And then he was mating with Felicity Shaw.

Chapter 25

“What have I done?”

She’d meant to ask the question to herself, but the alpha’s exceptional hearing picked up her misery-driven question as easily as if she’d screamed it.

Zeke lifted his head from some brown leather journal he’d been scribbling in and grinned. When he grinned like that the dimple in his chin poked out as well as the ones in both of his cheeks. Felicity rolled her eyes and forced herself to look away. He was a handsome man, but she would not be won by his southern charm no matter how much of it he had in spades. Besides, he kept muttering to himself but none of it made sense and when he wasn’t doing that he was quiet. Too quiet. She couldn’t hear him breathe and when he moved he didn’t make a sound.

“You’ve created a whole lot of chaos, darlin’. Couldn’t have done much better if I’d been the one doing it.”

Felicity rubbed the heel of her palm against her chest where a heavy pain throbbed. “I didn’t want to hurt him. I wasn’t trying to create problems.”

I just needed to get out of there.

It’d been too fast. Maybe if he’d slept with her the night before and they hadn’t ended the night with him yelling at her then things would be different. Maybe if Helena hadn’t threatened her. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe many things might have changed the outcome of last night. In one of those little scenarios maybe she would have had enough confidence to go down that aisle and get mated. But she hadn’t been able to do it.

“Yeah, well you did a great job of it.” He scribbled one last thing down in his book, the ink scratching on the paper. He snapped it shut.

“Where did you bring me?”

He stood and held his arms out to indicate the dark space. “This, Mizz. Shaw is my humble abode. Don’t worry your pretty little skin now we’re underground. That sun won’t touch you today, my dear.”

“Today’s the election.”

“Don’t I know it? Do I need to ask who you’re voting for?” He laughed at his own joke and proceeded into the next room. It had three large TVs on the wall, two opened laptops sitting on a table and several other weres. She hadn’t even felt their presence. How could weres be so quiet? They lounged on the couches, of which there were many. The big room had three couches plus four sofas and enough floor space to sit a small classroom of children.

And judging by all the news reports VNN, V News Network, CNN, and other channels the race was already on. The sound stayed muted but black-and-white subtitles scrolled across the bottom of the screen.

A picture flashed on screen of Dominic and then her breath caught as a picture of her running from the hall came across the screen. Oh god. They were already talking about it. The reporter speculated about whether this would affect the election for Dominic. Felicity realized for the first time just how dire her decision was. She might have cost the whole election for him.

“I have to go.”

No one turned to her. No one spoke.

Louder, she said, “I have to go! You have to take me back. I need to speak with them and set things straight.”

Zeke touched a few buttons on the remote and the sound came on. “I don’t think so, Mizz. Shaw.”

“What do you mean? Just show me how to get out of here and I’ll leave.” She’d followed him deep into the woods after stopping at some non-descript part of the highway. Sure it’d been odd but she’d been desperate. In her world desperate outweighed odd by a lot. They’d walked on for quite some time but she hadn’t paid much attention. She’d been too numb from all that had happened. Her mind still reeling from shock at her own decision. When they’d stopped suddenly and he pulled open a wooden door in the ground she’d blinked and followed him down the ladder. All she knew now was the alpha Zeke had an underground layer.

He tsked. “Don’t think so, shuga. That man of yours is about going ape shit, I ‘spect. He’s going to try to find you.” He gave her a slow smile, but this time it gave her a chill down her spine. “He won’t though. No one finds me unless I want them to.”

“Why would you want to keep me here? I’m nothing to you.”

His men chuckled and gave her approving smiles as if to say thanks for the laugh, lady. She glared back at them.

“Listen, I’ve known Dom for a long, long time. That man...” his voice trailed off as something on his laptop caught his eye. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he muttered. His fingers flew across the keyboard like rapid fire. Then he tossed his head back and laughed, the sound maniacal.

Felicity took a step back. “I want out of here.” She made her voice firm hoping that would do the trick.

The alpha didn’t even spare her a glance. “Good luck. You’re welcome to try to get the hatch open. Even if you somehow managed to do that, which I doubt, then you won’t find your way back to the road.”

One of the weres nodded his head in affirmation of the alpha’s words.

“At least let me call him.”

I have to fix this. I never meant to hurt his campaign.

Zeke turned to face her. Gone was the smile, the humor in his eyes. In its place was stoicism, a man who would not budge if a god struck him. “You don’t get it, do you? You’re mine now. Dom’s going to be running around like a chicken with his head cut off and while he’s doing that, I’m going to make sure the news is running ads about your little résumé lie, your little runaway bruid fiasco, and while that happens my points are gonna go up. So, darlin’, you ain’t goin’ nowhere. Have a seat.”

Like a heavy weight pressing on her shoulders it finally dawned on her what she’d done. Dom probably thought she left him for Zeke. He’d be an idiot if he thought that but the possibility was there. She loved him, crazy loved him with all her heart. A tear slipped down her face and her breath hitched. She shouldn’t have left. She should have run down that aisle to him not away from him. He would have kissed her, pulled her close, and made her feel like everything would be fine.

But she’d done none of those things. She’d run the other way in a storm of panic and anxiety that had gripped her with its cold fingers. Now she had to fix this shit-storm she’d caused. She had to repair the damage before it was too late.

With all the dignity she could muster, she walked back to the ladder that she’d climbed down not that long ago. Then she climbed up the stairs in her red gown that Dom probably would have liked and proceeded to jam her shoulder into the hatch with the intention of not stopping until she got out of here.

Chapter 26

Sweat dripped down his forehead, curved around a wrinkle at the corner of his eye, and then dipped onto his eyeballs. With a hiss, he blinked at the salty burn over his retina.

He’d long lost his shirt. What had been a crisp white linen shirt pressed into perfect creases from an iron had turned into something a dog would love to roll in. He’d searched every inch of the forest, but he was losing time. The sun was coming. He could feel the heat of it like a lamp on his skin though. He didn’t have much time before it ascended the sky.

The earth kept turning when he wanted to roar at it to stop. Just stop for a few hours. He needed time. Time that he couldn’t get back.

Where was she?

He kept moving, flying with all the speed his supernatural body had and startling squirrels and the like in his wake. He would find her.

What if you can’t? What if she’s gone for good?

With a vicious growl he slammed his fist into a tree. It cracked down the middle like a lightning strike, and then split apart as it crashed down to earth. Breathing like a rabid animal, he circled the forest, his eyes searching.