He struggled against the rope holding him. Unlike the rope at Elise's house, this was rough, like something made for construction or boating as opposed to whatever those fancy silk ropes had been. And whoever had tied them had been just as skilled as whichever of Elise's sisters had tied him up. The ropes didn't give at all.
He took a moment to look around and really take in their surroundings. They were in a warehouse of some kind. Stacks of boxes and pallets lined up in neat rows, and he and Elise were pushed up against one of those rows and tied up. This wasn't the Iron Runner pack's pack house, definitely, but it could have been their territory.
He had no proof that the Iron Runner pack were the ones who had taken him and Elise, but of all the options, it made the most sense. Nico didn't havethatmany enemies.
The Southern Basin pack was fairly big for a small pack, and the other small packs in the area wouldn't have riskedthe retaliation that would come from stealing Nico away. They especially wouldn't do it in witch territory. No one else would have the resources to be watching and waiting there.
He still didn't getwhythe hit had happened there, though it was easier to nab him off of pack territory rather than on it.
Elise’s magic zapped him, but this time it wasn't trying to heal him. In fact, it kind of hurt around his wrists, and he flinched.
"What are you doing?" He jerked his arms back.
"I'm trying to melt these ropes off of us. A little bit of fire should do it. It might hurt for a second, but I can fix that," she promised, "except it's not freaking working. Somebody magicked these ropes."
"We were taken by werewolves." That he was sure of. He rolled his shoulders, testing the bonds again.
"We were," Elise agreed. "But they had some magic items with them. I don't think they were working with a witch, but I don't know for sure."
"Can werewolves learn to do magic?" That sounded preposterous. "Or maybe a half-werewolf, half-witch?"
Their children would be that one day, he realized, because they were getting out of this. He hadn't ever considered what it might mean that their kids would have both witch and werewolf blood. Would they be both? Either? Neither? Something to consider for the future.
"I don't think it's that." Elise shook her head. "And it doesn't really matter; we just need to get out of here."
They both struggled physically against the ropes, but they didn't make any progress. Nico slumped back against the boxes and hung his head.
"I'm sorry for ruining your life." He shouldn't be giving up hope just yet, but he didn't know how long they had before thenext phase of whatever was going to happen to them. He needed to take this opportunity to get everything out. "If I had never?—"
"You didn't ruin my life," Elise interrupted him. She squeezed his hand. "We aren't dead yet, okay? And we're going to get out of this. I chose you, Nico. We've already had this discussion. We're in this together. And I wouldn't change a thing." She paused and thought for a second. "I would change us getting kidnapped, actually. That part's getting a little ridiculous."
He laughed faintly. He couldn't get closer to her, even if he tried. So he leaned his head against hers and breathed deep, soaking up her scent.
"I love you," he told her, pressing his forehead to hers. And before she could make some objection, he kept talking. "I know it's too soon, but my wolf doesn't care. I don't care. This is what I feel. And you need to know that."
She didn't try and pull away, but she was quiet for a moment. And then she leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"I never thought I could fall for somebody so fast," she said, her breath warm against his skin, "especially not given the situation or the last few weeks. But I do love you. Apparently, I was just waiting for the right guy to kidnap me and hold me hostage. Clearly not the guy who has kidnappedusand heldushostage. I promise I won't fall in love with him."
They both laughed. And Elise tried more magic on the ropes, which burned his wrists more, but did nothing to loosen them.
"It's amazing what you can buy on the black market these days," a stranger's voice rang through the warehouse, and footsteps approached them down the central hall of boxes.
A man in a suit was walking closer, his fancy shoes clicking against the concrete floor.
Nico recognized him and spoke quietly to Elise. "That's Austin Lasalle. He's one of the lower ranking betas of the IronRunner pack." Cole and the Southern Basin Pack only had four betas. They were the alpha's lieutenants and did what he commanded to keep the more annoying things off of the alpha's plate. But a pack as big as the Iron Runner pack had dozens of betas, all with their own responsibilities and interior hierarchy.
"I'm a mid-ranking beta, thank you," Austin scowled, stopping a few feet away from them, "and Dawson trusts me to take care of things likethis." His scowl turned into a grimace. "It's my job to clean this scourge, this disgusting relationship between you, from the city."
"Does Dawson know you kidnapped us?" Nico lifted his chin. He wouldn't cower in front of this man for any reason. Because that would change the situation entirely.
If Dawson was picking up rival pack members from outside his territory, it would be open war before long. And if his betas were creating this war on his behalf, Nico wasn't sure if that was better or worse.
Austin shrugged. "Dawson gives us leeway to do our work, and it's my job to keep things in order."
"It may be your job to keep things in order inside of your pack, but neither me nor Elise are members of the Iron Runner pack. You should let us go if you don't want trouble."
Austin laughed, and it sent a chill down Nico's spine.
