“Well, it’s a little bit of an issue for me, yes.”
“You know, back in the human realm, you seemed to like me just fine when we first met.” He grinned down at me.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “That was before I knew that you were the kind of man who holds women against their will.”
“Not all women,” he assured me. “Just you.”
“Uh...thank you?” I stood by the car, taking in my surroundings. There were women pushing babies in strollers around the greenery area, children climbing on a play structure, and men trimming hedges and mowing the lawn.
“What if I scream for help?” I demanded.
He arched an eyebrow. “Well, everyone here is a pack member. They obey my orders without question and would fight to the last man to defend me, so...go ahead, give it a whirl. Let’s see how it goes.”
My shoulders sank. There went that idea.
“Come along now. The rest of the pack will be eager to meet my new mate.”
I followed him into a house and paused in the entryway, surveying my surroundings.
Clean, blond wooden floors. Furniture handcrafted from maple trees. Fluorescent lighting, landscape paintings on the walls.
“This isn’t exactly what I was expecting,” I admitted, looking down to admire a brightly colored red-and-blue Oriental rug.
“What were you expecting?”
“Uh, I don’t know. Flickering torches? Rocks for furniture, bones strewn all over the floor?”
He threw back his head and laughed. “That’s cavemen, Daphne, not shifters. As much as some people have called me a Neanderthal at times.”
I giggled aloud.
Then I quickly remembered my surroundings and scowled at him.
“That was a nervous laugh. I’m not laughing because you’re funny. I still loathe you for kidnapping me.” I kicked him in the shin. My foot hurt, and he didn’t even flinch.
“Ow?” He raised an eyebrow. “Oh, the pain. How could you be so cruel?”
I wiggled my toes in my shoe. “I don’t think anything’s broken,” I muttered to myself.
A murmur of voices caught my attention. Men and women peeked around the corner, curious about the scene going down nearby. There was a teenage girl among them.
“You’ll meet her soon enough! Go back to whatever you’re doing.” They hesitated. “Now!” he growled, and they scattered.
He pulled me along gently. “I’ll take you to your room.”
Killian led me through the house, letting me see more of it as we passed. A spacious common room with a big TV, various hallways snaking away from the central area, a dining room, and then down another hallway.
He opened a door for me and gestured for me to go in.
The walls were papered with textured wallpaper in a soft, neutral tone, accentuated by intricate moldings and decorative trim. Soft ambient lighting cast a warm glow throughout the space, creating an inviting and serene atmosphere.
The centerpiece of the room was an exquisite, king-size bed with a custom-made, tufted velvet headboard. The bed was dressed in an array of plush pillows and a down-filled duvet. A beautifully crafted bedside table topped with polished marble stood on either side, complete with an ornate lamp and a collection of novels.
“Do shifters have interior decorators?” I asked.
“Maybe. Or maybe that’s just one of my many hidden talents. You’re going to wait here for the time being, Daphne. I need to go speak to someone. I’ll have someone posted as a guard for your protection.”
And he left, shutting the door behind him.
