4 hours earlier -
Andrea's eyes opened accompanied by a head-splitting headache. She tried to get up but found that she could not move. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness, she was in a cage? Inside a warehouse. She wasn't tied, so the first thing she did was try to break the cage. It didn't budge, It was made of silver alloy. The air smelled musty, mixed with the scent of wolves. It looked like she was underground, which explained why she couldn't contact Ruben. The sound of footsteps alerted her. Two men were approaching.She instantly recognized them. It was Flint and Dorcas. What was going on?
She had never met Dorcas, but she knew it was him. His scent was so repulsive, it could have sent even the most hardened wolves running.“Good Morning, princess.” He gave her a charming smile.“What do you want?” She yelled.'Not you of course, sorry for the inconvenience but this wasLisa was terrified. But she drove on, denying to give in to the fear. She blocked off Ruben, refusing to let her terror paralyze her. She reached a nondescript building in the middle of nowhere. She prayed that she was at the appropriate place and not too late. It wasn't easy to navigate without her GPS. “Andrea? Mom? “ Lisa yelled rushing through the huge metal door. There was only one person in the big, dark hall. Broken furniture and some rusted electronic garbage were strewn around the place. She was surprised to see her mother casually sitting on a chair. Dorcas was nowhere to be found. “Mom! you're alright,” she said. Running towards her mom. She hugged her. “I was so worried. What happened? Where's Andrea? I'll get you out of here.” She didn't realize that her mother never hugged her back. She stayed still and smiled. “Hello, Lisa.” The cool voice churned Lisa's stomach. She turned to see Dorcas
Ruben needed to stay focused as well as detached. He tried to keep himself busy. If he let himself stress the fact that his world was crumbling around him, he would waste precious time. He had felt her fear the moment she had left the safety of the compound. He had rushed over to look for her, but it was too late.He instantly knew Lisa was in trouble. She would never leave him, it must have been something sinister that was compelling enough for her to leave.It was then that Keith handed him Lisa's phone.He went to the text messages and pulled up the video of Andrea, tied down. The video made Ruben shudder. He could only imagine what Lisa felt when she saw it. His heart lurched for Andrea, his baby sister. She must have been terrified. It pained him that Lisa took this on all by herself. He banged his hand angrily on the table, crashing it into pieces. He would have helped her. Then he saw her mom in the footage.“He managed to get her mother as w
Lisa was woken up by the sound of moaning. Her eyes fluttered open as she ran to check on Andrea. She was stirring. Lisa's heart was filled with hope as well as anguish. Andrea's body had healed, though several deep bruises had remained. She wished she could undo the pain which Andrea had gone through. Dorcas had stopped the beatings and healed Andrea for what felt like the hundredth time, but probably was only the third time. Sometimes having quicker healing was a curse.“Lisa,” Andrea croaked. Her throat was parched and she could barely speak. Lisa rushed to grab a pitcher in the corner and touched it to Andrea's lips. The cool water felt like an elixir. Her one eye was still swollen shut, but she could see clearly in the dark.“Lisa, you shouldn't have come here,” Andrea whispered.“Shh, try not to talk,” Lisa communicated mentally. “Try not to give any reaction, Dorcas shouldn't know any
Mary walked up to the car and slid into the driver's seat. She felt free with each passing second. She had the cash, Lisa was gone from her life. That was what she wanted anyway. She hit the acceleration and drove off towards the highway. It didn't matter that she didn't have a place to go, she was finally free and ready to live her life again.Her mind wandered when she turned down the main road. She decided to drive until the gas tank was almost empty. She fantasized about her new life. The half a million dollars in the back seat were giving her an almost euphoric feeling. Mary was so distracted she almost didn't see the car ahead. It was parked sideways, blocking both lanes along the forested road. Mary slowed down. As she drew closer, she saw a man leaning back against the vehicle. This was unexpected. Mary put her car into park and stepped out.“Why have you blocked the road ?” Mary asked.The man didn't reply,
Ruben expected Trent to park their car on the side of the road, but instead, he turned into the woods.“I'm just trying to take us as close as I can to the abandoned car,” Trent said. “So the car was just abandoned there?” Ruben asked. “He probably didn't think we would arrive sooner. So didn't bother trying to hide it,” Trent said. Ruben looked at the surveys for that area again. The car came into view.“There are fourteen structures in the twenty miles surrounding area,” Ruben said. “I want everyone to start searching those first. I guess they are in some sort of basement, with electricity and indoor plumbing.” As Ruben approached the car, he w
Andrea felt herself falling, heard Lisa's scream. She knew she was going to die. Ruben would go insane with grief if she did. And Sebastian, well, she was terrified for her vampire. Maybe once their mate bond was gone he would go back to living his normal life. Lisa screamed and caught Andrea as she fell. She had seconds to catch her, a very few precious seconds. She reached out, forcing her tired body to move faster than she'd ever moved before. She had no idea where Ruben was, and she didn't care. Her hand caught Andrea's outstretched arm, she pulled hard, wincing as she felt her shoulder dislocate. She managed to slide her body beneath her friend a split second before they hit the ground. She attempted to cushion most of the impact, to keep Andrea protected in her firm embrace, but she heard the other woman cry out in pain and knew that she was badly hurt. “Why did you do that ?” She screamed at Dorcas,” I said I was ready to cooperate.” “She
Trent was tearing through the maze of dark wolves, his heart pounded so loudly it was all he could hear through the rain and screams. A wolf was suddenly whirling towards him. He positioned himself to take on him when the wolf was suddenly sliced in half and thrown aside.“Serena!” Her name sounded as if it came from a distance, even though it had been directed from his lips. He watched as her body flew through the air, her top wet with rain and blood.“Thanks !” He said.She nodded, "where is Ruben?” She asked.His brain finally connected with what was happening.“I… I am not sure,” he replied, still in awe. Serena had saved his life!“Ruben, where are you !” She almost wept with relief as Ruben's alert mental voice answered her.Her mate knew instantly that something was wrong and didn't stop to
Dorcas got the chance to hit Ruben on his shoulder. Ruben was not anticipating the action and was jerked away, slamming into the far tree. The wind was knocked out of him, and he was gasping for breath.“Clever dog,” Dorcas said.Ruben started to stand up, but felt a hand around his neck, lifting him in the air. He knew that Dorcas could beat him on brute strength, and he needed to think fast. He put his hands against the tree trunk and brought his knees to his chest, using all his force to shove them in Dorcas's chest. It worked and he was released.Taking advantage of the rain, he threw a fist and connected with Dorcas's face. He fell to the ground and Ruben started to kick him. It didn't take long for Dorcas to grab hold of his foot and flip Ruben down on his back. Ruben was on the ground looking up at the monster.“That wasn't very nice,” Dorcas roared.Dorcas darted away with speed, b