Tessa's Chosen (7 page)

Tessa spent the afternoon with Rafe. He took her into Sugar Creek, shopping for some new clothes and even managed to get her into a sex shop where he teased her with some of the toys he would like to try on her with his brothers. Tessa felt her face turn red as he took his purchases to the counter and paid for them, all the while trying to hide behind his broad shoulders.

Stopping at cafe when Tessa said she was thirsty, Rafe bought her a drink and sandwich as her stomach was growling loud enough to wake the dead.

Once finished clasping his hand in hers he led her back to where he had parked his truck. Just as he unlocked the door, he felt the back of his neck prickle in warning. As he turned to face whoever was behind him, he felt a blinding pain on the side of his skull, his knees collapsing out from under him as he fell unconscious to the ground.

Tessa heard Rafe groan in pain as she saw him crumple to the ground. Spinning around to see where the threat was coming, she wasn't in time to see whoever had knocked Rafe out as she was knocked unconscious.

***

Tessa woke up with a pounding headache. Moving to stretch her aching muscles she realized she was tied down on to a bed. Her arms were stretched up above her head held firm with handcuffs and her feet were secured to the posts on either side of the bed, stretched wide with some sort of material. Groaning in pain she turned her head looking around the room to see where she was. She was definitely in a bedroom. Oh god where was Rafe. Had whoever taken her killed him? Who had taken her? Was it Darren. No Rafe would have dealt with Darren. He was a werewolf, he would have smelled him 63

surely. Why hadn't he known someone was behind him till it was too late? She did not have any answers, they only thing Tessa knew for sure was that she had to get out of here. Hopefully before whoever had kidnapped her came back.

Moving her legs she tried to pull her feet together, seeing if she could tear the material tying her down. She felt it give a little, but had to rest her straining leg muscles a bit to regain some strength back. Tipping her head back to see how the handcuffs were secured around the wrought iron bars, she nearly started sobbing knowing it would be futile to try and even think of breaking them. Handcuffs supposedly became tighter the harder you pulled on them.

Not having first hand experience with them she was not sure but not willing to take that chance. The only way to even try to free herself was starting with her tied ankles.

Instead of trying to pull her legs together to put tension on the material, she tried bending her knees.

Finding that easier on her leg muscles she kept pulling until the material started stretching and gave way a bit more.

Pulling and straining she put so much pressure on the material until her knees were three quarters of the way up her leg length. She was just about to give a mighty wrench with her legs, when she heard a key in the lock of the door.

Placing her legs flat onto the bed spread wide again, she hoped whoever was coming into the room would not notice the stretched material.

Tessa wasn't surprised when Stephanie walked into the bedroom sneering at her with haughty disdain. “Not so full of yourself now are you bitch. You will never be apart of our pack. You are so weak. You pathetic excuse for a human. Those men were mine until you came along. I will not have you wrecking my plans with your existence.”

Tessa looked into Stephanie's wild eyes. There was not one ounce of sanity to be found. “You don't even have a chance with them Stephanie and you know it. You know 64

there is only one true mate for a werewolf, do you really think they will even look at you. Yes I know you had sex with them, but to them you were only a scratch to an itch.

You were just a fuck.”

Stephanie came at Tessa hands raised. Tessa tried to protect her face from the insane bitch but did not have much of a chance with her hands secured to the bed. Trying to hide her face under her arm when Stephanie got in a vicious slap and then tried to claw at her face. Tess felt her arm trickling out blood as Stephanie used her were claws on her. Crying out with the pain of feeling the skin of her arm being ripped open.

She was bracing herself for another assault, then looked up when it didn't eventuate, Tessa saw Stephanie struggling against the hold Brett had on her.

“I told you stay away from her you crazy bitch. How the hell am I going to use her to get them to hand the Alpha position to me if you kill her.”

While Brett struggled to hold on to Stephanie Tessa asked him something that had been bothering her.

“How did you get past Rafe? He would have smelled you as soon as you were in the vicinity?”

Brett laughed as he continued his struggle with Stephanie, “We stole some of your clothes and disguised our scent. A brilliant idea if I do say so myself.”

Tessa watched as Stephanie started to shift, her mouth elongating into a muzzle, her bones cracking and popping as she shrank back, her spine shortening until she was looking into the eyes of a crazy wolf. Unable to keep his hold of her Brett stepped back as Stephanie merged into her wolf. Turning away from Tessa bunching the powerful muscles in her legs preparing to leap at Brett.

Brett was halfway through his shift when Stephanie pounced, they were biting and clawing at each other, ripping at each other’s throats.

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Tessa turned her head away in horror as Brett ripped out Stephanie's throat and she slumped to the ground for with a death rattle. Turning back she watched as Brett shifted to his were form and staggered from the room.

Hoping Brett was too injured to worry about her, Tessa began tugging her legs up with all her might.

Sobbing in relief when she felt the material holding her legs in place rip. Her legs were free, now she had to figure out away to get her hands free from the handcuffs.

Grabbing hold of the rails of the bedhead, Tessa swung her feet around using her legs to kick at the rails.

Her body contorted in an awkward position, she kicked until exhaustion took over. Lying still panting for breath, she rested her strained body.

Tessa must have fallen asleep, when she awoke again it was dark. Not being able to see what she was doing she straightened her body out, trying to relieve her aching muscles. The arm Stephanie had ripped open was burning and throbbing with pain.

Praying one of her men would find her soon. She was desperate to use the bathroom. Wondering if Brett was even still in the house; and if he was whether he was still alive. If someone didn't come for her soon she was going to pee her pants and that was least of her problems. She'd had nothing to drink since that afternoon when Rafe had bought her a coffee. She knew she could survive without food for quite a while, but if she didn't get water within the next twenty four hours she was going to start to dehydrate. That could cause her big problems.

Tessa was awakened just as the sun started rising putting a little light through the bedroom window. Moaning with pain, her bladder was so full it felt like it would explode. Her head and arm was throbbing, her arms and hands numb from lack of blood circulation. Listening to see if she could hear anyone moving around in the house, she started yelling out when she heard nothing.

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“Hello Brett, can you hear me. Please I need to go to the bathroom,” she yelled at the top of her lungs. Waiting again to hear if there was any response.

“Brett please come and untie me,” she screamed, then pausing again.

When Tessa didn't hear anything she grasped hold of the bed rails contorting her body around until she could kick the iron with her feet.

Bringing her legs up against her full bladder she kicked with all her might. One of her feet slipped from the rails scraping along her ankle, giving a scream of pain as the flesh over her ankle tore open. Tessa began sobbing, she was in pain and knew she could not kick the bed head away to get her hands free. She was stuck until someone came to help her. Tessa cried herself into exhaustion.

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“Luc, Gabe someone got the jump on me and they've taken Tessa. I need you to gather all the Omega's together.

Meet me at Deb's Cafe. I can't pick up a scent, I need some help to find our mate.”

“On our way,” Lucien answered.

Five minutes later a group of trucks came to a screaming halt outside of Deb's Cafe. Lucien, Gabe, Damian, Luke, Chase and Tony entered the cafe sitting down at the table Rafe was seated at. Rafe was holding a bag of ice to his head. Gabe took the bag of ice off and looked at the wound.

“It's already healing what's the ice for?”

“Deb gave it to me to bring the swelling down. Since she's human and I was already starting to heal I was trying to hide it from her,” Rafe replied with a snarl.

“Tell me,” Lucien said.

Rafe explained about the prickling feeling at the back of his neck just before he was hit on the head and knocked unconscious.

“I wasn't out long. A minute at most. What I can't figure out is why I didn't get a scent?”

Lucien sat thinking before he had any semblance of an answer to that.

“They had to have disguised their scent somehow.”

“That has to be the only possibility. The only human scent I smelled was Tessa.”

“Maybe it was because whoever it was wrapped themselves in Tessa's clothes,” Luke suggested.

Lucien looked at Luke then Damian as understanding sunk in. Whoever had Tessa was a pack member.

“Fuck,” Gabe stated.

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Rafe looked from Gabe to Lucien, “Who do you think it was? Stephanie or Brett?”

“Both,” Lucien said. He had known Brett was hankering for top dog position and Stephanie being jealous of Tessa would make it easier for Brett to use her, to help him with his plans.

“Gabe I want you and Luke to see if you can pick up any scent. Rafe where did they get the jump on you?”

Lucien asked.

Rafe pointed to his truck across the street, “At my truck.”

Gabe and Luke took off across the street, walking around Rafe's truck trying to pick up a scent.

Luc raised an eyebrow in question as the two men came back into the cafe.

“Both of them. The scents faint but it's there,” Gabe opined.

“Chase, Tony I want you to get all the information you can on the activities of Stephanie and Brett within the last twelve months. Luke, Damian I want you to ask around town, see if anybody heard or saw anything. We'll meet you back at the house. Rafe, Gabe and I are going to see if we can follow the scent. Let’s go,” Lucien stated.

Lucien, Rafe and Gabe followed the scent for at least an hour. Going back and forwards across town until the scent ended at an automated car wash.

“Fucking bastard, bitch. I am going to rip out their throats when I find them,” Rafe stated as panic took over.

Not being able to help their mate was killing them all.

Not knowing if she was still alive. If she was hurt.

They were all consumed with fear and rage, that someone had dared to threaten their mate. Their one and only love.

They had to find her. When they did they would also find Brett and Stephanie. Those two pack members had just signed their own death certificates.

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When the Alphas arrived back at the house they were immediately surrounded by their pack. The pack wanted to help them find their queen. What did the Alphas want them to do.

“I appreciate the offers, at this moment in time I'm just waiting for the Omega's to gather some information.

Once I know some more and I need your help I will ask.

Thank you,” Lucien stated.

Lucien, Rafe, and Gabe convened in the dining area, waiting for word from Chase, Tony, Luke and Damian.

Alice bustled around the kitchen cooking up a storm, knowing there would be a large amount of people to feed throughout the evening. She also made sure there were snacks for her Alphas knowing they would get no sleep this night.

Rafe paced the house, restlessness keeping him from settling. He was blaming himself for not protecting Tessa.

He berated himself for not realizing soon enough that she was in danger.

Gabe had gone to his office to help Chase and Damian, hacking into council files looking for property in the two pack members names. Going through bank files, anything he could think of.

Lucien was in the kitchen grilling Luke and Chase going through the information they had gathered from the towns people.

The hours seemed to drag by every time Rafe walked back into the kitchen he glanced at the clock the hours seemed to take days to pass. He was beside himself with fear, frustration and panic. He needed to hold his mate in his arms, love her with his body.

Gabe, Chase and Tony walked back into the dining room.

“We found it,” Gabe said holding a piece of paper in his hands. “Brett bought a house situated about an hour away from here. I'll bet that is where they have our baby.”

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“It will be light in half an hour. They are probably feeling secure since we haven't found them yet. Probably still sleeping. Let's go get our mate,” Lucien said with murder in his eyes.