CHAPTER FOUR

Madeleine's POV

 

Dust gathered on my face as a heavy object rolled me down the street. I heard the distant sound of vehicles and how closely they moved past me, but my eyes did not open.

 

It felt like a dream. It seemed like I was in the middle of nowhere, with my hands and eyes tied up by my captor, but my mind was not convinced to believe that. My wolf was not ready to accept a cruel fate.

 

As I rolled to the other side of the road, grabbing one of the stones that rolled towards me, I tried to get up to maintain my stance, but my body gave way again and I fell hard to the ground.

 

Before I could think of getting up again, the headlight of a motorcycle flashed in my face, forcing me to keep my eyes fully closed. I covered my face with my palms as I fought to stay alive.

 

Carefully squinting my eyes at the blinding light next to me, I realized how close the motorcycle was to hitting me and putting an end to my miserable life.

 

But then it did not. The brakes must have been working quite well. The motorcycle remained parked before me, but I heard no words from anyone. I turned to the other side of the road to avoid the bright light. My lips parted as I tried to scream for help, but the night only got darker and darker.

 

Suddenly, I heard quiet thuds coming towards me. I kept my eyes closed, giving way to whatever had been prophesied to happen to me, not that I could get up and run away anyway.

 

The figure stopped before me and squatted, gently raising my chin and checking my pulse. I opened my eyes quietly, but his face was blurred. My vision was affected as a result of several hits while I was running through the tops of the trees to evade the attacks of those guards.

 

Gently, he pulled me closer and his lips almost found mine. I felt his breath hot against the surface of my skin, but my eyes refused to clearly see who was here with me.

 

He sniffed my nostrils twice and then gently dropped me back to the ground. I could still feel his figure squatting before me as I lay gently on the cold, uneven ground, my breath shallow and unstable.

 

Once again, I squinted my eyes to make way for clearer vision, and it became a bit clearer, though still hazy around the edges. I saw him pull his hand into his pocket to pull out a device. He pressed a few buttons on it and then pressed the device to his ear, listening carefully as if expecting a response.

 

Could this be the head guard? Could he have found me and tried to inform his subordinates to come fetch me and take me back to Damon Voss to torture me for running away without permission?

 

“We've found her,” he said to the person over the phone. I tried to identify the figure behind that voice, but it was extremely difficult as past memories were beginning to fade while my energy diminished as well.

 

We?

 

Was he here with a few other people?

 

Before I could give a response, he pulled me up gently again. He placed his palm gently behind my back to keep me steady as he took off his shirt. I saw all of this through blurred vision. I wished my wolf could give me that sharp vision and make me see his face. Maybe it was time to start running again to save my life.

 

If it was indeed the head guard who had found me on this remote road, then running away with all the strength I had was all a waste.

 

He pulled off his vest and tucked my hands into it as he zipped me up, securing it around me as though to shield me from the cold and confusion. Then he made me rest gently by his side as we walked towards the blinding light of the motorcycle, my steps unsteady beside his.

 

I murmured a few words beneath my breath, but I could tell that those words were not coherent, let alone able to be heard and understood by whoever this man was, my tongue heavy with exhaustion.

 

Without hesitation or apology, he lifted me into his arms like I weighed nothing as he placed me on the motorcycle. Even feathers couldn't be lifted that easily. He had just made me realize how weak and helpless I was, my strength reduced to nothing in his grip.

 

Even if I was truly returning to captivity, could I really resist being lifted so easily by a stranger walking across a remote road that I'd never visited in my twenty-four years of living? I'd only heard and read about remote roads.

 

Gently rubbing my fingers over my eyes, I hoped my vision would become clearer, especially now that he was still standing at a close distance, speaking to some people on the call.

 

He'd found me? They'd found me? Who else could be coming after me? Who else could make that statement?

 

But if it really was the pack guard, why would he choose to take off his vest and make me wear it because I was shivering from the dampness of the ground against my skin?

 

No one cared that much about maids. In fact, it was always joyous for them to watch maids suffer and shiver from the cold outside. We'd once been made to stand in the rain, and our mistress claimed it was training to ensure that we could function well, come rain or shine.

 

And then his figure moved closer to me. I felt my heart racing very fast, but there was nothing I could do. It felt like I'd been bound to the motorcycle. It felt like I'd been tied up so I wouldn't be able to run away from fate, my body too weak to even attempt resistance as I stayed still under his presence.

 

Could the Stone Ridge Pack have branches in remote towns? Could they have informed their people in this area to hide and wait to catch the figure of a lonely girl in a stained white dress running for her life?

 

He sat down on the motorcycle as he kicked the gears to life before driving me away at speed. I grabbed his clothes and kept my head lowered as the breeze blew hard against us while we fled from the vicinity of the woods and the Stone Ridge Pack at large.

 

What exactly did fate have in store for me this time around?