Smoothing a hand down his vest, Lyle attempted to collect himself, a false pretense of civility painted over his inner monster.
“I know this is only temporary,” he said, looking around at the dilapidated room. “I've got a much nicer cabin, but it’s a bit of a drive away. We need to be prepared. You’re going to love it there.”
A cabin. No doubt, far more isolated than whatever building I was in.
If I was going to get out of here, I needed to do it before he moved me. But if I pushed back too quickly, he would get angry. I needed to placate him, at least for now, because he was far more unstable than I realized, and I was afraid that was an understatement.
“Lyle… this is wrong. You know it’s wrong,” I pleaded, trying to keep my voice smooth and even.
He adamantly shook his head, jabbing a finger at me. “This is the way it’s got to be! You’re too precious to be out there—getting defiled by those disgusting alphas. I can’t let that happen!”
His voice rose, and the wild look in his eye intensified, his brows rose to his hairline and, his veins bulged in his neck and temples.
“I’m the only one really looking out for you, Flora. You’ll learn to appreciate me, I know you will.”
I wasn’t sure which was more terrifying. When he was screaming at me, or the quiet voice he used now. My pulse thumped in my neck and chest, each beat hard and weighty. Icouldn’t stay here. There was no telling what this man wanted to do with me. All this talk of being perfect, of being his. I could imagine what he meant, and it forced more tears to the surface, making any skin exposed to the air or any bit of me too visible, feel vulnerable.
The way he looked at me made me feel dirty. “You’ll see,” he said, nodding, not meeting my eyes. “You’ll see in no time. I’m what you need, not them. They’ll see soon enough, too. They’ll know their place.”
I couldn’t speak, terror stealing my voice. He was going to hurt my pack. I could see it in his expression, hear it in his voice, and I’d be left alone—with him. I shuddered, pulling into myself with a sob as Lyle reached forward for me. He stopped, but I knew that wouldn’t always be the case.
“You’ll see,” he repeated, before turning and leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
The click of the lock engaging was unmistakable.
Chapter 45
Chase
Flora and that TA were long gone.
I had jumped out of the window while Spencer tore apart the office, seeing what evidence he could find. I knew there wouldn’t be much. The office was on the ground floor, so it was easy enough to exit through the window. There was a small alleyway, which led to a parking lot.
The potent scent of Flora's panic that had been overwhelming in the office trailed off as I went through the alley. It vanished entirely when I reached the parking spots. He must have had a vehicle. There was no other reason her scent would disappear so quickly, even with the fresh air.
There were no cameras in the alleyway, but as I ran into the parking lot, I noticed a few.
Cameras were good. I could hack cameras.
Hell, the university would give us unbridled access to the camera feed if we demanded it—and we would. We needed to move quickly, though. Every second we lagged behind them, the further away Flora was being taken.
My heart pounded so violently that, if I weren’t solelyfocused on finding my omega, I would be concerned I was having a heart attack. But there was no time for that. Anything that had to do with me or my pack mates was at the bottom of the list right now. Flora was the one and only thing on top.
Time was of the essence inanykidnapping—and this was Flora.
Quickly, I looked around, assessing where the cameras were. There was no one in the lot or the alley, so I turned on my heel and sprinted back to the office, jumping through the window.
“There’s nothing out there,” I told Spencer, who was taking desk drawers and tipping the contents onto the floor in an attempt to find evidence. “It leads into a parking lot. There are cameras there, so I'm going to try and get access to them.”
A moment later, Bear barreled into the room, shoving his way through the students crowding around the now-broken-down door. I had a feeling campus security would be here soon, but they could do fuck all in this situation.
“What’s happening?” he asked, his pale skin making the scar on his face pop even more.
It was clear he didn't give a shit about who saw him. He had more important things to focus on. He’d just raced through campus without a second thought.
I’d have done the same damn thing.
“He took her through the window. She’s been drugged,” I explained.
