Aiden wasn’t surprised to see that the daring abductor was confident enough to come alone. The guy looked vaguely familiar to him. And he soon enough recognized him as the eraser.
Good god, what a fool he had been to bring an outsider into his business! Look where that got him.
“Why, hello there,” the warlock had the nerve to smirk at him.
Kill him. And find mate.
We are getting there, Aiden sighed as he tried to clear his mind of his inner beast’s killer intent.
“What do you want from me, warlock?” He asked, uncaring to know his opponent’s motives. All he wanted to know was what he would have to do in exchange for his mate’s safe return to his side.
Would he have to kill him and then find her as his wolf suggested? That could very well mean war between the witches and the werewolves. And seeing as Blake was adamant about killing every breathing living witch, if his mate were to pass, that would only mean he had helped him out somehow in his endeavor.
But then again, his mother was a witch as well. And he couldn’t bring himself to kill one of her kind when there could be a way out of it. Maybe he was being overly naive. He didn’t know.
“I want what we have always wanted,” he began in a wistful tone.
We? Who’s we? Aiden wondered inwarldy but didn’t voice out his concern.
“Which is?” Aiden raised an eyebrow as he waited anxiously for the words to spill out of the damned warlock’s mouth.
“The demise of the vampire race,” he said simply, a shrug accompanying his words.
“Huh?”
To say Aiden was flabbergasted wouldn’t do his state justice. He was so way beyond confused, there were no words.
“We just want you, as future alpha ultra, to influence your parents to go to war with Blake the Troublemaker,” he said with a sickening smile. “It would be beneficial to us all.”
“Says who?” Was the only response Aiden could come up with.
“Us, the resistance,” the guy announced proudly. “A new era is upon us. When his mate will die and she will die he’ll go mad with sorrow and…”
“Surely, if that came to be, the protectors will intervene,” Aiden told him, eyes narrowed.
“Says who?” Karen’s abductor retorted. “Don’t you know that they chose not to kill him when the seven days from hell occurred?”
Aiden’s eyes bulged at that. He had sure heard the rumors that Blake had been the perpetrator of the seven days from hell. But he had dismissed them, believing he wouldn’t have been left alive by the protectors if he had been indeed behind the incident.
The seven days from hell happened over a millennium ago, which meant Blake had been nothing but a newborn vampire at the time. If they hadn’t killed him then, whatever their reasons might have been, who was to say they would kill him this time around?
“Well, if push came to shove, and he did lose his mind, there will be a bloody war,” Aiden shrugged, pretending to have agreed to the warlock’s terms while choosing his words cautiously.
There would be no avoiding war if Maria were to die, but if she didn’t call him an optimistic wolf or even delusional there might be a solution somewhere for the mess that damned Carrywell and his allies created.
“Do you swear on your Luna’s life that you won’t go back on your word?”
“I swear,” he nodded, even as he sighed to feign resignation.
The sick warlock chuckled in glee. “You can have her back then.”
He gave him the address where he should find her, and before Aiden had the time to lunge at him, he had disappeared into thin air, teleporting somewhere else.
I’ll come find you later, bitch, his wolf vowed.
And then, he was getting back into his car and entering the address into the GPS.
“I’m coming for you, Karen,” he breathed out, anticipation filling his being.
** ** ** **
Aiden’s reunion with Karen was the furthest it could have been from his imagination. To say it didn’t play out the way he had expected would be the understatement of the year.
He hadn’t expected her to welcome him with open arms, admittedly, but he had thought he’d find her scared and confused, not angry beyond comprehension.
Indeed the moment he stepped into the desolate cabin in which she had been kept captive, his beautiful blonde mate looked at him, with murder in her eyes.
That was not a what-kind-of-mess-did-you-get-me-into kind of glare… it was much more intense, and held so much more heat to it.
He would have startled back from it had he been any lesser wolf, but he wasn’t, and thus he didn’t.
He tried to shrug it off as he breathed out a few relieved words, “You’re okay. Oh god, I’m so glad you’re okay.”
She didn’t utter a word in response, even as he went to free her from the restraints that were keeping her on the chair.
No sooner had she been released of the chains, did she slap him, hard. That came as unexpected.
What did he do to warrant such a reaction from her? He wondered mildly as his hand came up to touch his tender skin.
I don’t know what it is but you obviously did something wrong, his wolf supplied. Very wrong.
“I hate you,” she said, venom coating her words.
He was left perplexed at that. Hate was such a strong word.
He racked his brain for a probable reason and could only tell her meekly, “I’m sorry you were kidnapped because of me.”
“I hate cowards,” she announced proudly as she rose to her feet and started stretching her probably sore muscles. “Always did, always will.”
His frown deepened if that was possible.
“I know. I know everything. Though I should probably say, I remember everything?”
That almost had the knack to make his heart stop.
His eyes bulged. He had not expected her kidnapper to actually undo the spell he had cast on her. Out of all the scenarios that could have happened, this was probably the most unexpected… and maybe the worst too.
Before he had the time to say anything in response, she walked out on him.
Mate. Go after mate.
Aiden was quick to get his wits back together and follow her, as per his wolf’s urging.
Damn it all to hell, he would much rather have to fight Blake freaking the Troublemaker and face death, than endure his mate’s hatred.
“Karen,” Aiden called out for the umpteenth time as he followed his mate out in the woods. “You can’t possibly walk eternally. Be reasonable about this. Let’s go back to the car.”
She turned to glare at him.
That was the first look she was sparing him since she left the cabin in which she had been held captive… and goodness gracious, it wasn’t a loving stare at all.
He knew deep down that he deserved this. She had every right to be angry at him. And he was indeed a coward. But did she really hate him? The thought alone made a shiver of pure unadulterated fright run down his spine.
“What do you want?” She let out in an icy tone.
Somehow, he’d much rather have her yell at him, show some emotion, even if it wasn’t a warm pleasant one… anything but her indifference.
He couldn’t imagine his world without her. He could admit it to himself. He had grown to love her. She was his perfect match, his feisty Luna. And he had done her wrong in a fit of insecurity.
He dampened his lips in anticipation, ready for the lash out, and then said, “What I have always wanted you by my side.” Her eyes narrowed at him but she didn’t say anything in return, and thus he continued. “But I am not foolish enough to ask you to forgive me right now. I do want you, however, to get in the god damned car so I can drive us both out of here.”
Before she could say anything, he added, “It’s not safe here.”
“Well, if you hadn’t asked for an eraser to begin with and demanded that he tampered with my memories, we wouldn’t be facing this, now would we?” She quipped, not missing a beat.
Good god, she was beautiful. And smart. And witty. And all kinds of perfect. How he had believed he could get away with erasing her memories was beyond him. He was foolish. Foolish for her.
It might have been naive on his part to believe she would understand his motives if he explained himself. But his decision to have her memories erased was utter idiocy, he could see that now.
He wanted to tell her how sorry he was, how he felt about her, how he couldn’t imagine his world without her in it… but all that would have to wait for a better time, as he could hear the rustling of leaves that indicated that someone was approaching.
He grabbed her hand and started dragging her away.
“Release me at once!” She yelled at him.
“Shush,” he said, and before he could tell her that someone was nearing, she all but exploded.
“You do not get to shush me, wolf boy! Who do you think you are?”
He bit on his bottom lip in frustration, and even face-palmed with his free hand.
“The heavens must really hate me for that foolish decision,” he mumbled under his breath as he dragged her further in the direction of the car.
“What was that?” She bellowed even as she attempted to free her hand of his hold.
“Nothing,” he told her stiffly. “Just please I am begging you do as I say. I don’t want any harm to befall you.”
The last sentence was nothing but a murmur.
But it would seem she had heard him for she said with attitude in her tone still, “Well, you should have thought your decision through the other day.”
They just about reached the car when someone cleared their throat from behind them.
Aiden instructed her to get in the car and turned to face the man. The man’s scent was a little bit off-putting. It reeked of blood. And yet he didn’t seem like a vampire. And he didn’t believe he was a warlock either.
Was he a werewolf turned rogue?
Well, it would seem that he would have to find out for himself.
The day couldn’t get any better. Please note the sarcasm.