Page 84 of Primal Urges

The world around him had suddenly fallen silent.

The woman’s lips continued to move, but the only sound Lucas could hear was the deafening pounding of his heart in his ears.

He found me.

That was the only thought he was able to generate.

The woman held the phone closer, waiting for him to take it.

He was calling on the phone.

That had to be a good thing. If Darryl had wanted him dead, he would have shot him in the head while he played with his muffin.

Thathadto mean that Darryl didn’t want to make a scene.

Holding his breath, Lucas stood from his seat and slowly walked over to the counter.

The woman gave him a dirty look, most likely annoyed that he was wasting her time. She shoved the phone into his hand, then walked back over to serve the next customer.

Lucas brought the phone to his ear with a trembling hand and listened.

“Hello, my sweet littlehummingbird,” the voice hissed through the line. “It’s been a long time. How have you been?” Darryl’s deep voice came through the receiver, sending chills down Lucas’s spine.

Closing his eyes, he was too terrified to look up and around the coffee shop. His ex had to be close. He knew where he was and what he was wearing.

“Glad to see that I can still take your breath away,” his ex added with a snarl.

“Wh-what do you want?” Lucas finally managed. His heart was pounding, and his knees were shaking.

The last time he’d seen Darryl, Lucas had drugged him, then run off while he was passed out. Men like Darryl didn’t do well with being tricked or disobeyed. Men like Darryl got revenge.

What was his ex going to do to him if he ever got ahold of him?That was a question he hoped to never have answered.

All around him, people went about their business—ordering coffees and chatting with their friends. The rest of the world was oblivious to the nightmare unfolding right next to the counter.

“I’ve come to collect you. The last time we were together, you left without sayinggoodbye.” There was something dark and sinister in the way Darryl pronounced the word “goodbye”—as if it carried a finality instead of the possibility of seeing one another again in the future.

Lucas felt like he was going to be sick.

Gathering his courage, he opened his eyes and slowly glanced around the café, scanning the faces and bodies of all those sitting around him, trying to locate a monster hiding in sheep’s clothing.

“It… it’s over, Darryl. I’m not coming back.” He tried to sound firm and hoped his voice would come across as confident. But he knew that Darryl would see through his pathetic attempt. He knew that Lucas was not strong—he was weak and scared and unable to stand up for himself, especially when faced with an alpha male.

Lucas listened to the voice on the other endtsk-tskbefore breathing in a breath of air.

“My sweet, littlehummingbird. What makes you think I would ever let you go? You’re mine, and I’ve come to collect what belongs tome.”

He couldn’t go back. He couldn’t go back to living a life of constant fear and humiliation—a life in which he degraded himself to the orders and commands of a person who didn’t respect him.

“Never. Leave me alone,” Lucas growled, hating the fear building up inside him. His ex still had so much power over him.

“It’s funny that you think you have a choice in the matter.”

Lucas scanned the front of the café, wondering if perhaps his ex was waiting for him outside.

“We can do this the easy way or the terrifyingly hard way,” his ex snarled over the line.

Lucas’s skin went cold.

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