Harper gulped back the acid riding her throat. Throwing up was not what she wanted. It took her ten minutes the last time they stopped to get her stomach to calm down. She eyed the guy to her left. He pushed at the door like she was made of snakes. Ugh. They should have just let her drive. That was the only way she didn’t get car sick.

She had a feeling her abduction had to do with her father and the money he owed. Fucking hell! She wished he were around so she could kick his ass into next week for being such a piece of shit father and pushing his problems on her.

She cleared her throat for the thousandth time. The guy to her right handed her a water bottle. A quick glance showed he was still looking forward.

“Take small sips,” he said softly.

She nodded, her stomach warning her that if she put water in there, she’d end up remaking the green vomit scene from the Exorcist in that vehicle. Fuck!

She took a tiny sip and was grateful it didn’t come right back up. The cool water was refreshing and the bottle gave her something to hold on to other than gripping her knees.

Glancing out the window, she saw a massive iron gate with initials. Guards stood at the gates and once they verified the driver and the other men, they opened the metal bars.

It was another ten minutes before she finally saw a castle. Wait, what? Holy fuck! A real castle? How was that possible? Where were they? They had driven from her house for almost an hour, but she hadn’t seen any strange signs. Of course, she’d been focused on breathing and not spewing all over the suits in the SUV.

When they reached the front of the castle, they all got out. Her legs felt like jelly and she worried she might pass out. Not from fear, hell no. From nerves. Why was someone sending people to escort her here and what did they want from her?

She took a deep breath, grateful her stomach was now calm and followed the guy guiding her inside. Two others flanked her sides and one at her back, like she might try to escape, and they were ready to chase her.

It was laughable. She was a midget compared to them. She had short legs and was so out of shape, it was sad. Just the thought of running made her lungs burn.

The castle was magnificent. Not that she’d ever been in a castle before, but it was gorgeous. Something straight out of a fairy tale. She loved fairy tales as a kid. She glanced around, wishing she would see a phone, but of course, there wasn’t one.

Who the hell had landlines nowadays? Everyone had cell phones. Unfortunately, she hadn’t gotten a chance to grab hers before the men at her door were rushing her to puke all over the state.

She steeled her back and squared her shoulders. She wasn’t a wussy. Her mother had taught her to face things head on, even if she wouldn’t like the results. They went down a hallway and stopped in front of a door. Three of the guys walked away, leaving her with the cutest one who had offered her water.

Glancing up at him, she caught the press of his lips into a thin line before he met her gaze. “My name is Kellen. I’ll be around.”

Okay, now she was worried. What did he mean by that? He opened the door and motioned for her to go inside. Her palms slickened with sweat but she made her legs carry her into the room. She blinked a few times because she could hardly believe what she was seeing.

“Oh my god!”

It was the most amazing library she’d ever seen. Books from three floors up came all the way down. Some were in different languages and some looked really old.

She gaped around her, turning in a full circle while staring up the walls. The ceiling was a dome shape of glass. She wondered why there was glass if it was covered. It would make more sense to only have glass so a person could have sunlight streaming in.

A soft growl made her stop dead in her tracks and glance around until she stared at the desk. There was no one there. Then she continued around the room as if looking for a predator. A man stood by one of the windows. His back to her.

“Hello?”

He turned slowly, pinning her with a strong golden glow. Holy hot tamales! Her throat went dry and she begged her knees to keep her upright.

“Harper.”

He said her name like a dirty word. It went perfectly well with the look he gave her and the tense set of his body. His very large body. A body that appeared to be so muscular and sexy under his black T-shirt and jeans.

She gulped and took a quick step back. His features looked familiar but she couldn’t be sure. There were scars on his face. Lots of scars. But they didn’t detract from the powerful alpha standing in front of her. Oh, she knew he was a shifter. She’d learned about them in college and even had one for a friend once. No one like this…imposing figure. His looks sucked the breath out of her lungs. “Do I know you?”

“Your father, Christian Burns, has a problem only you can solve.”

She frowned at the ghost of a smile on his lips. Was the man actually happy her father was in trouble?

"Look," she started, her anger rising. "I don't know what kind of deal you have with my father, but I am in no position to get him out of anything."

"You can," he said in a low rumble. "You will."

She wasn't known for having the patience her mother did, so his words only pushed her fury further. As he walked toward her, his pace intimidating, she stood her ground. "Who the hell do you think you are? You can't tell me what to do!"

"Your father may be a piece of shit, but you wouldn't want his death on your hands, now would you?" he asked, only a few feet away.

He was even bigger than she realized, but that didn't make her move away. She met his gaze full on, her heart thudding painfully in her chest. No, she didn't want her father's or anyone's death on her hands.

It took all she had to learn to stand up for herself once her mother passed away. Especially to the likes of her dad. Seeing as how he still got money from her whenever he needed, she was clearly doing a fucked-up job of saying no to him.

"Look, Mr..."

"Sebastian," he said, the softness of his voice making her arm hairs raise.

"Sebastian? Got a last name?”

“Roarhart.”

Nothing. There was nothing familiar about it. “So, what are you, like royalty or something?”

He gave a sharp nod. “The Roarharts are wolf shifter royalty. My father was king of our kind, and now, I’m in charge.”

She gulped. A real king. Oh god. And he was so good looking, it was scary. “What exactly do you want from me?"

He raised a hand and picked up one of her long brown curls and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. "A child."

Her heart stopped. "A what?"

"You heard me, Harper. I want a child. I need a child. You're going to give it to me."

Maybe he was one of those single men that wanted a woman to donate her eggs so he could have kids. God, please let that be it. She might not want to do it, but she could handle that a lot better than the other implications. "You want me to be an egg donor?"

A wide, sinful grin spread over his lips. So devilishly sexy, she gasped at how good he looked.

"You are something else," he said with amusement. "No, beautiful Harper. Try again."

She gulped, her hands curled into fists at her sides. "If not that, then you must want a surrogate. If that's the case, I can't help you."

He was shaking his head before she even finished talking. "Not a surrogate."

"Well, what the fuck do you want then?!" she yelled.

"You."