Page 34 of Forced Mate Bride
She sighed, shoulders slumping, relief flooding through her. It had worked. She could wait here for a bit and get away. She might get out of this after all.
Just as she had begun to relax and breathe easier, she heard the sound of leaves crunching under feet and branches snapping. Her heart seized, jumping into her throat. It was all she could do to stop herself from trembling, knowing any movement would disturb the branches currently obscuring her from view. She waited, listening to the approaching sounds,growing closer every second, each crack and crunch sounding like an ominous portent.
The footsteps slowed, then stopped.
“I know you’re here, Nikki,” Vincent said in a singsong voice. “I’m going to find you soon enough. Might as well make it easier on both of us.”
She willed her breathing to slow. The stitch in her side sent sharp, throbbing pains through her. Her throat was dry.
Crunching leaves told her he was close, too close. She covered her mouth, as if that would muffle her breathing. Would it even matter? Vincent was a shifter. He could probably hear her thundering heart, could smell her scent. If he got too close, it was all over.
“For the record, I didn’t like lying to you,” Vincent said. “I mean, we’re friends.”
Friends don’t kidnap friends, Nikki thought, though she bit back the remark. She half-wondered if he was trying to bait her, trying to get her to reveal her position. She wouldn’t put it past him. Either way, she wasn’t going to be trapped that easily.
“Did you know the old alpha was about to appoint me to his inner circle before Hughes came in and ruined it all?” he called over the rustling leaves. “The second that crew barged in, it threw the whole pack into disarray. They don’t deserve to be in charge. Lucas plans on fixing all that.”
By restarting what Sier began, she thought. Thorns and sharp edges of thin branches dug into her.
“You don’t have to hide, you know,” he said. She could hear the crunching leaves, growing closer and closer. “Why don’t you come along willingly? Lucas will appreciate it. If you comealong, he’ll go much easier on you than if I have to drag you to him.”
Once again, images of a past life, of Lucas trying to pull her away from the other slaves, rushed toward her. Her hand trembled while the other dug into the earth.
“Besides, is he really going to be any worse than the guy who forced you to marry him?” A sneer had entered Vincent’s voice. “I mean, seriously. You’d rather that?”
Any day of the week if it’s Jasper, she thought, still keeping her hand over her mouth. His voice was growing closer every second. When she peered out, she could see a hulking shape looming nearby, lumbering slowly. She crouched again.
“Lucas is going to have you one way or the other,” Vincent called. “You might as well make it easier on everyone.”
She wasn’t entirely out of options yet. She could slip away and make a break for it. It was risky, but it was better than any of the other ideas she had, and it was sure as hell better than staying here and letting him get her. She began to creep away, heart in her throat and limbs trembling. There was a relatively clear path she could see, once she cleared the bramble. She could use that. She steeled herself, preparing to sprint.
Vincent appeared overhead, looking down into her hiding spot. He grinned, eyes glinting with malice.
“Got you,” he said.
Chapter 13 - Jasper
“How are we going to get started with all this?” Cillian asked. “Seems like searching for a needle in a haystack, and the needle looks like straw, and is gonna lie when you ask if it’s actually a needle, and—”
“We get it,” Camden said, his warning tone making whatever not-so-witty retort Cillian had planned die in his throat. The four of them were strategizing about how to approach the news Donovan had given them, how to rout the shifters loyal to Lucas. It was proving to be more of a hassle than they had anticipated.
“I actually have a lead on that,” Franco said. “I went to speak with Donovan again today and asked if he had any suggestions on who might have been eager to join Lucas. At first, he couldn’t come up with any names. Once I started suggesting a few parameters—like someone feeling snubbed after Camden took over, a bit power-hungry, someone who might be subtle enough to go unnoticed, he was able to come up with a name: Vincent Grayson.”
Jasper’s head shot up. “Vincent?”
Franco checked his notes. “Yeah. Vincent. He used to work with your uncle, Camden. Since you took over, he’s been working over at Jameson’s Groceries. He—hey, Jasper, you all right?”
Jasper didn’t answer, still trying to process the name, as if it wouldn’t register for some reason. Vincent. Nikki’s friend. Who had wanted to go on a hike with her. God, she was going to be so unhappy. Vincent was one of the few people she trusted.
Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to figure out how he could broach the subject without it coming outof the blue or sounding like he was trying to alienate her from a friend. He had held off on warning her about the people in town, both to protect her and so she wouldn’t worry. With this new development, he wouldn’t be able to hide it from her anymore. She needed to know about Vincent.
She was going to hate him, though. Jasper could already see her glaring at him, seeing him as no better than some of the other men who had controlled her life. But he had good reason, and if he explained it properly, she would understand.
“Jasper?”
Jasper blinked, pulling himself out of his thoughts. “Sorry,” he said. “Vincent is one of Nikki’s friends.”
“Shit,” Cillian said. That was about as apt a response as it was possible to get.
