SWNOVELS Chapter 31 ~ I agree with that
Kendrick’s POV ~
I refuse to put Bella down. I walked all the way back to Troy’s pack house.. Walking in, I see a girl walking towards the kitchen and stopped her.. “find my mate some clothes, and show me to a room so I can bathe her!”
I looked over at Troy and said “You didn’t know, hnh?! We will be back down, shortly! Then, we’re going to chat!” I turned and followed the girl up to the second floor, where she showed me to a room. I sat Bella on the bathroom counter, while I started running water. I removed the still damp tee shirt.. and see all the bruises that pepper her little body.. and I am angry. One dies tonight! The other two will follow soon!
I bathe my beautiful mate..and wash her hair.. being gentle with her eye. She is nearly asleep in the tub.. and I am loathe to disturb her. But I rouse her enough to stand her up and wrap her in a towel..while I brusquely towel dry her hair. Then I dress her in leggings and a sweatshirt the girl provided. I slip her boots back on her feet and ask if she wants to walk. She shakes her head no. And who am I to argue? I lift her so that she straddles my waist.. and Brutus rumbles low in my chest.
We get back in the living room and Troy looks like he’s aged ten years! Whatever Loren and Alexander have been saying has this man scared shitless! I ask him “Why, Troy? How did you get sucked back in?” He looked up at me..and for the first time, I see he is not doing well! He says “Can you imagine what it feels like when you meet your mate, and she’s balls deep with a guy you thought was your friend? Well, I can! That’s how I met Amber.. in a spare room I had let Ethan sleep in, from time to time. With Ethan. Buried to the hilt! I rejected her and banished them both. They holed up in that cabin.. it’s an old deserted thing.. dilapidated rotten cabin. I found out he was staying there and went there to demand he leave. That was the day they abducted Bella. I didn’t see her.. I demanded he release her. Amber begged me to just let them have two days.. the stupid bond is still there until she accepts my rejection! I agreed to the two days.. on the fourth day.. I overheard them talking.. arguing.. Amber wanted to kill Bella.. so you would mate her.. and Ethan was arguing he just needed her to accept his mark. That’s when I literally forced Amber to accept my rejection and told Ethan I was sending warriors to evict him. If you check your email you will see I sent you a message last night about Bella’s whereabouts!”
Loren asks me to check my email and I nodded at Jaxson. He pulled out a tablet and within seconds, we were reading Troy’s email.. Not one single detail left out. I sighed “That email just saved your life! You really should stop wasting it!”
We turn to leave and Loren said “Consider yourself on house arrest until the family decides how we are going to proceed. Ultimately, it will be Bella’s decision, in the end!”
Bella has been sleeping since I lifted her in my arms, as I turned to let everyone know I was going to lay her down, she stirred and said No! So, I sat down on the sofa in my office and laid her against me.. with her head in my lap. I covered her with a throw, just as Alexander handed me a glass of whiskey.
Alexander says. “The trackers are already on their scent. We should have a good idea where they’re headed by nightfall.” I shook my head.. “They’re desperate. That makes them dangerous. They have run out of allies.. they have no place to go. Call Derek and get him here. Also, alert Alpha Johnston that Amber might be heading back to beg asylum.”
Loren takes out his phone.. “I am calling Theo Simmons.. He needs to keep an eye out, too!” I sit.. running my fingers through Bella’s hair..and the quiet of midday is soothing.. but then, I hear it.. I listen closely to the heartbeats of the six people in the room..I separate the beats to the person causing them.. then there were two… fluttering, rapid beats.. double my own.. and I whisper to Alexander “Do you hear that?” His head tilts to the side.. closing his eyes..
His eyes spring open.. “Pups! Bro! You’re going to make me the best Uncle on the planet! Way to go!” I chuckle “Yeah.. way to congratulate yourself on becoming an uncle! I can feel the love, brother!” He laughs “I can’t congratulate you until Bella tells you you’re going to be a Daddy! It’s tradition, dude!” I laugh harder “Stop with all y’all’s tradition! I call Bullshit!”
Bella sits up.. rubbing her one good eye.. “What’s got the two of you so happy?” I smile at her and whisper “I can hear the pups’ heartbeats.. and your scent has changed” She looks up at me, with pouty lips “I didn’t even get to take a test! Well…. Surprise!” And she grins.. I smile at her “I love you so much!”
Alexander decided to go home for awhile to check on things.. and Loren, Jaxson and I wanted to get Bella’s story. So I ordered some sandwiches and snacks… with juice for my little momma! I sat her on my lap..and fed bites of the sandwich to her! Being away from her right now sets Brutus on edge. Someone is liable to get hurt.
Bella tells us what she went through “I don’t remember being taken from the Jeep…at all. I remembered Jake was hurt as soon as I woke up.. and discovered myself chained to a wall. The first three and a half days.. no food.. no water. I was taken to pee first thing every morning and would drink water from the sink. I couldn’t use magic.. because of the iron shackles. I didn’t shift and get loose right away.. mostly because I wanted to try and get information. But that stank assed bitch slapped me a second time.. and I figured it was time to try and escape. He thought he was smart..warded the room with crudely carved runes.. I DX’d those and opened the window.. which is when I could finally contact you.”
I said “Right! What happened that ended with you hanging outside the bathroom.?” She grins.. “oh that! Yeah! I made Ethan mad. Told him you would be there soon and he could wait until you got there.. or I could just kill him then and there. He sat the house on fire after he locked me back in the room. I guess he ran away.. just like his daddy did! The weirdest shit, though… He never said a word to me. Just like when he was a kid.. He just stared at me.”
What the hell? Why would he kidnap her.. then not speak to her at all? It’s sounding like he’s obsessed with her. And that could mean, he’s more desperate than I thought. Loren says “You will be heavily guarded, until he’s caught!” Yep! I agree with that!