Page 64 of Betrayed Kidnapped Mate

“Rosa,” he murmurs a moment later, running his hands up and down my back, cupping my ass, kissing the spot where my spine pushes against my skin.

He disappears, and I take the chance to climb into the bed, pulling the covers up to my chin, breathing deeply at the soothing feeling of everything being okay—no worries about Kaila, no worries about my father, just contentedness.

I just know that Bigby is on his way back to me and will never leave again.

“Here, love,” he says, reappearing a moment later, a warm cloth in his hand. He helps to clean me up, then is gone for a moment before showing up again, sliding into the bed next to me.

We’re both completely naked, and our bodies slot together in a way that’s entirely animal, but not sexual. Two sleeping beings, staying close for comfort and warmth.

Bigby kisses my shoulder, breathing deeply as he does.

“After I left you,” he says, his voice low enough that I almost don’t hear it, “I smelled your scent everywhere. In D.C. In Vegas. Everywhere the team went, it was like you were there. I thought something was wrong with me, but I think it was just my body reminding me that you’re mine. And you always will be.”

“Bigby,” I say, twisting in his arms and taking a deep breath. “I want to stay in Rosecreek. I think Kaila is happier here than she ever was in California—I think it’s a great place for her to grow up.”

“Okay,” he says, and I feel the joy expanding in his chest like it’s my own.

“Okay,” I murmur, sleep already taking over my body. I’m just about to drift off when I think of something else, and I say, a little too loudly, “And we’ll travel all the time.”

“Whatever you want, Rosa. I’ll do anything if you’ll stay.”

“I love you, Bigby.”

“I have always loved you, Rosa. And I always will.”

For the first time in almost a decade, I fell asleep quickly, and there was not a single worry on my mind.

Chapter 37 - Bigby

“Further still,” Percy says, and we continue pushing through the woods. We’re an impossible distance from Rosecreek, and it’s tiring to even think about Percy carrying humans this far.

It’s impossible to think that, this entire time, Percy was stalking and abducting humans under our noses, and it took us months to realize it was him.

When everything settled down, Aris told me about his conversation with Percy. Apparently, his head is still clearing up from his years of being under the serum’s influence, and it’s hard for him to remember what happened when he was in psychosis. He has flashes of memories, the image of a human, the snippet of a scream, but he couldn’t put anything together for a long time.

My paranormal psychiatrist flew out from California to meet with Percy, doing two intensive sessions with him in which he was able to recover some of his memories from that time. It’s been two days since the battle with Amon’s pack. Percy thinks he remembers a location related to the human disappearances.

We’ve been walking for more than an hour, going slow so he can stop to see what he remembers. Finally, we come to a small shack hidden in the woods.

“I’ve been through the woods around Rosecreek hundreds of times,” Aris mutters, “I can’t believe I’ve never seen this before.”

“We are a long way out,” I say, stopping as Percy stalls, putting his hand on a tree and taking a deep breath.

“I don’t know if I can go in there,” he says, his chest heaving. “I think…I think this might be where I was living.”

We all stand and stare at the shack for a moment. It’s tiny, and not in very good shape. If Percy has been taking humans this whole time, it’s probably not very likely that they’re alive and well. I take a deep breath, smelling the air to see if the scent of decay is nearby, but all I smell is cedar and moss.

“Don’t worry, man,” Aris says, putting a hand near Percy’s on the tree. “We know you weren’t in your right mind. We’ll go check it out.”

Since getting the antidote from Rosa, Percy has been slowly recovering, but still doesn’t feel comfortable with people touching him. The first time Aris tried to clap him on the back, it made him vomit. According to Rosa, the prolonged experience to the version of the serum Percy had heightened all of his senses, sometimes to the point of overwhelm.

Ado stays back with Percy, standing silently with him next to the tree, and we push forward, opening the creaking door at the front of the cabin and stepping inside.

It’s rancid smelling, like the crush of bodies in a confined space, and Aris and I immediately make eye contact. The cabin is small, with a tiny cot, sink, and gas stove. No toilets or modern amenities.

“There’s nobody here,” Aris mutters.

“Then why does it smell like that?”

---