XXIII. The 1600s

Raine's POV:
Steadily, my eyes scooted up until it met a pair of brown ones. The man was casual, in blue jeans and white shirt that could barely hide his tanned muscles. He seems to be someone in his mid or late twenties, maybe early thirties. I can never pin someone’s age.
He stops at the bottom, a few feet away from me. His head cock to the side, “You’re a lot dirtier than I remember.”
I supposed that wasn’t meant to be an insult. “Yeah. I got transported into a forest and had to walk a mile to get into a stranger’s car.”

“The ride is pleasant?”

How could he do it?

How could he simply ask me if a ride is pleasant after he kidnapped my friend?

“Yeah. I made a few friends.”

“That’s good. Making friends is good.”

My body caught a draft and I soon realized the door from outside was opened. “Yeah. It is good.”

He smiles, “Well, the day is about to get better.”

I highly doubt that. “Why would you say that?”

“Because you’re about to see your soulmate and gain more friends!”

“More friends?”

“Yup. I could be one of them.”

“You kidnapped my friend.”

“Because I know you wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

I exhale, “I’m afraid my message wasn’t clear earlier. I ran away.”

“I was there to witness the scene.”

“Which means, I don’t want this mating bond.”

“That message was also quite clear.”

“Then, why are you all doing this?”

“Because you are our Alpha’s mate. Hence, you will become Luna of Crescent Moon. Luna Raine. Sounds good in my ears.”

“Only in your ears.”

“Probably sounds good in the ears of all Crescent Moon Pack members.”

“Only in your pack.”

“Which have a lot of ears.”

“Where is Helen!” I scream. I couldn’t stand it. Going back and forth with this man.

He smiles, “Upstairs. First door to your right.”

My eyes narrowed as he took a step to the side for me to enter. “Is this a trap?”

“Absolutely but you’re going to go anyway because your friend is upstairs.”

“How would you know I wouldn’t abandon my friend?”

He shrugs, “Well, suck for her to have a friend like you. But, it’s a good thing you didn’t abandon here because the last thing we need is a SilverStone’s Luna.”

My brows crunch, “What does that mean?”

He laughs, “Inside joke of the werewolf community. Stay long enough and you’ll know.”

“Then, I don’t want to know.” I dive past him and towards the stairs. I know it’s a trap but I have to make sure Helen is okay.

The moment I opened the first door to the right, I witnessed a dumbfounded scene. There she is on the king-sized bed with pure white cotton sheets eating chips. A nice wooden desk in the corner with a flat scene tv in front of her. A leather chair beside the terrace and a tray filled with food. The whole scene screamed: “I’m kidnapped! Help me!”

Helen’s eyes widened and she sat upward, “Why are you here?”

“For you!”

“Why?”

“Because you’re kidnapped!”

Helen pulls on her hair. “I know! But, you shouldn’t be here!”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“Because they’re using me as bait!”

“I know!”

“Then, why are you here?”

“Because you’re my friend!”

Helen exhales softly, “Aw. Rain-” her eyes widen, “Look out!”

Before I could turn around, someone injected something into my body. It started with my vision, that familiar sensation, the blurriness. I could faintly see Helen rushing towards me, screaming something but I couldn’t make sense of it. Everything became fuzzy, then I saw nothing at all. My body felt heavy, and I could feel a loud pound. My body drained away until everything was black.

My head bumps against something hard. I attempted to open my eyes but it was much too hard. With all my strength, I forced them open to see a passed out figure across from me. It’s Helen. In an instant, my heart beats fast and there’s a buzzing in my brain.

I could feel a cluster of sparks bursting inside my abdomen and I desperately want to scream, but couldn’t. The cloth tied around my mouth made it difficult to do so, and in the end, I started salivating instead. The tension was apparent on my face and limbs, with my constant thrusting.

“What’s wrong with her?” an unfamiliar question.

My eyes cast towards the passenger seat to see Miguel. He turns around, and his brows crunch together. “I don’t know.”

I look towards the driver’s seat to see an unfamiliar face turning back. It was a quick motion. “I think we should pull over.”

“You want to pull over?” Miguel question.

“I mean, she looks like she is about to go into a panic attack.”

“We’ll take a rest once we’re in Crescent Moon territory. If we stop now, we may run into an enforcer.”

“Maybe, we shouldn’t have done this,” the unfamiliar guy said. His voice comes in echoes inside my ear. “Alpha said he doesn’t want her.” Somehow, those words hurt me more than necessary. It’s the mating bond. It’s not as strong since I’m not a werewolf, but it can still hurt.

Miguel hits the guy’s head. “Do you really think we should listen to a guy who spends all day playing video games and neglects his duties? Trust me, this is for the best. Once he admits the mating bond, he will pull his shit together and be the proper Alpha Crescent Moon needs.”

“But, still-” the random guy exhaled, “do we have to resort to kidnapping? What is this? The 1600s? We’re more evolved than that.”

“Well, what do you want to do? Ask her nicely to come with us? You saw how she ran away from Leon.” Somehow, the mention of that name gave my stomach a pleasantly warm feeling. It’s the mating bond. “She ran away from him as if he’s a crazy dog with rabies.”

“But kidnapping? Really? I don’t want us to be known as that type of pack.”

“What type of pack?”

“You know, the type of pack who has to kidnap their Luna. We’re better than that.” I completely agree with the driver.

“Oh-” Miguel’s voice somehow hints mockery. “I guess the great Gamma Harvey Guerrero enjoys doing Alpha’s work.”

“You know I don’t,” Harvey grumbles, “Alpha work is hard for a Beta and Gamma to handle. You know that.”

“Exactly. Now listen here, you goody two shoes. That girl back there is our ticket out of the fuck up situation. If you allow your fucking conscious to take over now, we’re stuck doing our useless Alpha work until our death bed. Then, what? We watch Crescent Moon die in its deathbed.”

“Crescent Moon dies? Isn’t that exaggerating?”

“We were the fourth most powerful pack in America. The year Alpha Leon took over and the year we got knocked down. What do you think?”

Harvey exhales dramatically before he looks at the rearview mirror again. My breathing is much more rapid and shallow than when I woke up. Somehow, I’m still awake. I believe it’s the adrenaline that refuses to allow me to pass out. I muffled unknown words past the cloth, despite its uselessness.

“She really doesn’t look good,” Harvey said.

Miguel looks back, “Don’t worry. I’ll just give her another injection and she’ll be out until we reach Crescent Moon.”

My eyes widened as Miguel pulled out a needle. He pushes in some tubes and the liquid squirts out from the tip. Miguel unclick his seatbelt. My head shakes rapidly as I scoot further away from him. I scream louder through the cloth covered in saliva and tears.

“I still don’t agree with this,” Harvey grumbled.

“Don’t worry. Alpha Preston has our back. You know Leon can’t go against his father.” Miguel grabbed my arm and pulled me forward. “Sorry, for being rough now but Crescent Moon really needs a Luna. You understand right?”

I shook my head. Of course, I don’t understand, you fucker!

“Look. Things may seem horrible now but eventually, you will come to love our Alpha. He’s a bit of a weirdo, but he’s not that bad. Maybe, with you here-” he inserts the needle inside my arm. I want to move, but I’m afraid it may hit something necessary and potentially kill me. “his Alpha instinct will kick in.”

Then, it returns.

Through the dizziness, I can see Miguel’s smile. “Thank you, Luna Raine. I promise never to do such a shitty thing in the future.” His voice became more of an echo. “Trust me when I say, I don’t feel good doing such a sinful act either.”

Don’t feel good my ass.