Victor was gone when I woke up to the phone ringing in our motel room. I answered it with a groggy, "Hello?"
"Charlotte , êtes-vous d'accord?" (Charlotte, are you all right?) My mother's voice was worried and she spoke again before I could answer. "Nous avons entendu parler de la tentative sur votre vie." (We heard about the attempt on your life.)
"Oui, maman. Je suis sûr." (Yes, mama. I am safe.) I transitioned to French and sat up quickly.
"Est-elle morte?" (Is she dead?) Mama asked, referring to my captor.
"Oui." (Yes.) A lump rose in my throat and I coughed to clear it before asking the question that I was afraid to know the answer to. "Puis-je revenir à la maison?" (Can I come home?)
Silence fell over the line and I played nervously with the phone cord. I hadn't spoken to my mother in almost ten years and I missed her, as well as the rest of my family. A click told me that she hung up and I set the handset back in the cradle. My eyes threatened tears but I pushed them down, getting out of bed and digging through the clothes Victor had gotten for me, settling on a pair of jeans and a tank top. The button down shirt that had Victor gave me went over it. I barely pulled it on when Victor came back, smirking when he saw my clothes. "Get your shit. We're leaving in five."
"Where are we going?" I kept my voice soft, my mind still on my mother. Victor glanced sideways at me when he heard the waver in my voice.
"Just get your shit in the truck." Victor crossed the room to the dresser and started shoving his clothes in a duffel bag. "There's someone following us and I don't like being followed. Smells like trouble."
"You seem like the type who likes trouble." I commented.
"Not while you're in the crosshairs." Victor replied without pausing. It wasn't a declaration of love. Hell, it wasn't even a declaration of liking me but my family history gave me knowledge of what it was and it terrified me. A similar proclamation had changed my mother's life and not for the better. Victor grabbed my bag and pushed me toward the door. "Go."
I climbed in the truck that smelled like whiskey and blood, waiting for Victor to get in the other side and take us away. He had gone back into the room when I saw a male form follow him inside. The bright blonde hair was instantly recognizable, as were the snarls coming from the room. Scrambling out of the cab, I bolted for the room. "Victor!"
Victor was pinned beneath the blonde feral, who had his claws inches from Victor's face. Victor was strong but the blonde was stronger. I jumped onto the blonde's back and wrapped the crook of my arm around his neck, squeezing. "Christien , arrêter! C'est mon ami. C'est lui qui m'a sauvé!" (Christien, stop! He's my friend. He's the one who saved me!)
Christien growled and reached behind him, grabbing my shirt and throwing me off him. I smacked against the wall and fell to the floor, eliciting an ear splitting roar from Victor as he shoved Christien off of him. Victor attacked Christien before he could get off the floor, his hand wrapped around Christien's throat.
"Victor, stop! He's my brother!" I pleaded as my brother's face turned red. "Let him go."
Christien raised a hand and I saw a gleam of silver as a needle was shoved into Victor's wrist, his body going limp and falling to the ground a moment later. My brother was free of Victor's grip and another needle appeared. "Cela ne va pas faire mal, Lottie. Eh bien, pas grand-chose de toute façon." (This isn't going to hurt, Lottie. Well, not much anyway.)
-0-
The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the canopy over my bed. It was white tulle and fell around the bedposts like something from a fairy tale. The next observation was the distinct lack of Victor, who if his behavior was any indication, would be less than pleased. Sitting up, I recognized my childhood room when the door opened and my mother stepped through it. "Hello, Charlotte."
My mother almost always spoke French, except when she was angry to disappointed. If she was here, then my father wouldn't be far behind and the thought made my stomach twist. "Hi, Mom."
"Your father has gone to speak with your...companion." Her green eyes traversed my appearance, as if trying to see what Victor and I had done in our time together. "He's been very aggressive and wishes to see you."
"Where is he?" I asked, straightening my shirt.
"I will have him brought here." Mother said in a clipped tone. Turning on her heel, she left me and I heard the lock click behind her. It seemed as though I was still a pariah. I heard shouting down the hall and it came closer, mingling with the sounds of chains. Victor must have been too much to handle for Christien. The thought made me chuckle as the door opened and Victor was shoved through. His wrists had shackles around them and he snapped at Christien.
"Can you unchain him?" I asked my brother, who shook his head. Instead, he held the key out to me and I extended my hand, allowing him to drop the key into my palm. Christien left before the key touched my skin and I unlocked Victor's manacles. "Are you okay?"
"Fine." Victor was furious and deservedly so. He stalked towards me, making me walk backwards until I was against one of the posts of my bed. "You wanna explain to me why I just spent the night chained in a dungeon?"
"Technically, I think it's a basement." I offered, squeaking when he growled at me. In an attempt to deflect his anger, I turned my head to the side, baring my neck in a sign of submission. He nipped at the skin but the growl quieted and he seemed to calm down.
"Mr. Creed, bring your mate and follow me." Christien appeared once more, waiting impatiently for us to follow him. The halls of my family's home were polished marble and our shoes thumped on the tile floor as we walked to the dining hall. I could hear the clamoring of the rest of the family in the dining hall as they started dinner. There were at least twelve members of the family already eating and we were seated to the right of my father, who sat at the head of the table. A rare steak was placed in front of each of us. Victor glared at my father, who was tearing into his own meal.
"Eat, Mr. Creed." Father was surprisingly friendly to Victor while ignoring me completely. "If we meant you harm, you'd be dead."
"It's all right, Victor." I whispered to him, placing a hand on his knee. Father glared at me when I spoke and I silenced myself, turning to my dinner. Victor ate his meal and I ate what I could but my digestive system wasn't equipped to handle a steak that could have still been mooing.
Father took a drink from his wine glass and eyed Victor carefully before speaking. "We were quite pleased to find you with our daughter, Mr. Creed. Despite her unfortunate condition."
Victor raised an eyebrow as he chewed. "Condition?"
"As I'm sure you can tell, she is..." Father cleared his throat, glancing briefly at my mother. "Human. And there is no room for a human in our pack. At least not without a mate and now that she has been chosen by such a strong male, we can allow Charlotte to be a member of the pack."
I was surprised that Victor didn't answer so my father continued.
"We know about your sordid history. You are a sadistic man with blood on your hands but there are things I believe you could contribute to our family. You've already given value to Charlotte."
"What contributions do you think I'll be bringing?" Victor asked dryly.
"The heads of my enemies."
Victor smiled and there was a bloodthirsty gleam in his eye. Raising his glass to my father he said, "I believe we understand each other."
"Welcome to the pack, Mr. Creed."
A/N: Thanks to the new followers/favoriters/readers. You guys rock. Leave a review on your way out and let me know what you think. Reviews are always used to make my writing better and I don't bruise easily. :)