2 | Annoyed, Woozy & Confused

Natalie knew she couldn't just wait around for whoever it was to come and get her. She needed to find a way out by herself. Realizing she had only one option left, she took in a deep breath and headed for the door on light legs. She always made it a habit to be cautious whenever she was in a strange place, even if she felt annoyed, woozy, or confused. Better safe than sorry. Although, she couldn't help but admit that if these wolves had any intention of hurting her they would have done so already, and they definitely wouldn't have left her to sleep on such a comfy bed in an extravagant room. But still, she always played things safe at all times.

Wrapping her hands around the door handle, Natalie tugged, but the door was locked. She chewed on her bottom lips in contemplation. She knew that in other to facilitate escape, she needed to make a fuss. Needed to get her kidnapper's attention. So, taking in another well-calculated breath, Natalie yelled, "Hey!" There was no response, so she yelled again, "Helloooooooooo!" this time knocking on the door as she did. Still nothing.

Damn!

So, to sum up, she was in a strange place around strange werewolves and she was being confined. Well, now Raven was pissed. Being cooped up was enough to infuriate and agitate any werewolf. "Hello! This is your prisoner speaking! Open the freaking door!"

A chuckle preceded the turning of a key and then the door slowly swung open. Natalie found herself face to face – well, face to chest – with what could only be described as a living breathing mount. Another wolf, she figured and arched a brow at his cocky, vicious smirk, wondering what could be so amusing.

"You're awake. Good." His voice sounded like grain.

"And just which curb might you be?" No, it wasn't a good time to make jokes but she was sarcastic by nature and when she was pissed off the sarcasm took on a life of its own.

His smirk widened. "The Alpha wants to speak to you."

Natalie snickered. "And your Alpha is…?"

He winked. "Follow me."

Oh hell, if things didn't get better from here, Natalie was a hundred and one percent sure she was going to kill somebody.

*****

Natalie followed mount man through a passage that took them deeper into the beautifully designed mountain. Seeing the occasional turn-off, she realized that it was a network of tunnels that was expertly and exquisitely built to confuse a stranger. She sighed, knowing that finding her way out of these tunnels was going to be difficult as hell.

Just like in the bedroom, the light bisque walls of the passage were so smooth, they looked soft and Natalie felt like swiping her palms along the wall as they went. She took a deep breath and shuddered. Raven was going crazy at the strange, unfamiliar scents hovering around the atmosphere, and was strongly pushing her to explore the place.

"Mind telling me where I am?" Natalie asked, expecting a nasty resort from the werewolf in front of her.

"All will be revealed shortly," he drawled.

"How about how I got here?" Natalie tried again, knowing that even if she asked for ages on end, he would never tell her anything of value.

"The Alpha will explain everything to you," he growled and Natalie almost laughed at how predictable he was.

Soon they came to a large brown door, which her soon-to-be-dealt-with bodyguard held open while she passed through. They were now in a huge open-plan room that was surprisingly modern and stylish with its oak cabinets, black marble countertop, and platinum appliances. This was definitely a kitchen. In the center of the large space was a long oak dining table around which, a small number of male and female werewolves hovered. All heads turned as she entered and the crowd split, giving her a view of who sat at the table. Her jaw almost hit the floor.

Dominic Motherfucking Crane.

If Dominic Crane was her host, then now she knew for a fact that she hadn't come here willingly. Even if she had been on a night out and gotten hammered, no amount of alcohol would have distracted her from the fact that this guy was a terror. He was kind of like a cobra Python snake; fiercely hostile, had a bad reputation, and was respected, admired, and feared all at the same time. This had a lot to do with the rumor that he had challenged and almost killed a mature Alpha male at the delicate age of fourteen. A mature Alpha male who had also been his uncle since his father died before he was born.

If what Natalie had heard was correct, Dominic had been banished rather than earning the position of Alpha male when he hadn't had the heart to finish off his evil uncle after the fight. The act had caused a divide in the pack and those who hadn't agreed with the decision of the elder wolves had left with him. Together they had formed their pack with Dominic as the Alpha male and earned their territory through battles with other packs. So far this particular Alpha was undefeated…which was probably because his wolf tended to turn mad during battles. And here she was with him. She couldn't help but get the feeling that the universe was laughing behind her back.

Given that she was in the company of – or, more accurately, being confined by – a person who wasn't at all mentally stable, you would think her wolf would be at least a little nervous. Natalie certainly was. But oh, not only was Raven agreeable, she wanted to rub against him enticingly, recognizing his scent as the one from the bedroom. Oh, well, just great!

It wasn't like Natalie couldn't acknowledge that the homicidal nutcase was seriously hot. She could. She so could. And, the intense scowl and the sharpness in his light grey eyes seemed to only add to it. His t-shirt didn't hide his broad shoulders, defined upper body, or washboard abs. Ripped, that was what he was. Ordinarily, Natalie didn't much like the highlander look, but she found that she couldn't help but admire that physique. In addition, both her body and her wolf helplessly reacted to the power that was practically buzzing around him; he wore authority like a second skin. Perversely, his hard penetrating stare was heating her blood rather than affronting her. His eyes had taken on a glazed, hungry look that both thrilled and startled her. It made her wolf growl in excitement. The primal lust that gripped her was so intense it almost hurt. Well, that was just great. Maybe she was developing Stockholm Syndrome or something.

In any case, no way would her inconvenient attraction to him inspire her to react to him as her body and her wolf wanted – and as many other females often did, as if his reputation as a rake wasn't enough to ground her lust to a halt. The truth was, Natalie was used to rakes. Her father was also the dark, rugged, brooding, dangerous type and he was a pain in the padded ass.

Betraying nothing about her appreciation of him as a male specimen, Natalie returned his full-on alpha stare with one of her own. Oh her wolf may be Kage, but she was still an alpha wolf.