The Kidnap!

Blair got into her car and closed the door behind her before resting her forehead against the steering wheel. The moment she was alone, the tears she had been fighting back came rushing out. 

Her shoulders shook as she cried, struggling to understand how everything she had believed about her marriage and her family could have been shattered in a matter of hours.

Adrian had been her husband, her mate, and the man she had trusted with every part of her heart. Sienna had been her younger sister and one of the people she considered her closest friend. 

She had never imagined that the two of them could betray her in the most painful way possible. She had walked into Sienna’s house looking for comfort, only to find her husband in her sister’s arms. Then, as though that betrayal wasn’t enough, Adrian had rejected her without hesitation and chosen Sienna to take her place as Luna of Nightveil Pack.

Blair pressed a trembling hand against her chest as another wave of pain moved through her. The rejection still burned inside her, but the humiliation and betrayal hurt just as badly. 

She had lost her job, her marriage, her position as Luna, and the family she had believed would always be hers. She had spent years loving Adrian and trying to be the kind of wife and Luna he could be proud of, only to discover that he had already decided she was no longer worth keeping.

She remained in the car for several minutes, crying until her eyes were swollen and her chest ached from trying to catch her breath.

 Eventually, she wiped her face, started the engine, and drove back toward the pack house. She knew Adrian had rejected her, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave everything behind that same night. 

She needed to collect her clothes and personal belongings before deciding where she would go. More than anything, however, she wanted to crawl into her bed, close her eyes, and pretend that none of what had happened was real.

That small hope disappeared the moment she turned into the driveway.

Blair stepped on the brake so suddenly that her body jerked forward. Her eyes widened as she stared through the windshield at the belongings scattered across the driveway.

Her clothes, shoes, handbags, boxes, and other personal possessions had been thrown outside as though they were unwanted rubbish. Some of her clothes had fallen into the dirt, while one of her bags lay open several feet away with its contents spilling across the ground.

Standing among the scattered belongings was Margaret Blackwood.

Adrian’s mother.

Blair quickly stepped out of the car, confusion replacing the exhaustion on her face. “Mom, what’s going on? Why are my things outside?”

Margaret turned toward her, and the coldness in her eyes immediately made Blair’s stomach tighten.

“Don’t call me that,” Margaret said. “I am not your mother.”

Blair froze. She stared at the older woman, unable to understand the sudden hostility. Margaret had never been particularly affectionate toward her, but Blair had always respected her as her husband’s mother and had continued treating her with kindness despite the occasional cold remark.

“Mom, I—”

“I said don’t call me Mom.” Margaret’s voice rose sharply as she cut her off. “You have no right to call me that anymore.”

Blair swallowed and glanced at the belongings scattered around her. “But why are my things outside?”

Margaret gave a humorless laugh. “Because you no longer belong in this house.”

Blair’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “I don’t understand.”

“My son has divorced you. He rejected you. What exactly is there left for you here?” Margaret asked, her expression hardening. “You are no longer his wife, and you are no longer the Luna of Nightveil Pack. You have no place in this house.”

Blair looked toward the darkening sky. Heavy clouds were gathering overhead, and a cool wind had begun to sweep through the compound. The thought of spending the night outside made her chest tighten.

“Where am I supposed to go?” she asked, her voice trembling. “It’s already late, and it looks like it’s going to rain. Please, just let me stay tonight. I’ll leave first thing in the morning. I promise.”

Margaret stepped closer, her expression revealing nothing but disgust.

“That isn’t my problem. You can go anywhere or even sleep in the woods… I don’t care…”

“You are my mother in law,” Blair pleaded. “Please. I don’t have anywhere else to go tonight.”

“You should have thought about that before you allowed your marriage to fall apart.” Margaret looked her over slowly before adding, “You’ve been nothing but a disappointment since the day you entered this family. You couldn’t give my son an heir, yet you had the audacity to continue living here as though you were still his Luna, whereas you are nothing but a barren wolf…”

Blair’s lips trembled.

“I’m not barren.”

Margaret scoffed. “Don’t lie to yourself. You are nothing but a fat, barren wolf who couldn’t even give birth to a child for my son.”

Blair’s tears spilled over.

“Please don’t say that.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” Margaret asked with a cruel smile. “It’s the truth. My son deserves a woman who can give him an heir, not a fat pig who has failed him again and again.”

Blair lowered her head as tears dripped onto the front of her clothes. She had heard Adrian call her fat and barren only moments ago, and hearing the same words from Margaret made the humiliation feel even deeper.

Margaret pointed toward the belongings scattered across the driveway.

“Take your things and leave.”

Blair shook her head desperately. “Please, just let me stay tonight. I have nowhere else to go.”

Margaret’s expression remained cold. “I already told you that isn’t my problem. I don’t know why my son chose you in the first place when Sienna has always been the more beautiful and desirable woman. Now Adrian has chosen her, and she’s carrying his child. She will give this family the heir you never could.”

Blair pressed a hand against her chest as another wave of pain swept through her. She had endured the loss of her pregnancies, endured the whispers from the pack, endured being called barren by the man she loved, and now she was being told that her own sister would take her place. She had already seen Sienna with Adrian and heard him reject her, but somehow hearing Margaret speak so casually about Sienna becoming the new Luna made everything feel even more final.

Margaret’s eyes suddenly fell on Blair’s car.

“And the keys.”

Blair looked at her in confusion.

“The car belongs to my son. Give me the keys.”

Blair instinctively tightened her fingers around them. “But Adrian gave me this car.”

“He gave it to you when you were his wife,” Margaret replied coldly. “You are no longer his wife.”

Before Blair could respond, Margaret snatched the keys from her hand.

“Please—”

“Get out.”

Blair’s voice broke. “Mom, please.”

Margaret’s eyes hardened.

“I told you not to call me that.”

She suddenly grabbed Blair by the hair and yanked her forward. Blair cried out as pain shot across her scalp, instinctively reaching for Margaret’s hand.

“Let go of me! You’re hurting me!”

Margaret released her with a violent shove.

Blair stumbled backward and fell onto the rough driveway. Her palm scraped against the ground, and she gasped as the skin broke.

She stared up at Margaret through her tears, unable to understand how the woman she had spent years trying to please could treat her with such cruelty.

“Why are you doing this to me?”

“Because I don’t want to see your face in this pack house anymore.”

Margaret turned away without another word. She gathered Blair’s car keys in her hand and walked back toward the house before slamming the door shut behind her.

Blair remained on the ground for several seconds, her injured hand resting against the cold pavement. The silence around her felt unbearable. She had once entered this house as Adrian’s wife and the Luna of Nightveil Pack. She had believed it was her home.

Now even the woman who had been her mother-in-law had thrown her out as though she had never belonged there.

Blair slowly pushed herself to her feet and looked at the house one last time.

Her husband had rejected her.

Her sister had betrayed her.

Her mother-in-law had thrown her out.

There was only one place left where she could hope to find shelter.

Her parents.

With trembling fingers, Blair pulled out her phone and called her mother. The call rang until it disconnected. She tried again, but there was still no answer.

Her heart sank.

She then called her father.

This time, someone answered.

“Hello?”

Blair immediately recognized her mother’s voice.

“Mom?”

There was a brief silence.

“Mom, please. I need you. I don’t know where else to go.”

“We already know what happened.”

Blair’s eyes filled with tears again, but this time there was a flicker of relief in her chest. At least her mother knew. At least she wouldn’t have to explain everything while she was already falling apart.

“My car keys were taken,” Blair said, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I don’t have a way to leave. Please, can you come and pick me up at the pack house? I just want to come home.”

“No.”

The single word left Blair completely still.

“Mom?”

“I said no, Blair.”

Blair’s lips parted as she struggled to understand.

“Please, Mom. Just let me come home. I have nowhere else to go.”

“We don’t need an explanation,” Camille replied coldly. “We already heard what happened.”

“But I’m your daughter.”

“You’ve embarrassed this family enough,” Camille said. “You couldn’t even keep your husband, and now you’ve nearly destroyed our relationship with the Blackwood family. You became too fat and couldn’t give Adrian the heir he needed.”

Blair closed her eyes as another tear slipped down her cheek.

“Mom, that’s not what happened. Please, just let me explain. Adrian was with Sienna. He has been sleeping with her, and she’s pregnant with his child. He rejected me today. I didn’t—”

“You made your choices,” Camille interrupted. “Now you have to deal with the consequences yourself.”

Blair’s voice broke. “Can I please speak to Dad?”

She could already tell that her mother wasn’t going to listen to her. Maybe her father would. Maybe he would remember that she was his daughter before he remembered that she had embarrassed the family.

“No.”

“Mom, please—”

The call ended.

Blair stared at the phone in disbelief. She immediately called again, but her mother didn’t answer. She tried her father’s number once more, hoping he would pick up this time.

Her mother answered instead.

“Don’t call here anymore, Blair. We’ve already heard what happened, and we don’t want you coming back.”

The call ended before Blair could respond.

This time, she didn’t call again.

She stood in the driveway with the phone pressed against her chest, her tears falling freely as she looked at the house that had once been the closest thing she had to home.

Her own family had rejected her too.

There was no husband waiting for her, no sister she could trust, no mother willing to open the door, and no father willing to hear her side of the story. The pack she had served as Luna had turned its back on her, and the home she had shared with Adrian had been taken from her in a single evening.

The sky had grown darker by the time Blair picked up one of her bags from the ground. Her injured palm throbbed, but she barely noticed the pain anymore. She slung the bag over her shoulder and began walking down the road, not knowing where she would spend the night or what she would do in the morning.

She kept her head lowered as she walked, her hair falling messily around her face and tears continuing to blur her vision. Every few steps, she wiped her cheeks, but the tears kept returning. She had spent years believing that she had a place in this world, and now, in the space of a single day, she had lost all of it.

Blair was so consumed by her grief that she didn’t immediately notice the dark vehicle approaching from behind.

The vehicle slowed beside her.

Blair glanced over, her brows drawing together when the passenger door suddenly opened. Before she could step away, a large man jumped out and grabbed her from behind.

“What—?”

Blair screamed and fought against him, twisting desperately in his grip. “Let me go! Somebody help me!”

Another man rushed toward her and grabbed her arms, helping the first man drag her toward the vehicle. Blair kicked violently, trying to break free, but the two men were far stronger than she was.

“Let me go!” she screamed again, her voice echoing down the empty road.

One of the men pressed a cloth over her mouth and nose. A strange, bitter scent filled her lungs almost immediately.

Blair struggled harder, but her strength began disappearing frighteningly fast. Her limbs became heavy, her vision blurred, and the road beneath her seemed to tilt.

“No…” she managed to whisper as her knees gave way.

The last thing Blair saw was the dark interior of the vehicle as the men dragged her inside.

Then everything went black.