The Alpha's Captive (7 page)

“It’s not the same thing.” Devon began to argue.

“Just get out!” Aiden said bluntly.

“Excuse me?” The look on Devon’s face was almost funny as if no one ever spoke to him like that before.

“You heard me. I’m done listening to this crazy shit.” When Devon didn’t make a move to leave, he shouted, “Get out!”

Devon stood up so fast the chair toppled backwards. His eyes glowed an ice blue, but Aiden didn’t flinch in fear. He just stared straight ahead. He didn’t want Devon to leave, but he had heard enough. From what Devon had said he didn’t care if Aiden was hurting. And why should he? Aiden didn’t mean anything to this man. When Devon left the room Aiden curled up into a ball and began to cry. He was in a strange place and more than a little terrified, but most of all he felt alone now that Devon had left the room. It was as if he’d taken all the warmth and happiness in the world with him when the door shut behind him.

Nothing seemed to make sense. And Aiden started to worry about his sanity because all he wanted to do was jump off the bed and run after Devon.

The sound of banging woke Devon up from a restless sleep. He leapt out of bed, grabbing some pants on the way out the door. The sound came from Aiden’s room.

Fear that something had happened to his mate had him running the short distance. When he got to Aiden’s room the young man was sitting on the bathroom floor, obviously in pain.

In the light of the day the discoloration and cuts on Aiden’s skin stood out in sharp contrast to the paler of his skin tone. The bright purple on the side of Aiden’s face was accompanied by a cut above his left eye. The blood from that cut and the cuts Viktor gave him had dried a rusty brown and was flaking off in spots. Aiden looked a mess.

When he tried to help Aiden, he refused. Then when they started talking everything he said came out wrong. Granted Devon was consumed with worry for his brother, but he didn’t bestow any of that concern on his frightened mate so he couldn’t blame Aiden for kicking him out of his room.

After last night and then this morning it was clear to Devon, Aiden didn’t have a clue about his dad’s little side hobby, and that made this just that much worse. Aiden loved his father and thought he knew the man, and Devon hated to be the one to tell him everything he believed to be true was a lie.

Devon put on some clothes then left his room. He had some paperwork to go over and he welcomed the distraction. Between Erik being taken and finding his mate, Devon was ready to pull out all his hair.

As he came down the stairs he went straight for his office. He checked his cell and saw that no calls had come in. He then placed another call to Skyler. Skyler was a wolf that lived with Devon and his brothers. He kind of reminded Devon of a woman with his feminine charm. Skyler loved to take care of people. He had what Josef liked to refer to as a mothering instinct. And he liked to cook and clean, so win-win for them all.

He asked Skyler to bring some breakfast up to Aiden. If anyone was less threatening then him or Viktor, it would be Skyler.

After he was done with that he got to work. He had nothing but time to kill, and by the way things went earlier, any chance to get to know Aiden had flown out the window.

It was for the best or so Devon kept telling himself.

* * * *

A light knock on the door was followed by a person coming into his room. Aiden couldn’t make out who it was being as his eyes were now swollen from shedding a million tears.

“Oh, sweetie, don’t cry.” The voice was a little high-pitched but definitely male. “I know this isn’t ideal, but I can guarantee you, Devon wouldn’t hurt a hair on your pretty little head.”

Aiden rolled over to see a thin man that looked about his height. The man had dark-brown hair, cut short and styled on top in a mini Mohawk. He had rosy cheeks and friendly sky blue eyes that chased away any apprehension Aiden might have had toward this man.

“How can you know that?” It was an honest question. Just because this guy thought Devon was harmless didn’t mean he was.

“Let’s just say his bark is bigger than his bite.” The man waggled his eyebrows.

A boiling pool of jealousy stirred in Aiden’s gut. “Does he bite you often?” It was a foolish emotion to have. He had no claim whatsoever to Devon. But that didn’t stop his fist from balling up at the image of Devon and this man being intimate. It was ludicrous to be territorial over a man who ordered his kidnapping.

“Sweetie, get that angry look off your cute little mug. I have no interest in your man.” The man giggled and batted a hand in Aiden’s direction.

Aiden shook his head and lifted an eyebrow at the man. “What the hell are you talking about? The last thing he is is my man.” Aiden held up his wrist. “Do you see this? He’s responsible for this. My man my ass.”

The man carried a tray over and sat it on the bed beside Aiden, completely oblivious to what Aiden had just said. He removed the lid covering the plate, and the delicious aroma of pancakes and bacon caused his stomach to growl. Aiden hadn’t realized how hungry he was until food had been plopped in front of his face. “Oh where are my manners.” The man held out his hand. “I’m Skyler, resident cook and maid for this pack of wolves.”

He poured syrup on the golden, fluffy pancakes and cut off a bite. His eyes fell shut as the sweet and sticky goodness tumbled across his tongue.

“Good, huh?”

“Very,” Aiden said after he swallowed the food in his mouth.

Skyler stayed silent while Aiden ate. He smiled and nodded with every groan that seeped out of Aiden’s mouth from the awesome food he consumed. It must be from hunger that made the food taste so good, but he wouldn’t tell Skyler that. He didn’t want to hurt the other man’s feelings.

When he finished he used the napkin to wipe off his mouth. Skyler quickly picked up the tray and set it to the side.

“Why would you call Devon my man?” Now that his stomach was full, Aiden hoped to get some answers out of Skyler.

“Because he’s your mate,” Skyler said it as if that made perfect sense.

“Excuse me?”

“Oh shit. You don’t know, do you?” Skyler flopped back in his chair dramatically. “Well, Aiden, I can’t tell you, but I can tell you this. Devon would never hurt you, trust me in that. Give him a chance. He’s not a bad guy.”

Aiden held up his arm again and pointed to the metal cuff. “Hello! Does everyone else not see this thing?”

“Oh that.” Skyler rolled his eyes. “Give it some time. It will grow on you. It can make the bedroom play quite fun.” He winked playfully at Aiden.

“Are you damaged?” Aiden thought Skyler was a sweet guy and an amazing cook, but seriously? Chains would never be Aiden’s thing especially after this.

“I know this doesn’t make sense to you right now.” Skyler moved to sit next to him on the bed, and Aiden didn’t pull back when he grabbed his hand. “But there are things you don’t know about, and I’m sure Devon is keeping it from you for your own good even at his own expense. You can think what you will, but everything isn’t always as it seems.”

Skyler patted his hand then stood up. Aiden just sat there dumbfounded. How could this not be what it seemed?

“Aiden,” Skyler said as he reached the door. Aiden arched an eyebrow in acknowledgement. “Take a more in-depth look at your surroundings. You’re a smart boy, I’m sure you’ll be able to figure it out all on your own.”

Before Aiden could respond, Skyler had left the room. He brought his knees up to rest his chin on.

Take a more in-depth look at your surroundings.

Aiden pondered on what Skyler had said. He was a reasonable man, but what did Skyler want him to see? Aiden glanced around the room but nothing looked out of the ordinary.

The only logical conclusion was that everyone in this house was bat-shit crazy. Devon and Viktor were accusing his father of kidnapping their brother, they chained Aiden up, and Skyler had referred to Devon as being Aiden’s man. Aiden summed it all up to that he had been kidnapped by a bunch of loons and now resided at casa de crazy.

Throughout the day Skyler returned to bring him food and stayed to chat with him. After the first few times Aiden started to look forward to Skyler’s visits. They helped break up the mundaneness of his solitude.

Skyler was overly flamboyant and smarter than he led on. He had a witty sense of humor and Aiden found himself liking Skyler more and more.

When Skyler brought dinner, he stayed to help Aiden maneuver enough to take a shower. He even brought Aiden a fresh pair of sleeping pants and a thin cotton T-shirt. By the size he could tell they were pulled from Skyler’s own closet.

Aiden was a little disappointed no one else, no one else being Devon, came to visit him. He enjoyed spending time with Skyler, but he wanted to see Devon one more time at least. Aiden felt like Devon was avoiding him, but who could blame him? Aiden hadn’t exactly been friendly to the man that morning.

A sharp, loud howl pierced through the quiet night. Aiden jumped, and his chains jangled. Skyler nonchalantly looked toward the window.

“Well, I better be off.” Skyler put the plates back on the tray and hurried to the door. “I’ll see you in the morning, Aid.”

Skyler moved so fast Aiden didn’t get the chance to say good-night or thanks for dinner.

Another howl sounded outside, and Aiden hopped off the bed, dragging his chain behind him as he moved to look out the window. He grabbed the windowsill to steady himself. Five large wolves stood in the yard. Aiden’s breath came out in quick short pants. Terror like nothing he ever felt before coursed through his veins.

In all his life he’d never seen a wolf that big. Granted he’d only seen them in books or at the zoo from a distance, but still these beasts looked like wolves on steroids.

“Dear god,” he mumbled to himself. The wolf with the blond fur looked up toward the window as if it heard him. Only seconds had passed, but it felt like an eternity that Aiden stood there held captivated in the wolf’s steely stare. Something about those eyes seemed familiar. It made him think of Devon.

Aiden shook himself out of the trance and took a small step away from the window. Being in this house must have made him susceptible to their lunacy because there was no way he just saw a dog and instantly thought of Devon.

Moving back to the window he peered outside, but the wolves were gone. “What the fuck?” Aiden plastered his forehead to the cool window pane and looked left then right. “I know I saw them. Where did they go?”

As if answering his question, a wolf howled. Aiden jerked away from the window. He rubbed his hands up and down his arms, trying to chase away the chill. There was no way he saw what he did. Wolves weren’t domesticated animals that searched out human companionship, yet there were five in the front yard.

Aiden walked back to the bed and shut off the bedside lamp. He lay down and turned to look out the window. His mind started to wander. When the wolf howled Skyler gathered his things and rushed out of the room. And now there wasn’t a sound at all in the house. No creaking stairs or running water, nothing. Aiden didn’t have any visitors except Skyler all day, but he had heard other people moving around the house and now it was abnormally quiet.

Skyler’s words drifted through his tired brain, and now Aiden’s curiosity was piqued. Things Devon and Skyler had said, in a weird way, were starting to make sense, hunters, their kind, mate and now a gang of wolves in front of the house. Maybe Devon wasn’t human. Maybe Devon, Skyler, and the rest of the men in this house were wolves.

And the next thing you know you will be thinking the Easter bunny is real, too.

“I’m not saying I believe anything,” Aiden answered his inner voice. To even entertain the notion that these men might be wolves seemed ridiculous.

Aiden tucked his chained hand under his pillow and got comfortable. If and when the other men returned he’d wait up to prove to himself that they weren’t animals.

* * * *

Sometime later Aiden woke up to barking and a few distant howls. He shot out of bed and raced to the window. The light was off so man or beast wouldn’t be able to see him, but he could see them.

Movement in the trees that ran along the front of the property caught Aiden’s eye. He watched as Skyler followed by Viktor, Josef, and some guy he’d never seen before all filed out of the woods. Now Aiden didn’t find that part odd. It was that they came out of the woods buck-ass naked that Aiden found peculiar.

The men headed toward the house, but Aiden’s attention stayed on the row of trees the men had just exited from. Aiden watched as a very naked Devon emerged from the shrubbery. He stood tall and proud, and Aiden couldn’t help looking the man up and down as he stood there in all his glory.

Aiden fisted the drapes hanging at the side of the window. His eyes started at Devon’s feet and worked their way up his thick legs up over his exposed cock then roamed over his chiseled chest. Aiden stood there like a fool as his desire for the man holding him captive overcame him.

A fair amount of time had passed, and Devon never moved. Aiden gathered his nerve and looked up toward the man’s eyes. Devon stood there staring back at him. No expression on his face.