Taken by the Beast (5 page)

“You’re not a coward, you’re human.”

He turned to her, his gaze fierce. “Don’t ever make that mistake. I’m not human. Far from it. You’d be smart to remember that.”

After hearing those words, she remained quiet as a few more miles went by. When they came to a gas station, Elijah pulled in. It was old, straight out of the 60s.

“I can get you something to eat here. What would you like?” he asked.

“Coffee. A sandwich. It doesn’t matter.” Although she was hungry, she didn’t feel like eating after hearing his terrible story.

He parked in front of the pump and killed the engine. “Stay in the car, Kayla. Understand?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

He locked the door once he climbed out and after filling the tank, went inside to pay. Kayla pushed the unlock button on the door and it responded. She looked inside the little shop at Elijah’s back while he paid the clerk. She remained in her seat and watched him walk back toward her. He climbed in and handed her a Styrofoam cup of bad coffee. She took it, her stomach growling gratefully, even though it smelled burnt. He put some candy bars on her lap as well as a bag of crackers.

“Sorry, no sandwiches,” he said, sipping his own coffee as he turned the car onto the road.

“That’s ok,” she said, unwrapping a Mars bar and biting into it. Chocolate had never tasted so good.

* * *

Elijah had heard the lock click when he’d been inside. He’d wanted to test her, knowing she’d be easy to catch, but glad she’d stayed where he’d told her to.

They drove the next half hour in silence. Elijah was lost in memory. No matter how much space time put between him and that awful day, it would never be enough.

He glanced at Kayla. She was only about ten years younger than he, but he felt a hundred years older. She was pretty. It was as if fate had made her to suit his tastes. White-blond hair and eyes the color of blue ice. His gaze swept her body, remembering the feel of her tucked against his chest. His cock stirred and he cleared his throat. She was innocent, hadn’t he done enough already? His anger the other night had caused him to massacre those men. Although he felt no pity for them, his lack of control had cost her her safety. He’d have to keep her with him for now, maybe for longer than she’d like, but he didn’t need to specify a time frame just yet. She’d get used to it, to him. And when he could, he’d release her, help her start again somewhere better than where she’d been. He’d then disappear from her world and give her a chance at a decent life. A human life. He couldn’t claim her as his, even if with her, he could begin the pack again.

“Tell me your story,” he said, although he already knew it.

“My story?” she asked, looking at him with pure innocence and something else, something akin to trust.

“M-hm.” He placed his half-finished coffee in the cup holder and unwrapped a candy bar. He’d need to hunt soon; he was hungry. And he needed to keep her fed with more than crackers and candy bars.

“Well, I was born in Pittsburgh and lived kind of all over. I had great parents, the best. Everything was normal until I was about seven. My dad disappeared the day before my birthday, actually. He was just gone. Never came home from work. No one knew what had happened. Police were useless, said he ran off with another woman. My mom didn’t believe it though, not for a second. And neither did I. He loved her, he wouldn’t have left her. Or me. My mom packed us up the next day and we took off.

“She was different after that. Scared. I knew it, even though she always tried to act like we were normal, like everything was ok. I missed my dad, but we never talked about him leaving. My mom refused to tell me his stories, telling me I should forget all that silliness, and I got used to it, I guess. I was eleven when she was killed in a car crash. They put me in an orphanage where I lived until I was eighteen. Never got adopted. Everyone wants a baby, not some kid. Not that I wanted new parents anyway.” She faced out of the passenger side window so he couldn’t see her face, but he could hear the struggle in her voice.

He wished he could fill in the gaps, but couldn’t. Not now, not yet. No, not ever. Not if he wanted her to have a normal life.

“How old are you, by the way?” she asked.

“Thirty-six. You?”

“Twenty-four.” She took the last sip of her coffee. “This is really awful stuff. Maybe if we pass a Starbucks you could stop?” They were driving through more populated areas now and the road had turned into a real highway.

“We’ll see.”

“Or a McDonalds. I could eat a Big Mac. And a pile of fries.”

“You’re hungry,” he said, liking that she was relaxing just a little.

She nodded. “You must be too.”

“There’s a rest area coming up. It’s another mile but we’ll stop.”

“Thanks,” she said.

“Go on with your story.”

“It’s not that interesting. I had started college, but my grades weren’t great and I dropped out. I got mixed up with a pretty rough crowd at one point. Got into drugs for a while.”

“Is that how you met Todd?”

“Yep.”

“Please go on.”

“It was Todd actually who made me get my life together. Or at least the way he treated me made me do it. I knew I had to do something to get out of there. Out of that life. I started college again and worked more than full time to pay for it and the apartment. And Todd’s drug habit. Strange how we’re drawn to the very things we think we’re running from. Stupid, huh?”

He took the exit and looked at her when they stopped at the traffic light. “No, not stupid. Desperate. And you were trying to make a change.”

“McDonald’s has never smelled so good,” she said when they drove into the parking lot. He was okay to change the subject; he didn’t want to make her feel sad, but he needed to hear her tell what she remembered of her youth. That and the rest of it only made him more determined to make her safety his priority.

“What would you like?” he asked, pulling into the drive-through line.

“Big Mac, super-size fries, and a Diet Coke.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Diet Coke?”

“Got to save calories where I can.”

“Interesting logic,” he said.

“Can I run to the bathroom? I have to go and I really want to wash my hands and face.”

He hadn’t considered this, had almost forgotten she was his captive, or at least she might look at it that way. He looked around. There were only a few cars in the parking lot.

“If you try anything…”

“I won’t. I promise. I’ll just go and be right back. I really have to.”

He nodded and unlocked the door. She climbed out and walked toward the entrance just as the girl came over the speaker asking for their order.

* * *

Kayla walked inside and scanned the room. A family with four kids sat at a table in the play area, the mom and dad looking bored and the kids running up a storm. Two clerks stood at the counter and she could hear Elijah’s voice as he placed their order.

She found the bathroom and walked toward it, her heart racing. Once inside, she washed her hands and face, looking at her reflection. Her hair was reasonable considering she had no brush, but a little lipstick and mascara would go a long way.

“Not important, Kayla. Focus,” she reprimanded herself. She wasn’t really going to try to look pretty for her kidnapper, was she? Just because he’d listened to her pathetic story, didn’t mean they were friends. It didn’t change anything at all.

She looked at the window up above the stalls, but it was too small to climb out of. He’d see her if she used the front door, that was for sure. She looked at the sheet of paper behind the door that contained the cleaning schedule with a Sharpie attached. She took the Sharpie and considered the mirror. Although her betrayal nagged at her, she wrote:

“Please Help. Kidnapped by man in small black car…” Shit, what make was the car? There had been nothing to distinguish it. She did remember the license plate number though, or part of it. “License plate # starts with 462. Heading into mountains but don’t know where. Kayla Sanders.”

She slipped the pen into her pocket and although her stomach ached with tension, she opened the door and walked out.

He was waiting in the car for her, eating some fries.

“You took a while,” he said when she slipped into the seat.

She wondered if he could tell she was nervous.

“I thought I’d have to come in after you.” He looked at her, his expression changing a little.

“Can I have my sandwich?” she asked, unable to hold his gaze.

She could feel his eyes on her and it took him a few minutes before he said anything else.

“Look at me.”

When she didn’t, he took hold of her chin and lifted her face roughly to his. She felt herself trembling as she turned wide eyes to him.

“You’re afraid. I can smell it on you. Is there anything you want to tell me? I’ll only ask you once.”

She shook her head.

He opened the door and climbed out, then came to her side. “Step out.”

She did, her stomach feeling weighed down with rocks. “I didn’t do anything,” she said, her voice small.

“If you make a scene, people will likely get hurt. Do you understand?”

She nodded and half walked, half was dragged inside. He walked straight to the ladies’ room and opened it without knocking.

“You can’t go in there,” Kayla said, resisting.

“Watch me,” he said, pulling her in behind him.

He stared at the mirror, his expression revealing nothing. In the next instant, faster than she could comprehend, the mirror shattered into a thousand pieces, falling on the sink, the floor, her shoes. She pulled away and screamed. He just opened the door and dragged her through the restaurant.

“I’m sorry!” she said, crying, taking in all the faces around them.

Someone went into the bathroom and she heard the, “Oh, my God!” exclamation just as he pulled her through the front door.

He led her back to the car and deposited her in the passenger seat. He climbed into the driver’s side and they were on the road in another instant.

She looked at his bloody hand through her tears and when she went to wipe her face, a little blood came away. She must have been struck by a shard, but hadn’t even felt it.

“Strap your seatbelt,” he said. She noticed how his hands gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white.

Without a word, she did as he said, struggling a little to get the buckle locked.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

“Eat your food,” he said.

“I’m not hungry,” she mumbled.

“I don’t care. You’re going to eat.”

She picked up her Big Mac with trembling hands and forced herself to take a bite. What she’d done had been stupid. He’d said he’d smelled fear on her and she imagined that was the wolf side of him, and knew the weight of her betrayal was what had given her away.

“I’m sorry,” she said one last time.

“You will be,” he answered, his gaze steel when he met hers.

Chapter Five

They didn’t speak for the rest of the ride. Kayla forced herself to eat half her food, dreading what was surely coming, feeling stupid for what she’d done. She was going to be punished and the way he looked right now, she imagined the other night’s spanking would pale in comparison. She shuddered.

At a little after eight in the evening, they exited the highway into a small town she’d never heard of. She was almost shaking with anxiety when he pulled into the parking lot of a motel. She just wanted to get it over with.

“Stay in the car while I check us in,” he said, parking the car.

“Ok,” she said.

He was back within a few moments and drove the car to the farthest room around the back. There was only one other car in the parking lot and she assumed that one belonged to the clerk. They walked into the room, which contained one bed, a TV, a desk, and a bathroom. While Kayla looked around, Elijah locked the door and turned to her.

“What you did back there was stupid, Kayla.”

“I know,” she said, starting to cry. “I know, and I’ve said I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, I’ll be good. I promise.”

“I vaguely remember those same words not forty-eight hours ago.”

He retrieved the rope from the duffel bag and unraveled it, measured something out while she watched. But she wasn’t so much worried about the rope as she was for the spanking that was sure to come.

“Take off your clothes.”

She stared at him. That was too far. “No,” she said, scooting around the bed. “We don’t need to do that. You can just spank me like the other night. That’s ok. You can just do that.”

He came toward her while she tried to make sense of her words.

“If you don’t take them off, I’m going to do it for you and I’m pretty sure you won’t appreciate that.”

“Are you going to spank me?” she asked, her voice breaking.

“Most definitely. I’m just dying for a shower though, so I thought we’d start with something else. Now last time, clothes off. It will go easier if you cooperate.”

“Easier for you!”

“Enough! Make your decision or I’ll make it for you.”

She unzipped the hoodie, feeling clumsy. He kept his eyes on her while she stripped it off, then pulled her tank top over her head, and quickly cupped her naked breasts. She hadn’t been wearing a bra when he’d taken her and she felt his gaze burning into her, could sense his desire. She turned away a little and pulled her pants down and off. She folded everything and made a neat pile on the bed.

“Underwear too,” he said when she turned to face him, her hands still shielding her breasts from his eyes.

She shook her head, her body’s reaction to his words different than it should be.
Traitor!

“Keep them on then, Kayla,” he said.

That was too easy; she hadn’t expected that.

“Do you need to use the bathroom?” he asked.

She nodded.

He gestured for her to go ahead and she did.

“No, door stays open,” he said when she was about to close it.

He’d heard her pee before, but those times he’d turned his back. Now he stood openly watching her.