Wynter's Captive (4 page)

“What the—”

“Kevin!”

In the blink of an eye, the blond, hot young wolf showed up.

“Listen, I don’t know what the fuck you’re thinking, but there will be no double-doggy playing here. I’m a one-guy-at-a-time type of chick. I don’t do well with too many bats in my face all right?” She glared at him.

Cade’s body shook above her. He chuckled and turned his face toward Kevin. “You were right. She’s dramatic, but cute. Get me some binds.”

Oh, dear lord. “I like trying new things as much as the next person, but please don’t tie me up.” She had no problem playing up the whole kinky thing with him if he wanted to, but to get Kevin to tie her up was just wrong.

He ignored her and continued talking to Kevin. “Do her left arm to the post and then the right. Not so tight that it will hurt her,” he added with a frown.

Kevin nodded and tied her hands to the bedposts. Then he ordered Kevin to leave.

“I’m sorry, beautiful. I told you that you wouldn’t make that wedding.” He looked her in the eyes.

“Why? What the heck do you have against weddings?”

The frown deepened. “Nothing.” He lowered and brushed his lips over hers. The kiss was over so fast she didn’t even get a chance to enjoy it. “I need to run, I’ll be back soon,” he said and covered her with a thick quilt.

“Are you serious? Cade? You can’t leave me here like this!” What if she had to pee? “Cade, listen to me, we can talk through this.” She watched him dress, adding a shirt to his ensemble this time around.

“Where are you going?” This had to be an episode of the Twilight Zone. No way was she tied to a bed or being held hostage by a hot wolf. The worst part was she just had the best sex of her pathetic life with said wolf. No, it just wasn’t possible. She started to hyperventilate and wondered if Aunt Patty really made that shit up when it happened to her. She always claimed Uncle Leo had kidnapped her and had his wicked way with her, but how could the same thing be happening to Lili? Did it run in the family?

“I’ll be back in a few.” He walked to the bedroom door, glanced back at her with a frown, and then left.

It took her all of two seconds to realize he was not going to let her loose. She tugged at the binds, but asshole Kevin had done a pretty good job at keeping her restrained. She looked around her, but nothing useful stood out.

It felt like forever before she heard footsteps inside the cabin. Darkness filtered through the windows, letting her know it was late. Jaylin would be devastated that Lili couldn’t be at her wedding. She’d wonder what happened and possibly postpone. Another reason Aunt Patty would have a panic attack.

“Hello?” she called out in hopes Cade would finally let her loose.

Korbin’s smiling face peeked inside the door. “Hi.”

Hallelujah! “Korbin, I could kiss you.” She grinned. “Do you mind helping me out a little?” She wondered if he knew why Cade had tied her up, and decided to test her luck. “Cade and I…we got uh…a little busy earlier, and he left and forgot to untie me, and now I need to use the little girl’s room.” Which was no lie. Granted she wasn’t bursting at the seams, but she probably should pee if she was going to attempt an escape.

Korbin stared at her for a moment and sniffed. Then he narrowed his eyes. “You said you have to go to the bathroom?”

She gulped. “Yes, I do.”

He sniffed again and smiled. “OK.” He undid her ties and took a step back.

“Do you mind?” She held the quilt to her chest. “I’m naked.”

His dimples peeked out, and his smile widened. “I know.” He must’ve seen the shock on her face because he straight out guffawed. “I’ll be in the living room.” Turning on his heel, he walked out the door.

Was it really that simple? She didn’t think so. Tentatively she stepped out of the blankets, felt the chill in the air, and shivered. In hurried steps she went straight for Cade’s tall dresser. Upon going through drawers she found tank tops and put one on. Then she opened a different drawer. Sweatpants filled that one. She grabbed a pair and slipped them on.

The pants were long, so she folded them at the bottom. She pulled the string tight on her waist where the things bunched in one saggy mess. In the next drawer she found sweatshirts. After she donned one of those, she pulled on some wool socks and eyed her flip-flops. There was no other choice. Cade’s boots weighed a ton, and both her feet could fit into one of them.

She walked toward the open bathroom connected to the bedroom and glanced around. There was a large window there. Yes! When she was done using the facilities, she pushed out the window and winced. Bitter cold air slapped her in the face. An involuntary shiver racked her. If she didn’t die from exposure, she was sure that Cade would kill her once he realized she’d escaped.

Putting both hands on the window ledge, she stepped on the toilet seat lid and hauled her body up to the window. Finally, when she sat on the edge, she swung her legs over to the outside of the cabin and jumped. She landed on her ass with a huff.

Cade didn’t want to check the perimeter. Instead, he wanted to go back to his bed and into the arms of his sexy mate. As he walked, leaves crunched under his boots, jerking his attention back to the present. The scent of nature pulled the wolf within to be free, to run. Once he was through with checking his land, he’d allow the animal to roam.

“We are supposed to be on vacation, Cade. You’re not supposed to be working, Alpha.” Kevin’s exasperated voice reminded him.

“This isn’t technically working, Kevin. The cabins are our winter break. You know the entire pack looks forward to spending time outdoors.” He glanced around his property, glad to see his pack members enjoying their break from city life.

“I understand, but—”

“No buts. I’ve found my mate, and I intend to enjoy our break from the city with her by my side.” He smiled, remembering Lili’s sharp tongue and strange sense of humor. “I want to get to know her better.”

Kevin nodded at some of the children looking out from their bedroom windows. “I don’t think she knows who you are.” Shock laced his words.

Cade wasn’t surprised. “Why would she? I’m not in the public eye like my father used to be.”

“I understand, Alpha. But you’re Cade Wynter. Everyone knows you.”

Everyone in the financial world maybe. He highly doubted his new mate had a clue who she’d gotten herself attached to, which made her all the more appealing. People either did his bidding because of his money or because of his status in the pack. Liliana had so far argued with him at every available moment, and he enjoyed every second of it.

Small flakes started falling from the sky.

“Snow? But it was clear all day.” Kevin groaned. His enforcer hated the white stuff.

Personally Cade loved looking into a forest with a fresh batch of fallen snow, without a single footprint to mar it’s beauty. It was like looking at a painting. “Stop grumbling, and let’s finish this before I go crazy thinking of how angry Lili must be by now. But I did leave her under warm blankets and a heated cabin.” It was a small comfort considering she was tied up. He hadn’t enjoyed that part, but it felt necessary at the time.

“Did you tell Korbin about making sure she stayed tied up?”

Kevin’s worried frown made his stomach clench. Without speaking, they rushed back to his cabin in the center of the retreat. Cade threw the door open with so much force it came off the hinges. When he walked inside, Korbin sat watching TV and eating a sandwich in the living room. Going straight for the bedroom, Cade shoved his door open and glanced around. There wasn’t a single sign of Lili. His mate was gone.

He searched room after room and came up with nothing. Fear lodged its way into his throat when he didn’t find her. The bathroom door stood ajar. The window sat open. He roared, a loud, angry bellow that shook his cabin.

Korbin rushed inside, his face a mask of worry and despair. “I’m sorry, Alpha. She said she needed to use the bathroom. I didn’t know she was meant to stay tied up. She’s your mate, and I could scent your bond.”

He couldn’t think past the fact that his brother Cyrus and his men were dying to get at him. If one of them got their hands on Lili, he didn’t know what he’d do. He ran out of the cabin. Concern expanded the sense of doom with each step he took.

When he got to the entrance, a group of men had already shifted. There was no need to talk. They were linked, and his fear for his mate projected out to them.

He stayed in his clothes and ran toward the highway, hoping that’s the way she had gone. Trusting she hadn’t encountered the vileness of his brother or the rogues that followed him, he tried to stay calm. And failed. Anger and concern comingled inside him. One moment he wanted to spank her ass until she promised to never leave his side. But in the next he promised himself to take better care of her security once he found her.

Hell. He’d been mated for all of a few hours, and already he was going crazy over the woman. Hadn’t his father always told him that it would be that way? That his own mother had ran him around in circles? But his mother had never run off with so much danger waiting to strike. He needed to find Lili. Now.

Chapter Four

Lili pushed all thoughts of getting into trouble to the back of her mind and made her way toward the clearing she’d come from. At any other time she’d swear she had a great sense of direction, so she hoped it would come to her aid now.

Cold seeped in through the sweats, causing her to shake and shiver. She decided to jog toward the direction she remembered coming from. Now that she wasn’t being chased, she had a clearer memory of what she’d done.

Wind blasted the trees, and limbs groaned from the force of nature. She held her hands in the sleeves of her sweatshirt and started to half-run/half-walk her way back to the highway. She panted from exertion and the biting cold. In the distance ahead of her, she heard a car zoom past. A smile split her lips and energy filled her. Forget walking. She’d run and groan her ass back to her car before anything else happened.

Almost as if the fates conspired against her, she heard soft growling around her as she neared the highway. Frantic, she looked around, trying to see what made the noise. Another growl, then a third, a fourth, and by the fifth she realized it was coming from in front of her. She turned around and ran. A growl sounded right behind her a second before sharp blades swiped at her. Heat and pain shot up her leg, making her scream and stumble. But she found her footing and kept on running.

The growls stopped after a while, and she wondered if they’d decided not to chase after her. Nauseous from nerves, she peered around. Had the trees seemed so dark and foreboding before? She glanced around and lost all air in her lungs when a bunch of naked men surrounded her.

“I warn you, I know karate,” she said for the second time that day.

One stepped forward. A tall, beefy looking one with a face so mean he almost scared her. Except Lili didn’t fear anything; that was her biggest weakness.

He inhaled deeply, narrowed his eyes, and growled. “This one belongs to Cade.”

The others crowded her, snarling and growling with each step. She figured they were trying to scare her, and for a second her heartbeat took a nosedive when the biggest one’s face shifted to show an angry wolf. Taking slow steps back, she tried to keep them at a distance. But they ate that up with their much larger steps.

A loud howl sounded from behind her. She jumped when a new set of growls filled the air. Oh god. It was a turf war, and she was in the middle. The moment the men seemed to lose their interest in her and focus on the new growling, she took off. Running for dear life toward Cade’s cabin, she tripped on branches and lost her flip-flops. Her lungs burned, and every step became an exercise in survival. She glanced behind to see three of the naked men running after her. And they were gaining on her quickly.

She tripped, saw the ground rush to meet her face, and lifted her hand to break her fall when something grabbed her. A pair of strong hands helped her stand up again. She glanced up into Cade’s stony face and clenched jaw. He clutched her arms and lifted her off the ground, her feet dangling in midair for a second, before he lowered her down behind him. Wetness made the material of the sweatpants stick to her legs.

Cade sniffed, glanced down at her leg, and then back up at her. “Don’t move,” he growled.

If shit hadn’t literally hit the fan, she would so leave him standing there alone. But the reality was she needed Cade’s protection. She was not wolf, and he was mighty strong compared to those other guys she’d seen.

“Cyrus. Which one of you hurt her?” Cade snarled.

Lili peeked around Cade’s arm and stared at the big angry guy who had growled at her. He was looking at Cade as if he wanted to tear him limb from limb. And she didn’t like it one little bit. The cuts on her leg didn’t hurt as much as they had before, but the combination of wetness and cold made her shiver harder.

“Cade, I had no idea you had taken one for yourself.” The other guy laughed and glanced down at her.

Cade whipped his hand back and shoved her behind him again. “You have no claims of any kind here. I have told you this before. The people have told you before. I will give you one chance to take your men and go. I won’t make the same offer twice.” A deepening growl took over Cade’s voice.

“Or what? What will dear older brother do?” Cyrus laughed, a mirthless sound that grated on Lili’s nerves.

Cade snarled. His voice sounded almost unintelligible. He changed into a large, half-shifted wolf man. “Or you die. She’s mine, and I protect what’s mine.”

Warmth spread through her when she heard him say he would protect her. They would have to talk about this whole “she-was-his thing,” like she was a pair of pants or a puppy. But still, it was sweet to know he was willing to fight his brother for her.

The guys Cyrus had shown up with rallied behind him, growling and snarling like a pack of wild dogs. He lifted a hand, and the noises stopped. “I have every claim, but I know when I am outnumbered,” he said, stepping back and not looking away from Cade.