Chapter 4

"What?" I make fun of Kieran when we are in his room, "do you need an excuse to get a woman?" My lips are pursed with rage and my mouth is still dripping poison, "try to touch me and I rip your head off."

Kieran laughs out loud at my threat. It's true, he's huge, he must be about six feet four inches tall, and his body is very muscular, so a small thing like me shouldn't stand a chance in comparison.

That doesn't mean that I'm going to make it so easy for him, if he thinks that I am going to fall at his feet, he is very wrong.

"Why don't eat and stop threatening me?" He says laughing, trying to get back to his cold position without succeeding, "I just want you to be well and you're hungry, that's why you must eat."

"If you want me well, take me home," I snap, "do you know how difficult it is for an orphan girl to get someone to care for her?"

"You are not an orphan, and you are not alone", he tries to tell me with the greatest kindness that his little patience allows.

"Richard has always been there for me, he has given me a home, food, what I have needed, he has even taken me to know the sea," I continue to ignore what he tells me, “Very few caregivers worry that their children know the sea."

"Maddox ...!" He raises his voice, but when he sees my ah-look, he continues, "his name is not Richard, his real name is Maddox, and he is a traitor."

"Why does your father say so?" I tease him, remembering the argument he had with Velkan.

"Because I say it!" He yells at me and huffs. He runs his hands through his hair, trying to calm himself down. He stares at me, puffs through his nose, and paces back and forth. Then he approaches me, gesturing to sit me down, "Look, Alanna..."

"Bianca," I correct him.

"Okay, Bianca," he continues, "We already knew how attached you were to Richard, that's why we did it that way. You may be right and Maddox ... Richard," he corrects himself again when he sees that I'm about to speak, "maybe he had good intentions, but, if he wasn't, if we tried to convince you and you rejected us, you would have been in danger," his gaze turns serene and I try to pretend I understand.

“I know in that world where you live I don't know what kinds of dangers there are and all of that, but I was fine. The only concern I had was how I was going to do in college," I reply, "I don't want to know about my parents, seriously, I got over it a long time ago. If they are alive and they're not with me, then they really didn't love me. Now I can move on."

"It's not as easy as you think," he replies, "if they didn't find you at Richard's house, they would find you at that college. We did what we had to do. You have no idea of anything," he tries to calm down again, "look, You just give us a chance, okay? When you know everything, I am sure you will agree with me."

"I'm almost eighteen, Kieran, I'm almost an adult," I tell him, "I don't want to know anything, just how to lead a life like any other. Let me go and that's it. Say you didn't find me, you were wrong, I don't know, I died."

"We're not letting you go, period," he replies, "no, until we get there. Trust me, please."

I want to go home, and I'm not interested in this trash of alphas, kidnappings, and conspiracies. I already had plans for my life, I was accepted to a college and Richard made all the arrangements for me to get a scholarship. He has always cared about me.

No one must protect me; I've always done it alone and I don't want to get in trouble. At last, my life was going to be perfect. I'm not going to let him screws it up.

I know how I'll get out of all this mess. I just need to have a little creativity.

“Promise I'm one of the good guys, let's get to the pack soon without pouting, outbursts, or yelling, okay?" Kieran tells me and I nod so that he thinks he is fine, "now, eat, please," he asks me, and I accept, "as soon as we arrive, we will explain everything to you."

Take the bag with food and I pull out the delicious hamburger that makes my mouth water. I had to cover it up a while ago, but I'm starving, and the food tastes like heaven. I take the potatoes and dip them in the tomato sauce and bury them in my mouth and sigh happily.

Kieran looks at me and dies of laughter, again lowering his guard of that arrogant attitude that he has.

"You really are a fucking stubborn," he tells me, but he keeps laughing aloud and I look at him. "You have to admit it's true."

And it's true, but I'm a fucking stubborn and I'm not going to give my arm to twist, so I eat with enthusiasm and the food runs out very soon, leaving me full.

After a while someone knocks on the door and Kieran gets up to see who is.

"Did you make her eat, my alpha?" Says Kayra, bring my suitcase.

"Of course," he gloats, "I'm your future alpha," he adds and Kayra rolls her eyes.

"Seriously, Kieran, I know I'm not allowed to make fun of you like before, but it makes me want to," Kayra replies, and he laughs.

"I'm still your friend, despite the formalities. It's not like I can't give them back at you, you know" He adds and Kayra rolls her eyes again.

"Astrid is furious about all this," she says, after a pause.

"Know, but I can't talk to her right now, I need to take Alanna to my father and have all this cleared up. She won't be okay until she's in our territory."

"Good," Kayra just says and leaves, leaving Kieran and me alone. He looks at me as if I were something for eating, but he looks away, while he takes off his clothes, remaining in a boxer.

"Make yourself comfortable," he tells me as he gets into his bed, "turn off the light when you're done, good night."

I go to the bathroom with my suitcase on my back, to take pajamas. When I go out, I realize that Kieran is sleeping, so I think better and go back to the bathroom, to make a change of clothes.

This is the moment I was waiting for. I go to bed and pretend I'm going to sleep. Need Kieran to let his guard down.

~~~

An hour has passed since Kieran begins to breathe more relaxed, which makes me think he's sound asleep, so it's time to continue with my plan.

Put on my boots and walk slowly across the room, careful not to wake him. He turns in my direction, and I stop like he's in a frozen game.

I watch him breathe so calmly and I wish I was entangled in those arms that encircled my waist that night. To feel his breath from him again on my neck, while his chest fits so well with my back.

Shake my head from side to side, remembering that he is my kidnapper and that my wonderful plan is going to fall apart as he catches me. If for refusing to eat a hamburger he has me locked in his own room, I imagine that he will chain me to the bed, as he realizes what I am doing.

I go to the door and open it slowly, careful not to make a noise. Leave the room and walk down the hall, avoiding waking up the other guests, especially my kidnappers.

The hotel reception is desert, surely the clerk is taking his rest in this place in the middle of nowhere.

Gosh, how many guests can they have!

Now that I'm out, I think about it.

If I go down the road, they will catch up with me with the cars and it will only make them angrier at me. If I go through the forest, however, it will be more difficult for them to capture me because I will have many more places to hide, I just must find a water channel and I will be able to find people who can help me.

But, how silly!

Should have stolen Kieran's cell phone so I could call Richard, but it's too late to go back. No way, I'm going to continue through the forest and see how far I go with my crazy plan.

The forest is very dark, and I can't see past my nose, even though the moon is full. There are noises of animals and branches breaking on the damp ground. The heel of my booties sinks into the muddy earth, so I take them off, remaining in socks. I'm not sure if it was the best idea, but I can walk more easily. Loved those ankle boots, it's a shame I have to put them down.

Try to follow some sound that leads me to a stream, and I know that if I go downhill at some point, I will find one. I carefully move through the trees, trying not to make noise, afraid of meeting any animal.

And I achieve it. In the distance, I hear the murmur of running water, so I head there.

But I must stop because I am at the top of a cliff that is too steep to try to descend it without hardly seeing. So, I decide to get between a pile of roots that protect me from being seen by someone, from where I can listen to the current, so my path will not be difficult for me once it dawns.

Suddenly I feel the creaking of a few steps as if an animal was prowling, so I press myself as much as I can to the roots where I am locked up. The footsteps stop and I hear a kind of wail.

"Get out of there," I hear Kieran's voice and I'm stunned.

How the hell did they find me so fast?

I'm sure I must be several miles from the hotel.

"Bianca, don't make me take you out of there," he tells me with feigned patience, which sends a chill down my spine.

I'm not giving up, so I decide to sneak through the roots to the other direction where Kieran's voice is coming from. Carefully I manage to get out, leaving the tangle of roots behind me. If he wants to chase me, he is going to delay trying to get around them, because he's too huge to be able to enter the way I did. I run in a hurry, knowing I'm going to lose him.

Panic seizes me and my heart wants to jump out of my chest, as I run almost barefoot through the trees. I feel cornered.

Somehow, I can see in the dark. I also distinguish the aromas that help me to make out where I am, the moss, the earth, the leaves, everything becomes very clear to me. This is the first time this has happened to me, but I have no time to worry about it.

Then I run, even more, taking advantage of the fact that I can see, without looking back, avoiding rocks and trees so fast that I don't understand how I do it. Behind me, there are noises of an animal, but it must be my imagination or so I hope with all my forces.

But I feel paws on my back that knock me down and I'm terrified. The animal's breath hits my nape and I hear the growls of a dog or wolf. I'm frozen. The weight is enormous, and it crushes my face against the ground making me struggle to breathe. My hands are looking for something to try to hit it. The animal gets up from my back and I try to run again, but I trip over a branch, and this drives it into my side.

Touch my ribs and notice that my hand is soaked with blood. It smells of blood everywhere and I want to go crazy. The branch has almost crossed my side and I try to suppress a cry so as not to alert the wolf.

"You are, OK?" Kieran asks me worriedly.

"Help me, please, there is a wolf!" I yell at him terrified, almost passing out from the pain.

"Easy, you're going to be fine," he tries to calm me down, but I only manage to keep shaking like a leaf and I go into shock.

I do not own my body, I feel like I am fainting, the blood runs down my left side in a hurry and I lose consciousness.

I don't own my body, I feel like I am fainting, the blood runs down my left side in a hurry and I lose consciousness.