Bearly alive

6

Stella

Old habits are hard to lose, so when my abductor ignores me as I accuse him of murdering a human and instead barks an order at me, I move to execute it on autopilot before it sinks in what that order is. I'm not sure if it's some sort of a trap, but so far, he hasn't shown any act of kindness to me, and I'm at a loss of how to react when he gives me the granola bar, urging me again to eat in a similar way an executioner would ask someone to eat cyanide.

"Eat it! I think we already established that poisoning is not my method of choice." He growls again and I dare to look in his deep brown eyes just as a shudder passes through my body.

My wolf proudly checked sense of humour and attentiveness on her ridiculous list of qualities that she started for our supposed mate. Her way of convincing me to try and win him over. Though I keep countering with he just killed an innocent human as if him k********g me wasn't enough to tip the balance the other way. And that other way was to keep to myself and hope it's all a big misunderstanding and he wasn't supposed to take me.

Heck, maybe he was meant to abduct Margo. I wouldn't put it past Benjamin to use me as a tool or to come up with a plan like that. I bet he only sent me to the border so I would create a distraction, make the car stop and for my mate to grab Margo.

I try another shy glance at the man's face. Is it just me or does he seem hurt that I didn't inhale the food and instead silently accused him of trying to poison me? I mean, it's more than obvious that I'm starving and he did say that his employer didn't want me dead. Yet.

I must have taken too long to think things through and unwrap my food. Just as I switched to fantasising how that fruity bar would taste after I’ll take my first bite of it, my kidnapper grabbed it from my hand and tossed it away visibly angry.

"No wonder you're just skin and bones." He mumbles as I watch in horror how the chance of actually eating something slips through my fingers. My stomach protests with a loud growl, making my cheeks turn pink. I can feel the heat of embarrassment. The man only scoffs and looks me up and down with disdain.

"We're going." I heard him say after I stood quiet and waited as he peeked outside from behind the curtains. He looked on edge all of a sudden, but I don't ponder on that too much. Instead, I scramble after my abductor as he heads to open the door, but he abruptly stops causing me to nearly bump into him. Nearly.

We are both standing just inches apart, like two magnets that can’t figure out which side to turn to so the natural attraction finally occurs. He’s looking down at me with a scowl on his face. I gulp as I dare to lift my chin and look up, searching his eyes. My body starts buzzing, a sign that my wolf is enjoying the proximity.

Despite feeling his eyes on me as we practically breathe the same air, I can tell that my kidnapper is listening out for something. He stands completely still for a second, the deafening sound of nothing but my insanely fast beating heart echoing around us. When he seems satisfied with what he heard, or didn't, the man finally speaks. Being so close, I can feel the vibrations emanating from his chest, my wolf practically purring from pleasure herself.

"If you scream or make a scene, you'll be joining that guy in the laundry bin down the hall. Got it?" I nod with my eyes wide as saucers. It's not exactly what I was hoping he would say, but this is the confirmation to my earlier accusation. He did kill that human. Oh, Goddess. I am mated to a cold blooded killer.

We exit the room and start walking down a narrow hallway with doors on each side. A light above flickers and makes a buzzing sound. It reminds me of the horror scenes I would sometimes catch on TV as I refilled Alpha Benjamin's or his friends' glasses during their movie nights. When they were younger, it was often their way of making sure their dates would allow their paws to roam freely.

My heart jumps in my throat as I notice the dust specks floating aimlessly in the air as soon as we reach the end of the long corridor and a window allows some natural light in. This whole place gives me such a bad feeling, that I almost glue myself to the big guy I'm supposed to be scared of.

Don't get me wrong, I'm terrified by my mate, but somehow I also feel safe with him. Safer than I ever felt in the Thunderbolt pack and clearly safer than in this building where not too long ago I was able to hear practically every conversation happening inside. Yet now it's quiet. Too quiet.

My kidnapper seems to notice the same. I was about to open my mouth and say something, considering he wasn't making a move to either the door that led to the exit via stairs or the elevator and he was the one that decided we were leaving earlier. Though in a place like this, the stairs seem like the better option anyway. But before I could say anything, one of my mate's large arms came in front of me, and in a swift motion he pushed me back, successfully sandwiching me between a wall and him. I exhale a huff of pain, my bones protesting after almost being crushed. I do have to say that his hard body was no different than the wall, much to my wolf's delight. I, on the other hand, start to worry as the pain eases off.

"f**k!" He muttered, and that made me really start to think that something bad is about to happen. An unsettling feeling was already gnawing at me when he spoke again, his voice barely audible and clearly meant for my ears only.

"Vampires. I f*****g loathe vampires."

I didn't really get the chance to process what he said before I felt the presence.

Living in a pack for as long as I can remember, I could say I was sheltered in a way. I've never met another kind of shifter, thought I knew quite a few existed, never met a witch, though plenty have visited the Thunderbolt pack, and I never saw a vampire.

I knew vampires and werewolves were mortal enemies, but I'm starting to think it's more than that. My usually high body temperature started to drop, and I suddenly started to feel as if I had fallen into a frozen lake.

I hear a woman's voice chuckling, which made my captor press his back harder into me. I'm sure his intention was to keep me upright so he won't have to bend down and pick me up from the floor, as that would give the vampire an opportunity to strike, but I choose to welcome the warmth his body is bringing to mine.

"A wolf, bear? Really?" The woman addressed the question in a mocking tone. I scrunch my eyebrows at the same time as trying to peek from behind my kidnapper's huge frame. Somehow, the woman's voice sounded familiar, I just couldn't place it.

"Coming from someone that was letting a human f**k her, somehow your comment doesn't sound too… insulting after all." He growls.

"You made a huge mistake coming here and messing with my business. I always bite them when we're f*****g. The increased heart hate makes sure my venom doesn't kill them before they are ready to be turned. And I always turn them in a controlled way, otherwise newly awakened vampires tend to get a little hangry."

Somehow, listening to the sultry voice of the vampire made what she said sink in. Really sink in. Suddenly, the pungent smell of blood might not have been just from the man that my abductor killed. Considering the deathly quiet that has fallen upon this building, the smell of blood can be from many, many people that a new vampire might have killed.

"f**k. I really loathe vampires." The wall in front of me vibrates as my captor speaks. The vampire doesn’t seem amused.

"Well, tough s**t, bear.”

I can practically feel the venom dripping from her words, and from what she said earlier, that could very well be literal. I started to debate the fact this is the second time she’s referred to my captor as bear, but her annoyed tone made me pay attention to what she was saying next.

“You owe me for ruining my little operation. Humans pay a lot of money to be turned, but I don't get paid if they go batshit crazy and no shred of humanity is left. Because guess what? Sans that humanity, they couldn't care less that I'll actually kill them, so they tend not to pay. And I find myself having wasted my time." The woman's voice raises and so do the hairs on the back of my neck. My wolf though, is close to taking over and having a go at ripping her head off.

"I'll cover your… expenses." I hear a grumble, followed by something that sounded like here goes that bonus. The vampire practically yipped in excitement, the cold I felt deep in my bones starting to relent a little.

I heard the vampire rattling some numbers in quick succession, and without releasing me from behind him, my kidnapper fumbled with a phone before growling a distinctly displeased done.

A moment of silence followed before the vampire spoke again. I also noted that I wasn't even feeling cold anymore.

"Excellent. Thank you Mr… Roman. It was great doing business with you."

I take a moment to allow for the name she said. sink in. Roman. I wonder if that's his first or last name. Roman. I test it in my head. My mate, Roman.

"Also, some friendly advice since you seem like a fair man. If I were you, I'd either mate with her or kill her."

Hearing the vampire's suggestion, my cheeks instantly burned. There wasn’t anyone else she could have been referring to other than me, and I knew that if he had any intention of ending my life I wouldn't be standing here now. He told me as much.

Roman surprised me by growling so loudly that the actual walls shook. He was clearly unhappy with the options suggested. Meanwhile, my bright pink cheeks lost their colour, because I caught the vampire's last words before she made herself scarce as indicated by the whoosh of draft and the door that leads to the stairs opening and closing.

"I think your bear prefers the first option."

It can’t be... He can’t possibly... Though it would explain why he doesn’t seem to know what we are to each other, right? Right?