“What the hell are you talking about?”She glared at the males.Inside her mind, she kept trying to reach out to Aurora.She remembered once her sister said they should be able to create a connection.
“Once we drop the girl at the vampires' club, they’ll probably drain her dry.I heard something about shifter females in heat being like liquid gold to them.”One of the males made a sucking noise.
“Vampires?What kind of drugs are you guys on?”Starla asked.She bit her lip as they looked at her with narrowed eyes.
“Silly little girl.You have no clue what’s out there in the world.If I didn’t owe that bastard mobster, I’d keep you for us.”Garrison leaned in close.“You smell like sunshine and rain.
Yukon barreled into the clearing, snarling at the men.Garrison held up his hand.“Sit,” he barked.
She watched in stunned silence as Yukon whimpered and did as the alpha ordered.
“He’s part wolf.Obviously, he recognizes an alpha.You haven’t shifted yet, which is why you can defy me.I will make it interesting to watch the vampire bend you to his will.”Garrison took Yukon’s leash and tied it to a tree.“Someone will find him.We don’t take in half-breeds.”
Her breathing came out in a gasp at his callousness.“What if nobody comes along to release him?”
“Nature will take care of what it does.”He shrugged.“Let’s go.I want to get on the road before it gets any later.We won’t have to be on the run any longer.It was by chance we stopped to run.Fate saw to it that you and your keeper were out here when we were.That’s the Goddess working in our favor.”
She wanted to tell him the Goddess wasn’t on his side.The Goddess would never condone him killing her sister.However, the Goddess wasn’t one of her favorite people.She’d allowed her parents to be killed after all.
They loaded her into their SUV, pushing her into the very back while the Alpha got behind the wheel.She didn’t complain since she didn’t have to share a seat with any of the males.They kept sniffing the air, giving her the creeps.With two of the shifters in front of her and two in the very front, she counted her blessings from the third row.If only they’d forget about her when they went into a gas station or something, maybe she’d get a chance to make a run for it.
A few hours later, Starla realized they had no plans to stop anywhere except the middle of some damn field.She shivered from the backseat of the SUV.The males left her alone, saying they were going to hunt for their dinner.She’d turned down their offer of food, knowing she’d never be able to eat raw meat.No, thank you.Hell, her gag reflex nearly brought up what little she’d eaten that day.
A shiver wracked Starla’s body.
The Tahoe’s leather seats were cold under her bare skin.Stupid shifters turned the vehicle off and left Starla inside while they went off to run in their fur, not thinking about her comfort—the assholes.
She felt a stir in her head, familiar and comforting.
“Aurora.”Starla’s voice broke through her mind.
“Oh my god, Biddy Bee, is that you?”Aurora cried.
“How are you in my head?Am I going crazy?Oh, Goddess, am I dead?”Starla looked down at herself to see if she was torn to shreds or buried instead of shivering on a leather seat.
Tears threatened to spill down her cheeks, but she fought them back, watching Aurora show the way she found her.
“That is so cool.Can we do this with anyone?”Starla asked, intrigued at the discovery.
Aurora’s happiness flowed through her mind.“It’s not that easy, nor something you should do with just anyone.Some might find it creepy or get strange ideas about us.”
“Oh, like during the witch trials.”
She sent a picture into Aurora’s mind of what they’d learned in history about the subject.She’d wanted to burn each and every book that contained the stupid teachings about Salem and the burning of witches across the world.
“Oh lord, don’t think of Salem and us in the same vein.But that’s not far off from what could happen if you run into some crazy person.They could decide to make an example out of you or a name for themselves.You just never know.”Aurora’s tone sounded flat.
Starla projected herself, rolling her eyes.“You’re rambling, sis.I totally get it.I mean, it would be really cool if I could do this with the smartest kid in class and read all her answers—kidding.”
“I love you, Biddy Bee.I’ve been so scared since they took you.”
“Not half as afraid as I’ve been thinking you were hurt or worse.They said they’d killed you, but I knew you were alive.”Starla put her hand over her chest, feeling the ache there even when she’d known they were lying.
“I’m going to get you out of there.”
“They have me in the backseat of the Tahoe with duct tape on my wrists and feet.The alpha glared at me as if I’d killed his favorite pet before he placed the last bit of tape over my mouth.I swear, Aurora, my world shrank as they filed out of the vehicle and left me inside, and then the howling began.They all shifted.I’m glad they’re out there, and I’m in here.Wolves can’t open doors, on account of the whole opposable thumbs thing, right?”She couldn’t imagine Yukon opening a door, so surely the males couldn’t.They’d have to shift back to human, which would mean they’d have to be...human.
“Alright, first, I’m glad you’re safe in the vehicle.They haven’t hurt you, right?”Shoot, she’d worried Aurora with her questions.
