Page 68 of Their Scarred Mate
“Shouldn’t you be at school?”
“I was, but I skipped the last hour.It was gymnastics, not that I need anything of the sort, anyway.Come outside.”
She shook her head, amused.That girl was a real catch ...and she'd get into trouble if her cousins or uncle found out she was skipping school.
She hung up and looked at the clock.Declan left after taking her to the gym, and Tanya and Ciaran were both in the middle of their training.Nobody would miss her for five minutes.
She left, and once outside, she looked around.The parking lot was full, but then again, so was the coffee shop next to the gym.Where was that girl?
“Hey, Freya!”someone called and she looked around.Near the corner of the building, a slight frame was waving, trying to catch her attention.
“What are you doing there?”she asked, but then she frowned.That wasn’t Tara.In fact, if it weren’t for the baseball cap and sports jacket, she wouldn’t even guess the person was a teenager.The first wave of apprehension washed over her when she realized she had been lured out of the gym ...and out of safety.
In the next second, a hand covered her mouth, and a rough arm grabbed her head and slammed it against the building wall, growling, “It’s about time, bitch.”
Darkness started to creep in the corner of her sight, but she fought to stay conscious.Trying to remember the self-defense classes the twins gave her, she tried to kick her assailant, bite, elbow...
“Stupid bitch.”
With two more slams into the wall, Freya lost the battle to stay conscious.When the darkness took her, her last thoughts were of sorrow...
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ciaran was feelingoff during his training, and for the life of him, he couldn’t understand why.His wolf was pacing inside his head, howling as if calling someone, and that was giving him a headache.To make matters worse, today’s session was full of stay-at-home moms that chatted, flirted, and did everything in their power to attract the instructor’s attention.All but physical exercise.He shook his head, secretly amused.Like a wolf mated with his true mate, his interest in them was nil.Of course, they didn’t know it, and he wasn’t willing to say anything.
He left as soon as the last woman left the room, meeting with Tanya near the water cooler.He rubbed his chest, frowning.There was something in the air that was bothering him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Are you okay, cous?”asked Tanya, and in that moment, someone yelled, “Hey, anybody home?”
It came from the front desk and the two frowned.Peeking through the hallway, Tanya yelled, “Coming!”before downing her water in two gulps.Ciaran followed her, as the guy seemed impatient, but once there, the frown deepened.Freya wasn’t at her usual post, behind the desk, and the phone was ringing nonstop.
“About time, I’ve been here for almost ten minutes.”
The guy’s grumble was like a bucket of cold water.Ciaran immediately turned away, heading to the bathroom.Could Freya be there?Was she feeling unwell?He knocked on the door, ignoring the giggles of two girls who were giving him seductive looks while saying, “It’s for women!”, and went in.The bathroom was empty.No sign of Freya.
He felt a grip of panic tighten around his heart.It couldn’t be.If Freya wasn’t at her post or in the bathroom, where could she be?A quick glance around the gym told him she wasn’t there.He ran to the parking lot, frantically looking around, but there was no sign of Freya.And suddenly, the smell.An oppressive smell, as if someone had used a deodorizing agent to mask it.He turned as white as the whitewash on the wall.To mask the smell of rot, decomposition.
