The girls who had gone to check his office finally returned.
"He never showed up this morning," said a blonde. "Another instructor told us to do whatever he has in the syllabus for today. Basically, we're free to go."
Cheers erupted around the room, and the majority of people hurried out. A few remained, reading from the textbook.
"What are you going to do?" Grace asked.
I shrugged. My pulse was elevated, and I felt sick to my stomach. Something was wrong.
The card. He'd given me his number.
"You okay?" she asked.
"Yeah. I need to make some calls. Mind if I meet you later to drive across campus?"
She glanced at the time. "I have time to walk. I'm just going to do that."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. See you tomorrow." She packed up her things and left.
I glanced at the doorway, hoping he'd walk through. Maybe he'd even give extra credit to those of us who had stayed. But I knew that wasn't happening.
I put my stuff back into my backpack and headed outside. The warm sun felt good, but did nothing to help me feel better. I dug into the pocket with Toby's card, entered the number into my contacts, and called him.
Straight to voicemail. I ended the call.
Maybe I should leave him a message. What if something really was wrong?
I went over to a secluded area and called again.
"Hi, you've reached Toby. I'm not available right now, but if you leave a message, I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks."
My hand shook as I waited for the beep. "Hi Professor Foley, this is Victoria. You didn't show up for class this morning and I just wanted to make sure everything's okay. Hope you're having a nice day."
I ended the call and shook my head, embarrassed. Hope you're having a nice day? He was probably violently ill stuck in a hospital bed somewhere. It wouldn't be long before he thought I was a total idiot, and I already had one teacher who thought that.
Sighing, I leaned against the closest tree. What could I do? Running off, excited about getting to miss class wasn't something I could do. Not when I was so sure something had to be wrong.
Maybe I could go to his office. I didn't know what I could find that the other girls hadn't, but at least it was something. It was better than doing nothing.
I pulled out his card again. His office was across campus. Maybe a brisk walk would help to clear my head. I secured my bag over my shoulders and headed for the building.
When I got to his floor, some professors were gathered together, talking about Toby.
My stomach twisted into tighter knots. Something was definitely wrong. I continued heading toward his office, anyway.
A tall blonde sat in the chair behind the desk.
"Is this Professor Foley's office?" I asked.
Her eyes widened when we made eye contact.
"Soleil?" I asked, remembering the girl who had spoken with me at the Jag. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm friends with Toby." Her expression was somber.
"What's wrong?" I exclaimed. "Where is he?"
She gestured for me to come inside. "Close the door."
I did and then sat across from her. "Is he okay?"
"We don't think so."
I felt like throwing up. "What happened?"
She took a deep breath. "It's rather complicated, and you don't remember anything."
"Huh?"
Soleil bit her lip. "I'm not sure how much he would want me telling you."
I stared at her. "You do realize I'm just his student?" Though I was sure I was about to find out more about not only him, but my memory issues as well.
She held my gaze. "You and I both know that's not true, honey."
My shoulders dropped and a lump formed in my throat. "I don't know anything."
"You know more than you're letting yourself admit to."
"Stop talking in riddles!"
"This would go a lot faster if I could drink from your essence again."
I stared at her. "What are you talking about?"
"This." She got up, walked around the desk, and stopped inches from me. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth. Mine opened on its own. The same silky feeling from our last interaction pulled up from deep within me and out through my throat.
My eyes fought to shut, but I forced them open as a warm tingle ran through my body, massaging every inch of me. A sparkling purple mist swirled in between our mouths, appearing to travel from mine to hers. If that wasn't weird enough, wings appeared behind her, taking up the entire office. A slight breeze brushed over me with each movement.
The pulling sensation continued and the tingle grew warmer as the mist grew darker in color. Finally, my body went limp. I couldn't remember what I'd been so upset about just moments earlier.
Soleil closed her mouth and everything stopped. I jerked backward. She opened her eyes—and they were an unnatural shade of green. She blinked and they returned to normal. Her wings disappeared.
I stared at her, breathless.
"Okay, now that I'm up to speed—"
"What was that?" I demanded. "You did that to me at the Jag, too."
"For Toby."
My mouth gaped. "What?"
She returned to the seat. "Your dreams—those are actual memories."
"I-I… How do you know about my dreams?"
"When I drank your essence, I gained access to everything."
I scowled. "Everything? My memories, you mean?"
"Only what you allowed, and—"
"I didn't allow anything! You didn't even tell me what you were doing." Anger tore through me. "How dare you?"
"Look, Toby needs our help. Are you willing or not?"
"Where is he?"
"Being held against his will."
The room seemed to spin around me. "What?"
"Look, I don't want to overwhelm you. There's a lot you don't know, but I know you remember Toby—even though you doubt."
I felt completely naked. Her essence drinking, whatever that was, had given her access to all my thoughts. "Well, whatever you just did to me, you should know what I'm willing to do," I snapped. "And how do you know he's being held against his will? Did you steal his essence, too?"
She muttered under her breath. "He was trying to protect you."
Everything disappeared around me as I stared at her. I couldn't find any words.
Soleil reached around me and helped me to stand. "Here, come sit in the comfortable chair." She helped me around the desk and sat me in the soft seat.
"We need to get him out, but you're the only one with a way in."
"You've got to be kidding me." I leaned my elbows against the desk and accidentally knocked over a stack of papers—I really was a klutz.
"Nope. None of us can get near him."
"Why me?" I picked up the fallen papers and put them on the desk. A framed picture sat on the desk, face down. I pulled it upright and gasped.
It was a photo of me.
Or someone who looked just like me. I held it, trying to make sense of everything. The girl looked just like me, down to a barely-noticeable scar in front of my right ear. Only she was wearing an outfit I'd never seen and was sitting in front of a pond I'd never been to—at least that I was aware. I hated my memory.
"Wh-what's this?" I shoved the frame at Soleil.
"His favorite picture."
I pushed the chair back, shaking my head. "This is all a joke. A really cruel prank." I glanced around for hidden cameras.
She shook her head. "It's not, and he needs you."
The room seemed to close in around me. My stomach lurched. "I'm going to be sick."
"The toilet's down the hall and to the right."
I ran past her and found the bathroom just in time. As soon as I rinsed my mouth, I hurried out of the building as fast as I could.
Why did he have my picture? What did it all mean? Whatever the answers were, I couldn't face them.
Toby
My head snapped back, waking me. I blinked my eyes, trying to get rid of the bleariness. My arms ached from being tied over my head for so long. I pulled on them, but the metal only dug into my skin again.
I steadied my legs underneath me, using them rather than the chains, to keep me standing upright. If only I had something to lean against. Or to drink. I was parched.
How long had I been in the dark dungeon?
Over to the side of the room lay a human skeleton, still in chains.
That didn't offer me much hope. The only thing I had going for me was that Brick, Sal, and Jet knew I'd gone into the club. But was I even still there? Surely this room wasn't advertised in their brochures.
My right eye throbbed, reminding me of the beating I'd received after being chained. The owner had sucker punched me a few times before unleashing a couple of his men on me.
I coughed, which only made sharp pains shoot out from my ribs. At least all the pain distracted me from the hunger and thirst.
The doorknob jiggled.
My head shot to attention. Was I in for another beating, or would they give me something to drink finally?
The door opened, and in walked the owner. He looked at me and laughed. "How's it going?"
I clenched my teeth, refusing to give him the pleasure of an answer.
"The strong, silent type, are you? We'll see how far that gets you. If you want any water, you better answer my questions."
I groaned involuntarily.
He laughed again. "That's what I thought. What were you doing inside my building?"
"Looking for answers."
"More specific." He punched me across the face.
Blood gushed from my nose. It dripped down my face and onto my bare chest. Instinctively, I tried wiping it, but the chains stopped me. Sharp pains shot through my shoulder.
"Why were you here?"
"Victoria."
"Ah, now we're getting somewhere." A slow, sly smile spread across his face. "My son had a nice make out session with her last night."
I lunged at him, not that it did any good.
"I've got the video to prove it." He pulled out a phone and slid his finger around the screen. "One of these days, Carter will find out about the cameras I have everywhere and be pissed." He chuckled. "But what can he do?"
I turned away from him, ignoring the shooting pains in my neck.
"Here we go. Look at this."
"No," I grunted.
The jerk grabbed my face and forced me to look at the screen. It showed Victoria with the guy she'd been eating with the night before. They sat at a candle-lit table surrounded by plants, just talking.
"Wait for it."
Carter turned to my Victoria and ran his hand along her face. She then kissed his fingertips.
I closed my eyes, refusing to watch anymore.
My captor made a noise in his throat and then something wet hit my eye. "I said to watch," he growled. "Should I turn the volume on?"
I opened my eyes and glared at him through the spit hanging on my eyelashes.
He squeezed my chin and shoved the screen closer to my face.
Carter ran his hands through Victoria's hair. She had her hand on his arms as he flexed. From the expression on her face, she was enjoying herself.
My stomach twisted in knots. The wolf inside me raged, eager to escape. I averted my eyes, unable to watch.
The fingers around my face tightened. I brought my gaze back to the screen.
Now Carter kissed her face. Her neck. The look of enjoyment on her face made me sick.
"What have you done to her?" I demanded.
He laughed. "I didn't plan on this—but it worked out nicely. Carter was just supposed to keep an eye on her. I didn't expect a jaguar to fall for a lowly wolf, but I'll take it for now."
I lunged at him, not caring about the metal digging into my flesh.
"Watch the show." His fist hit my temple with a sickening crack.
On the screen, my captor's son passionately kissed my love. His hand went for the zipper on the back of her shirt and he started unzipping.
The screen turned black.
"You've seen enough. I suppose you've earned a sip of water. I'll let someone know. Have fun imagining what's on the rest of the video." He smirked and left the room, slamming the door behind himself.
Bile rose from my stomach as I tried not to think about the rest of the video. Had that sleazy jaguar…? I couldn't even finish the thought. Victoria and I had decided to save ourselves for marriage—back in those days, there was honor in such a decision.
Images from the video replayed over and over in my mind. The harder I tried not to think of them, the more vivid they grew. I thought of Victoria's sweet scent, her soft hair, those supple lips…
And now that jerk knew them as intimately as I did. Maybe even more.
Vomit rose into my mouth and I threw it up onto the floor until my stomach could only dry heave. Once I escaped, I would tear that conniving, greedy bastard to pieces—in front of his father. They would both pay. Heavily.
I fought against the chains as my flesh ripped all the more. Fresh droplets of blood dripped down my arm. I shouted, allowing my wolf to release all his anger along with me.
Once my throat was raw, I stopped. I'd exhausted myself.
A few minutes later, the door opened again. A different jaguar came in carrying a glass of water. "Finally quieted down, I see." His face turned green. "It reeks in here. What did you do?"
I stared at the drink, longing for even just a sip.
"What did you do?" he shouted.
"Only what's natural, given my circumstances."
He gagged. "I'm glad I'm not on janitorial duty tonight." He plugged his nose and walked around my vomit. "Disgusting."
"Maybe you shouldn't lock people in here."
"Like I have any say." He shoved the glass to my mouth. "Hurry up before I puke all over you from the stench."
I drank as quickly as I could. The water had a funny taste, but I didn't care. I just wanted to quench my thirst and get the horrible sourness leftover from vomiting out of my mouth.
He yanked the glass from my mouth before I'd finished it. "I can't do this." He ran out of the room, gagging.
The inside of my mouth felt better, but I was growing dizzy. Everything spun around me. Maybe that was a good thing. At least it kept me from thinking about Victoria and that jaguar making jaguar-wolf hybrid babies.
Everything turned black.
Chapter 22
Victoria
I climbed into my car, sure Yurika would fire me. It had been the worst day ever. I couldn't concentrate, worried about Toby and agitated by my run-in with Soleil. I kept trying to convince myself I'd imagined everything from her drinking my essence to her bright green eyes and wings. But I could still feel the strange purple mist leaving my body.
My only saving grace was that Carter probably wouldn't allow Yurika to let me go, despite my having spilled crimson nail polish on a lady's silk dress, making it look like she'd had a monthly mishap. If that wasn't bad enough, I'd also put the wrong lotion on another lady's hands, leaving her skin red and irritated.
After that, Yurika had given me papers to file and she'd worked double-duty with the clients.
Sighing, I started the car.
My phone buzzed, indicating I had a text.
Carter: Sry. Stuck in mtg still
Victoria: Can I cu l8r?
Carter: Hope so
Victoria: Having the worst day
Carter: :( Ill try 2 get out asap
Victoria: Thx
Carter: <3 Sry
Victoria: Me 2
I hadn't seen him all day because I'd skipped my next two classes, hyperventilating in the woods. Alex, the friendly wolf who always seemed to find me, had found me yet again and helped me to calm down. But by then, I was due at the spa.
My body ached, and I didn't want to see anyo
ne other than Carter. Well, and Toby. But if there was any truth to what Soleil had told me, no one would see him anytime soon.
Guilt shot through me.
What if they really did need me to help find him? No, that was ridiculous. What could I do? It wasn't like I had any superpowers. No hero was half as clumsy as me. Either she was crazy or I was. Whichever it was, I couldn't help Toby no matter how much I wanted to.
I pulled out of the parking spot and onto the road, heading for the Waldensian. I'd just claim to have a headache—it wasn't far from the truth—and then I'd climb into bed, sticking my earbuds in. Hopefully that would make the rest of the world disappear for a while. At least until Carter was able to get out of his dad's meeting.
When I got to the campus, groups of people were posting fliers on utility poles. I slowed to look at one. It had the word Missing in large letters and a picture of Toby with information about him.
Someone turned to me. "Have you seen him?"
Tears stung my eyes. I shook my head and pulled back onto the road. My vision blurred, but I blinked the tears away.
Once I got home, a couple dozen people were crowded into the living room, watching the news. Toby's face flashed on the screen. It was the same picture as was on the flier.
Sasha ran over to me. "Can you believe it? That professor seems to have disappeared into thin air."
"I know." I cleared my throat. "It's crazy."
She leaned closer. "I heard he was involved in a cult."
I gave her a double-take. "Huh?"
"It makes sense if you think about it. He lives in a huge house in the middle of the woods."
"And that makes him a cult member?"
"Leader." Sasha nodded her head knowingly. "Their whole compound is blocked off with an electric fence. My friend heard they shoot visitors on sight."
"That doesn't sound like him."
"How would you know?"
My face warmed. "I'm in one of his classes."
Sasha pulled me into the next room. "Why are you blushing? Do you know something?"
"I'm not blushing." My face heated all the more.
"Liar. Tell me everything."
"Nothing to tell. He's my professor and a nice guy, that's all."
Lost Wolf (Curse of the Moon Book 1) Page 14