Chapter 67

I stared at Kinsley in shock. A large part of me wanted to run, but a part of me knew it would be fruitless. If Kinsley was here, then there were probably others, and she was almost positively faster than me. Plus, I couldn’t leave Arlo. I didn’t know him very well, but I felt the strong need to protect him, at least in whatever way I could. It probably wouldn’t be much, but I got him into this mess... The least I could do was not abandon him...

“Miss me?” Kinsley flashed me her sadistic smile as she stepped over Arlo toward me. “There really is no reason to scream. No one is coming to save you.”

“What are you doing here, Kinsley?” I asked, fighting to keep my voice from shaking.

“Uh uh,” She shook her finger at me, and I took a step back. “It’s Luna Kinsley to you, bitch, now that you’re speaking again. I did not miss the sound of your annoying ass voice.”

“Respectfully, I am not a part of your pack anymore,” I answered as I took a step back.

Kinsley laughed coldly. “You will always be a part of our pack, Grace. We’ve missed you.” She was so insincere it almost hurt. “Alpha Adrian can’t for your return.”

A chill ran down my spine at the mention of Alpha Adrian. I would rather die here this afternoon than return to what I had lived with for all those years ago before. I didn’t want to be the punching bag of the pack again. I couldn’t go back to that.

I looked around for a weapon of any sort. We were surrounded by paperback books, but they wouldn’t do much damage they, they would only buy time, and I was too weak to be able to break apart a shelf quick enough to make it a weapon. I wish I had spent more time training with Rhys! Maybe then I would know how to get out of here!

“I’m not going back.” I told her firmly.

“You say that like you have a choice.”

“I do.” I said boldly. “And I’m telling you that I am not going back.”

Kinsley rolled her eyes and took another step toward me. “Letting you go with the Alpha King has made you forget your place,” She said coldly. “You have become bold after all this time, but don’t worry, we’ll fix that right up.”

I stared into her blue eyes that looked so much like mine, refusing to back down. If I was going down, I was going to go down swinging. The longer I stared into her eyes though, the more I saw Ethan in them. The more I saw my father. Kinsley had never really looked like either of her parents except for her eyes. The eyes that all three of us kids seemed to share. The difference was her eyes were the coldest, and I hated staring into them.

“Good girl,” She patted my cheek when I didn’t respond, and she took my silence as a victory. “Now we are going to walk out of this store and get into the red car down the street without a whole scene.”

No. No. I wouldn’t be going with her. In here, I was at least alone with her. At least it didn’t feel like there were any other people in the bookstore. Out there though, I didn’t know who would be waiting for me, and I didn’t really want to find out.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Arlo start to stir. I wondered if she had managed to drug him or if she had caught him completely off guard in a fight. Both weren’t good options, but maybe one was better than the other. If he was stirring, then maybe he would be able to help. I just had to buy some time. I also tried to send my emotions to Rhys. I didn’t quite know how to do it or if it would work this far away, but it was worth a try... I had never wanted to mindlink anyone as bad I wanted to right now.

“Kinsley,” I tried, “If you do anything to me, I am the Alpha King’s mate. He will retaliate against you.”

“You are no one’s mate!” Kinsley shrieked before trying to calm herself, and saying in a calmer voice, “The Alpha King has had a whole slew of mates before you, he moved on from them the same way he will move on from you.”

“He marked me, Kinsley,” I told her, but my voice was small, and my confidence was waning. What if Arlo didn’t wake up in time? “I’m different than those other girls. He will care.”

“You ruin everything!” Kinsley screeched. “You will pay for everything you have done, and I can promise you that you will wish you had never been born!”

Everything then happened so fast, I barely had time to process any of it. Kinsley lunged at me as I stumbled backward into a shelf. Arlo was on his feet, his arms wrapping Kinsley’s neck. And someone jumped in front of me, shielding me from whatever Kinsley had been planning to do.

“You might want to cooperate if you want to live a little longer,” A familiar voice called out, immediately putting me at ease.

“Who are you?” She asked breathlessly, struggling uselessly against Arlo’s grip.

Arlo looked a little pale, but otherwise unharmed, which I was glad to see.

“Beta Leon from the Alpha King’s pack.” Leon answered, looking over his shoulder at me to make sure I was okay. I gave him a small nod; grateful he arrived when he did. “And you will be coming back with us for questioning.”

“I was only chatting with my dear sister,” Kinsley tried to play the innocent card, but neither Arlo or Leon were falling for it.

“Yea, tell me all about it when we get to the dungeon,” Leon brushed her off.

“Do you even know who I am?!” Kinsley argued even though she was in no position to. “My husband, Alpha Adrian of the Blood Moon pack will not stand for this! You are messing with the wrong pack!”

“Go ahead,” Leon smirked. “Show us why we shouldn’t mess with you, break out of his hold. Shift into the monster you think you are!”