HOPE
With all the strength I had, I managed to turn my head so that I didn’t have to look at the doctor. Not seeing what he was going to do to me made me braver. When I knew what was coming, I panicked.
I felt his hands on my breast, pinching my nipples. I squeezed my eyes shut. I felt him rearrange my legs, bending my knees and pushing them up so that my heels touched. I tried to move but the drug he gave me was too powerful. It hadn’t begun to wear off yet.
I felt something sharp on my nipples and then I felt my labia being tugged open with the same sharp stinging feeling. I warily opened my eyes to see the doctor looking at me.
“Just a little electricity, Hope,” he said with a grin. I felt the tears in my eyes. I knew this was going to hurt.
He fastened a few more electrodes on my body, both on my arms and legs. Then he picked up the little box that I knew was going to
HOPEI could feel hands on me again and I started screaming, trying to fight through the drugs and the electricity. Then a sense of calm overcame me and I knew it was Lupo reaching out through the mate bond, soothing me. “How do I turn this off?” I heard Nicco frantically scream at someone. I feebly tried to move my arms. “There’s a box that the wires are attached to,” I mumbled, my body still jerking with the electrical impulses flooding through it. I was getting to the point where I was about to pass out and I fought through the blackness. I was afraid if I passed out, Nicco would somehow disappear, and I couldn’t take that. I wasn’t sure he was real.“I got it, Alpha!” I could hear Vinnie’s voice. Then, mercifully, the electricity stopped, and my body stopped jerking. Nicco rolled me over and cradled me in his arms. I could see Vinnie, his clothing in shreds. He must have shifted to come find me.“Is there a blanket we can put on her?” Nicco asked. I was shaking, but no
NICCOHope fell asleep on me in the car. I held her close, looking at her mark that I had made on her last night. Maybe that was a mistake. Humans are so fragile.Vinnie carefully pulled up to the curb and I lifted Hope out, still wrapped in her blanket and nothing else. The doorman was too well trained to do or say anything, and he respectfully averted his eyes as I carried her in. The ride in the elevator was straight to the top, thanks to a generous yearly tip that I made to all of the elevator attendants.I lightly laid her on the bed while Eloise hovered. As soon as I put her down, she opened her eyes and looked around in panic.“Shhh,” I whispered. “I’m here.” Her eyes locked with mine and she gave me a small smile.“I was afraid I dreamed you,” she whispered.Eloise dabbed at her eyes and slipped out of the room. I had gotten a mind link th
HOPEI had no idea why the thought of meeting Nicco’s mom made me so nervous. I think it is because that was the next step of our relationship. Meeting the parents. Or, in this case, the parent.I was also going to meet his sister. When he took over his father’s business, Nicco sent both of them away to Spain for their safety. He had a coup that he needed to overthrow and some boundaries that needed to be set. When it was time for them to come home, neither wanted to. His sister, Lucia, had met someone and his mom was enjoying being away from the business. Instead of them coming to us, we were going to go to them.“I don’t have a passport,” I said to Nicco, worriedly. Nicco looked at me with a smile. “Doesn’t matter. We’re flying privately and I know the customs guys. Shouldn’t be an issue.”“I’d feel better if I had one,” I said. I was very nervous about leaving the country. Nicco shrugged.“Fine. We’ll apply for it, and I’ll make a few calls. We should have it in han
HOPEI jerked myself awake with a gasp. I was having a nightmare, the same one I had at least three nights a week. In my dream I was reliving the first time my stepdad had sold me to one of his friends in exchange for drug money. The man hadn’t been gentle, and he liked it that I fought and screamed as he thrust himself into me over and over, tearing me and making me bleed. It was traumatic and I usually woke myself up screaming the way I screamed when it had first happened to me four years ago.I lay still, breathing in and out, repeating my mantra to myself. “I am strong. I am safe.” I opened my eyes and focused on the ceiling of the 1999 Toy0ta van that I currently called home. It wasn’t much but she was fully paid for, cheaper than an apartment and had the advantage of being able to easily move if my past got too close to me.This was the week that the mechanic shop I worked for was offering half off oil changes, and we were booked solid. I couldn’t afford to show up exha
Chapter 2NICCO“You ready to go, Alpha?” Vinnie asked me. I stared at the spot where the girl disappeared. I wanted to go after her. No one ignored me, especially not women. Most women threw themselves at me.I frowned, remembering her awkward lies about the big dog and her boyfriend. I must have scared her, somehow. I know I’m a scary guy, but women usually didn’t run away from me. And there was the little matter of her being my mate. My wolf, Lupo, was going crazy. As soon as I got out of the car I could smell her. She smelled like violets and sunshine and oranges, all at once. Lupo began screaming that she was our mate as soon as we caught her scent.Problem was, I couldn’t sense her wolf and that meant one thing. She was human. And there was no way that my mate could possibly be a human. This was a huge mistake. I realized Vinnie was talking to me and I nodded, sliding back into the car. Vinnie turned over the engine and it sounded a lot better. He carefully ste
NICCOI waited in the car for about a half hour. This was how it usually went when we were dealing with humans. The boys went in, cleared the home and then roughed up the guy for a little bit. I would join them later. Today I was waiting for the missus.I saw her pull into the driveway and I got out, pocketing my cellphone in my hip pocket. She watched me cross the street, warily. I gave her a wide smile, trying not to look threatening. From the way she widened her eyes, I probably wasn’t successful.“Amy?” I asked, pleasantly. She nodded and then looked nervously at the house. I could hear a muffled scream coming from inside. “What’s going on?” she asked, clutching her purse and backing up. I continued up to her and took her elbow, using my other hand to gesture in front of me. “Let’s go inside, shall we?” I tugged gently on her arm, but she wasn’t having it. She stayed put. “Tell me what’s going on.” Her voice was flat. I sighed. “We’re having a little conversation
NICCO “What now, Alpha?” Vinnie asked. He was watching me closely and I was pretty sure that he knew something was up. I wasn’t acting normally. My wolf was driving me crazy, and I was having a hard time thinking. “Can you get me more information on her?” I asked Vinnie. He wasn’t that great with computers but some of the guys that worked for me were. Vinnie nodded. “Sure. Give me a minute.” He selected someone from his contacts and spoke for a few minutes. He got a text and checked it, confirming something and then disconnected. “Joey is working on getting more information, but he was able to access DMV records and found a license for a twenty-year-old woman named Hope Smith. Photograph matches our girl. He did a run on the address listed and pulled up a vacant lot in Provo, Utah. No phone number listed. Joey didn’t find a lot of background information on her initially so he’s going to do a deep dive. He did say that she has a minivan registered in her name.” We b
NICCOI checked my watch impatiently. Hope struck me as the type of girl that was early to everything and I hoped she was. I valued promptness. I didn’t even know why I was doing this. My wolf was thrilled but the businessman and Alpha in me knew that this was a really bad idea. I was mated to a human and the sooner I rejected the mate bond the better it would be for my business and for my Pack. I had heard stories of other Alphas being mated with humans and their Pack embracing the change. Most of the time it worked out, the human Luna a meek head of the Pack. Usually in those cases, the Beta’s wife was the one with the real power. That wasn’t going to work for me. My Pack was also part of my business, and I needed a partner that would be ruthless and know the games of the profession. I sighed. This was a really bad idea. I should have just walked away.Her black van pulled up, five minutes early and she slid out of the driver’s seat. I could see that her hair was wet a