by J. L. Wilder
Well, there were just too many guns around here for Sophie to take any chances.
She lay on her back and stared up at the rafters high overhead, trying to think of a plan.
The only way to get out would be to trick them into leaving the door unlocked somehow. There were no other exits. There was only the one door, and no windows, and the fact that the ground had been cemented made tunneling her way out impossible. She had thought about trying to break through the wood of the wall in the middle of the night and bolting, but she had tested it, and it was too strong. Even if she did shift, she wouldn’t be able to break out that way.
So it would have to be the door. But how could she trick these men into leaving it open? Brett and Josh were the only two who ever came out to the barn, to bring her food or to ask her questions. Neither of them was exceptionally clever, in her opinion. But they were smart enough not to leave the door unlocked.
Maybe, if she could come up with some way to distract them...if she could think of something that would make them rush away...maybe they would get careless. Maybe they would make a mistake.
She would have to take her time. She didn’t want to rush into her effort, because if they realized that she was trying to trick them this way, they would be doubly cautious, and it would get that much harder. She would probably only have one real chance.
She would make the most of it.
She would be patient, and when she was sure she had a good idea, she would put it into action. But not before. As desperate as she was to return to her family. Sophie knew that she was strong. She could bear what was happening here. She could survive it, if it meant getting a better opportunity to escape and go back home.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening once more. This time, her eyes were already adjusted from her last visitor, so she didn’t wince as the light came in and lit up Josh’s silhouette from behind.
“Hey, Soph,” he said.
She didn’t answer. She wouldn’t respond to that name. Her friends, her family—they called her by that nickname. She wasn’t going to let Josh pretend he was her friend.
“What’s wrong?” he asked. “You’re not happy to see me?”
“I don’t mind if I see you or not.” She wouldn’t let him see any emotion from her. She wouldn’t let him know that he was bothering her.
“Did you enjoy your breakfast?” he asked.
She knew he was mocking her, but he was much better at it than Brett was. His tone was so solicitous that if she hadn’t known better, she might have actually believed that he cared.
“Breakfast was fine,” she said.
“No complaints?”
“None.”
“So you’d be happy with the same meal tomorrow?”
Sophie understood the trap. He was trying to get her to beg for something different, and if she did, he would deny her. It would amuse him to do so. But because she wasn’t cooperating, he was going to maneuver her into saying that she liked the slop she was being given.
She wasn’t going to play this game. “I know fresh food is hard to get,” she said, doing her best to sound understanding and friendly. “Not everyone is a good hunter. I understand that.”
Josh scowled. “Excuse me?”
“Well, you know,” Sophie said. “I assume you’re serving canned food to a guest because you don’t have any fresh meat. And that’s okay. One of the betas in my pack isn’t a very good hunter and nobody minds. She’s got other skills. Not everybody can be good at hunting; I’m not judging you.”
“I am an excellent hunter,” Josh snapped.
“I’m sure you are,” Sophie said encouragingly. “Maybe you just need a little more practice.”
“We have plenty of fresh meat.”
“Oh,” Sophie said dubiously. “If you say so.”
“I don’t have to prove anything to you. You’re a prisoner.”
“True enough,” she said amiably, knowing she had won. At best, he would feel compelled to bring her some fresh meat just to prove that he had the ability to do so, but at the very least, he would drive himself up the wall wondering whether or not she believed he was competent to hunt for himself.
He shook himself a little, as if shaking off the effects of her words. “Speaking of hunting,” he said, “are you ready to talk about your alphas’ skill sets?”
“Sure,” she said. “We can talk about that.”
He grinned. “I knew you would see reason.”
“They’re all great at everything,” Sophie said. “You can’t beat any of them in a fight. I lived with you for a long time, Josh. If you go one on one with any of my alphas, you’ll lose. They’re stronger than you, they’re more strategic than you, and they’re smarter than you.”
She expected anger, but to her surprise, Josh laughed. “You think so?” he asked.
“I know so,” she said. “I’ve never seen anything like the three of them. On their own, they're some of the most powerful men you’ll ever meet. And when they’re together, they’re absolutely unstoppable.”
“Ah,” Josh said. “But that’s just it. They’re not together. Not anymore.”
“You keep saying that sort of thing,” Sophie said. “But you don’t know them. Not like I do. They’re not going to fall apart just because I’m gone. Family is important to them. The next time you send people up north, you’ll see for yourself.”
“The next time I send people up north?” Josh chuckled and shook his head. “What makes you think my people ever left the Arctic?”
Sophie felt sick. “What?”
“Did you think I called everyone back home just because you were in custody?” Josh asked her. “Did you think that was the only part of our mission?”
“What are you talking about?” Sophie demanded.
“I have loyal soldiers up in the Arctic right now,” Josh said. “Three of them. Three of my most powerful, beautiful, tempting soldiers.”
Understanding was dawning. “You’re talking about women.”
“Three beautiful betas,” Josh said. “Rachel, Ophelia, and Felicity.” He smiled, showing all of his teeth. “Your alphas aren’t even thinking about you anymore. They’ve forgotten you.”
“No,” Sophie said, but her voice was shaking now. “They’d never do that.”
“Are you sure?” Josh asked. “Are you sure they would wait around for an omega who—remember—they believe ran out on them? They think you left them, Sophie. And now there are beautiful beta women in their territory who just want to get to know them a little better, spend a little time together, maybe help them forget their worries and feel happy again...”
“That isn’t going to work,” Sophie said. “They would never betray me like that. We’re mates. They’re imprinted. Nothing can turn them away from me.”
“Distance can work wonders, Sophie,” Josh said. “And it’s already happening. They’re divided.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“My girls call me every day,” Josh said. “They keep me updated on their mission and how it’s going. Your alphas are separated. They haven’t spoken to or seen one another in days. And each of them is in the company of a new woman, one guaranteed to help them forget their worries. One of my betas.”
“One of your spies,” she breathed. “They’re too smart to fall for this, Josh. It isn’t going to work.”
“Even you don’t believe that,” he said, a soft smile on his face. “Not really.”
And though she wished she could scream at him, tell him that he was wrong, that she knew her alphas would see through his trick, Sophie had to admit to herself that she was genuinely afraid.
What if they can’t stick together?
What if my family is forever torn apart?
Chapter Twelve
BURTON
The note was utter bullshit. Burton had known that from the moment he had first seen it. And that was why he hadn’t been back to the cave, and why he had no intention of going b
ack until he had found Sophie for himself.
He couldn’t understand how any of the others could have believed that crap about Sophie.
And he knew what would happen if he went back now. There would be an argument, maybe even a fight. He would tell them the truth—that there was no way Sophie had left them of her own accord—and they would tell him he was delusional, in denial. They would tell him to give up hope and focus on what was important—his children.
Well, his children needed their mother.
And if the others weren’t going to help, he would bring her back on his own. He didn’t have time to argue about it. She was clearly in the hands of someone else, someone would couldn’t possibly mean her well. He wasn’t about to allow that.
Now he loped through the woods, moving west, following the river. Her scent had disappeared into the water. Marco had said that she’d gone into the river to lose them, but Burton knew that was wrong. Someone had taken her. And dragging her through the water would have been impractical, so maybe they had taken a boat or a raft. That would mean moving in the direction of the water.
He lowered his nose to the ground and sniffed once, delicately.
“Find anything?”
He glanced back over his shoulder, frustrated. Huffing out an exasperated sigh, he shifted back into human form and stood with his hands on his hips, unabashed even though he was fully naked. If she didn’t want to see him, she didn’t have to keep trailing after him like a puppy. “I told you to stop following me, Ophelia,” he said. “I told you I’m leaving the area, and I don’t want company.”
Instead of leaving, Ophelia loped to his side. “But did you pick up her scent?” she asked.
Burton sighed. The woman had been following him for three days now. At first, he had thought she might be helpful, and he had told her about his missing omega in hopes that she might have seen Sophie or her captors. But Ophelia had offered no helpful information at all.
Instead, to Burton’s absolute consternation, she seemed to be trying to seduce him.
She walked over to him, obviously completely untroubled by his nakedness. Burton didn’t know why he had worried. Ophelia always behaved as if the two of them had known one another for years. “It doesn’t seem like she’s coming back, Burton,” she said. “Your packmates are probably right. She probably just decided to run away.”
Burton shook his head. “Sophie wouldn’t,” he said.
“Any omega would run away, if she found her chance,” Ophelia said. “I believe you that you and your pack deluded yourselves into thinking she was always with you willingly. It must be really hard for you to have to face the truth now. But you won’t be able to move on until you accept it. She’s a runaway, just like every other omega whose pack didn’t watch her closely enough.”
Burton didn’t feel any need to argue with her. He knelt to the ground and examined the bank, looking for scoring. If there had been a raft or a boat here, it might have scraped the shore, and he had been checking periodically for any sign of that.
He tensed when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“Let me help,” Ophelia said.
“Do you know something?” he asked her. He had never quite been able to believe that she didn’t have any information to offer him, but he had convinced himself that that feeling was nothing more than a desperate hope. He so badly wanted her to be able to tell him something. Maybe he had just convinced himself that she could based on nothing.
Or maybe not. She was squeezing the back of his neck gently now, and it was warm and reassuring. For a moment, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to take comfort from human contact. He had been on his own for days now. His omega was gone.
He opened his eyes. “Ophelia,” he said. “Stop.”
She didn’t stop. “Why?” she asked. “Why do you have to deny yourself any comfort, Burton?”
“You know why,” he said, acid in his voice. “I’m mated. I’m in love with someone else. She’s all I care about.”
“I’m not asking you to love me,” Ophelia said. “I’m not asking you to care about me.”
“What do you want, then?” he demanded.
Her hands were on his shoulders now, fingers splayed down onto his chest. “I just want to help you, Burton,” she said. “Is that so hard to believe? That someone might want to help you?” She lowered her lips to his ear. “Hasn’t anyone ever just wanted to take care of you?”
Then, in the blink of an eye, before he could react, he found himself flat on his back. Ophelia was inching down his body, her eyes on his. She slid her hand down his torso and toward his thigh.
He pushed her off of him and stood up. “I don’t want anything from you,” he said. “Jesus. You really can’t take no for an answer, can you?”
“Burton.” She reached out her hand.
“Touch me again and I’ll hit you,” he said.
“You wouldn’t hit a woman.”
“Well, no, I don’t want to. That’s why you’re getting the warning.” He stepped back.
She bared her teeth. “If it’s a fight you’re after, we can do that too,” she suggested, sinking low into a crouch. “I don’t really care how I get my teeth into you, so long as I do.”
He shook his head. “I don’t want to fight you, Ophelia.”
“You can’t,” she said. “You’re afraid you can’t handle a fight with a woman. You’re worried I’m going to get the best of you because you won’t bring your full strength.” She grinned. “And you’re right.”
Before he could respond, a massive dark shape sailed out of the woods behind him, flew over his shoulder, and landed on Ophelia’s chest, knocking her flat to the ground.
Burton scrambled back reflexively, but then he recognized the figure in front of him. “Ryker?”
The wolf glanced over its shoulder, then stepped back, letting Ophelia get to her feet. Her eyes were filled with rage, and she hissed as she stood, but she said nothing.
“I don’t like your odds now,” Burton told her quietly. “I’d get out of here if I were you.”
She hesitated.
Ryker snarled.
Ophelia glared at them, then turned and ran off into the woods. Ryker fell back slightly, and when Burton turned to look at him, he had resumed his human form.
Burton fished a couple of pairs of shorts out of the backpack he’d been carrying and tossed one to Ryker, who nodded his thanks and pulled them on. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“That woman,” Ryker said. “She was trying to seduce you, wasn’t she?”
Burton felt as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “She was trying,” he said. “I wasn’t about to have anything to do with her. That’s how it turned into a fight. I was trying to get her to back off.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t accusing you of anything,” Ryker said. “I know you wouldn’t betray Sophie any more than I would. It’s just that when I saw her with you, I knew what must be going on.”
“How?” Burton asked. “How could you know?”
“Because the same thing happened to me,” Ryker said.
Burton frowned. “What do you mean? What happened?”
“I left the family,” Ryker said. “Same as you did.”
“You what?” Burton started. “You left them?” This whole time, he had been assuming that Ryker and Marco, at least, were still together. “How could you do that?”
“I had to go, Burton. I was raging. I was out of control. Someone would have gotten hurt if I had stayed with them.”
“That’s no excuse,” Burton said. “You abandoned your family.”
“What are you talking about?” Ryker demanded. “You left!”
“To look for Sophie! Because none of the rest of you would!”
“What are you talking about?” Ryker asked. “Sophie left us.”
“There’s no way Sophie left us on her own.”
“The note explained it,” Ryker reminded him. “She was ashamed of herself.”
“Of course she wasn’t. So ashamed of the fact that she couldn’t get pregnant that she would leave the children she had?” Burton shook his head. “Do you know her at all, Ryker?”
Ryker frowned. “That’s what I thought at first too. What do you think happened?”
“She was kidnapped. Obviously.” Burton felt as if his nerves were live wires. “This is exactly what I didn’t want,” he said. “I didn’t want to have to sit around explaining this to you and Marco. Trying to convince you, when I could see how willing you were to accept the lie. I don’t have time for this conversation. I have to go and find her.”
Ryker’s muscles were rigid. “You think she was kidnapped again?” he breathed.
“That’s all it could be!”
“By bears?”
“I don’t know. How am I supposed to know that? I’ve been trying to track her, trying to find some sign, only this girl was on my tail, and I have no idea what she was after—”
“Oh, God,” Ryker breathed, his eyes unfocusing briefly.
Burton stared at him. “What?”
“The same thing really did happen to me,” Ryker said quietly. “A woman started following me around too. Her name was Rachel. I thought at first that she just wanted to hunt down a meal together, the way you do sometimes when you’re alone in the woods. You know?”
Burton nodded. He had thought the same of Ophelia at the beginning. He’d thought they’d catch a fish and go their separate ways. He had formed brief alliances with people like that all the time in the old days, before he had met his pack.
That seemed like a lifetime ago now.
“Anyway, it was dark after we ate, and we agreed that we would go our separate ways in the morning,” Ryker said. “We fell asleep on opposite sides of a small clearing, and when I woke up, she was right next to me. He closed his eyes and shook his head. “She had her hands on my face.”
“What did you do?” Burton asked.
“I moved away from her and told her I wasn’t interested,” Ryker said. “I tried to be polite because I didn’t want to make her feel bad about it or embarrass her. But she was...persistent.”