Bridenapped: The Alpha Chronicles Read online

  Caitlin shook her head. “No, I had Paige check in to that. The woman who marries the Alpha doesn’t have any rights to anything that’s pack property. She’s treated like a queen, lives a life of luxury, but she doesn’t get any of their land or homes.”

  “Like a queen, huh.” Priscilla looked interested. “So, technically, as your relative, I’d be a princess?”

  “Priscilla! We’re trying to rescue our cousin from a fate worse than death!” Hailey fixed her with a fierce glare.

  “Oh, please.” Priscilla smirked at her. “Melodramatic, much? He’s actually totes hot, you can’t deny it.”

  At Troy’s wounded look, she patted his arm reassuringly and added “Totes hot if you like old guys, which I don’t. He must be at least 25. Maybe even 30.” Priscilla’s cell phone chirped and buzzed. She checked the screen. “Your wedding invitation has 50,000 hits on Pixxagram. Also I’ve got 1700 new friend requests. Sweet! Seriously, I’m going to make bank off of this.”

  “You’re an ass.” Hailey glared at her.

  “That’s ‘Your Royal Ass’ to you, peasant,” Priscilla said loftily.

  “Technically, I’d be royalty too, so off with your head.”

  Caitlin’s phone tinkled with Paige’s ringtone, so she pulled it out of her purse and answered.

  “Hello, Paige. Watch my mom for me, guys!” she said, hurrying up the stairs.

  “Please tell me you have good news,” she said to Paige. “I’ve got every newscaster in California camped outside of our house.”

  “I know, I’m watching the news right now. You need to trim those hedges, they’re way overgrown,” Paige said. “Also the lawn’s looking a little ragged. You’re going to get a citation from your Homeowners Association.”

  “Paige. Don’t make me hurt you. What have you found out?”

  “My darling William found the loophole.” William was her legal eagle husband, who had a fearsome reputation in the courtroom. “There is one weird loophole, which apparently has never been used before. You are legally permitted to leave the day AFTER your wedding day, and on that day only. I guess the idea is that if the Alpha can’t satisfy his wife on their wedding night, then the union won’t be a fruitful one and blah blah. But you can’t get out of the bridenapping. If he grabs you and takes you back to the pack lands, you’re stuck there until the next full moon, when the wedding will take place. So almost a month.”

  “Wow. Leaving the day after the wedding. That’s pretty harsh.” Caitlin should have been overjoyed at what Paige had discovered, but for some reason the thought of publicly humiliating Kristofer in that fashion made her feel queasy.

  But what choice did she have? Even if he wasn’t her family’s enemy, she couldn’t stay with him and serve as Alpha queen. It just couldn’t happen. Her family needed her income, and they needed her help babysitting her mother. And her mother tended to get more agitated when Caitlin wasn’t around. God only knew what would happen with her not being home for weeks.

  “You said you hated him,” Paige pointed out. “This is your get out of werewolf-ville free card.”

  “Yes. Yes, it is. Thank you, Paige, you are definitely my lawyer for life.” She paused. “I’d better go make sure Mom’s okay. I’ll call you later.”

  She hung up the phone and headed back downstairs for dinner, wondering why she felt even more anxious now than she had before Paige called.

  * * *

  Early the next morning, Caitlin sat up with a start and looked around frantically, before letting out a sigh of relief. She was in her own bed. She was in her own bedroom. OK, that was a good sign, she hadn’t been bridenapped yet.

  She yawned and stretched, and rubbed at her eyes. She’d been up till the wee hours frantically searching on the internet, trying to find a solution that was better than dumping Kristofer the day after his wedding.

  Why was she trying to spare his feelings, when he’d sent her family hurtling towards financial ruin? She couldn’t really come up with a reason, other than that she hated the idea of subjecting anyone to ridicule and humiliation – even him. She’d been targeted plenty when she was in high school – mostly by the gang of girls led by Melodee Klinghoffer, the mayor’s daughter. They’d stolen her size 20 underwear from her locker while she was at gym class and run it up the flagpole. They’d taped pictures of hogs on her locker door. They’d made livestock noises when she walked by them in the cafeteria. If it hadn’t been for Paige and Lottie, she didn’t know how she would have made it through high school. Melodee tended to shut up when Paige gave her the death stare. Paige’s death stare was enough to curdle milk and wither plants.

  Still, despite all her research, she hadn’t been able to come up with a single damn thing that would let her legally wriggle out of this bridenapping.

  When she’d finally fallen asleep a few hours before dawn, her treacherous subconscious had sent her tumbling into Kristofer’s bedroom. In her dreams, she’d been clad in white lacey lingerie, with his hands running over her body, his mouth tracing hot kisses down her body, over the rounded swell of her body…

  In her dreams he thought she was perfect. He loved her body, every roll, every bulge, every ripple.

  But now it was morning and the sun was edging up over the horizon and she was still teetering at the edge of that bizarre rabbit hole, on the verge of falling down deep into a strange new world. She wished she could figure out what Kristofer’s angle was, what he really wanted from this marriage. If she could figure it out, she could figure a way around it.

  A sharp knocking on the door made her jump.

  “Who is it?” she called out. She’d locked the door and window the night before, something she never had done before.

  “It’s not Kristofer!” Hailey yelled. “Breakfast is ready”

  “Be down in five!” she called. She dressed hastily, and then ran downstairs. It was 6 a.m.

  “Everyone’s ready,” Maggie said.

  The plan was that her aunt would drive Caitlin’s car to work, in case Kristofer made his move this morning. She would be wearing big dark sunglasses and pile her hair up under a hat, looking as if she were Caitlin trying to disguise herself. Hailey and Priscilla would stay home and babysit Caitlin’s mother.

  Uncle Rich would drive Caitlin to work in his pickup truck, with her lying on the floor in the back seat under a blanket, before he headed to his own job at the auto shop.

  She picked at her breakfast, then dumped it in the trash. “I’m too distracted to eat,” she groaned.

  “Damned werewolves,” Rich muttered. “We’ll find a way to get you out of this, I swear.”

  Caitlin hadn’t told them about the loophole that Paige had uncovered for her. If she told them, she’d be obligated to go through with it, and she was desperately hoping that she could come up with a better way.

  “I’m sure we’ll find something. For now, we should get this over with,” she said to Maggie, grabbing her purse from the kitchen counter.

  “Is that what you’re wearing?” Priscilla asked, eyeing Caitlin critically.

  She glanced down at herself. She was wearing a pantsuit, with a generously sized jacket to hide her body as much as possible.

  “What’s wrong with it?” she asked. “Did I spill something on myself?”

  Priscilla circled her, looking her up and down. “I mean, you’re going to get bridenapped any minute, and the press will be there. I’m going to need good pictures to put on my blog. You should put on something fancier. Can I do your makeup? And I’m thinking your pink halter-dress, the one with the-”

  Caitlin let out a hiss of frustration. “Zip it, Greedzilla! He’ll have to find me before he can bridenapped me. I’m planning on busting out all my best stealth moves until after the full moon comes. I’ll eat lunch in the office every day, no, actually, I’m going to see if I can start working from home.”

  Would Alberto let her do that? She could retouch photographs from home just as easily as she could at the office, but he w
as the type of helicopter boss who constantly popped in to their office, afraid they were spending their time surfing on the internet. In Lottie’s case, that was often true. She was addicted to gossip sites, and when she wasn’t working on their website, she was reading about celebrity hookups and breakups.

  Maggie left first. Caitlin and her uncle waited a few minutes, then went into the garage. She climbed into the back of the pickup truck and lay down there on the floor. Then they pulled out, as she lay sweating under the wool blanket and cursing every werewolf who’d ever lived.

  “Is the press still there?” she called out to him.

  “In full force!” he yelled back. “There’s even more of them!”

  Great. The neighbors must be loving this.

  Uncle Rich drove for about ten minutes, and then she felt him slowing down to a stop. He was dropping her off in an alleyway a couple of blocks from work. She could thread her way through the buildings and sneak in the back entrance at work.

  “The coast is clear,” Uncle Rich called to her. “Better hurry!”

  She climbed out of the truck, slammed the door, and ran down the alley.

  She quickly ducked between garbage cans, zipped down a tiny side street…almost there…she rounded a corner…

  The explosion of a dozen flash bulbs blinded her.

  She staggered back, blinking, and tripped. She fell into someone – a very tall, muscular someone. She blinked again, frantically trying to clear her vision, but she didn’t need her eyes to know who she’d run into. She recognized that cologne, that earthy masculine smell…Kristofer. She remembered it from their very first meeting.

  A mob of photographers gathered around, wildly snapping away.

  She looked up at him in astonishment, struggling to find words. She hadn’t actually seen him in person for quite some time; she’d forgotten exactly how breathtakingly handsome he was. Spiky brown hair, chiseled cheekbones so sharp you could cut yourself just looking at them, broad, muscular chest…and unlike her, he’d dressed up today. He wore a white silk shirt and black pants; like most werewolves, his choice of clothing tended towards the elegant and old-fashioned.

  Kristofer bowed gallantly. “Welcome to your bridenapping, milady,” he said. Then he swept her up and threw her over his shoulder as if she weighed no more than a feather, and he strode off to the limousine that was idling on the street at the end of the alleyway.

  Chapter 4

  “You invited the press?” Caitlin demanded as the limousine drove off. She twisted around and looked through the rear window. The photographers were running after the car, still snapping away, and the TV news crews had their cameras trained on the limo.

  Kristofer laughed. “No, they tagged along. They’ve been staking out your office all night long, apparently. Along with your house, of course.”

  “You could have discouraged them,” she complained, folding her arms across her chest.

  “Perhaps,” he acknowledged. “But I have nothing to hide. We are carrying on a centuries old tradition, and I am claiming my destined mate as my bride. Not all Alphas are so lucky. Some are forced to marry women they care nothing for, for political reasons. I am blessed.”

  “You are sneaky and deceitful, is what you are. I know you’re up to something.” She fixed him with a glare. “And if you think that you’re going to be enjoying my favors in the bedroom tonight, you’ve got another thing coming.”

  He bowed his head gallantly. “As you wish, my lady. Which means that you would be advised not to be anywhere near me at moonrise.”

  “Why?”

  “Around moonrise, the pheromones of a fully mature Alpha are particularly strong. It lasts for about an hour. We avoid all women who are not our mates at that time.”

  “Oh, come on,” she scoffed. “Tell me another one. This happens at every single moonrise?”

  “Yes. We believe it’s an evolutionary trait evolved to ensure that the Alpha and his mate produce many offspring.” He flashed her a white-toothed grin. “Or we’re just incredibly lucky.”

  “But…” her voice trailed off. Was he telling the truth? The thought of him emitting overwhelming pheromones was just too much. He was already so sexy she feared her panties would melt off. She scooted further away from him on the soft leather seat, pressing up against the door.

  “Why haven’t I heard about this before?” she demanded.

  He shrugged. “You know how private we werewolves are about our culture and our ways. I’m trying to encourage my people to open up more, actually, which is why I didn’t object too much to the press being present. But there are many facets of our life that we don’t share with humans.”

  “But…moonrise time changes. It’s about 50 minutes later every day. It cycles throughout the day as the year goes on.”

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “So every single day you have to pay attention to what time moonrise is and go hide away for an hour, in case you get overwhelmingly sexy?”

  He gave her a self satisfied smile. “I’m already overwhelmingly sexy. So I’m told. But yes, if it happens during my waking hours, I do have to be aware. It’s just one more burden of being the Alpha.” He sounded very smug as he said that.

  “I don’t believe you.”

  There was a rogueish gleam in his eye. “You’re more than welcome to test that theory. It happens around 8:30 tonight. Come sit by me and see what happens.”

  She suppressed a shiver at the thought.

  “The pheromones don’t affect you at all?” she asked.

  “They do. I experience a heightened sense of arousal at that time, but from an early age, Alphas are trained to be in control of themselves at all times.”

  “I’m sure your women must love it.”

  “No, actually, I have never shared the experience of the pheromone high with any woman. I’ve been saving it for my bride.”

  Ack. Did he have to turn on the charm like that? “I do not even know how to respond to that.”

  “You will.” The smug grin stretched across his face. “Oh, and there’s one thing that you should know. When you do come to me, you should just be aware…werewolves have a reputation for being fairly rough. And domineering. And our reputation is well deserved. But don’t worry, we’re also very attentive to our lady’s pleasure.”

  Now was the time to shriek at him that she’d never come to him. Instead, she found her mind was flooding with visions of him tearing her clothes from her body, pinning her down, thrusting himself into her.

  He leaned forward, fiddling with controls on a radio. She turned away with a glare and squirmed in her seat, hoping that he couldn’t tell how turned on she was.

  “Something classical and romantic?” he said. “I believe that suits the occasion.”

  It was a twenty minute drive to their property. Caitlin sat silently fuming. She was angry at him that he’d kidnapped her right when she was in the middle of a family crisis – a crisis that he’d caused! And she was angry at him that he smelled so delicious and looked so good that she wanted to consummate their union right then and there in the back of the limo. She was angry at him because he was being so charming and attentive that it was really hard to stay angry at him.

  “By the way, I know about your work for the animal shelter,” he said. “It’s one of the things I found so attractive about you. I made a donation in your name, so they’ll be able to enlarge their facility and hire more personnel. You’ll have plenty of time to do your retouching work for them while you’re on pack property, of course, and I’ve arranged for a laptop with Photoshop to be delivered to our suite. Do you prefer Beethoven, Mozart, or Vivaldi? I’m in a Vivaldi mood myself.”

  “You pick,” she said, pressing against the door even harder. Good God. Handsome, charming, generous, loved animals (not surprising), loved classical music…if she were to make a list of the perfect man, he’d fulfill every requirement – except for the whole ruining-her-family’s-life thing. That pretty much negated all the
other items on her list.

  Finally, they came to the entrance of the Verhold pack’s property. There were two massive stone wolf statues, easily ten feet tall, on either side of the entrance, and a huge iron gate which swung open as their limo approached.

  Then they headed down the paved, four lane road, winding around a sharp curve. The main road disappeared behind them, and Caitlin knew that they were venturing into territory that few humans ever saw. Oh, werewolves went out into the world and did business and shopped and even socialized quite frequently, but they didn’t invite humans on to their property unless the humans were married to one of their pack members.

  That was a tradition going back more than a thousand years, back to the time when humans hunted and killed werewolves. Werewolves had lived in hiding, in secret, in most countries, always in fear of deadly human raids on their villages. It was only in the 15th century that humans discovered the incredible healing power of werewolf blood, and were forced to not just make peace with them, but hand them a great deal of power.

  They drove and drove in silence. Good God, how big was this property? The lush, thick forest rose on either side of the road, and she felt as if they were travelling back through time to another century.

  Finally they rounded another sharp bend, and a village spread out before them. In keeping with what she’d heard about werewolf villages, even the cleared areas were lush with greenery, with spreading oak trees and hedges and flowering vines twining everywhere. The houses looked as if they’d been built hundreds of years ago, big Tudor-style residences with brown beams slashing through white stucco, or flagstone of blue and gray.

  “Behold,” Kristofer gestured. “Here is your new kingdom. Do you like it?”

  She couldn’t lie; she’d just driven into an enchanted fairyland of amazing beauty. She itched to photograph it or paint it.

  “It’s…breathtaking,” she said as they drove closer.

  As they approached, she saw a huge banner had been hung over the road. They were about to drive under it. There were crowds of people standing on either side of the road by the banner.