The speed of how fast everyone occurred made Sapphire’s head spin. She wasn’t sure what was happening or who these two men were. If anyone asked her, she couldn’t tell you who started that fight. But it terrified her to see Cliff lying in the pool of his own blood. Ivory kneeling beside him, threatening Sapphire with a fate far worse than death.
Her mind swam with that, the paycheck she still didn’t have, and the mess she’d need to clean up. Why didn’t Hank come out and stop this? Sapphire was sure that Ivory would spin this to be her fault completely. This was far worse than she thought because she found a motorcycle helmet slapped on her head, and they bundled her onto the back of a motorcycle. Then the engines of the two motorcycles revved to life, and they were out of there before Hank could even leave the front door of the Black Hole Café and Diner to give chase.
Sapphire’s voice called out for help, and the wind quickly swallowed up her word. They rode for several minutes before they got to a dirt road and took it until it hid them from the main highway. The two bikes stopped and the man before her took his helmet off after he cut the engine and turned to her.
Those penetrating eyes were on her again and she struggled not to look at him. Then he spoke in a growly voice that betrayed his anger. His wolf was so close to the surface, Sapphire could almost smell his fur because she was so close to him. She shivered in a cross of fear and excitement. She didn’t know who they were or what they planned to do with her.
“You’re safe now. You won’t need to worry about them anymore. My name’s Magnus McDonnell and I’m the Alpha of the Twilight Wolf Pack or the Twilight Wolves, for short. We masquerade as a motorcycle club. We own the old Johannsen territory now. You’ll be safe there. That’s Hayden Greggs, my Beta. He’ll take you into our territory.”
“Wait! No, goddess, this is all messed up. I don’t have my things. You left a mess at the Black Hole. I will need to clean up. What about Cliff? Is he going to die? If he dies, I might as well kill myself because I’m the one that will take the blame. Hank still has my last paycheck. All I need is my stuff and my last paycheck, then I will be out of your hair, and I won’t be any more trouble.” Sapphire couldn’t believe what she heard from him. But there was no way now that she could stay in the area. But she needed her things. From her room and from her locker. She needed that paycheck, too.
“If we’re careful, you and Hayden can sneak in, and you can pack a bag. As for your paycheck, well... That’s no longer important. Really, none of it is. You’ll start over with us.”
“I can’t stay here that close to my pack’s territory; they will hunt me down until one of them kills me.”
“I’d like to see them try. They may think they are something tough and scary here. They may run everyone off. But they’ve never met a pack like mine. We’ve got people and skills they’ve never encountered before. You’ll be safe, and they’ll be suffering every time they step out of line.” Hayden snorted in agreement with Magnus. Both men sneered, but she wasn’t sure if it was with disgust, disdain, amusement, or a combination of all those emotions.
“You don’t understand...” Sapphire didn’t get any further before Magnus interrupted her. His hand came up suddenly to hold her jaw, though she flinched at the speed. He kept her state of confusion off-kilter with his aggressive action, even though his touch was gentle.
“Yes, I understand. What happened back there was something so twisted that I can’t tell you how wrong it was. That’s not how you treat a packmate. Never no one. Even the most criminal of our element. You just don’t. Now, try hard to understand this. It’s over and you don’t need any of your things except the precious things that you hold dear. We can replace anything else with better things. As for that alpha wannabe, I don’t care whether he lives or dies. That’s his problem, not mine, not Hayden’s, and not yours. He attacked you, and those wolves back there would rather back a strange wolf than one of their own. They don’t deserve your loyalty.”
“I’m sorry. My alpha is also my uncle. I owe him for so much. He took me in when I didn’t have anywhere else to go.”
Magnus growled in frustration. “Gods. They really did a number on you. But no more. Taking you in doesn’t give them the right to make your life miserable and no reason to blame you for something you had nothing to do with. If it pleases you. Hayden will protect you while you go in and get a few things. Just enough that we can travel on a bike right now. Then we leave for my territory.”
“You can drop me off at the bus station. I don’t need to be a burden.”
Magnus snapped at her this time. “There will be no bus station and you aren’t going anywhere. You’re a Twilight Wolf now.” Sapphire jumped in her seat on the motorcycle. Shivering, she nodded and kept her eyes averted from him. “Look at me.”
She struggled to raise her eyes. He made himself accept it when her eyes levelled with his square jaw. “You’ll never need to run or hide anymore. Your days of cowering are over, and you can look your pack in the eye. Now, who is your pack?” Magnus still held her chin in his hand. It slid back and his fingers laced into her hair at the back of her neck.
“The Twilight Wolves.”
“That’s my girl.” Magnus smiled at her, revealing his fangs.
Sapphire couldn’t believe what Magnus said. His? If she wasn’t stuck sitting on the motorcycle, with his hand awkwardly trapped in her hair, under the helmet she wore. She would have fled from him by now. Her heart pounded in her chest and her breathing increased. She could smell his moods and there were many. His moods kept shifting and she couldn’t understand how they related to her. Sapphire’s mind screamed that she needed to escape. He’s a wolf and running from a wolf never ended well. Someone who ran became prey, and that never ended well for them. “I know we have a brief window before that twit wolf runs to her daddy and complicates things. So, this is what we are going to do. You will say nothing, even if the guards ask you something directly. I will do all the talking. You will then go with Hayden and pack a small bag of things you feel y
Magnus watched his new mate and Beta disappear around the side of the building before he entered the packhouse of a rival pack. Something was off when no guards greeted him or stopped him. In fact, there appeared to be very few people around at the time. This was the height of the day and the hub of the pack. Where was everyone? He would have thought that a show of force would be on the table, but there was nothing. “Ahh, Magnus, come in. I’ve been expecting you.” This wasn’t what Magnus expected. The man looked hard, which he expected, but nothing out of the ordinary. “Have a seat. I just need to take a call before we get down to business. My beta is out taking care of some business for me while we are here, and he wants my okay on something first.” Now, this is more like what he expected to hear
Sapphire hesitantly entered the Black Hole Café and Diner through the back door. Her things were in her lock, as she expected. They were the only things she was interested in. Taking them from the locker, she filled up the bag she used as a purse. It was an old backpack she’d found, so it fits everything nicely. She changed into her street clothes and tossed her waitress uniform into the locker. She wouldn’t need it again. There was blood on it she didn’t realize was there. Gods. What people must think of her, running around with blood-stained bikers and wearing the same blood. It made her a little sick to her stomach. Sapphire looked at her paycheck to make sure it was correct. Thank heavens it was. As she stepped from the back room into the hallway that led to the dining area and the back door, she noticed
Sapphire was in a panic. He wasn’t letting her leave. “Why are you doing this? What are your plans for me? My uncle won’t pay to get me back. He’ll be glad to get rid of me.” “That’s fine. I don’t need his money and I don’t want to give you back.” Sapphire couldn’t understand what he meant. Did he mean he was keeping her? For what if not leverage? What other use did he have for her? That’s when her mind went to places, she didn’t want to explore. No, no, she wouldn’t be anyone else’s slave again. She must get out of here. The bikes pulled up to their packhouse, and they took the bags and such strapped to them off before someone took them to the storage garage.
Sapphire couldn’t believe they’d locked her in. She was their prisoner, and no one would care or notice. She wanted to cry. From bad to worse, why couldn’t she catch a break? Why did Magnus bring her here in the first place? What did they want from her? She couldn’t tell. Now she finally got around to looking at the surrounding space. She’d expected a small room that she probably would need to share with others and fight for space. But as she explored, there was no sign of anyone else living in this room or have lived ever lived in this room. The closet was empty except for the bag she placed on the dresser. In the bathroom, every bottle and tube she found was brand new. They even wrapped the toothbrush and hairbrush in plastic. The garbage cans were empty too. Sapphire got the impression that not only
Sapphire jumped when a polite knock sounded at her door. “Come in…?” She didn’t remember anyone ever politely knocking at her door in all her life. It was as foreign as the room. She didn’t know what to do with all the space. She’d just thrown her bags into the bottom of the closet and left them there. In case she needed to run fast. Sarah Ann came in with an arm full of things. “I’m back. I have clean sheets and a change of clothes. I hope I have the sizing correct. They came from the stockpile out by the kitchen door. You know how the young are. Go out for an impromptu run and forget to bring their clothes with them. Anyway, once we have your sizing down, we’ll see what we can order for you.”
Sapphire followed Sarah Ann, who dropped the tray off in another woman’s arms before showing her down a hall and to a large room. “This is the dining room. We eat most of our meals here and some of our informal meetings are here. Formal meetings and celebrations are in the entertainment room or ballroom. I refuse to call it the ballroom, as we don’t hold any balls. Now there’s Alpha Magnus. I’ll leave you with him and then get a couple of things done quickly before the meeting. You’ll probably see me at the back of the room. Good luck dear.” Sarah Ann walked her to Alpha Magnus’ side and then left her there with a wave. She could feel everyone’s eyes on her and she was sure there were several people whispering about her. Magnus’ attention quickly shifted from what he was do
Hayden barely caught his new Luna as she collapsed. He held her as he looked to Magnus for direction. Several people cried out as they watched her collapse. “I think this was all a little too sudden for her Alpha.” Magnus came over and took her limp form from Hayden. “It shouldn’t surprise me. The man raised her completely inappropriately. That changes now. I’ll take her back to her room and we can let her rest there. Then we can finish this meeting.” Magnus left the room, carrying his mate to her room. The pack talked behind him, but he didn’t listen to it. He’d deal with it once he had her safely tucked away in her bed. Sarah Ann can monitor her while he finished the meeting. Sarah Ann was ever on top of