Chapter Sixteen

Her life had changed so much. Saffron was staring into the mirror while she washed her hands. A twin sister and a possible mate. She was having trouble wrapping her mind around that. Her mother and father were back together. Suddenly, she had family coming out of the woodwork after years of feeling alone.

She dried her hands and reached into her purse for her lipstick. A little freshening up and she’d be ready to take the world by storm. It was the slither of a shadow on the back wall that made her drop the lipstick. Grabbing her purse, she ran for the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

The wall opened, and she realized it was really a window cleverly disguised.

“Saffron, you wouldn’t be trying to escape, would you?” Richard gave her a smile that didn’t touch his eyes.

Her heart started pounding faster. It skipped a beat and then another making her gasp as her hand went to clutch at her chest.

“None of that, you’ll be coming with us.”

She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. It felt like something invisible was holding her mouth closed.

“You’ve been a naughty girl. You should be dead. It’s okay, I forgive you. I've been thinking of other ways to use you.”

Saffron was pulling at the door and banging on it. No one was coming to her rescue. If only she could talk to Xander.

“Stop her.”

The black shadow covered her, and she passed out.

*~*~*~*

“Saffron, you’ll love Rose. It’s such a miracle, she’s still alive. I thought we could do a girl’s day at the mall. Saffron? Where are you?” She walked further into the bathroom to find Saffron’s purse on the floor.

There was a knock on the door before Caden and Xander barged in. Sage was standing outside the window that shouldn’t have been there.

“She’s gone and where did this come from.”

“What’s going on in here?”

Sage stepped through the window and stood in front of her mate and Xander. Keeping the man alive was all she was thinking.

“My sister was in here. I found her purse on the floor and a window where it doesn’t belong. Explain!”

Xander went out the window while Sage was trying to get clarification and keep Caden from ripping the manager apart.

“Where are you wild cat?” He was speaking softly as he followed her scent down the street. It ended in a parking spot. He dropped to the ground.

“Hey buddy, is everything okay?”

“I’m looking for my fiancé, she was abducted.”

“What did she look like?” He gave a brief description of her. “I saw her; she was with two men. I asked if she was okay, but the one said she was having a migraine. I know all about that, so I left them alone after hoping she got better soon.”

“Did you see what they were driving?”

“It was some kind of green SUV, but I really wasn’t paying attention.”

Xander turned and walked away.

“I’m really sorry about your girl.”

He stopped thoughts of Saffron going through his mind. He turned to look at the man. “Thank you, because of you, I know she’s still alive.”

He turned and walked back to the restaurant.

Caden and Sage were waiting for him. Their food was in takeout containers.

They followed him to the Jeep.

“There was always a window in the bathroom. When the restaurant took over the building, they decided to put up what the manager called a false wall. No one ever paid attention to it, and it was money saved until today. Sage has decided to sue them for being compliant in Saffron going missing. The window will be replaced with a real wall by the end of the week.” Caden gave him useless information knowing it would help if he knew everything.

Xander nodded but didn’t say anything. He could feel his canines trying to descend as the nails on his fingers were slowly inching out. He wanted Richard dead.

“Brother?”

“I’m fine.”

“Like hell you are. We’ll get her back.”

“I know, but how? She can’t talk to me mentally. How am I supposed to find her?”

He was almost proud of himself. He was still holding it together, mostly because Sage wouldn’t survive if his anger came out, and he would never take his brother's mate away. The feeling was excruciating.

“I will take you both home and then—.”

“Don’t, I want to stay with you and so does Caden.”

He nodded. It made sense that she wanted to look for her sister. They drove around for hours looking for even a hint of her.

“Maybe we should put out some have you seen me posters. They help.”

Xander had no idea what she was talking about but didn’t question. He pulled into their garage after a long day.

“Where are you going?” Caden asked him as he walked away from the house.

“To the hill.” The hill was the highest point in the compound. It made him feel closer to space. He hated that he missed flying through it, but he did. Those were some of the times he felt free. When they were flying with nowhere to go.

His form changed, and he started running down the street. Everyone around him moved fast to stay out of his way. Soon he was using his claws to propel him up the hill until he was at the top. From there everything looked small even in his werewolf form.

We should have bitten her when we had the opportunity. His werewolf reprimanded him. We could have explained later.

And if we had lost her?

We would just follow her. She would have eventually come around.

He didn’t want to do it that way. He wanted her to accept him. It meant more if she knew he was wild that he might never be acceptable socially but still accepted him.

He closed his eyes and laid back. Talk to me Saffron, he whispered.

*~*~*~*

Where the hell was she? Her eyes opened, but the images in front of her were fuzzy. She tried to bring her hand up only to realize it was tied behind her back. Why was she lying on a cold cement floor with her hands and her feet tied?

This wasn’t good.

I’d say that was an understatement.

Oh, look the alien in my head chooses to speak. Thank you for gracing me with your presence. Where were you when I needed you?

She was pissed not because she got abducted. She was upset because she screwed up. It wouldn’t have been that much of a hardship to wait for Sage. Although she was glad she didn’t, because they might have gotten the drop on Sage too. Her real reason for being pissed was because she couldn’t contact Xander. If she had just become his mate, right now she would be able to call for help.

She still had the cell phone Ven gave her, but it was in her bra. She could feel it pressing against her breast, but with her hands tied behind her, she would never get to it.

This was her fault.

It’s always your fault. Blame raised her ugly head and began to list all the things she had done wrong in her life.

Saffron ruthlessly cut her off. If not, she would be incapacitated. That’s what happened to her when she listened to blame.

She needed to find a way to tell Xander where she was. She rocked trying to get the phone out of her bra hoping she could use her tongue to call him. Finally, she gave up. Even if she called him, she had no idea where she was.

Find me, Xander, she thought as her eyes closed.

You could go to him.

The eyes of the alien in her head were staring at her. She could always see her better when she was asleep. Who are you?

I’m you, just a different part of you.

Like if my mom was Spanish or Irish?

Sort of. You need to go to Xander now. We can talk later.

She nodded and looked for Xander. The only reason she was even entertaining this thought was because she found him when she was shot. Maybe she could do it again. He talks to his brother, talks to his people, there must be a stream of thoughts, or ideas to follow. There was a purple and orange stream. It ran together and separated. She would follow that one.

How long could she stay in this dream? Could Richard kill her while she was here? Would she even feel anything because she was in this dream? Would she die if her conscience was enmeshed with these beautiful colors surrounding her? She moved faster not wishing to be stuck somewhere between life and death.

“Xander!” She screamed his name. He seemed so close yet too far away.

“Wake up. Please find me. Track me using the phone. Track me, Xander.”

With a scream, she was pulled back into her own body. Pain spread over her cheek then on her abdomen.

“Did you try to dream walk? You’re a naughty girl. Keep that up, and daddy will have to beat you.”

She tried not to gag but almost choked in the process.

“That’s better, no falling asleep. The next time you do, I’ll strip you naked. Fall asleep again, and I’ll beat your ass among other things. On second thought ignore me I could have so much fun.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Your abilities. I thought you would be useless then I saw you using them. I knew I had to have you in my possession. As soon as I get back, we’ll get started. Remember no going to sleep.”

He left her lying on the floor in the cold room. This had to be the basement of an old home. The walls were falling, and in the corner, there was water on the floor and more seeping up. This hadn’t been Richard's best investment, but she bet it was off the grid enough not to get caught.

*~*~*~*

Xander woke up and jumped to his feet with a snarl on his lips. He looked around trying to trace Saffron’s voice until he recalled enough to remember where he was. He turned and ran heading down the hill, slipping several times and rolling in the process. It didn’t bother him the faster he moved, the better. He was running towards his house Caden was waiting for him on the porch. He took one look at him and followed him to his bedroom.

Xander told him what happened, and Caden was already on the phone calling Ven.

“Ven is rounding up Jasper and Chase to track Saffron’s phone. We’re all meeting in The Wolves Den. You have ten minutes. They think that’s all it will take to track her down.

Xander disappeared into the bathroom. He was going to get his mate back, and this time he wouldn’t let her go.