Page 4 of Betrayed Kidnapped Mate

Star Jasmine and old vines / Lay claim upon the ghosted land.

I gasp, sucking in a sharp breath, my brain racing with a million thoughts. Is my mother safe? How did she know my father found us?

“What the hell is that?” Olivia asks, crossing her arms. “And who was that woman?”

“I don’t know,” I say, shaking my head. “But this is an old poem my mom liked. We read a lot of poetry together when I was a kid, and sometimes, we would communicate using verses when we didn’t want my father to know what we were talking about. This verse—we used to use it to say he was coming home, or he was near.”

“So, what?” Olivia asks, her voice rising an octave, panic lacing through her words.

“So, we need to go,” I say, stuffing the note into my pocket, turning on my heel, and heading toward the bedroom. “Kaila, stay with me.”

She follows at my heels as Olivia heads into her own room. Our dinner sits on the table, abandoned.

“Mom,” Kaila says, tears brimming in her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain it to you later,” I say, pulling out my go-bag from under the bed. I’ve become too complacent—all the clothes I have in here for Kaila are too small. After throwing in my wallet and jewelry, I curse under my breath and, moving into the hallway, crossing into Kaila’s room.

I open the bag on her bed and dump out the old baby clothes, turning to her as she stares at me with wide eyes.

“Mom?” a little sob hiccups out of her. “What’s going on.”

“Come on, honey,” I say, trying to stay composed for her sake. “I need you to help me pack. Grab the clothes you want to bring.”

“We’re leaving?”

“I swear, I will explain everything to you when I have the chance, but right now, I need you to trust me and listen to everything I say, okay? If I tell you to run, you need to go without a backward glance. Do I make myself clear?”

Kaila nods, her throat bobbing, and turns to her drawer, scooping out an armful of underwear first, then she starts to fold a dress.

“I’m sorry,” I say, taking it from her hand and stuffing it into the bag. Quickly, I grab her socks, shorts, and t-shirts. “We don’t have time to fold things. We can do it later.”

“Where are we ever going?” Kaila asks, as she grabs her own backpack and starts to put things in it. I can see how frazzled she is, stuffing in a few pieces of scrap paper, her teddy bear, and the Rubix cube Olivia gave her.

“I don’t know,” I say, grabbing her arm and turning. “Away.”

“Wait!” Kaila says, breaking free of my grasp and grabbing her piggy bank from under her dresser. “We might need this.”

I don’t have the heart to tell her that kind of money isn’t going to do much, so I just nod and press a kiss on her forehead.

“Good thinking.”

When we return to the hallway, Olivia is standing there, a packed suitcase next to her and a backpack strapped on her shoulders.

“Olivia,” I start to say, but she raises her hand.

“Don’t,” she says, shaking her head playfully, though she’s not all the way in the feeling. “I will go down with this ship.”

I press the back of my hand to my mouth to stifle a cry, then nod once. We move toward the door for half a second when there’s another knock at the door.

“Shit,” I say, starting to grab Kaila and move her toward the back door. This is my worst nightmare. But we don’t have any time to get away before the front door flies open, nearly hitting Olivia, who jumps back at the last second.

And then—Bigby Vandenberg is filling the doorway, staring right at me.

Chapter 3 - Bigby

Something inside my head snaps right into place when I see Rosa again for the first time. Our eyes meet, like an invisible thread stretches from my body to hers.

Rosa is the most classic of summer beauties—long, wavy blonde hair, tanned skin, shining blue eyes. There are freckles spattered across her nose, if you can get close enough to see them. She’s tall for a woman, but much shorter than me.

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