Chapter 3: Caught in the Crossfire
(Gretel's POV)
"Excuse me, miss? Can you direct me to the grocery shelves?" I heard a customer ask, snapping me back to attention.
I shook off my daze and looked at him, lost. "The grocery shelves. Where can I find them?" He asked again.
"Oh, my bad." I apologized. "They're right over there in the back corner. Behind the shoe shelves," I answered, summoning a polite smile and pointing the way.
"Thanks!" The teenager chirped before wandering off.
I leaned on the counter and let out a long breath. I was so deep in my worried thoughts that I barely saw him come to ask me. This was just one more problem from my complicated life these days.
On the outside, I tried to look normal - doing my boring job and going to my empty home. I tried to act like everything was fine, like my life hadn't changed completely.
But inside, nothing felt normal anymore. I was nervous all the time, especially at home. My small apartment used to feel nice, but now it felt scary and suffocating.
When I slept, I had bad dreams about what I saw that weird night - when the handsome man turned into a big dog right in front of me.
I even started taking new ways home from work. I was scared someone was following me or would kidnap me again. I felt afraid of dark streets because they reminded me of the men who took me.
Many times, I thought I saw the same dark van behind me. I always felt like someone was watching me. Maybe I was going crazy. Or worse, maybe I was losing my mind.
Being jumpy and not sleeping well made everything harder. My boss had to wake me up many times when I dozed off at work. I just said I was tired and everything was fine.
After always laying low and staying away from people, now I really wanted to talk to someone. I wanted to understand the strange things I saw and why they scared me so much. But I had no one to talk to.
I couldn't run away to a new city either. I had no money to start over. I couldn't go back to my old home because they didn't want me there. I should have taken the money when he offered it. Then I could think about running away now.
All I could do was try to live through this scary time alone and hope it would end soon.
I fumbled with my apartment key, coming back from work, when this nightmare reoccurred again.
Before I could run out of the apartment, two strong men grabbed me and covered my mouth with their hands. I tried to fight them off, but they were too strong.
They grabbed me outside. They put a black baggy sack over my head so I couldn't see.
My mind screamed, "Not again!" as they pushed me into a car and drove away fast.
I felt very scared, remembering the first time they took me. I hoped this was just a bad joke, that I would wake up from this bad dream.
The car kept driving. This time was making my body ache, because it was worse - they put me in the trunk with my hands and feet tied up like a criminal. What did I do to deserve this mean treatment?
After what felt like forever, the car stopped. The two big men pulled me out. I wondered what the wolf man wanted from me again when I hadn't told anyone his secret.
Truth be told, he'd haunted my thoughts since our strange encounter – his intimidating yet handsome face with that dark stubble, those magnetic eyes, those sensual lips, that deep voice that seemed to resonate in my bones.
And of course, the impossible reality of his transformation.
Well, if he wanted another audience with me, I decided with sudden fury, he owed me some answers this time. I was done being intimidated by his handsome face and his thugs dragging me around like a rag doll.
But when they ripped away my hood, I found myself staring not into the wolf man's intense gaze but into coal-black eyes that were above a twisted scar.
Terror froze the breath in my lungs. The wolf man had been scary, yes, but this hulking giant with murder written all over his features was something else entirely – something that made my very soul want to shrink away and hide.
"Well well, our special guest arrives," he sneered down at me. His words sent chills through my veins – they'd been expecting me?
"Please, you've made a mistake, I don't even know you," I managed to gasp.
He blinked at me with dangerous slowness, his gaze was disgusting that it made my skin crawl.
"Oh, that's about to change, little girl. You see, we have...mutual friends." He said those last words with venom.
Before I could say I was innocent, he grabbed my arm and pulled me down a dark hall. My mind raced with questions. Where was I?
How could this scary man know anyone I knew? I don't even have friends to begin with.
Still wondering, he pulled me into a strange room where many rough men with tattoos sat around, looking at me like hungry animals. Their leader shoved me into a chair at the head of their table.
"Get comfortable, princess," the scarred man sneered as he settled into his own seat. "We have much to discuss. About this man." He slid a photograph across the table.
I leaned forward, and my heart stopped – it was the wolf man. But what could I possibly tell them? I didn't even know his name. The only thing I knew was that he could transform into a beast-
The realization hit me like lightning. This was what he'd meant about keeping his secret for safety.
These dangerous men wanted to hurt him. I would have to choose my words with extreme care.
My eyes darted around the room, counting exits and hostiles. Outnumbered and trapped, fear crystallized in my veins.
I needed to stay clear headed and alert. But more than that, I needed some way to tell the wolf man I was here.
Because something tells me he's my best chance at the moment, since he got me into this mess in the first place, intentionally or not.
He's the sole reason I'm in this dangerous situation - so he's the one who can get me out. I just hope I stay alive long enough for him to try!
(Devion's POV)
My fingers drummed restlessly against the laptop keyboard as I waited for it to boot up. This evening I had just got back from an important business when I sat down for another... Well important business. This has become my every night ritual - my obsession.
Since that night, I just want to look at that beauty with a distinct female scent I didn't even know females had. It was that floral scent that made me shift when I did.
"Here we go, boy," I muttered to Flames, my internal wolf and chat companion.
I told myself I monitored her surveillance feeds for security reasons. But deep down, I knew better. I couldn't keep away even if I wanted to, because I'd been drawn to her like a moth to flame. No female's absence had ever affected me, or Flames this way before.
My wolf paced restlessly inside me, demanding his daily fix. Just one look, I promised myself. Just to make sure she's safe.
The security feeds flickered to life on my screen. My muscles tensed as I scanned the multiple camera angles of her apartment but they were all empty. She was still not back from work. But something felt wrong.
The usual emptiness of her living space wasn't entirely empty. I noticed movement in the shadows.
"What the hell?" I leaned closer, squinting at two burly figures lurking in the corners. My heart rate spiked. Those weren't my men.
I snatched my phone, fingers flying over the keypad as I called Byron, my head of security. "Report. Who authorized men inside her apartment?" I asked him.
"Sir?" Byron's confused voice crackled through. "None of our team has entered the premises. We're maintaining perimeter surveillance only, as ordered."
A growl rumbled in my chest. "Get over there. Now! Someone's inside." I ordered him.
"Yes, sir. We're five minutes out." He informed me.
I returned my eyes to the screen when another business call came in. I wanted to decline it, but thought of taking my mind off this restless feeling for a moment, so I answered.
But not long into the call, another movement on the screen caught my attention.
The front door opened and there she was - Gretel, looking exhausted after her shift. Before I could process what was happening, the shadowy figures pounced on her.
"Fuck!" I snarled into the phone, ending the call mid-sentence. My claws threatened to emerge as I watched them grab her, covering her mouth.
I punched Byron's number. "Location?"
"Two blocks from the target's apartment, sir." He confirmed.
"They're taking her away. Follow them. Whoever they are. Wherever they go. And report back to me. Do not lose her! I repeat, DO NOT LOSE HER!"
My voice dropped to a dangerous growl. "Keep your distance but don't lose that vehicle, Bryon." I warned. He muttered his apprehension and ended the call.
It took everything in me not to crush the phone in my grip. I still need it for updates. My wolf howled in fury, demanding we hunt down those who dared touch what was ours.
Hold on, little human, I thought as I watched them drag her away. I'm coming for you.
But even as I promised, I wondered. How could any gangster get wind of my secret involvement with her? Did they want leverage from me? Or is she just somehow trouble magnetic?