Page 140 of Ember

I was in a run-down condo. The decoration style felt like I was in the late eighties, with a hideously ugly brown couch, shag carpet, and wood paneling. I was sitting in a matching brown armchair, with my hands tied behind my back and my feet bound together with duct tape.

Panic shot through me. Someone had kidnapped me.

I glanced around for signs of who it was, where I might be, but moving my head around made my stomach roll.

Sounds from the kitchen made me tense.

Around the corner, Greg appeared. He saw me looking and grinned. The look of relief and joy on his face was completely at odds with the circumstances, enough that I wondered if he was somehow kidnapped too.

“Hey, Sleeping Beauty’s awake.” He picked up a glass of water from the counter and walked over to the chair. “How are you feeling?”

“Groggy.” I swallowed hard, the sickly-sweet taste still in my mouth. “What happened?”

Panic beat inside me, but I had to stay calm. I had to try talking my way out of this.

“Just a little side effect.” Greg actually ducked his head, like he’d been caught pirating music and not using a drug to incapacitate me. “Sorry for the abrupt methods, but I had to get you alone.”

“Why?” I blinked, my mind working too slowly. He had to be the one stalking me, and yet it felt like I still didn’t have all the pieces. How did he expect not to get caught? How did he see this playing out?

“Because you won’t go on a date with me.” Something dark crossed his face. “And then you bonded those loser alphas.” He glared, and chills ran down my spine. “I told you, you’re just a hole for them to fill. A whore. They’re going to use you up and leave you.”

“They bonded me.” Greg was the person stalking me. The notes used the same words exactly.

Greg from the office. The annoying, pushy, but sometimes considerate guy from the office. I couldn’t make sense of it.

I tried to decide if I should use logic or not. “They love me.”

“Ilove you,” he snapped. “Just because I’m not an alpha, you refuse to give me a chance. It was almost too late. I had to do something.” He looked manic, both angry and pleading.

“You’ve been sending me flowers,” I said, trying to get him to confirm what I already knew. “And trying to romance me the best way you knew how?”

“Exactly.” He looked relieved. “Wasn’t it sweet?”

My bottom lip wobbled. “What about my nest?”

“Iamsorry about that.” He raked his hand over his face, almost scouring marks into his own skin. “I meant to leave you a present, you know, something sweet. But then I scented that alpha and I just lost it. You forgive me, right?”

I tried to follow the logic but couldn’t. Greg was justifying any violence he committed as either my fault or out of his control. I had to be very careful.

My pack would find me; I knew they would. But I had to buy them some time.

“You forgive me, right?” he asked again, his tone dangerous.

“Yes,” I said, blinking slowly. “Sorry, the chloroform is making it hard to think.”

“Of course, of course.” His happy manner snapped back. He held up a glass of water to my mouth. I took a slow sip, some of it dribbling.

“Just take it easy.” He beamed, like he’d just won the lottery. “Now that it’s just the two of us, we have all the time in the world.”

I looked around. “Is this your house? It’s nice.”

“It’s my mother’s house.” His voice went flat again, and I noticed his hair was messier than usual. West had mentioned he was moody at work. “It’s not a fancy mansion like those men you’re staying with, but she left it to me.”

“It’s cozy,” I said. I needed to plan, but my head was spinning, and my ears were ringing. Through the bonds I felt my pack’s love and support, but also their panic and worry.

The best course of action seemed to be telling him what he wanted to hear. He was unstable, and I didn’t want to do anything that might provoke him.

“We’ll get a real house,” Greg said, standing up.

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