73. ANGEL

There was nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night with a dark figure looming over you. Fear instantly assaulted me, but it slowly faded.

Reaching up, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes.

The figure moved slightly.

I thought that it was one of my mates at first.

They had been working late, trying to prevent the war that was waiting to happen.

The figure moved again and suddenly a hand clamped down over my mouth. Panic set in again when the sheets were jerked down the bed.

I felt a pinch in my arm, and a familiar feeling started to spread through my body. Dread flooded me next when I realized that my body wasn’t following the commands my brain was sending.

It happened before not so long ago when I was kidnapped.

How could their mother be kidnapping me when she was locked up?

The hand slowly moved away from my mouth.

I would’ve frowned if I could.

The man carefully picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. Dizziness hit when he spun around fast and hurried away. A cool breeze hit the back of my legs. He wasn’t heading towards the door. The curtains brushed my skin as he pushed it aside and a second later the sensation of falling hit me.

We jerked to a stop, and then we were soaring higher.

All I could do was stare at the man’s back and listen to his wings flap as he carried me further away from the castle.

Maurice said my bracelet was supposed to protect me. It didn’t protect me from getting kidnapped or drugged again.

My stomach rolled with nausea. I feared puking on the man and him dropping me.

Thankfully he slowed and a moment later we were on solid ground, or at least I thought we were. Something soft brushed my arms and I could see part of a wing from the corner of my eyes. Darkness suddenly surrounded us, but it lasted only a few seconds before I caught sight of light.

He pressed a hand to the middle of my back and leaned forward, lowering me onto something soft. I blinked up at him, still unable to make out who the man was. It didn’t look like he was planning on hurting me. Not yet anyway, because what kidnapper would cover me with a thick blanket and tug it around my body, making sure I was warm.

“I only gave you a mild dose,” the man said softly. “It should wear off in a few minutes. I should warn you that my den is located high on a mountain, you try to escape, and you’ll fall to your death.”

Den.

My eyes darted around. His den was certainly bigger than Lucas’s den and he had a lot more stuff inside it.

I looked at the man as he crouched by the fire.

It was easy to recognize him now that I could see him a bit clearly.

My stomach twisted with unease and fear.

I didn’t know for sure if the man had anything to do with my kidnapping before or Dorothy’s need to kill me. Still, there had to be a reason why he had kidnapped me in the middle of the night and flew me to his den.

He had never tried to harm me before, but he had disagreed with his sons when they announced that they had a relationship with me.

I fought the tiredness, scared to fall asleep. It was a struggle but worth the fight.

Feeling to my limbs slowly started to return. My fingers twitched and I could wiggle my toes. A few minutes more and I was able to move.

He turned to look at me when I sat up. “Don’t look at me like that,” he said softly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

I swallowed. “Then why kidnap me?”

“To protect you.”

“From your wife?”

He focused on the flames again. For a few minutes, he said nothing, but then a sigh fell from his lips, and he turned to face me.

“My mate…I knew she disliked you the moment she met you, and I admit, so did I. A human has no place in our world, but it also got me thinking. From all the humans who came through the portals, you were the only one who survived.”

“Do you know that she’s responsible for those portals?”

“I found out a few days ago when I overheard her talking to someone.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I questioned. “She wants them to start a war. Don’t you care about the fact that your sons could be killed in a war?”

“You think I don’t love them?”

“It doesn’t seem like you do,” I told him honestly.

“I learned a long time ago to hide my emotions.” He paused. “If I had known earlier what Dorothy was planning, I would have done my best to stop her, but it’s too late now. The only thing I can do is to protect my son's mate while they protect their kingdom.”

“How do you think they will be able to do that if they can’t find me. They will be looking for me.”

“One of the kingdom’s are planning an attack in a few hours. They will send Xavier to take you to safety and keep you there until it’s over.”

A thought hit which didn’t make me feel any better. “Xavier knows that you took me, doesn’t he?”

“He wants to do what’s best for the future of this kingdom and that’s keeping the future queen safe.”

“Why?” I asked him.

He didn’t answer me. Standing, he hesitated a moment before he turned and disappeared into a dark tunnel.

How could Xavier help him? How could I trust him?

I didn’t understand why he would risk kidnapping me, and I certainly didn’t understand how Xavier could help him. I trusted Xavier but I was starting to doubt him. If he so easily agreed to lie to Lucas about my whereabouts, what else was he capable of?

Could Dorothy talk him into freeing her?

I shook the questions away and sucked in a breath and slowly blew out. There was nothing I could do about that now, all I needed to focus on at the moment was getting out of here.

You’re on a mountain and you can’t fly, how are you planning on escaping idiot? He said he’s not going to hurt you. Keep him calm until your mates come to your rescue.

Getting to my feet, I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around my body as I moved closer to the fire. The stone was cold and rough beneath my feet which didn’t help at all. I was sure that I might freeze to death before anyone found me missing.

I took a seat and made sure to tug the blanket underneath me as much as possible.

It wasn’t long before their dad returned, this time with a few more blankets. He placed it down next to me and took a seat a few feet away after adding more logs to the fire.

“I love my mate,” he said softly. “But I won’t stand by her and watch as she destroys their lives. Lucas was meant to be a leader. Nate did the right thing when he turned us down.”

I frowned at him.

“She wasn’t always like this.” His eyes locked with mine for a few seconds. “I don’t know what happened that made her turn into an emotionless bitch.”

“I thought she was always like that,” I muttered. “They said she never took care of them like a mother should.”

“She never did, and I was too focused on building the kingdom to worry about them. I was a bad dad and I’m trying to make it up to them by protecting you.”

“Are you protecting me?” I asked him. “Or did you kidnap me so you can make a deal with them to free your mate in exchange for me?”

“It crossed my mind,” he growled. “But then I realized that she was just going to find another way to go after you.”