Daci

 

I was desperate, and starving. My Coy-wolf paced, begging to be freed to hunt, but I couldn’t risk getting caught.

My legs were exhausted and my feet were hot and sweaty inside the stolen pair of sneakers. I hated hot feet.

I approached a small mom and pop type of store and walked inside. It wasn’t a name brand grocer, but it was a convenience store that carried enough of the essentials to prevent the locals from having to drive any further. The biggest question I had was, where was I?

“Can I help you, miss?” the gentleman behind the counter asked.

When I looked up, I was taken aback. Judging by his higher-than-normal pitch for a grown man, I expected him to be much younger. I thought maybe he was a kid in his late teens, but his appearance said otherwise. He looked closer to thirtyish. He had a clean-shaven somewhat handsome face with dirt smudges on it, and shoulder length, unruly, wavy brown hair. And his eyes were as blue as the sky. I’d only seen eyes like those -- It couldn’t be. There was no way he was a Shifter.

“I... I...” My unexpected stuttering prevented me from being able to form a coherent sentence.

“Go ahead; tell me what you need, little lady.”

The glint in his eyes was somewhat terrifying. I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what about him unsettled me, but I wondered if he could tell I was unnerved by him.

“I really need something to eat, but I don’t have any money.” My stomach growled.

“I can share my lunch with you, if you’d like. It gets rather lonely here in the store and I’d love the company of a beauty such as yourself.” His glare was intense, and his eyes darkened. “What do you say, doll face?”

His words caused my Coy-wolf to stir. She was uneasy, and I was quite alarmed by his off-putting reference. I’d never had anyone call me ‘doll face’ before, and hoped never to hear that again.

My stomach rumbled loudly. There was no denying my hunger. “Thank you.”

“My name’s Maximus, but my friends all call me Max. How about you, beautiful? Do you have a name?”

“I’m Daci.”

“Daci. I like that. Don’t run away, I’ll be right back. If anyone comes in, give me a holler. Okay?”

“Sure.”

My instincts were telling me to run, but my stomach refused to listen. I stood in front of the counter looking down the aisles at the bags of chips, candy bars, and peanuts. I looked up at the ceiling and saw the security cameras pointed at me.

“Here we are, darling. Come sit back here with me. I’ve got an extra stool.”

I walked behind the counter, past him, and climbed onto the stool that he directed me to. It was then I realized how much taller than me Maximus was. He was taller than Barry’s father was so he had to have been over six-feet-three-inches tall. He had a thin build, and his clothes were quite dusty and baggy.

“Where’s a precious little thing like you coming from? I know you aren’t from around here.” He peered at me from the corner of his eye.

“I’m from central New Jersey.”

“You’re a long way from home. We’re close to Millbrook. Isn’t your family worried? If you don’t have any money, how’d you get way out here?”

“It’s a long story. My family doesn’t know I’m here.” I could smell the chicken in his brown paper bag. My Coy-wolf wanted to rip the bag from his hand and feast, but I kept her in check. My stomach rumbled louder than the first time.

“That cute little belly is talking.” He reached his hand out and touched my stomach, causing my body to jerk. He didn’t react to me pulling back from him. Instead, he leaned in farther and kept his hand on me. “Don’t worry, little tummy; I’m going to take good care of you. And sweet little Daci, too.” He looked up and smiled at me. His mouth was crooked, and his bottom front teeth looked like he’d been chewing on rocks.

The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and my Coy-wolf was growling her warning at me. I needed to hurry up and get away from this guy.

He handed me half of his chicken sandwich. “Here you are. Half for you and half for me.” He winked at me.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. I’m happy to help out – well, nevertheless, I’m happy to help you.” He took a bite of his sandwich, then I bit into my half.

My Coy-wolf wanted to devour it, but I overpowered that thought and took small lady-sized bites, like my grandmother taught me. When I finished, I stood from the stool.

“Thank you, again. That was delicious. I really need to keep moving,” I said.

He reached out, and his long fingers wrapped around my arm as I tried to maneuver past him.

“Where are you going? You don’t have any money and I didn’t see a car, so you probably don’t really have anywhere in particular to be. Am I right?”

“Well, I need to...”

He abruptly interrupted me. “Just stay and keep me company a little longer. How about some chips and a soda?”

My Coy-wolf was protesting, but I suppressed the objections because chips and soda sounded really good. I was still hungry.

“Sure, why not,” I said.

“Exactly. Why not?” He walked down the aisle and grabbed two bags, then went to the back of the store and retrieved two bottles of soda from the cooler before returning to his stool.

We sat and talked for a couple more hours. He asked question after question, and continued to call me everything sugary-sweet he could think of. Every time I suggested I should leave, he used another food item to stall my departure. I’d even gone to the restroom in hopes of finding a way out the back, but Maximus was watching me like a hawk. I’d had enough and was ready to leave.

The chime on the door rang and I thought I had the perfect excuse to leave, until the lady who entered told Maximus he was free to go. She was taking over for the rest of the evening.

We both walked outside, and I said my goodbye before turning to walk away when he called behind me.

“How about I give you a lift? I can take you to the bus and you can get a ride back home.”

I inhaled deeply, and sighed as my Coy-wolf screamed hell no. But my feet felt like they were blistered, possibly bleeding, and I had no idea how far I’d have to go. It’s just a ride, I thought. My Coy-wolf growled her disapproval.

“I’m really imposing. Just tell me how far away the bus depot is, please. I don’t mind walking.”

“Twenty miles. And it’s going to be dark soon. I can have you there in twenty to thirty minutes.”

“Okay. If you’re sure it’s not too much trouble.”

“Not at all, sweet thing. Not at all.” His voice took on a dark, dangerous tone as he slowly uttered his words. “Jump on in.”

I crawled up into his old, muddy truck and shut the door. As I pulled the seatbelt across me and fastened it, he started the engine. He revved the motor, causing the truck to shake. Then, without warning, he punched the gas pedal, throwing my head back against the headrest. He let out a cackle of a laugh. It was at that moment my gut told me I’d made a huge mistake.

I watched the clock tick away each minute as Maximus hummed an unfamiliar tune. When he’d been driving for over thirty-five minutes, panic began to set in.

“How much farther to the bus?” I asked.

His head slowly turned until his eyes met mine. The blood surged though my veins and my heart was thundering in my chest. His expression looked ominous.

He cleared his throat. I swallowed hard.

“I’m going to stop by my house first. You don’t mind do you?”

“I just thought...”

He slammed his open hand on the leather seat, making a loud clapping noise.

“You don’t get to think, Daci. From now on, I do all of the thinking for us. Both of us. Got it?”

A lump formed in my throat. I felt sick to my stomach and lightheaded at the same time. This couldn’t be happening.

He reached his arm out in what seemed like slow motion, and wrapped his fingers tightly around my bicep.

“I’m waiting for your answer, darling,” he growled.

“Yeah, got it,” I whispered.

“Good.” He yanked me toward him then released my arm from his grasp, only to snake his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to his warm body. Ewww!

The rest of the ride was a whirlwind of thoughts of how I could overpower him and escape. My Coy-wolf was more than capable of shredding a human. I wasn’t going down without a fight.

When we reached the house, correction, shack, I knew what I was going to do. I exited the truck and walked around the front to meet him. His hand grasped me firmly at the back of the neck.

“Welcome home, sweet thing.” His words were unbearable.

I jerked myself loose from his grip and began my transformation, my clothes tearing from my body. I was going to pounce on him and overtake him, then run as fast as possible.

It would have been a good plan had he not cast a spell on me, freezing me where I stood.

“Just as I suspected, darling. I thought you were one of them.”

I couldn’t speak or move. He had me in a catatonic state. He was a fucking Warlock.

“Come, my pet.” He lifted my Coy-wolf and carried me into his house, then very carefully put me in one of the largest cages I’d ever seen. Once he locked the door, he removed the spell.

I growled and howled before he silenced me again.

“Hush now, sweet thing. I can’t have you making all that noise in here. And I prefer not to keep a spell on you overnight. Why don’t you change back into your human form and we can talk.”

He freed me to move around the cage. I paced restlessly while my eyes bore into him. I was pissed, and wanted revenge. Who the fuck did he think he was to do this to me?

After pacing for what seemed like hours while he showered and cooked dinner, I gave up. I wasn’t going to be able to get out of this cage no matter what I did. And I was no match for a Warlock. I allowed myself to change back to my human and sat in the cage huddled in a corner, trying desperately to hide my nakedness.

I looked around to take in my new environment. With the exception of this ridiculous cage, his home was nicely decorated. It was nothing like I’d expected when I saw it from the outside.

When he walked into the room, my body shook when he came into full sight. He stood before me with his hands on his hips, staring hungrily. He looked starkly different.

My eyes roamed from his bare feet up. He had on a pair of black silk pajama pants that hung low on his hips, and a hip-length silk robe that was open. His well-defined, muscular V and amazing abs were on display.

“Do you like what you see, sweet thing?”

“Please, stop calling me that.” I wrapped my arms tighter around my knees that I’d been clutching to cover my breasts.

“No worries, my pet. You’ll learn to appreciate my affection. And your scent tells me everything I need to know, Daci. You smell like a sweet thing, and soon I’ll find out for sure.”

“Now that you’ve kidnapped me are you planning to rape me, too?”

“No, my dear. I’m no rapist. On the contrary you’ll be begging me for my affection soon enough. And at that time, I’ll gladly give it to you. You see, you’re my mate.”

“Cocky sonofabitch,” I whispered. “I’m not you’re mate, and I’ll never want you,” I hissed. My eyes never left him. I felt like he had me under a spell of some sort. His physical attraction was overwhelming.

“We’ll see. I have more than enough time for you to come around. Just imagine our offspring. What would they be? Coy-war-wolves? War-coy-wolves?” He laughed.

“How did you know I’m a Coy-wolf?”

“I can tell you’re a half-breed. And judging by your beauty, I could only surmise you were born of the best Coyote and Wolf genes in the Garden State.”

He walked out the room, then returned with a towel in his hand.

“Would you like a shower, my love? I’m not sure how long you’ve been roaming about, but you may feel better once you’re cleaned up.”

His outstretched hand pressed the towel through the thick metal bars of the crate for me. I tried my best to wrap it around myself before scooting closer to the door. He unlocked the crate and held me tight at the nape of my neck as he guided me into the bathroom.

His hand slowly slid down the length of my bare back. He stopped just before caressing my ass. “I have a robe for you hanging on the door. When you’re done, we’ll have a nice meal together and talk some more. I’d like to get to know my mate.” He leaned in and placed his warm lips against my cheek.