Page 51 of His Runaway Mate

“Then I need to call someone to pick us up. We have to get out of here.”

“Nicky. There you are.”

Fescue’s smooth voice cuts into the conversation. I forgot about him, absolute fucking ghost of inconvenience.

“Get me out of here,” I hiss to Laura. “Seriously.”

She gives me a look that I can’t read, and glances over at the guys. I don’t know why they’re all sitting stock still as if they don’t know what to do. I just told them what to do.

I decide not to throw a huge fit, because I don’t want to draw more attention to myself than is necessary. When you’re trying to escape your own fate, you’ve got to be subtle about it.

Instead, I sort of pretend to faint a bit. If you’re swooning, you can’t get in trouble. That’s just science.

Fescue picks me up. I am surprised that he is able to do that, but I realize as he lifts me from the ground as if I weigh absolutely nothing, that he is actually an incredibly strong wolf in his own right.

I say nothing to him as he carries me like a fireman. I close my eyes and pretend to be weak and addled, which is not really a huge stretch all things considered.

“I located your mate, sir,” he says, laying me down on the bed.

“Where did you go?”

“She was with her friends,” Fescue says. “Unable to stand, but still with them.”

Rex frowns at me slightly, as if he doesn’t quite understand why I just tried to leave.

“Were you worried about them? They are perfectly safe here. The reserve is secure.”

“I don’t know,” I mumble.

“Here, have some juice,” he says, helping me to sit up. He puts the glass to my lips, as if I am an invalid. I do drink, because I am thirsty. I am also absolutely fucking desperate to get out of here. Hydration first. Escape next.

“I think I just need to nap,” I say. “Maybe I could lie down?”

“Of course,” Rex says. “Call for Fescue if you need anything, okay?”

I almost feel guilty for how nice he is being, but I do genuinely have to get out of here. It’s best for everybody. We are all on the verge of a huge tragedy if I don’t escape.

They leave me to sleep, and I do actually get something of a nap in. Maybe I’m a method actor. Maybe I was just really tired. Regardless, the next thing I am aware, someone is tapping at the window at the end of the room.

“Pssst! Boss!” It’s Simon’s voice.

“Yeah?” I answer without opening my eyes.

“We got a car!”

I roll out of bed and go out through the garden door. Simon leads me down through trees to a clearing, where he and the guys have just what I asked for.

It looks like an old Jeep. Fun car. Perfect for tooling around the tracks, I bet. Probably used for property maintenance, if I had to guess.

“Alright. Let’s go. I’ll drive,” I say.

“Nobody is going anywhere.”

Rex’s voice goes through us all like lead bullets. Simon actually makes a yelping sound as he turns around.

There are five guys behind Rex, and I’m going to guess there’s more out in the woods. We’re caught in a trap that we should never have been able to be caught in. How the hell did we not scent trouble? That’s what all of us do. We all know how to get away with things.

But they were one step ahead of us.