Chapter 9

Greyson tossed me another clean shirt from his closet to change out of the peanut butter spread I currently had on. Much to his disappointment, I changed in the bathroom. When I got out, I ran my hands down the dark blue graphic tee and grimaced at the print. An image of a woman in a black bikini, black fishnet stockings and red heels, straddling a flaming Harley Davidson. Underneath it said Ride 'em.

Greyson is wearing a different shirt as well. Not as provocative as mine, but he looked good none the less. He notices where my attention has drifted off at. "It's a gift from a friend. I never wore it out."

Excuses, I thought, rolling my eyes at him.

He sees my reaction and smirks. "Don't like it?"

"Why couldn't you have given me one of your polo shirts? You have a drawer full of them."

"They're folded neatly in the drawer, if you haven't noticed. My mom insists I wear them, but I don't like looking like life-size Ken. I keep them nicely folded and untouched for a reason. Besides...I think that shirt looks great on you."

In an instant my face is warm again and I looked away to hide the obvious flush.

"So what's next on my kidnaper's agenda?"

He walks across the room to stand by the door and leans his back to it, crossing his hands.

"You make me sound so evil." The frown on his face makes me feel like the bad guy.

His whole physique screams bad boy! And I don't think me pointing it out would enlighten anyone when one glance at him makes it plain and obvious.

But if he's that clueless, I'll explain it.

"For one thing, you turn into a carnivorous beast and you kidnaped me!" I remind him again.

He rolls his eyes as if it were no big deal. "It's for the good of the community!"

"What part?!" I shoot back.

How does the community benefit from him taking me away from my family? The only logical explanation my head could think up is the food chain and it involves him turning into that ginormous dog and eating me alive for the sake of the ecosystem.

He shits me out, the bugs are happy, the rats can live their lives, larger rodents can crawl happy knowing their previous meal was delicious, and dogs like him can eat good meat and kidnap defenselessly girls --like me--all over again.

It's the circle of life--in a messed up PG-13 reality.

Greyson shakes his head. "A lot of things." He opens the door and surprisingly, no one is eavesdropping on the other side. I expected a gaggle of people with cups against the door. "Come on, we're going to meet some eager people. We have time to meet a few."

Following behind him, I scurry like a rat because he walks in large hurried steps. "Are they part of your cult?"

He looks over his shoulder at me weirdly. "How many times do I have to tell you? It's not a cult. We are called a pack."

"Like a pack of wolves?"

"Yes."

Yup. Definitely a cult, which practices voodoo witchcraft. That's why he can transform into large gigantic dog. Their pack is going to make me their sacrificial bride, or something and he will eat me alive like red riding hood. Didn't that happen in King Kong too? The girl is offered by the tribe people to the massive animal as a sacrifice so that the beast won't go ape shit and kill them all?

My face must be transparent because he knew exactly what I was thinking. "You're not going to be sacrificed, or killed. I would never allow that. From now on you will trust your life to me."

Do I get a choice?

"Trust my life to you? In your dreams! Like I said before, I can take care of myself!"

He smirks before leading me to the stairway. We slowly climb down, because Greyson occasionally turns around to face me as he spoke.

"Look how well you've been so far." He says sarcastically. "Against a werewolf you can't even stay on your feet. I easily carried you like a sack of potatoes more than once. My enemies lurk outside these boundaries. I'm kind of a big deal among the werewolf community. There are other packs with people like me who enjoy trying to piss me off. Taking you would piss me off. Therefore, from now on, I don't want you wondering around without an escort, or without me."

There goes King Kong thumping his chest. Proves my earlier point.

"I thought no one can enter that maze."

"No human can enter that maze. I may have tight security in and out of this secret sanctuary, but there are cracks."

Cracks...There was hop for me after all.

"Cracks?"

He lifts an eyebrow at me. "Don't even think of turning those gears in your head. You will die in that maze if you tried attempting to escape by yourself. A werewolf can maneuver through it using his sense of smell. It happened only one time, a rogue entered in the maze and got inside."

"What's a rogue?" My curiosity gets the best of me and I can't help but ask another question.

His lips hardened in a straight line and he looks at me frowning. "They are criminals kicked out of their pack. They wonder around, causing trouble at territories they come across. Traveling alone causes them to turn mad with hate for those, like us, who are part of a pack."

"Who is the rogue that crossed the maze?"

He turned around not hearing my question, or he choose to ignore it.

"You've meet my father." As soon as I got off the last step, Bennett appeared out of thin air and smiled at us, and especially at me.

"Celeste. You look...at ease." He was referring to what happened earlier, when I ransacked Greyson's room and almost hit him with a pillow.

I offer a half-hearted smile back but if I stretched my lips wider they'd surely crack. Instead I looked like a person suffering from a bad toothache.

"Uh...are you ok?" Bennett asked.

"Why wouldn't I be?" The twitch on my upper lip probably freaked him out.

It's a bad habit of mine. When I talk to someone and I'm not in the mood to, my lip, or my eye twitches. It's super weird and my mom is extremely bothered by it. Our fights usually start once she sees that twitch.

Bennett paused, also noticing the venom in my voice.

Greyson looked between me and his father than placed his hand on the side of my waist. His touch made a shiver run down my spine, everything below my navel tingled and I slapped his arm bothered by the strange sensation.

Greyson's eyes darkened, his face hard. This time, he demanded my obedience and I was terrified to disobey. There are times when I feel as though I'm confronted by two parts of Greyson. The bad and good side. Right now, his bad side was clutching my arm in an action of control.

I tilted my chin down almost so that it was touching my chest. He intertwines our fingers, then tucks my arm under his, holding my palm down so that his other hand could engulf it.

"Your hand is so small and fragile, compared to mine." He says more to himself. "You can easily get hurt if I'm not careful with you." Our eyes meet and the darkness in his pupils have disappeared,

"Son, everyone is waiting."

I forgot Bennett was still in the room.

Greyson nods. "The faster we get this over with we can get to know each other more."

They take me to another grandiose room and inside, about more than twenty people are their waiting. The first I notice is Leo.

"Hey," the dark blond smiles, waving at me from across the room.

I send him a death glare, not equal to the one Greyson was sending him now, but at least he knows I'm still mad at him.

"Don't speak to her." Greyson growls.

Immediately Leo's face turns firm and he obediently bows. "Forgive me, Alpha." Gone was the humor in his face and so was the smiles of everyone else in the room.

Alpha. That word again.

"Greyson, introduce Celeste to everyone." His mom comes forward, killing the silence.

Greyson snaps his head to his mother, then back at the waiting crowd. And with a loud voice he says, "Everyone, I would like you to meet Celeste. She will become our next Alpha female. Please treat her with the utmost respect you treat me. Any disrespect, will be treason against me."

Holy crap. What black hole did I walk into? I have no idea what Greyson just said, but I feel as though a boat load of responsibility I didn't ask for just landed on my shoulders.

Bennett treaded past us, stepping into the arms of his wife. The couple turned to the crowd like a regal king and queen. It was like I had stepped into some teenage girl's romantic sci-fi dream. "Last night during the Taking, Greyson successfully found his bride. Our pack will thrive!"

A round of cheers and gleeful hollers quaked the room. Everyone is celebrating and I'm standing there like I just pissed my pants.

"Umm...I didn't sign up for this," was the only brilliant response I could say under the uproar. It was barely a whisper but apparently everyone has supersonic hearing. Like a concert hall, the spectators silenced, waiting to hear me make some impressive speech. "I don't want to be here." I shrink at the twenty pair of eyes staring at me. Don't even mention the guy trapping me in his steel arms. I don't want to look up and see those sullen eyes again. But I can feel his grip on me as rigid as ever.

Greyson's mom was the first to speak.

"We know dear."

The hell you know. You're not standing in my shoes!

Bennett held up her hand and kissed the back of her palm. The look of adoration for his wife made me want to leave the room and give the two a minute of privacy.

"It's as if it were only yesterday." He breathed, hugging her closer in his arms.

His wife chuckled. "I didn't give you an easy time either."

"Twenty five years ago, my mom underwent what you experienced last night." Greyson muttered behind my ear. I turned around gaping at him. "My father took her from her house on the night of an eclipse too."

I pulled away from him, wrenching his hands away from him and stepping back. He pulled at first, but with a room full of people capable of detaining me if I tried to escape he eventually let go.

The sound of heavy panting drowned my ears.

"Take slow breaths and close your eyes, dear. You're having a panic attack." I heard his mother's voice. "Someone get a chair."

Was I? I could hardly think with the room spinning. In front of me, two Greyson's held up their hands as if trying to catch something. I felt a hand on my shoulder and my body fell backwards until my butt sat on a soft cushiony surface.

"Greyson get back, let me take care of this." His mother said.

"But--

"No, we are putting her in a lot of stress. Give her moment to relax."

My body felt so warm, but my hands were cold to the touch. Instinctually, as if to protect myself, my arms crossed over my chest and I held on to my shoulders.

"That's it. You're okay. You're doing amazing, keep breathing slowly." She said. I was sure it was her fingers that caressed the top of my head. "Before Bennett came into my life, I had recently graduated from college with a Bachelor's of Science in nursing. My first job was a pediatric nurse."

At the mention of nurse, I immediately thought of my mom.

My breathing turned into weeps, then hiccups and soon I was crying like someone just died. It might as well been that. I am never going to see my family again!

"Oh dear." Greyson's mother wrapped me in her arms and rubbed circles against my back. "Let it out hon. You can go to sleep after." She cooed. "Greyson, I think it best for everyone to wait until they can individually formally introduce themselves to her."

"I know." Was his retort. "Everyone, you understand."

Silently they left.

I felt like the worst guest ever, but I also felt like their prisoner.

When the door clicked shut, it was just me, Greyson and his parents.

"Those people are my most trusted officials in out pack." Greyson sat beside me with his hands clasped on the arm rest. He kept his hands to himself as he spoke carefully. "I wanted them to meet you because I'd like them to memorize your face and know who it is they will lay their lives on the line for."

I gasped a breath.

"Greyson." His mother snapped. "Don't stress her."

"I'm not trying to." He patronized. "Celeste needs to realize that she means so much to me. Even if we have known each other for only a few hours. The instincts I feel towards her...it's hard to describe. I can't control myself around her and it's driving me wild!" A rumble rolls up his throat, causing me to quiver.

He notices this and leans back, removing his hand off my chair.

"It's your wolf primal desire." His father explains. "An alpha wolf gets only one mate for life, so he protects her with all costs. Even attacking others for the stupidest things."

"So I'm likely to act out irrationally?"

"It's the power of love." His mom exclaims in a sing-song voice.

"Don't worry son, it dies down a little after the bonding."

I'm afraid to know what the bonding means. If the taking was bad...then that must be something worse.

The hiccups faded and I feel completely tired out. My neck is as stiff as a board and my back is fairing no better.

Greyson takes a strand of my hair and plays with it. "Celeste, I will give you anything you ever wanted in life, but you can't leave me. I need you." He pushes closer towards me that I could feel his breath alongside my face.

"Son, I think you need to give her space. Your wolf's emotions are getting the best of you right now. That's absolutely normal. But you are soldering her."

Bennett takes a hold of his shoulder. "Your mother is right. We need to take this one step at a time."

"I've shown her my wolf." His parents look at each other than at me. "She was taken aback a little. A little...is hekiddingme! "You think I did this too fast?"

Bennett nodded feverishly. "You're not supposed to show her until you've developed an emotional bond towards each other. No wonder she's spooked. Greyson, why do you always do things opposite?"

"I thought it would fasten the process!" Greyson groaned.

His mom groaned. "You are just like your father."

"No I'm not."

"No he's not."

Both father and son spoke at the same time.

"You see what I mean?" She muttered.

I couldn't sit another minute with this family. If I can't go home I might as well find a room in this large house that I can call sanctuary.

Standing on my feet, the three stopped their argument.

"Where are you going?" Of course Greyson would want to know.

He follows my steps like a shadow.

"Peace and quiet." I say in a raspy dry voice.

"I'll go with you."

I swerve around and snap at him. "You are not welcome to join me. I didn't ask you!"

My voice stabs him like a dagger through his chest.

He recoils his hand back and stops where he stands.

"May I come with you?" His mother cautiously walks towards us.

"I...uh." Reluctant to accept her offer, I stare at her and her beady eyes. Say no! I tell myself. She is his mother. They all collaborated in keeping you here as a hostage.

"I'll tour you around the house. I promise, we won't talk to anyone you aren't comfortable with. I just want you to feel comfortable in your new home."

This is not my home. I wanted to say.

Having no choice but to accept, I nod my head.

Out of the blue, my stomach growls. "Can I have something to eat first?" I ask in a hushed tone, so the men don't hear.

Before she could respond, Greyson interjects. "I'll get you something." He says and runs off like the speed of light.

Was I not whispering?

"Werewolves have good hearing. You can't really whisper around here." Bennett reads my mind.

"Right...Do they have telapathy too?"

He shakes his head and grins. "Your face is kind of easy to read."

Great.

"Why don't you sit down again, Celeste? As soon as Greyson comes back with food, you can eat and we can go for a relaxing tour around the house. Sound good?"

"Sure." It was so hard for me to trust their kindness.

When Greyson returned he brought a cart full of food.

"I can't finish all that." I tell him, wide eyed.

"It's fine! I didn't know what you wanted so I told the cook to make all of our best dishes."

He has a personal cook. Wow, even Gran can't top that. He rolled the cart next to me. "Fish, chicken, beef, pork, or veggie?"

He shows me the variety.

"A simple burger would have been fine."

His brows perk up. "I can ask the cook to make that!"

Before he could run like the wind. I catch his arm and he snaps his head at me in attention. My god, he is literally like a dog.

His movements cause me to giggle. It surprised him and both his parents. I cover my mouth in embarrassment. "Sorry."

The corners of his lips pull up into a handsome smile. "It's fine, really."

"You don't have to get me a burger, the chicken is fine."

"Okay."

He hands it to me and I don't hesitate to gobble it up. However, I did manage to sustain my manners-I just ate faster than usual. There food is amazing!

"Our cook is one of the best." Bennett comments.

"I'm glad you have a healthy appetite." Greyson's mother says.

That reminds me, she never gave me her name.

I stab a piece of chicken with my fork and plop it into my mouth. Chew. Swallow. "Umm, if you don't mind me asking..."

"I don't mind you asking." She repeats smiling. "What's your question hun?"

"What's your name?"

She jars back in disbelief. Was that a bad question? I panic a little wondering what just happened. Then she gasps over dramatically with both her pals on each side of her face.

"OH MY GOD, I'm so horrible." She faces her husband with a look of pure disgust. "How could I forget to properly introduce myself to my future daughter-in-law?!"

Still nameless, she punches her forehead with her fists.

This is the first time I've meet someone who is more of a drama queen then my own sister.

"Mom...mom. It's not a big deal."

A whip smacked, that's what her head sounded like, when she looked at Greyson.

"No big deal? NO. BIG. DEAL. She could hate me right now for it! Then when you two have kids, I won't be able to see them! You would keep me from my grandbabies!"

WOW...hold on there. Hold your horses!

"Love, you're being overdramatic again." Bennett rolls his eyes.

Another whip smacked. "Bennett, you're sleeping in the porch tonight."

"WHAT? But darling..."

"You're sleeping in the shed." She snaps. "One, more word and you're sleeping in the maze."

Bennett's lips press together in a flat line.

"Can you two keep your marital problems away from us? It could be bad luck."

I glare at Greyson.

"If she leaves you it's your own fault."

This is getting out of hand. "Umm... so, your name?"

"Laura." Bennett answers for her, mush to her dislike.

"That's it. You're sleeping with the twins." Laura hisses.

Bennett falls to his knees and silently weeps to himself.

"Thrown in the den of devils." Greyson shakes his head.

What's so had about two little boys?

"Celeste, are you ready?" Laura looks at my empty plate. "Greyson, wash the dishes."

"But..."

She lifts her hand up. "Or you sleep with the twins too." He mumbles incoherently and picks up my plate, rolling back to the kitchen. Laura takes my hand. "I'll be your best tour guide ever! First room, the dungeon! It's the very bottom floor."

NOTE: Dec 24, 2016

HAPPY HOLIDAYS YOU FREAKISHLY AMAZING PEOPLE!!! I'M BACK!!! I've graduated and I'm ready to write again after a year of constant chaos. I have edited this book again so you will find some changes to the style of writing. This book has been closed off from the public but I have made it visible once more. SO YOU BETTER BE GRATEFUL, you marshmallows! Let's make one thing clear though IF YOU COPY MY BOOK...I WILL FIND YOU.

BE WARNED. xo