Heiress or Mate?

Chapter 6 - Too late

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Linton

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“Linton? Brother, please wake up!” I hear a voice, but it sounds from a distance. There are also dogs barking, and it sounds like a lot of them too. I try to focus, but the sounds start to fade, and I feel myself drifting off to sleep again.

"Linton!" the voice comes again, and it doesn't let up this time. It calls me over and over again, getting louder every time, causing me to cover my face. I groan, trying to block it out, exhausted, but the barking also gets louder, making me groan again, giving up and forcing my eyes open. A loud bang that sounds like a steel door jolts me out of my dizzy state, and my eyes finally snap open. My heart rate shoots up as I look around, realizing I’m in a steel cage. What the hell?

Linton?

My sister calls me again in a thick voice, and I finally find my voice and respond. She asks what’s going on, saying she got a call from Cas, who's a worried mess. I tell her not to worry, not knowing what to say, and she asks where I am. I lie and say I’m in the park, seeing a map of what looks like a park on the far side of the room. I can tell she doesn’t believe me as she continues asking if I’m okay before saying I need to go home because Cas is worried. I tell her I will and cut the link before she does, the noise getting too loud, making it hard to focus.

I look at my paws, starting to panic, and I’m still in wolf form, even though I can’t feel Calyx; he’s completely still. All the dogs start barking again, making Calyx growl in frustration, and that shuts them up, causing me to let out a sigh of relief finally. Their loud barking made my head feel like it was splitting in half. Just then, three guys enter, and one says, “Here he is, looking at me.” They cautiously step closer to me, one taking pictures while the other brings his hand to my head like he’s trying to pat me, causing me to growl. He jumps back, startled, before telling me to take it easy and complimenting my size. They start asking each other where I could have come from, but my eyes widen when I hear them talk about the damage I caused. I don’t remember.

The last thing I remember is sinking in the pool. They say I caused havoc on the road, and people were injured from the collisions. Oh, my God. What have we done? Calyx. I whisper my wolf’s name in horror, but everything stops when one tells the other about the money they could get for me, causing my heartbeat to accelerate. The one with the glasses takes out his phone and calls someone they call Georgina, telling her they have something she would like.

They tell her they can arrange for me to be shipped off tonight, adding they know she’s good for it, and I realize I'm in deep trouble. She says she will call them back, and I look at the door behind them; I need to get out of here.

They leave, one telling me they will see me later before adding, I must be good, and I ask Calyx to give me control the moment they exit the door, so I can try to break the lock and get us out of here, but he doesn’t respond.

Calyx? I call him again, but he whines, falling to his side. This cannot be happening.

Listen to me. I know your heart is broken; mine is too.

I tell him but stop mid-sentence as he replays everything that happened after we left the house. Oh, my God! I mutter in horror, seeing cars collide and people screaming while we continue growling in the middle of the road.

I’m sorry

He says, after a moment of silence, his voice different, and the pain in it breaks my heart.

It’s okay, buddy. I’m not mad at you. We are going to make it through this together. Now, please give me back control so I can get us out of here and out of this God-forsaken city. I tell him, and he does give it back to me this time. I shift back, but the dogs start howling loudly again like they are afraid. Calyx growls, trying to shut them up, but they don't stop, causing me to panic, fearing someone will walk through that door hearing their noise. And as if on cue, my worst fear comes true. The door handle twists as someone inserts a key from the outside and Calyx quickly takes over, not even waiting for me to ask him. By the time the door pushes open, we are back in our wolf form again, but the dogs are even louder now and looking at us, making it obvious there’s something about us. Calyx starts to growl again, getting pissed by their noise. But soon, the noise becomes the last thing on my mind as the third guy enters, pushing a stretcher — while another holds a tranquilizer gun.

Oh, No

He whispers, burying his back against the wall as they walk up to us, telling us it’s okay, even though nothing is okay with what they are about to do. He growls, scratching the locks, trying to open it, but it doesn’t open. He rams it with his head, and they jump, startled as the lock snaps open, but my eyes widen as dats hit his paw before one sinks into his nape. His back collides with the cold wall, immediately getting dizzy as the sedative infuses with our blood while paralyzed by fear, knowing it's over. When we pass out, we will involuntary shift back to our human form, and they'll see what we are.

Oh, Goddess, I whisper with a shaky voice, horrified as Calyx’s head hits the steel cage, and my family’s faces flash in front of my eyes as darkness slowly creeps in. Veil’s is the last one that lingers, and a guy screaming, “What the f**k!?” is the last thing I hear.

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Veil

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I groan and sit up in bed, turning on my bedside light. I’ve been trying to sleep for the past two hours, but I can’t. Andreas didn’t even call me goodnight. He never goes to sleep without calling me goodnight. I grab my phone and redial his number, and it’s still on voicemail. He probably went out of town to meet with a client or something, but he didn’t tell me. He’s never just gone without telling me. The last time I spoke to him was this morning when he left. I didn’t call him during the day because of how crazy my day was, but it’s weird how he didn’t even care to find out why I didn’t show up at the office like I said I would.

I get up, throw on some leggings and an oversize shirt, and slip into my slippers. I head out of my room and head downstairs, noticing the lights are still on, even though it doesn’t seem like anyone is awake. But I freeze just as I walk past the living area when I hear someone cough, not wanting them to hear me. I’m too stressed about what’s happening with Andreas to entertain anything else.

I quietly proceed after making sure the person didn't see me, my heart racing in my chest as I reach for the stone. I can’t believe Mom never told me about it until now. It would have made my life so much easier. I feel nothing now that I have it. It's like the beast is dead. I grab my car keys and head out, carefully closing the door behind me.

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Liora

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“No, no, no!” My eyes snap open, and I sit up on the bed, panting, realizing it was just a dream. “It’s not real. It’s not real,” I whisper, placing my hand on my chest, my heart knocking against my ribs. I was back in Gunner’s basement. But instead of that man, I saw Linton in his place.

I get off the bed and walk to the water fridge, where I grab a bottle and gulp it down, my heartbeat continuing to drum against my ears. I grab my robe and throw it on before heading out of the room. I can’t just sit here and do nothing. I have to try to help him. What kind of woman—or mother—would I be if I didn’t? They’ll experiment on him, or worse, if he turns.

“Veil?” I knock on Veil’s bedroom door, but she doesn’t answer. The door is not locked, so I twist it open after knocking three times, but I stop after stepping inside the dark room and get out again, closing the door quietly behind me. She went through a lot today; I should let her rest. Besides, she’s made it clear she doesn’t want to get involved. I head down, but I hear someone cough in the living area, and my eyes widen, walking inside and finding Castiel still sitting up.

“Hey, you should try to get some sleep,” I say, walking over to him, but he says he can’t, breaking my heart. I pull him into a hug and promise him we are going to look again in the morning.

“I don’t understand all this. I mean, he was just here in the room, and next, he was gone. How does something like that happen? How does someone vanish into thin air?” He says in a thick voice, and I hug him once more, wishing I could tell him where I’m going and give him hope, but I can't. I tell him I have to go out quickly but will be back soon, and he checks the time and asks if I’m going to be okay. I tell him I will, grabbing a blanket from the other sofa and putting it on him. I head to the front, grab my car keys, and head out. The guy I asked to check where Linton was taken told me he was taken downtown. I have never been to the place, so I use the GPS and step on the gas, praying I'm not too late.

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Veil

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“Babe?!” I call out, opening the bedroom door, but there’s no one here. I plop on the bed, my heart sinking very low. I really needed him tonight. I place my phone and keys on the bedside table and turn off the lights before walking back to the bed and climbing on it. I grab his pillow and snuggle, inhaling deeply as I do, and for some strange reason, my mind drifts off to Linton.

I hope he’s found. Mom said he’s going to send him home when he returns; she says he’s been through a lot and doesn’t think he’ll be able to finish the job. I know she thinks I don’t care, but I’m not a monster. I’m just trying to protect myself and my family. His presence in my home has wreaked havoc in my life. The beast almost took over my life—a beast that had been lying dormant for nearly three years. Suddenly, it was clawing its way out because of him. Now I’m being looked at accusingly like I’m the wicked sister by Emma and Alec, and they don’t know what I’ve been through.

Mom, on the other hand, was busy losing her s**t and trying to chase after him. What was she going to say if she got there to claim him and he had already been discovered? We were all going to be expected to answer, and what was she going to say to dad? The amount of care she continues to demonstrate for the beasts every time she gets an opportunity amazes me. A beast took what he wanted and never looked back. He left her pregnant and alone. All this is happening because of him. She should hate them more than me.

“Enough thinking about beasts,” I whisper, turning to my side and hugging the pillow tighter, and it doesn’t take me long to fall asleep. I hope I wake up to my man.

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Liora

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“Oh, my god!” I whisper, getting to the animal shelter and seeing red and blue lights everywhere. I step out of the car, my heartbeat accelerating as I look at the tape closing off the place. “Oh, Lord, please,” I whisper with a shaky voice, my knees feeling like jelly as I proceed to the small crowd gathered near the tape.

“What happened here?” I ask, and a man tells me no one knows. Three people were found mutilated inside. Just then, I see bodies being carried out.

“Oh, my God!” I clamp a hand over my mouth, and the young man asks if I’m okay, seeing me stagger, suddenly dizzy. What have I done? I see the bodies being loaded into the van, and I look around, stepping away from the crowd, not even knowing what I’m doing or where I’m going before running back to my car. I get inside, and tears flow from my eyes before I even close the door.

“It’s my fault. All this is my fault,” the vehicles with the bodies head out, and the crowd starts to disperse while some of the police remain, still looking like they are collecting evidence. I turn on the engine and head home. I’m too late.