Chapter 20 CHAPTER TWENTY
MAEVA
I'm not home. That is the first thought I get when I stir. The bed feels different and the air is different too. I start to panic until the memories come flooding in then rage fills me.
He fucking kidnapped me, that ghoul. That barbarian actually took me on the open road. I open my eyes and look around. This looks like a pretty cage. Stone walls, no windows and air vents in the ceiling. I'm somewhere underground which means screaming to get attention is useless.
The room feels warm. Like someone loved once lived here. This was made to keep someone in but it was someone who was loved.
There's a table in front of me with food, a phone and a note. My stomach rumbles at the smell of the delicious food but my hunger can wait, freedom can't. I take the note and I tear it. He can tell me himself when I'm punching his face in. I take the phone and turn it on. It's not password protected so I open it. I dial Taron's number and I scoff when I see that he's a saved contact on the phone. Caius must think he's the king of efficiency.
Taron answers immediately the phone rings.
"Taron, it's Maeva."
I hear his relieved sigh and I smile. He must have been so worried when I didn't come back from the council.
"Maeva, bless the moon. How are you? I didn't think I would hear from you for at least a month. When Alpha Caius's Beta called…"
"He called you?" I ask raising my voice a little.
"Yeah, he called me and said that I should come take the car. He didn't say anything other thing and when I got there, the car was there but you were nowhere to be found so I assumed you finally agreed to have a conversation with him."
That scum of the earth. How dare he do this to me? Kidnapped like some defenseless princess! He'll pay for this. I'll make sure that he pays.
"He kidnapped me. I didn't go willingly."
"What? Do I need to bring our fighters to his pack? Report it to the council?"
"No. They'll be no need for any of that. The less people know about this, the better. I'll escape soon and I'll be back. In the meantime, keep the pack going."
"Alpha Kol was here earlier. He wanted to talk and I told him you went hunting."
Good thinking on his part. Now that the council knows, it's only a matter of time before everybody finds out. Caius probably wouldn't want anyone to know that he brought me here against my will so the hunting excuse works.
"What do I tell the pack?" He asks.
I take the food and open it. It's steak, mashed potatoes and some vegetables thrown in. It looks as good as it smells so I dig in. I feel weak and I need to get my strength up before I face Caius. The food tastes good and I stifle a satisfied moan.
"The same thing. I went on a hunting trip."
"In the middle of a rogue crisis? Grant will make it worse than it sounds."
"They can't do anything in my absence, the council forbids it. They'll wait untill I'm back to challenge me for the position."
Taron clears his throat and I get agitated. "Maybe listen to him and you can come back soon. It's all he's been asking for."
"You believe Caius, the same Caius who just kidnapped me will let me go because we had a conversation?"
He sighs. "I'll let you plot your escape. The pack needs my attention."
My pack needs his attention. By the moon, Caius will regret bringing me here. The call ends and I continue eating the delicious food. After eating, I wash my hands and face in the sink in the corner.
I walk around the room, testing the strength of the wall and the door. The door is a reinforced steel door and will not be easy to get through. With the things available in this room, it might take months to break it open and in that time, Caius is sure to notice me slowly chipping at his door.
"You're awake."
I look at the door where the sound came from.
"Why don't you open the door and talk to me?" I say menacingly.
He laughs and I force myself not to react to the sound of his voice.
"No, I won't come in," he says, sliding open a small slot on the door. "You want to fight and fighting with you turns me on."
"What?" I say, confused.
"It doesn't turn you on? I watched you sleep earlier. You looked so beautiful, it was hard to take my eyes of you. Mix that with the fight you want and a very soft bed, I might kiss you and you'll fight me at first but then you'll give in and I'll fuck you and mark you and…"
"Stop talking." I say, clenching my thighs and my fists.
He sniffs the air and laughs. "That's not how I want this to go. I don't want to mark you because you couldn't control your lust. I want to mark you when we're both sweaty and spent and you're begging to become one with me."
"Fuck you, Caius." I shout, moving far away from the door.
"I wish." He says, a smile in his voice.
"I'll kill you for kidnapping me. This is the worst humiliation I've ever gotten."
"I'm sorry but I had to. I saw you at the council. I saw the rage in your eyes, you don't want to listen to me and I had to get you somewhere where we'll talk."
I scoff. "Good luck getting me to listen to you."
I look at the door again and see that there's a bolt in here. How are we going to have the conversation if I never let him in?
"I have time. As for the humiliation, nobody in this pack knows you're here. Nobody except for my Beta but your secret is safe with him."
One more person I have a score to settle with.
"Do you want to hear a story about the room you're in?" He asks.
"No, I'm not interested in anything you have to say."
"You don't have much of a choice Maeva. The only thing you can do in there is think and sleep."
"They don't seem like terrible options. I can sleep and think about how to kill you without betraying the bond."
He laughs. "I didn't know you were funny," he says softly.
"I'll leave you alone now. Trouble in the pack but I'll be back at night to give you food and find out how you're doing."
It's not nighttime yet? This is going to be a long experience. He slides the slot shot and I hear his footsteps retreating. Why didn't I hear him come? I must be more tired than I think.
I wait for a few minutes before I start looking around for something to escape with.
I can't stay here.