BK 3 - Chapter 9 - The Cookies
After hanging up with their families, Saxon and Melanie felt relieved. As much as they wanted to make this journey alone, they needed their family's help. Now they just had to wait until morning.
When the pizza came, Lisa and Alex couldn't stop commenting on its deliciousness. Melanie knew the cubs needed something healthy to eat, but after living on a primarily liquid diet, they deserved to have something good. She did only allow them a small serving, though. Their bodies needed time to get used to regular food. They decided to save the cookies for later.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Saxon asked them, and they stared at him blankly.
"What's a movie?" Alex asked.
"I'll show you." Saxon turned on the television and found a Disney movie. "This is a classic. It was one of my favorites when I was a child."
"I remember you used to run around trying to fly and calling me Wendy." Melanie giggled as Peter Pan began playing. Lisa and Alex ran over and sat in front of the television while Saxon sat beside her on the couch.
"I think it was only fair, seeing how you always wanted me to pretend to be prince charming while you were Cinderella. Although I never had a problem getting down on one knee in front of you." He winked at her hiding his chuckle when he saw the color rising on her cheeks.
They sat silently for a few minutes. Melanie smiled at the two little ones who were watching the movie in awe. She knew no matter what happened, those cubs were part of their family now. She looked at Saxon, who was also staring at Alex and Lisa.
"We have to take them with us when we leave." Saxon looked at her and nodded.
"We will. I think we should adopt them and officially make them ours." Melanie crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at him.
"What do you mean we? I never said I was going to let you mark me." He shrugged and smirked at her.
"Not yet, but you will. When that day comes, I will get on one knee and put on your glass slipper. You always wanted me to pretend to be your prince charming, but you've always been my queen." Melanie couldn't help melting at his words. She'd always been scared that he only wanted her because of the mate bond. It was now clear to her that he had real feelings for her. She still wanted to take things slow, but she wouldn't be so resistant anymore. Reaching out to take his hand, she grinned at how his handsome face lit up.
"You really are a special man Sax, and I'm lucky to have you here by my side." She leaned over and gave him a light kiss on his cheek. Both shivered from the current that ran through their bodies from that simple touch.
*"It's about time you came around. Now when are we going to mark him so we can get to mating?"* Chika purred loudly, making Melanie groan.
*"Good grief, will you let us do this at our own pace? Nothing's going to happen until everyone is safe. So keep your panties on and stop acting like you're in heat."* Chika huffed in exasperation.
*"Fine, but you better not keep me waiting long."* Melanie put her head in her hands while Saxon watched her.
"Is everything all right?" He asked, taking her hand back and rubbing his thumb lightly on the back of it.
"Yeah, everything is fine. I just have a wayward lioness inside me." He chuckled when she couldn't meet his eyes.
"It's okay, Chika, we'll get there. You know you're my favorite lioness, and I can't have you displeased." Melanie shook her head at him in disbelief.
"Please don't encourage her. You're supposed to be on my side, not hers. I can't have you two ganging up on me." Saxon slid over so he was sitting against her and put his arm around her shoulders.
"She's my favorite lioness, but I'm always on your side Lanie. Nothing will ever change that." She looked up into his blue eyes and smiled. Before she could say anything, a hand touched her leg. Melanie and Saxon turned to the cubs, who were now standing next to the couch.
"Is everything okay?" She asked them.
"Can we have a cookie now?" Lisa asked excitedly.
"Of course, you can. How about we all have one?" Saxon answered her, standing and pulling Melanie up with him. They all walked to the table where the box of cookies sat. Someone knocked on the door, and Saxon walked over to see who it was.
"Who's there?" He asked through the door. There was no answer, so he looked through the peephole and saw a housekeeper outside. He opened the door and smiled at the young woman.
"Can I help you?" He asked as she looked past him into the room where the others were waiting to eat the cookies.
"Do you need the room cleaned?" She asked softly with a heavy accent.
"No, thank you." He answered while shutting the door, thinking that it was strange someone would attempt to clean the room when they'd only been there a couple of hours. He walked back over to the table and sat down.
Melanie passed out the cookies, and they all started eating. She and Saxon finished their first one and were reaching for a second when they noticed Alex and Lisa were looking at the cookies funny after only taking one bite.
"What's wrong?" She asked them.
"When we were at that other place, they would give us bites of food that had a yucky taste. It always made us go to sleep. The cookies taste like that." Melanie and Saxon looked at each other, and their eyes widened. The cubs were right. The cookies had a weird aftertaste.
"Throw the rest of those away. Do you think they found us?" Melanie asked, running toward the windows to look outside.
"We need to make ourselves vomit. I don't think Lisa and Alex ate enough to affect them, but we definitely did. Hurry up, Lanie, before the drug gets in your system." Saxon and Melanie ran to the bathrooms, but it was too late. They could already feel their bodies going limp. They staggered back to the cubs.
"Hide now," Saxon said with slurred speech as he fell to the ground.
"We don't want to leave you," Lisa cried, tears running down her face. Alex was crying softly next to her. Both of them look terrified.
"Hide until our families come. Hurry," Melanie fell to the ground next to Saxon. Alex and Lisa wanted to stay but knew they had to do what they said. It would be the only way to help them.
They opened the door to the hallway and peeked outside. No one was there, so they slipped out the door and walked to the emergency exit. Alex stood on his tiptoes to reach the handle and pushed the door open. Just as the elevator dinged, they shut the door enough so no one could see them looking through the crack.
Karlee, Vincent, Ava, Eli, Brandon, and Harper exited the elevator and headed straight to their suite. They could hear them talking inside just as the housekeeper that knocked on their door came out of another room. She left her cart in the door to keep it open as she walked away. Lisa pulled Alex toward the room, and they went inside, hiding in the empty closet. They could hear the others in the hallway outside just as the housekeeper came back to finish her work.
"Where are the cubs?" Eli asked.
"I don't know; they weren't in the room," Karlee answered.
"Let's get Melanie out of here. Leave the bloodsucker and forget the cubs. They aren't worth anything to us, but she is. She will make us all rich enough to live happily for a long time." Vincent said with a chuckle.
The cubs heard them walk down the hallway and heard the elevator ding. Once the housekeeper left, they snuck out of the room and returned to the suite. The door hadn't closed all the way, so they were able to get back inside. Saxon was still lying on the floor, unconscious, and Melanie was gone.
"Saxon wake up," Lisa said, shaking him. "Saxon, please wake up. Melanie is gone."
"Is he okay?" Alex asked, kneeling down next to them. They continued to try to wake him, and about an hour later, he finally started coming around.
Saxon groaned. He felt like his head was being weighed down by a ton of bricks. His body hurt, and that was new for him. Vampires usually don't have a lot of pain. When he opened his eyes, he saw the two cubs looking at him, crying.
"Where's Lanie?" He asked in a scratchy voice.
"The people in the place we left this morning took her. They said she would make them rich." Lisa answered through her tears. Saxon felt the tears begin to run down his face. He broke his promise. He didn't keep her safe or stay by her side. One thing Saxon knew for certain. When he finds the shifters that took her, they're all dead.
