"I'm going to check," Devin whispered, against whose back I was still shaking uncontrollably. There was a silence in the house that was just frightening.
"No," I pleaded, clinging to him even tighter.
The hallway was pitch black, only the small stars of my bedside lamp twinkled above us on the ceiling and at least gave us a view of my small room.
"Jady," my brother said, still softly, and then broke my arms to turn around to face me. He took my hands, smiled encouragingly, and then tucked a strand of my brown hair behind my ear. "It was probably just the wind. Don't worry."
Exactly how stupid was he?
"You're not leaving me here alone. You know-"
I caught my breath and my eyes widened when I suddenly recognized two masked men in the hallway behind Devin. My heart threatened to stop beating and with a trembling hand I yanked on Devin's sweater, who looked at me in shock.
Then everything happened very quickly.
The one that seemed bigger grabbed my brother and shoved him aside with such force that Devin fell to the ground immediately, while the other strode briskly towards me.
I stopped breathing and just stood there in shock and then I felt his hand on my arm and he wanted to pull me with him, but before I could be pulled a step Devin got up and lunged at the guy.
But he didn't stand a chance...
The two quickly got my brother back on the ground and started beating him like they had no qualms about it while he kept groaning in pain that made me gasp for air insanely desperately.
Then I only heard his faint rattle and looked around in panic, where my bedside lamp caught my eye.
I yanked it out of the socket with all my might. At that moment everything went pitch dark and full of desperation I just hit where one of the guys was standing with full force.
"Fuck!" I heard one of them curse after hitting something and then when someone switched on the light in the hallway I saw the bigger one lying on the floor next to my brother.
It was a terrifying sight. Devin's face was barely recognizable under the blood and his white t-shirt seemed completely absorbed by this metal-smelling liquid.
With the lamp in my hand I looked at the one who was still standing. I was ready to throw the thing at him until I heard heavy footsteps down the hall that got my full attention.
I stood there with bated breath in my teddy bear pajamas, starlight in my trembling hands, just hoping this was all just a bad dream.
"Just come with me," said the masked one and stretched out his hand to me, then climbed over my brother and came towards me.
"One step further and I'll make you-"
"Stop it!" A voice suddenly sounded from the hallway and then a man was already standing in the doorway of my room, whose dark eyes I recognized immediately. His scent wafted deep into my consciousness and the coldness he radiated made me shiver. He was the wolf of the forest, there was no doubt about it.
"Kill him and take her with you," it slipped out of his lips and when the boy who was lying on the ground got up to point a gun at my brother, I immediately threw myself at Devin and cried so bitterly that neither of them could stop themselves stirred.
"Please," I begged, glancing at the guy in the doorway, who had already turned around, giving me only a view of his back. "I'll do anything, but leave him alone."
Nobody said anything and when my eyes fell on the masked man with the gun, I suddenly felt a hand on mine.
"Jady," Devin gasped in agony and I immediately put my hands on his cheeks to rid him of the blood at least a little.
"Devin," I sobbed, stroking him gently. A part of my heart couldn't cope with all this and my breathing became ragged. Slight dizziness set in and I wanted to collapse, but I had to be strong... for him.
"Come on!" one hissed and yanked my arm away from my brother while the other aimed the gun at him again.
The man in the hallway still had his back to us. Too fine to do it yourself.
"Why?!" I screamed desperately through tears and tried to free myself from his grip.
"Because you didn't have the right to choose your own partner as the Alpha's mate!", the one who was holding my arm hissed, and shocked by this statement, I was briefly thrown into a kind of trance, from which I only found out again, when I heard the gun unlock.
"He's my brother!!!" I sobbed in a trembling voice and just as I looked down at him, crying, expecting him to die because of me and my stupidity, I heard the voice of the man in the hallway.
"Leave him."
Then he disappeared and you only heard his footsteps moving away.
"Come on now, before he changes his mind," the tall one threatened me and put his gun away again.
"Bene, just throw her over your shoulder if she's so stubborn," he laughed and then disappeared as well.
The guy behind me turned me around, grabbed around my waist and then actually threw me onto his shoulder where I hung powerless. I was too scared to say anything else or fight back. As long as they let Devin live, I wouldn't care where I got to.
"Jady," I heard him whisper when we were halfway down the hall, but I didn't have the courage to answer him. The pain was too great and the lump in my throat made it difficult for me to breathe.
Once outside, he put me on my feet and I turned to my house, which I could barely see through the veil of tears. It all seemed so unreal....
I didn't really understand what had just happened here and just wanted to run back to my brother to feel the closeness and security, but I was thrown rudely into a black SUV, where I just lay there crying and didn't even make it anymore to sit up. My strength to defend myself seemed gone.
I felt alone and abandoned. Add to that desperate and scared...
But what bothered me the most was that it was my own fault and hating myself and my stupid idea of going into the forest was eating me out of them.
***
The monotonous noise of the tires on the asphalt was the only thing that my ears still perceived to some extent. There was nothing else, just absolute darkness, which also spread deep into my core.
The brown leather of the side seats felt cold and smelled new, like this car had been bought to put me in the back.
The two masked men sat in front and whispered to each other, which I didn't give a damn about. I didn't listen to them at all, even if I could have. Instead, I kept my still watering eyes closed and hugged my arms tightly against my body.
My brother would now call it an embryo position...
This nasty thought of never being able to see him again made me startle and gasp for air.
"Everything okay?" asked the one on the passenger seat, who had just been addressed as Bene, and turned to me while he pulled off the black mask.
I looked at him in surprise. He didn't look at all like someone who would kidnap girls against their will. He was the typical sunny boy with his blond-brown short curls and warm green eyes.
Completely overwhelmed, I avoided his gaze and slid as close as I could to the window to take a look outside to see that we were just driving over the bridge. All you could see was still, dark water that glittered slightly in the moonlight.
At the end of the huge lake there was only forest. The forest that was to blame for my situation. If only I had never gotten inside him... But surely they would have found me anyway...
One meant the Alpha's mate. That struck me as completely absurd. Why should I of all people be his mate? Shouldn't fate assign him one of the superiors instead of me?
"Good morning," I was snapped out of my thoughts and only now felt that the car had stopped at the end of the bridge. The driver had his window down and was talking to a guard who seemed to be checking we weren't some intruders who shouldn't be here.
I wanted to grab his gun and shoot everyone...
"Then have a nice morning."
The car started moving again and for the first time I saw the territory of the superiors. Even if everything seemed pitch black, I could see some of my surroundings. You could see right away that rich people lived here. The streetlights alone shone such a beautiful gold that one of them was probably worth more than my home.
I didn't have much time to look further because it wasn't long before we stopped at a really big looking house. It wasn't as modern as I imagined the houses at the uppers to be, but it still looked beautiful.
A white facade, dark brown window frames, what felt like a hundred rose bushes in the front yard and a small pond that you hardly noticed in the dark.
"So, get out Princess", said the driver and when he and Bene left the car, I crossed my arms and didn't even think about doing them this favor.
My thoughts were still with my brother, of whom I didn't know if he had even managed to call someone for help or if he was still on the ground like a beaten dog.
"Did not you hear?!" The driver yanked open my door and then pulled the mask off his head. Just looking at it made my heart race and I had an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. Scars littered his face as his poisonous green irises glared at me. He was also bald, which even somehow went with his plump face.
Ugly bastard....
"Yes, I heard you. I prefer to stay here though!"
After my words, I immediately avoided his gaze. He shouldn't have noticed my fear and I was obviously trying not to get down, but this bald guy didn't seem to have any tact or pity in him.
Roughly, almost painfully, he pulled me out of the car by my arm and then pushed me roughly against the car.
"Don't act like a stupid toddler!" he growled and I immediately tried to push him away, but I couldn't. Instead, my lips and hands began to tremble as my knees went rubbery at his withering glare. If he hadn't pinned my arms against the car, I probably would have passed out with excitement.
"I just want to know how my brother is," I then mumbled, intimidated and hoping that they would allow me to make a phone call, but he suddenly laughed and looked up at Bene, who was standing a little further away under a lantern tapped his cell phone.
"Did you hear that? She wants to know how the wimp she couldn't even protect is doing," he continued to laugh, turning his gaze back to me.
"Leave her alone, Igor", Bene said and then came towards us.
I trembled with anger at the way he was talking about Devin and bit my bottom lip so hard in anger that the taste of blood immediately filled my entire mouth.
"Shut up!" I hissed in anger and it seemed to me that my fear had suddenly disappeared completely.
"Ohhhh, the little one is getting mad," he grinned dirty and at that moment I lifted my leg to ram my knee full force into his balls.
Howling in pain, he let go of my arms and clutched his stomach for a deep breath as he fell to the ground looking a heap of misery. I lifted my nose in triumph and even had to smile at my courage. Then I heard Bene laughing next to me and glanced over at him as he took pictures of the one on the ground until a growl was heard behind us and Bene's laughter faded.
"Don't you guys manage to do even the simplest of tasks?!", the alpha spoke with tenor in his voice and then glanced at me to immediately focus on Igor.
"What about him?" he asked directed at Bene, who nodded in my direction.
"She knocked him out."
The Alpha's dark, almost black, irises struck me, and the memories of our encounter in the forest flooded my mind.
He looked the same as he did as a wolf. His jet black hair seemed perfectly set despite the fact that it seemed so tousled. In addition to this angry, cold look, which he also radiated in his wolf form. And yet, there was something that fascinated me about him. So much so that I couldn't even take my eyes off it, despite wanting nothing more.
"Take her to her room."