by KD Jones
She took his face in her hands and kissed his lips. “I want it all with you, Brock. I’m in love with you.”
He swooped her up in his arms. “My Samantha, how I love you, too.”
They made love one more time before she had to leave for the club. Brock would sleep in their bed while she was gone and then pick her up like he had done yesterday.
Her phone was ringing as soon as she stepped into the office. She stepped around the desk and recognized the number immediately. “Hi Mom.”
“Sam, please forgive me.”
She knew her mom was talking about the secret that they kept from her. She frowned, “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I should have, Adrian wanted to but I asked him to wait. I wanted to make sure that Brock’s feelings for you were real. Can you forgive me?”
“I don’t know. Do you accept that I’m with Brock and that we’re trying to build a life together?”
“Are you sure he’s the one for you?”
“He’s my Adrian, the man that I was always meant to be with. We still have a lot to work out, especially trust, but I want this with him.”
“I will work on accepting him and I want to earn your trust back.”
Sam could hear the tears when her mother spoke. She meant it, she would try to accept Brock. “I’ll forgive you and Adrian.”
“Thank you baby, thank you.”
“I’ve got work to do and you need to get your rest.”
Jackie chuckled over the phone. “I’m staying up more and more during the daylight hours. In fact, Adrian seems to get even friskier when the sun comes up—“
“I’ve got to go mom.” She needed to end the conversation before her mom went on about her sex life. That was too much to take this early in the morning.
“Okay dear, make sure you stay with your guards.”
“I will, I love you.”
“I love you too baby.”
She hung up feeling a little better having talked to her mom. She didn’t like being mad with her and Adrian. Forgiving them for doing what they thought as parents was right for her was a step in the right direction. She had hope that her future with Brock would be amazing.
She sat in the office, smiling ear to ear. Brock loved her, there was no doubt in her mind about that. Everything was working out and she was with the man she loved. What more could she ask for?
She worked for hours getting the books straight and entered the numbers in the computer program she convinced Adrian to buy. She had a conference call to investors who would like to add more clubs across the United States. She interviewed for new staff and met with the mangers on changes to the day to day running of the place giving them more responsibilities. By mid afternoon, she was alone in her office again and ready to call it a day. She couldn’t wait to get back to Brock.
Her cell phone rang and she answered without looking at the caller ID.
“Hello?”
“Sam, where have you been?”
Oh shit! “Ben?”
“Yeah, it’s Ben. I need to see you.”
“Okay, where are you?”
“I had to relocate to a motel outside of town. My rental car broke down. Can you come out and get me?”
“Sure. I’ll be there in an hour.” She hung up feeling anxious. This was the part she didn’t like, having to end things and hurting a really good guy. Ben deserved to find someone who was just as crazy about him as she was about Brock.
Sam didn’t call Brock because he would insist on coming and that would only make things more uncomfortable for everyone. No, this was something she needed to handle herself.
Forty minutes later she finished typing her notes and checked that everything was running smoothly. She grabbed her purse and opened the door to the office.
“Where are you going?” Jay asked when she came out.
Great, she’d forgotten about her bodyguards. “I’ve got to go check on Ben. He’s freaking out.”
“We have to wait until Rod gets back. He shifted to his wolf to do a perimeter run.”
“How long will he be gone?”
“An hour or two.”
She shook her head and started down the stairs. “I don’t want to wait that long. Isn’t it enough to have you with me?”
He paused, thinking, before he answered. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Come on, it won’t take that long.”
“Fine but know that I’m sticking to you like glue.”
She nodded her agreement and moved down the stairs. She waved at the bar manager. “I’ll be back in about two hours.”
“No problem, Sam.”
They exited the back of the club where the employees parked. Her small Volkswagen Bug might be a bit too small for Jay. “Let me put the passenger seat further back for you.”
He snorted. “I can do that myself. Get inside and start the car.”
Sam rolled her eyes. God help her, men could be so freaking touchy. She unlocked the car and got inside. Jay opened the passenger door and bent down from the outside to adjust the seat. Unfortunately, it didn’t go back very far.
“I guess this is the best—”
She heard a loud crunching sound then Jay grunted and fell to the ground. “Jay?”
“Hello, mate.”
Oh God, no. “Carter.”
“That’s right. Drive where I tell you to go or your human boyfriend will die.”
Chapter 19
Brock woke up feeling anxious for some reason. He didn’t know why but he felt the need to find Samantha. He reached for his phone on the nightstand next to the bed and dialed her phone. It went to voice mail. He dialed the number to the office, but there was no answer. He got off the bed, grabbed his jeans, and pulled them on. He dialed Jay’s cell but got voice mail, then he called Rod’s.
“Hello?”
“Rod, what the hell is going on? I can’t get Samantha or Jay on the phone!” He bent down to pull on his shoes.
“I was doing a perimeter check and just hit the parking lot when you called me. Give me a few minutes to go inside then I’ll call you back.”
“I’m on my way over.” Brock hung up and left the apartment. He rubbed the place over his heart. Everything inside him was insisting that his mate was in trouble.
Once outside, his phone rang. “What’s going on?”
“Come to the back of the club.” Rod hung up.
Brock turned and headed the other way to the back of the club. He didn’t spot Samantha’s little car that she kept parked there all the time. Instead he saw Rod squatting next to Jay, who was trying to sit up off the ground. He knew before they said anything what had occurred.
“How did this happen?” Brock demanded.
“I was hit from behind.”
“Where was Samantha?”
“She got into the driver’s side. Fuck! He took her.”
Adrian and Alpha Ric showed up and looked around the parking lot. Ric growled. “His scent is not here but I recognize a vanilla scent that I’ve smelled before in areas where Johnson was seen. I think he’s using it to help mask him.”
“Vanilla wouldn’t be strong enough to do that,” Brock said.
“If it was magically enhanced it would be,” Adrian noted.
Brock glared at Jay. “Where the hell were the two of you going?”
“Sam said she needed to go see her human boyfriend.”
Brock’s eyes glowed and his fangs came out. “He’s not her boyfriend. She’s—my—mate!”
There was silence as everyone waited for Brock to get his emotions under control. He couldn’t believe that he’d finally claimed her and then this guy came out of the woodwork and snatched her from him.
Adrian placed his hand on Brock’s shoulder. “We’ll find her.”
“Not if he’s masking his scent. We haven’t been able to catch him for years because of that ability.”
“If he’s using magic to hide, then we can use magic to find them,” Adrian told him.
“I called in a favor from a witch I met a few years ago. I asked her to come down to help find Johnson, and she arrived last night. She’s on her way from her hotel room and should arrive any moment.”
“I’m here, Adrian,” a female voice called out from behind them.
All five men turned to look at the small woman in jeans and a T-shirt. Brock was surprised. The woman looked like a young teenager with a pale, smooth complexion, bright green eyes, and long red hair pulled up in a ponytail.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice, Catherine. Is your grandmother with you?”
Catherine shook her head. “Sorry, Adrian. She had a fall recently and is recovering in a rehab facility. She helped me with a spell, though, and you know if my grandmother worked the magic—”
“It will work. I appreciate it and I will send someone to check on her while you are here.”
“I would appreciate that. So what happened here?”
Brock moved forward. “My mate, Samantha, was taken by a crazy lone wolf. I have to get her back.”
Catherine looked him up and down. “You’re a vampire and your mate is a vampire, too?”
“No, she’s a werewolf.”
Ric approached. “I don’t understand. I don’t sense a struggle taking place with Johnson and Sam. Why wouldn’t she fight to get free?”
Brock watched as the witch started to circle the area where Samantha parked her car. She was humming something but he couldn’t understand her words. What was she doing? They needed to go hunt for a sign or scent, not stand around singing and dancing. Yeah, she’d started to do a dance. It was freaky.
“What is she doing?”
“Shhh. She’s trying to get a feel for Johnson.” Adrian motioned for everyone to step away.
Catherine took something out of her pocket—a small leather pouch. She opened it and reached two fingers and her thumb inside. When she pulled her fingers out, she raised them to her lips and blew on them. Tiny glowing particles began flying above her hand, floating out to where she was blowing them. She finally said something that Brock could understand.
“Find the wolf for me.” The little glowing particles started bouncing around in the air and then flew away. She turned to them. “Follow the glowing lights. They will take you to the wolf.”
“Thank you, Catherine.” Adrian squeezed her hand in appreciation but she pulled him back to her and placed something in his hand. “When you find the wolf, say these words and whatever spell he’s used for hiding his scent will end.” She leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. He nodded and Catherine let him go.
Adrian turned and motioned for everyone to track the flying lights. Jay hesitated, looking at the witch.
“Stay here, Jay. You’re still injured,” Rod told his brother.
Jay shook his head. “It’s my fault she was taken. I will heal after a few shifts.” The brothers shifted into their wolf forms and followed the lights out of the alley.
Brock pushed himself to run as fast as he could. His thoughts were of Samantha. Was she okay? Was she scared? When he got his hands on that male, he would make him pay.
Chapter 20
“Get inside there now!” Carter shoved Sam in the back of a small van. Her hands were tied behind her back with some kind of magically enhanced rope. She couldn’t use her natural strength to break free or shift to her wolf form. She could still run which she was about to do, when he opened the side door to the van and she spotted an unmoving Ben lying on his side.
“What have you done?”
“What I needed to do.” Carter shut the door and walked around to get into the driver’s seat.
Sam quickly scooted on her knees over to Ben. “Ben, are you okay?”
He groaned as he opened his eyes. “Sam? No, Sam, I didn’t want you to come to the motel. He made me call you and ask you to come to me. I tried to refuse but he pulled a housekeeper inside the motel room and threatened to shoot her in the head. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, Ben. It’s not your fault, it’s mine. I should have told you about Carter.”
“Who is he?”
“The guy who attacked me when I was a teen. He’s been stalking me.”
“I’m her mate!” Carter growled from the front as he drove the van down the road.
“Are you okay, Sam? Did he hurt you?” Ben asked, trying to get to a sitting position. It was hard since he had his hands tied behind his back.
She nodded. It was just like Ben to be more concerned over her than himself. He was such a good man. Maybe if she had met him first before meeting Brock—but even as she thought that her wolf growled unhappily. Brock was their mate, and no one else would do.
“I’m sorry, Ben. I never should have let you get involved with me.” Tears were threatening to fall but Sam didn’t want Ben to see her come apart.
“It’ll be all right. We’re together,” Ben reassured her, rubbing his knee against hers.
Carter growled angrily from the front of the van and stared at them from the rearview mirror. She needed to get Ben to safety; he was human and no match for a werewolf, especially one as crazy as Carter.
Sam glanced out the windows of the van to assess where they were. They were traveling on Burbank Avenue. They would hit two more stoplights before the highway heading out of town.
She sat on her butt and maneuvered so that her hands came up over her feet and were in front of her. She lifted her hands and put a finger to her lips to motion for Ben to do the same. She glanced at Carter but he wasn’t looking at them.
Sam leaned over, took Ben’s rope, and checked but it wasn’t magically enhanced. She couldn’t break hers but maybe she could break his. She pulled a piece and was relieved to see it give way.
“How did you—” Ben was shocked.
“Shhh…I have a lot of things to explain about myself, but I’ll do that later,” she whispered against his ear. “When I distract him, you go out the door and run. Get as far away as you can. Then call my stepfather, Adrian Belliveau, and tell him what happened.”
“I can’t leave you, Sam. This guy is crazy. You can’t face him—he’s strong.” He tried to pull at her ropes but couldn’t make a tear in them.
“I am stronger than I look.”
He didn’t look happy about it but was finally resigned that one of them had to go for help. “I love you, Sam.”
“I—you need to scoot by the door and get ready. As soon as I distract Carter, you make a run for it.” Sam couldn’t tell Ben that she loved him. She cared about him, but having opened herself up to Brock fully, there was room for only him in her heart.
Sam turned her attention to the man who had cursed and haunted her for years. She let her anger fill her over that night so long ago when she was a young teen who hadn’t dated much. She had been naive and hopeful that she was falling in love. Carter had squashed her dreams and almost killed her. There had been times during that painful transition that she had wished she was dead. Now that she’d finally found true love, he was going to take that away from her, too. Well, not this time. She wasn’t going to let Carter take one more thing from her without putting up a fight.
She stood up as best she could in the van and started making her way to the front. When he looked in the rearview mirror and caught sight of her coming toward him, he slammed on the brakes. She leaped forward and tackled him as he tried to stand up.
“Now, Ben! Run!”
Chapter 21
Brock and the others were chasing those glowing lights. They probably made quite a sight with almost half the wolf pack running in wolf form down Burbank Avenue. He didn’t care about any of that; all he cared about was finding Samantha.
A figure up ahead had all of them slowing down. It took a second for him to recognize the guy from Samantha’s college, the on
e in love with her. Adrian got to the male first.
“Mr. Belliveau! Sam’s in trouble!” Ben was stumbling down the road waving his arms.
“Tell us what happened.” Adrian used a little of his vampire ability to push the male to talk.
“This guy showed up this morning and threatened me and a maid from the motel if I didn’t call Sam to come see me. I didn’t want to, I swear.”
“Where is she?” Brock demanded.
“In a van heading out of town. She jumped him as a distraction and told me to come for help. Please help her. This guy is seriously demented.”
Adrian turned to Brock. “Go get her. I have to call someone to come and help Benjamin.”
“I’m fine. We need to go save her.” Ben was out of breath and looked beat up but he was ready to go back to save her.
Brock didn’t want to like the human, but he couldn’t help admiring his devotion. “You stay here where it is safe. She would want that.”
“I want to help,” Ben protested.
“You would slow us down.” Brock took off, followed by the wolves and Adrian. They followed the dancing lights as they veered off the road. “Up ahead!” He spotted a white van smashed into a tree. Steam was coming out of the hood.
“Samantha!” Brock ripped the side door open and jumped inside but didn’t see her. He scented her blood, which was smeared against the dashboard. His heart was pounding at seeing evidence of his mate being hurt.
“This way, Brock,” Adrian called. “The magical lights are heading out into the woods.”
He left the van and started running in the direction that Adrian and the rest were going. He had to get to Samantha. Hold on, babe. I’m coming for you.
*****
When she woke up, she found herself being dragged by Carter through the woods. She had been knocked unconscious when the van hit the tree. Sam tried to pull free but Carter had her by the hair. She had flashbacks of that night when he’d bitten her and started her change as a werewolf.
“Let me go!” Sam yelled at him.
“Never! You’re mine, Sam. You have been mine since the first moment I saw you.”