Chapter 5

Skylar

"Gotcha." A husky male voice whispered in my ear as one of his hands gripped my arm. I yelped in pain and made a bid for freedom, but his hold only tightened. His fingernails biting into my skin. 

"You actually thought that you could run from him?"

He spoke in such a sinister voice that made a shiver run down my spine. My head snapped towards it only to see a boy around my age, maybe nineteen or so. His lips were curved in a sly smirk and his face showed nothing but pure amusement. I wondered if this was what it was to look into the face of evil.

I swallowed hard, blinking to get rid of the lump in my throat, but his smile broadened as if it pleasured him.

"Come on, Aiden, let's just go and be done with this." The voice behind me said gruffly, as I was forced to walk by the one called Aiden.

That's definitely the same Aiden from the party.

"You're the guy from the party, aren't you?" I tried to speak with confidence, but my utter terror seeped into my voice, and it to wavered and became shrill. 

Aiden didn’t bother to answer me, he just kept dragging me along as he walked. 

The other dark-haired guy walked past me.

"And you're the unlucky girl, right?" he muttered, more to himself than to me. I heard it just the same.

What's that supposed to mean?

"It's Josh, by the way. " He focused his attention on me this time, speaking a little louder than before. "In case you were wondering."  

“Hope you said all your goodbyes, miss. Cause you’re not gonna see this world for a long, long, time." Aiden's words were barely registered in my mind.

My entire attention was on my current fucked up situation.

"Let me go!" I bellowed, once again feeling Aiden digging his nails into my skin, forcing me to walk faster. I struggled to keep up with his wide gait. I tripped over a tree root at one point and crashed to the ground, but I was simply hoisted up by Aiden and drug along like nothing had happened. His hand was gripping me too tight.

Circulation failed in my wrist. Never did he once seem to think of loosening his grip, instead he chuckled. 

All the way, I screamed, tried to elbow him, stomp his foot, hit his groin, bite his skin off, but all my efforts went flushing down the toilet.

"Where are we going?" I queried, my voice quivering. I didn't want them to know I was afraid, though I'm sure they did. I mean, being in the middle of nowhere and dragged by two guys who looked like professional hitmen would freak out anyone. 

When they didn't answer, I took a deep breath and bit my lip. 

It's okay Skylar, you're going to be okay. 

I kept repeating it to myself as if it were a survival mantra, growing a little courageous. I decided to move on to Plan B. Time to make a total fool of myself.

“Help me! There's an unstable psychopath trying to kidnap me!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, struggling, trying to get out of my captor’s grip but failing miserably when his hand didn't even budge. He continued to drag me, but this time harsher than before. 

How can someone be that strong when I can't even open a jar? So not fair.

"What are you, five? No one can hear you!" Aiden spat between his greeted teeth, his finger tightening around my wrist.

Before I could react, Josh did.

"Aiden!" He spat in a warning. Aiden growled but loosened his grip. Did Josh sneer at his...friend? 

"Don't harm her. Or I'll order you executed." He let his threat hang in the air before continuing, "anything to say, Aiden?"

Aiden growled fiercely but never met Josh’s eye. He kept staring anywhere but at him. 

A scowl on his face.

I glanced between them, feeling small. Is this a fight for dominance? If so, I sure didn't want to be caught in the middle of it.

"I don't understand why we need all these goons here. We both could have taken this girl ourselves from her home instead of letting her run."

Now was my chance. The two thugs were having a go at it and were distracted at the moment. Not to mention I could easily slip my hand through the giant bear's claw surrounding it. So, I acted quickly.

"You're going to need help with this!" I spoke between greeted teeth. Summoning all the strength I had, I kicked Aiden in his manhood.

There was a foul sounding THUMP, and Aiden crashed to the ground, releasing me. I heard his groan echo behind me as I ran away. An exasperated sigh followed. Probably Josh, that stuck up jerk.

My breathing became strenuous after a while, but I never stopped. What do they want with me? I wonder where Ryan is? Is he alright? Is he hurt?--

I was suddenly lifted into the air and tossed onto something hard. I groaned as my insides writhed. I looked around to see what happened, only to realize I was on a shoulder. A bony, broad one. I turned to see the face.

"I have no time for games, girl." Josh's now familiar voice hissed like static in my ear. He held me tightly, keeping me on his shoulder.

"No!" I screamed and tried to wiggle myself out. Josh never broke his stride. He was moving quickly, inhumanly quick. I began kicking and punching the guy, trying to hurt him somehow. But he didn’t move an inch. 

"Where are you taking me, you bastard!"

"To Disneyland!" He yelled back harshly. I started to scratch his neck as deep as I could with my nails making him tense up yet surprisingly kept his temper in check and didn’t react with even a scowl. I groaned between my greeted teeth and punch his back harder with my fist, feeling anger rising inside of me.

"You shithead! Let me go!"

"Did she just called you shithead? "

Aiden burst out laughing, sounding like a complete maniac. Josh dropped me to the ground quickly. My breath was knocked out of me.

If this is how they handled their merchandise, call me fragile and broken.

Aiden wrapped his hand around my arm and pulled me halfway up, then released his hold, making me fall back again on my back.

He laughed.

A pained gasp escaped my lips, my bruise burning. 

I glanced up to see Josh, with his arms folded and an annoyed look on his face. 

“Watch it, Aiden.” He rolled his eyes and tried to help me to my feet. I slammed his hand away and scowled at the two, standing myself up. Dirt and leaves covered my face and clothes.

I nearly cried. But of course, I didn’t.

"Relax, it's not like he cares," Aiden said, amused. While he wasn’t looking at me, I kicked his groin once again, courage-building. Does he think I’m some sort of a doll he can toy with? 

When his gaze dropped on me, I would be lying to say that my earlier courage flew out of the window. He fisted his hands, his eyes darkened until the whites of his eyes disappeared.

"I've had just about enough of you!"

I gulped loudly, taking a few steps away from him.

How did I ever get into this mess?

"Aiden, chill out." Josh’s voice cut through the silence. He pushed Aiden away from me and stared at him.  Aiden immediately turned back to normal. The darkness left his eyes, and the animal was put back in its cage.

"Do you have a death wish or something?" Josh growled, looking at me. I cleared my throat and pulled my sleeve down to my hands, looking anywhere but at him. He somehow made me super uncomfortable. He himself didn't intimidate me, but his glare seemed to see into my very core. 

My throat tightened, my fear becoming sharper by each second, taking shelter inside every bone of my body, "I just — I want to go home. Just let me go home. I didn’t d anything wrong! I assure you, you have the wrong girl."

Josh furrowed his brow, as if concerned or even guilty for a moment before locking his attention in front of him.

I followed his gaze, searching. My eyes widened and my knees felt weak. Out in the distance was a white mansion. It was massive. Rows of trees decorated the sides and a low wall of white brick surrounded the lawn instead of a fence. It would have been beautiful if I wasn't being forced there against my will.

"Come." Josh pulled me ahead. Though his hold was much gentler.

It didn’t make me feel any better. I’m literally walking to hell. I was beyond afraid; I was petrified. I didn't know where my brother and Jas were; I don’t know if they’re okay; I didn't know why I was being taken here. I knew nothing!

Questions began rushing through my head at a dizzying speed. Did Ryan do something to them? Why did he tell me to run? Mostly, who am I running from?

"Did Ryan tell you about Alpha Raphaelo?" Josh broke through my thoughts. Baffled, I spun around and caught his eye. He was staring oddly at me, as if deciding I was just one wire short of a circuit.

I took a deep breath and nodded, mumbling, "a little."

"So you know that you're to be his mate?"

My heartbeat was violent inside my chest.

His freaking what?!

Josh eyed me carefully, as if he wanted to read my thoughts.

"Come on, puppet." Aiden boxed in my ear, causing me to flinch unconsciously. I looked up to see him with a stupid grin on his face in front of a door. A huge door. We must be at the mansion gate.

"I'm not a puppet," I wiped my stained cheeks as my back continued to sting and throb in pain.

Josh sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't mind him he's kind of--"

"Jerk." I finished his sentence. Josh half-smiled at my intense rage.

Despite digging my foot deeper to the grass, Josh dragged me along just fine, barely even knowing my full attempt to stop him.

"I was going to say something else, but yeah, he's that too." When we reached the waiting Aiden by the door, they both pushed it open. It led me into the darkened house.

The floor was made from marble, and a chandelier hung from the ceiling. Everything else was antique and wooden. There was an enormous staircase that connected the first floor to the second, probably where the bedrooms were. The large windows were wide open, there wasn’t a single sigh of darkness inside the house.

The whole place could have been magnificent if things were different, and I wasn't kidnaped. I wondered how I'd never seen the mansion before. It was gigantic. With it being camouflaged with the grey skies, I could just grasp understanding.

"What took you so damn long?"

A foreign, deep voice asked in an accent I couldn't place. All our heads snapped towards the voice.

Doing so, I could see a man with a muscular body standing with his arms crossed over his broad chest. He seemed to be in his mid-twenties. The man had a thick comb of midnight-black hair and a noticeable scar across his cheek, making his presence feel dangerous. His eyes were dark in color, and he seemed foxy enough to let people overlook his arrogance. His lips were drawn in a firm line as he slowly looked down at me with a hard glare.

I felt lower than dirt.

"She thinks she's all tough and clever.  But she's nothing but a child." Aiden laughed out loud, causing my blood to boil. I screamed in frustration, clawing at him and wanting nothing more than to kick his ass, but I was held back by, unfortunately, by Josh.

"Keep a cool head. This isn't the time to play the fool, girl." He whispered into my ear.

The mysterious man gave Aiden a look, causing him to immediately silence himself. He turned to me.

"He's waiting."

My heart stopped.

Josh nudged me in the direction of what looked like hell's kitchen from where I was standing. I dug my heels into the ground and refused to move. I shot a glance towards the front door, planning my escape. But Josh caught the look.        

"Don't even think about it," Josh muttered through gritted teeth. I glanced longingly at the door that was slammed shut behind me. Despite the horrid conditions I had been brought into, I couldn't help but feel like once I‘ll meet him, my life would change forever.

"Who's he? Why the hell am I here? Where's my brother? Let me go!" I demanded, fighting the hands that bound me, "I said, let me go!"

The quiet man glared at me and took a step back, doing exactly what I asked. 

The three men were all looking at me. Aiden had his hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. Josh had a look of anxiety crossed his face. And the quiet man only watched me.

A barely audible sound reached my ears, and everyone turned to it. The man had his arms folded across his chest and was lying propped up against the banister. 

"Feisty one, isn't she?"

A patch of light caught his eyes for the first time, and my heart leaped into my throat. When I looked in his eyes, it was as if I was looking at the devil himself.

It was the Alpha.