampire.
"What happens now?"
"Now, we go home. I'll give you some time to readjust and after that, you will not leave our bed until you have my child."
A silent tear rolled half way down my cheek before I wiped it away. I wouldn't let him see me cry.
"How much time do I have?"
"How much do you need, ma chérie?"
"Fifty years," I suggested.
He laughed, "Nice try. You may have a week."
A week? How was I supposed to come up with an escape plan in under a week?
We pulled up to the mansion he lived in with the other coven members. I was brought here once when I was ten so he could examine my growth and make sure I was up to his physical requirements. He wouldn't just choose any girl. It had to be me because he thought my parents had a strong bloodline even if they weren't ranked.
"Now Elizabeth, I understand that being away from your mate will be difficult at first but you must understand you don't have a choice in this. You will never be with him again and the sooner you accept that, the better. If you do come into contact with him, I will kill him."
HA! Like he could kill Titus. Please. Titus was the Beta of one of the most feared and respected packs in the world. He didn't get to that position by being weak. Even though the position was passed down through generations, anyone could challenge him for it and Titus had been challenged before. He wore the battle scars to prove his resilience. If Titus came for me, he would not hesitate to kill Andre and Andre wouldn't stand a chance. He may have been thousands of years old but he failed to realize the deep bond Titus and I shared. Even if Titus hated me, I would still be his mate and he would always protect me.
"You couldn't kill him if you tried."
"Is that something you are willing to gamble?"
"Yes. Titus will kill you and if you touch me, he won't kill you mercilessly. It will be slow and painful. I hope that's a gamble you are willing to take."
A sharp slap sliced across my cheek and no matter how much I expected it, nothing could have prepared me for how quick and intense the pain would be. I gasped but instantly stopped when the pain only intensified. I had never been hit before and it was something I never wanted to experience again.
"Why would you force me to hurt you," he demanded angrily.
I couldn't even open my mouth to respond. I tasted blood in my mouth and forgot all pain as I looked at Andre. I wasn't the only one to notice my mouth filled with blood. He gripped the back of my neck and pulled my mouth to his. He forced my mouth open with his tongue and drank from me. I tried to pry him off but he was so incredibly strong, I just couldn't. Granted, I was holding up better than a human would but vampires were known for their strength and speed. His lips moved against mine as I struggled to push him away but my struggling only seemed to encourage him. He broke away from my lips only to cock my head to the side and sink his fangs into the soft skin of my neck. I cried out, tears involuntarily escaped my eyes, as he drank from me. If I thought the slap was painful, that was nothing compared to him drinking from me.
Slowly, my world started to spot and turn black but he never released my neck from his clutches. I could feel my breathing slow, my struggling turned to nothing more than weak slaps on his chest.
He slipped his fangs out of my flesh and let me slump down in the seat.
"Next time, you will watch what you say."
He stepped out of the car and turned back to yank me out. He stood me up but he had taken so much blood, I couldn't stand on my own. I wobbled and started to fall but he gripped my upper arm and drug me inside. God, I prayed Titus would find me in time.
********
Titus:
I didn't bother turning off my car. I ran inside the house and upstairs to find Christian sitting, huddled in a ball in the panic room. I scooped him up to make sure he was okay but he wrapped his arms around my neck, crying.
"Are you okay? Did they hurt you?" I asked. I knew I sounded panicked and I was.
He shook his head, "They took Momma."
"Did you know them?"
"No," he sniffled, "Momma said she knew them. She said the vampire raised her and she had to go with him."
A vampire? We've never had an issue with vampires. I didn't know of any werewolf that did have a problem with vampires.
"Are you sure they were vampires?"
"She said so," he insisted.
I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket and called Zac. This wasn't something I could do on my own since I didn't even know what I was up against.
"Hello," he answered.
"Elizabeth is gone," I said. I felt my anger with the situation finally setting in. I would kill whoever took my mate from me and scared my son.
"Gone?"
"Christian said a vampire that raised her took her."
"Do you know where they would take her?"
"I have no idea what he's talking about," I admitted.
I felt like a damn idiot for not knowing more about Elizabeth but I never wanted to push her to tell me. I figured if she wanted me to know, she would tell me. Now I regretted not prying more, finding out everything I could.
"Earlier today, when she talked to Rachel, she talked about growing up in this thing called Order of the Mystics. I guess Claire's mate was part of it so I assume she had something to do with this."
"Shit," I muttered, "Can you meet me at my house? I'm going to get Claire here."
"Yeah. I'll bring Rachel. She'll probably know where to find this group."
I hung up and brought Christian to his bed. We sat down as he stopped crying. I kept my arm around his shoulders since that seemed to be what was calming him down.
"Sorry, Dad," he mumbled.
"For what?"
"Momma told me I needed to be brave like you but I cried," he said in a shaky voice.
I hugged him closer as I sighed in frustration, "Mom's going to be proud of how brave you were. It's okay to cry sometimes, Christian."
"But I didn't stop the man from taking her."
"That's okay. I'm going to get her back. I promise. Can you tell me what he looked like?"
"He was tall like you but skinny and really white. He had long, black hair and red eyes."
"Did you hear his name?"
He shook his head, "Where's Momma?"
"I don't know but I'm going to find her. You're going to stay with grandma and papa for now, okay?"
He nodded, "Tell Momma I love her."
I kissed the top of his head, "I'll tell her, buddy."
I looked around the room for any clues but there was nothing odd other than the scent of vampires. Why the hell would vampires want her? We have always gotten along with vampires and as far as I knew, Elizabeth didn't have a past with them but I guess I was wrong. Clearly, there were many things she didn't tell me about her childhood. I knew I should have pressed her for information.
I needed to relax. I wasn't thinking clearly because this was Elizabeth. I knew that her parents belonged to a religious cult apparently called Order of the Mystics. Claire's mate also belonged to the cult and so did the girl Zac had in his possession. Vampires took Elizabeth and she told Christian the man raised her. That h
ad to mean Order of the Mystics was a vampire led group with werewolf subordinates since she said her family was not ranked. A ranked werewolf would never fall victim to a cult unless they were leading it.
I called Claire, waiting for her to answer. I knew she would because she was desperate to get me back. She would do anything if it meant having me back. I needed to convince her to come here so we could press her for information.
"Hello," she answered timidly.
"Claire?"
"Titus?" She perked up.
"Yeah. Look, I'm sorry about what I said in my office. Do you think...do you think you could come over?"
"To your office?"
"To my house. My wife is gone right now and I think it would be a good time to actually talk."
"About us?" She asked, hopeful.
I rolled my eyes, "Yeah."
"How long will she be gone?" She asked coyly.
I knew what she wanted me to say and I had to play along to get her over here before Zac. I hated myself for it but gritted my teeth and looked back at my son who had passed out on his bed.
"Long enough for me to know you again. In detail," I added.
She laughed a breathy, sultry laugh, "I'll be over in a minute. Wait for me in your bedroom."
"Already waiting."
I set my phone down on Christian's night stand and sat next to him. Jesus, how did everything spin out of control so fast? One minute I'm planning a vacation for Liz and myself, the next I get a phone call and she's gone. I should have increased patrols of the house when I knew Claire was back. I should have known, right after our conversation, to go home and protect my family. But none of that mattered because now they had her and I had to focus on getting her back. I would do anything to have her back safe and unharmed. She was my life and I would kill anyone that stood in the way of getting her back. Including Claire.
After a few minutes, I heard a car pull down the driveway and stop in front of my house. For the first time, I hoped it was Claire. She needed to be here before Zac so she wouldn't know I was setting her up.
She let herself in and started up the stairs. I came out of Christian's room and quietly closed the door behind me. She met me right in front of the door and wasted no time trying to unbutton my pants. I gripped her wrists probably more rough than necessary and pinned her against the wall. A low growl escaped my throat at the thought of Elizabeth being harmed because of Claire and it took everything in me not to shift and tear her to shreds.
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