05 - Taken

***Beatrice's POV***

Weakling.

Weakling?!

If I were an anime character right now, I would have white eyes, gritted teeth, steam coming out of my years, and a cross popping vein on my forehead. The snob in front of me needs some serious manners rectification. Does he think I will obediently bow my head to him?  We might have a deal, but no way in hell am I going to be his new well-behaved puppy.  Oh, he has it coming, and he doesn't even know it. I am the daughter of two Alphas. I bow to no one.

Connor tugs my arm, signaling with his head for me to start moving. I had to take a moment when the douche blonde called me a weakling. Surprisingly, Connor's grip is very gentle. I mean, I am not complaining, but aren't you supposed to be a little rougher when dealing with hostages?

We stop three steps away from Blondy boy, who addresses me again with his undermining tone.

-"Oh, did the cat eat your tongue, little mouse?" No, but if you humiliate me one more time, I will rip yours out myself. I was about to say those words when a female voice cut me off. She seemed rather anxious.

-"Your Majesty, we have got a problem." The woman standing next to my frozen mother frantically gestures to the fast-melting ice.

Their other guards are too far away to do anything, creating the exceptional opportunity for me to strike. While everyone is distracted, wondering what their little friend is talking about, I sneak a pocket knife from Connor's belt, letting out a chuckle. Their focus returns to me.

-"You messed with the wrong family." I say before griping Connor's arm while twirling, so my back is now against his front. With one swift movement, I threw him over my shoulder.

That won't keep him down for long, but it gives me enough time to reach their leader and do something about this mess. Tackling Mr. Blonde to the ground, I straddle him while pressing the knife's blade to his neck.

-"Nobody move! Or he dies." I make sure everyone stays where they are before proceeding. "Who are you guys? Unfreeze my family, now!" I demand. He giggles.

-"Had this been in my quarters, I would have enjoyed this position very much. And, you can call me daddy." He winks at me, his lip curling into a mischievous smirk. What the heck is wrong with him. Pervert.

-"Listen up, deep shit." I press the dagger deeper into his neck, the blade resonating against his three-day-old dark blond stubble with his breathes. "I don't know who you are or where you come from, but around here, I make my own choices. We had a deal. You hurting my family wasn't part of it. So a word of advice, unfreeze my people before I slash your throat open." 

My watch thirty minutes alert goes off. I had set it when Connor gave me the box, which means they followed me here. They didn't wait for me to return.   

-"This is fun and all, but I'm on a tight schedule, sweetheart. Connor, do your thing." 

-"My name isn't sweetheart!" I say through clenched teeth before looking in Connor's direction to give him a don't-you-dare stern look, his eyes flashing an electric blue the moment we establish eye contact.

-"Sir, I tried. She seems to be immune." Connor slowly stands up, hands in the air, in surrender.

-"Must I always do everything?" Blondy mutters. He gets a hold of my wrist and twists it to the side, removing the knife away from his neck. "I am a gentleman. Truly am. Hurting the opposite gender goes against my code of conduct, but you leave me no choice." His eyes flash an electric blue before his free hand covers my entire face.

I fight his grip, but the longer we stay connected, the weaker I become. He is draining my energy, and I am helpless. His hand is latched onto me like an octopus sucker. My body finally drops on the soft snow mount the parking lot cleaner machine piled on the side of the sidewalk earlier today. I'm conscious, but I can't move my legs or my arms, not even my fingers. Breathing is difficult, like I have someone sitting on my chest, and talking is out of the question since I can't articulate my jaw. Connor makes a move to pick me up, but Blondy stops him.

-"Leave the girl to me. You make sure they don't remember anything." Connor obliges, stepping away. "Louise!" A girl about my age comes running. "Cover our tracks." He commands her while picking me up, tossing me ever so slightly to adjust my position in his arms. "Judging by the similarities, we don't want Super-Wolf-Mom over there," he points with his chin towards my mom, "to come after us because we took her pup."

-"Yes, sir!" She salutes him before her eyes flash blue just like Blondy's did before he siphoned all my energy. A snowflake lands on the tip of my nose, followed by another on my cheek.

The news weather forecast this morning didn't report snowfall for at least another two days. Yet, it just started pouring on us. My eyes grow wide in realization—the girl had done it. Who are these people? I have never seen anyone control the weather like this.

Blondy carries me down the road, a few blocks away, towards three black wranglers jeeps. At this point, I understand how reckless I had been. I am in seriously deep trouble, and no brave big girl act will get me out of this. Blondy takes us to the first car. A driver opens the back door, and Blondy lays me across the leather seats while giving the driver some unintelligible instructions in a foreign language, maybe german. The snow is falling even heavier now.

I don't have my phone, and I can't communicate with the pack through mind-link because I am not a werewolf. Mother tried to create a link just for me, but something about Blizzard's magic didn't let her through. It acted as a shield, preventing her from accessing my mind. I was thankful for it as a teenager, but I would kill to have her read my mind right now. If my mother doesn't come for me soon, I am a total goner.

-"Blizzard, do you intend to make an appearance?" Silence. "Any moment now." Nothing. "You do realize if they take me, they take you too, right? So, please, help me!" I beg as Blondy takes the driver's seat and turns on the vehicle's engine.

-"I'm sorry, Beatrice, my instincts tell me to keep hidden, as if they know you carry me, they will execute us on-site." He answers.

-"Blizzard, you know these people?" Silence. Damn it. He's gone again.

Blizzard's memory had gone foggy the moment his powers were carried from my mother to me. As I grew up and the time went by, they started to return, but a big chunk regarding his past, who he was, and where he came from was a blank space. 

Connor hurries into the passenger's seat, hustling Blondy to set the car in motion, and he does.

-"Is it done?" Blondy asks.

-"Yes, but we gotta move fast. We have a minute, if not seconds, before she comes after us. It won't be pretty. I couldn't manipulate her either. She is not a regular werewolf."

-"Marvelous, just what I needed." He says, pressing on the gas.

Yeah, Blondy, Moon Goddess' Champion, is coming for you. You better prepare your begging-forgiveness speech.

The sound of the cellphone keyboard being pressed is followed by Connor's instructions to start the engine. He was probably talking to the pilot.  We swirl to the left as a sizeable growling body collides with the car's left side. My whole body slides across the seat, and my head hits the door with a loud thud. I had been silent till now, mainly because my tongue is numb and I can't move my jaw, but the blow has me grunting out loud, not to mention the new constellation forming around my head. Connor peeks over the front passenger's seat, inspecting the source of the loud noise. When he realizes it's me, his eyes dart to Blondy.

-"Adrian, you didn't put her seat belt on?!" Oh, so that's Blondy's real name. Good to know. Come on, Connor, spit out his last name, and I will write his death certificate myself.

-"Shoot, I didn't? My bad." My bad? My freaking bad? Is he serious right now? Wait till I can move. I will grind them into two nice chunky burger patties.

I hear the click of the seatbelt unbuckling, and not too long after, Connor wiggles his way to the back. Adrian cusses before swirling yet another left turn and sending Connor flying over me. Since I was already contorted to the left, the second impact didn't hurt as much. However, noticing Connor's hand cupping my breast had me seeing red.

-"Adrian, please, watch where you're going." He says over his shoulder as he quickly takes his hand off my feminine attribute. Interesting, he dropped the formalities with Adrian.

-"I was doing excellent, till that big wolf jumped in my path. Now I am doing great. Thank you for asking." Adrian sarcastically remarks.

-"I am sorry, it was an accident." Connor apologizes, trying to appease my murderous glare.

-"Connor! Is about to get bumpy, strap in, like now!" Adrian yells. I'm not too fond of how that sounds.

Doing as he is told, Connor pulls me to his lap, trapping us both in the same seat in a hug position.  His right arm is wrapped around my waist, while his left hand protectively holds my head against his shoulder. The car dips, free-falling, to bounce off the terrain a few times, shaking every bone in our bodies out of place, followed by an abrupt stop. Connor releases our seat belt and wraps his camouflage coat around me before carrying me out of the car. My mother's threatening howl comes not too far behind us, but I can't see her. The raging snow makes it impossible to see more than a few feet away from our noses. How Adrian drove through it and managed to keep us all intact, it's a miracle.

My restless heart pounds against my chest as we enter the already moving private aircraft, followed by the rest of their guards. They all took their seats as the airplane gained the needed speed to lift off. Connor places me on the seat between him and the window, ensuring my seat belt is fastened. He barely has a chance to sit down and secure himself before the cabin's turmoil is replaced with a smooth rise. My eyes survey the ground, hoping to see my mother, but again, the stormy dark grey clouds are all I see. A tear runs down my cheek. Mother had fought hopelessly to get me back when I caused all this in the first place.  After receiving the letters, will my family stop looking for me? Adrian ordered Connor to wipe their memories. What does that mean? Will they forget about me? They couldn't manipulate my mother, and I know she will come to rescue me no matter where they take me.