Love at First Scent
Chapter 14

Craig answered his phone and immediately pulled his truck over when a frantic Ellie started crying and babbling about Caro and something happening.

“Ellie!” He tried to remain calm. “I can’t understand you. Are you with Bennett? Give him the phone.”

“Alpha, something’s happened. We got back from Rigby and Caro’s stuff was gone. She left a note saying she’d changed her mind and was going back to California to be with her husband, but Ellie swears she’d never do that.”

“I’ll be right there.” He hung up and pulled out onto the highway, driving as fast as he could, his wolf growling in his mind. He called Diego and filled him in, telling him to gather a few wolves and meet at Ellie’s place.

When he arrived, Bennett had Ellie in his arms, and she was softly crying. She looked up when he came in the door.

“She wouldn’t leave like this, Craig. Something is wrong, I just know it. I can feel it.” She had a crumpled-up letter in her hand. “Why would she type out a letter when there was a pad of paper on the kitchen table with the rest of the recipes she was writing out just this morning?”

“There’s more,” Bennett said. “When we got here, I could scent another pack member had been here—it was Cheryl.”

“F**k.” He ran a hand over his face. That female must have lost her damned mind. Was she really so power-hungry that she’d resort to kidnapping?

He dialed Diego again. “Hey, it’s me. Cheryl came here. Bennett scented her when they got back. I can’t pick it up now, but it’s been a few hours. Go to her sister and bring her to me.”

Ten minutes later, Diego came into the house with Cheryl’s sister Tanya in tow, her head hanging low.

“Where is your sister, Tanya?” He growled, his wolf close to the surface in his rage.

“You have to believe me, Alpha,” she whimpered, not meeting his gaze, “I thought she was just talking crazy drunk talk. I never believed she would actually do anything. Then we heard from Bobby that Ellie and Bennett left for Rigby this morning, but I truly didn’t think she was this far gone, I swear!”

Clearly, Cheryl was on her way to going feral, which made her very dangerous. He was losing his patience, along with his control, causing several of the wolves in the room to fidget nervously. “Where is she?”

“She was going to take her to our uncle’s cabin while she waited for Bernard.” She was cowering so low she nearly touched the ground now.

Every wolf in the room cursed when she mentioned the other man’s name. He had been briefed on the wolf named Bernard who’d been banished by the previous alpha, and it sent a shiver down his spine to think about Caroline being anywhere near the male.

****

Caro’s head was throbbing in pain when she woke up, and when she remembered the last thing she saw before the lights went out, she was almost too afraid to open her eyes. Her wrists were tied together, as were her ankles, and she seemed to be lying on her side on a wood floor. Behind her, she could hear two people arguing. She recognized the voice of the woman who’d punched her, but not the man she was talking to.

“I thought you said you could make some real money off an unclaimed female?” Cheryl said. “Were you just running your mouth or not?”

“I have the contacts! It’s just going to take a bit of time to find a buyer for a vixen. I was expecting a wolf when you called me. If I find the right buyer, I can get us a hundred grand, easy.” He huffed. “You need to relax.”

“Relax!” she screeched. “Are you out of your mind? I need this b!tch out of town before the alpha starts looking for her.” Something crashed and shattered on the other side of the room. “Ugh, you’re just as useless as ever!”

“Man, you’re still the same uppity b!tch you always were,” the man said in disgust. “And if you went and stole this female from your alpha, it sounds like you’ve gone and lost your mind as well.”

He sounded much too calm, considering Cheryl was losing her sh!t, and that made Caro’s hair stand on end because he seemed pretty casual talking about selling someone, so chances were he’d probably done it before. She was trying not to panic, but she was terrified. It was one thing to be around shifters she knew and could trust, but what would happen to her if she was shipped somewhere far away?

“But you know,” he said, his tone speculative now, “I know a few packs down in South America that won’t take a feral wolf for mating, but they’re always looking for breeders to add to the harem. If you’ve burned your bridges here, then you’re of no use to me anyway.”

Caroline shifted her head the slightest bit so she could see over her shoulder. When she saw both of her abductors were facing the other way, she continued to watch.

“You rat bastard!” Cheryl yelled. “I’m going to be Alpha female here one day. You should be on your knees in front of me!”

The she-wolf lunged at the other man just as he pulled some kind of dart gun from behind his back and shot her with it. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t stop her claw from raking across his cheek and chest, opening wide gouges that quickly bled.

“You b!tch!” he roared, moving to the side, allowing her to thud to the ground in a heap as the drugs took effect. Then he kicked her hard in the back several times before throwing the gun onto the couch and going into the kitchen to grab a towel. “Heh, joke’s on you. Those savages down there pay top dollar for the feisty ones…”