Theodore was handling emails and about to go into a meeting on his laptop when his phone went off.
He wouldn’t have picked it hadn’t he seen it was from Alexander – one of his sweet mate’s bodyguards.
“Hello,” he greeted him stiffly.
What could possibly be so wrong that he had felt the need to call?
“Ms. Nill is missing,” the man said without preamble.
“What do you mean missing?” He hissed through gritted teeth, even as his eyes turned red.
“A… a gi… a girl approached her during lunch and then they went to the restrooms, but never returned to the table.”
“What kind of fools are you?” Theodore thundered. “I bet the restrooms have another door.”
“Y… yes, sir,” he was quick to say despite the stutter.
“I’m coming,” he growled at them.
He hung up, didn’t even bother to cancel his meeting, and then left the home office in haste. He descended the stairs two by two, and was within a minute in his car, ready to take off.
He arrived at his destination in less time than usual even though a policeman had dared to stop him. He had had to keep himself in check so as not to snap at the man. He took the ticket from the police officer and nodded at him curtly before speeding off again.
When he saw the bodyguards, he all but snapped at them. “How foolish can you two be?!” They were about to speak when he silenced them with a glare and his next sentence, “And don’t you dare fucking apologize.”
They therefore kept mum.
“Do you have a name, a face, anything?” He then asked.
“Julie, I believe, was her name,” Samuel said.
“More like Judith,” Alexander protested. “And they seemed to know one another.”
“Okay,” Theodore drawled as he tried hard to keep a cool facade. His blazing red eyes were hidden behind his thick shades. “Then a high school classmate, I’d say?”
“Possibly,” Samuel shrugged.
“Could she be in any way, shape or form related to that damned Thomas?” Theodore then mused out loud.
Samuel shook his head negatively. “We haven’t seen him around,” he said dumbly.
“All the more reason to suspect him then,” Theodore then objected. “He’s deranged enough for me to believe him willing to cross me so.”
Their eyes widened.
“It was the girl who dragged her away though,” Samuel insisted.
“They’ve all been to the same high school. She and Romeo are working together,” Theodore asserted. “Now, be useful, and find me his address and every information that could come in handy.”
His instruction didn’t fall on deaf ears.
And it was then his eyes focused on the table where his beloved had left her things, save for her phone… all his calls during the ride to the college went straight to voice-mail though.
“I’ll find you, dorogaya,” he vowed as he looked at her graphic design book. “Wait for me.”
** ** ** ** ** ** **
Emily woke up some time after passing out, and found herself bound on a bed in a position that had her thinking of the worst. But her muscles didn’t ache and her clothes were still on her, and thus she had yet to experience that which shouldn’t come to happen.
She wouldn’t put it past Thomas too. He was that deranged and then some.
She tried to free herself but to no avail. It wasn’t so much her strength as a dragon that was lacking, but more like her senses were still numb and she was still weak from the effect of the drug.
She looked around, trying to find out where she was… but this was futile. She had never interacted with Thomas during her high school years, and had only observed him from afar, silently.
She had never thought he had noticed her, and much less fancied her to the point of becoming obsessed.
Now, bound on the bed as she was, and gagged so as not to scream no doubt, she realized her mistake.
The door opened to reveal none other than Thomas. She glared at him and he had the nerve to smirk in response.
She struggled as he approached her, sensing that he wasn’t exactly here to just talk.
He sat on a chair next to her and with a hand caressed her cheek softly. She averted her face in disgust.
It felt so wrong to be touched by someone other than Theodore that she wanted to throw up.
“Emily,” he drawled her name and her anger spiked up, “Don’t be like that. I know you want me.”
“In your dreams,” she told him through her gag, but it came out as an unintelligible sound.
He frowned slightly, and then offered, “I’ll remove your gag, provided you remain good.”
She debated on what to do or how to answer him. And then opted for nodding her consent.
She’d be good as he said, until she found herself an opening to escape, until she regained her strength.
With a gentleness she didn’t expect from a deranged person, a stalker for all intents and purposes, he removed the gag from her mouth.
“You were saying?” He asked.
“In your dreams,” she told him with a glare.
“Oh Em, I never knew you to be so feisty,” he chuckled darkly.
“Haha,” she said sarcastically. And then in a much icier tone, she added, “Let me go now and I won’t let Theo kill you.”
“Do not speak his name in front of me!” He bellowed at her as he got in her face.
She tried hard not to flinch.
She was a dragon. A mere human shouldn’t scare her so. But this wasn’t a normal human. This was a crazy man.
She breathed in deeply and then told him, “Fine. At least allow me out of these. My wrists feel numb.”
“Well, they wouldn’t if you hadn’t struggled,” he deadpanned calmly.
She narrowed her eyes at him but said nothing more.
And then, he had the nerve to extend a hand and grope her breast.
“Oh, heavens!” He moaned, looking to be in ecstasy or something.
Emily on the other hand saw red. Her eyes stung and probably turned crimson. And within seconds of struggling, she freed herself.
He looked at her red eyes with obvious fright. “W… who… what are you?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She growled before punching him square in the face.
He fell back on the floor but she didn’t allow him to crawl away.
With a second punch, a loud sickening noise of the bone breaking ensued and blood oozed out… and the pathetic man fell into unconsciousness.
But Emily couldn’t help but feel enraged that he would touch her so casually, and thus carried on punching him.
Moments later, the door of the room slammed open, and in, entered Theodore.
“I see I’m late to the party,” he quipped darkly, the anger rolling off him in waves. “He’s barely breathing, dorogaya,” he then said. “Let me finish him off.”
“No, let me,” she growled at him.
“No,” one word, and yet it held such a tone of finality.
Emily stepped away after some hesitation, and then allowed her mate to choke the unconscious man.
His face was a bloody mess. And she was sure she’d be getting nightmares… not just from his face, but also from his revolting attempt to grope her – and possibly do more.