Change of Plans (16 page)

Chapter Twenty-nine

Dark

Allie

     
I
fluttered in and out of consciousness. There was no point in opening my eyes
because I still saw the same thing: darkness. I had no sense of time, but the
constant rumbling of my stomach told me it had been a while. At least a couple
of days, which meant my
transition
was coming soon.
My hands were bound behind my back, and whatever I was given to
knock me out
,
still made my head throb
. I
assumed I was underground somewhere, maybe in a cellar, but I couldn’t be sure.

     
I
wish
whoever
did this would come down. Demand
something. Do something. Anything at this point, just to know I was still
alive. I had my suspicions to
who
did this, but it
could still be anyone from the pack.

     
I
could feel myself slipping again, and for once in my life, I was purely,
utterly scared.

———————————

     
I
came back around when I heard a door creak open. I tensed and tried to sit up.
I couldn’t see much with the light coming behind the figure, making a
silhouette. Whoever it was, was obviously a man. Mr. Winters?
Someone that could help me?
I didn’t let my hopes get too
high.

     
As
they came closer, I found myself inching further and further back into the post
that my bound my hands. I still couldn’t see their face, but I felt a strong
hand reach out and grab my chin. I whimpered, so much for being an alpha. My
alpha strength didn’t even come in hand to breaking the ropes on my wrists. The
rope burn marks proved that.

     
Unaware
of what my kidnapper was trying to do, I tried to wiggle my face out of his
grasp. He held tighter, painfully, but there was something almost tender about
his touch, too. He tilted my head back, completely exposing my neck.
the
next second, water was being poured down my parched
throat. I greedily drank it in, mourning for more when the last drop slip down
my tongue.

     
“Sorry,
Princess. I can’t give you more and risk you gaining back your strength back,”
his voice sounded so familiar. And there was only one person I knew who called
me Princess.

“Daddy?”

Chapter Thirty

Running
Out of Time

Caleb

As soon as the words ‘Mason
Manor’ were out of Sierra’s mouth, I was sprinting. Mason Manor was the house
we use to tell horror stories about around to fire. From my rebellious, young
teen years, I knew exactly where it was.

Two hours away.

I’m not sure if we would
make it by sundown. The ticking clock was already hugging the horizon, spilling
its ominous light everywhere. We took two cars and five of our strongest pack
members that were already at the house, including Nicholas Simpson. He may be
older, but he was still one of our strongest, and he hadn’t left the house once
since Allie went missing. Sierra came along with us, even though I tried to get
her to stay.

I wondered
who
it was going to be that we found there, my dad or Mrs.
Griffin. Either way, there was no way I was letting them get away with this.

———————————

Allie

I didn’t know what to say,
but the outline of his face came more clearly now that I could connect a face
and a name. He looked exactly as I remembered him. Dark untamed hair, a little
scruff and dark eyes to match. Only this time they weren’t warm and comforting.

“Puzzle pieces finally
coming together?” he asked, his voice still somehow gentle. He reached out to
stroke my face, but I flinched away.

I didn’t understand how he
could be so calm when he had just kidnapped his daughter. Well, I wasn’t sure
this could be considered kidnapping now. “But why?” I asked, voice still hoarse
from the lack of water.

“Because Allison, a long
time ago I made a deal, and now you are preventing that deal from taking
place.”

I furrowed my brow,
confused. I was running out of time and I wasn’t in the mood for his mind
games. “What deal? With who?”

“Caleb’s dad, of course. You
know it’s kind of funny that you two ended up as pairs.
Anyway,
the deal.
I gave the pack up to Jeffrey Winters, in return for your
mother.”

“I already know this,” I cut
in.

“No, you think you already
know this. Jeffery always hated not having his way, ever since we were young. I
expected him to be jealous of my rank, but he took it to extremes.
The car accident that supposedly killed your mother was caused by
him
. Only, he didn’t kill her. He kept her alive to insure that the pack
would always be his.

“I never expected you and
your brother to shift. I guess he knew something I didn’t, because he still
blackmailed me into insuring that you or your brother wouldn’t try to take to
pack. After you both shifted, if the pack was still his, I would get Amber
back.”

“Mom’s still alive?” I
asked, thinking about all the times I’ve wished she were.

“I believe so, yes.”

“Believe so? You don’t
know?” I was suddenly getting angry. “You kidnapped your own daughter because
of Jeffrey Winters’ words? You were at the funeral, you saw her body.”

“I know, but it was all
staged. I promise you'll see, this is what’s best for all of us.” He kissed my
head. “The moon’s coming out soon. Be brave and relax, it won’t hurt.”

Before I could say anything
else, he was gone, locking the door and sealing my fate behind him.

———————————

My ears hurt, the scurrying
of the rats in the corner was too much to bear. I tried to block it out, but I
couldn’t. Even resorting to breathing exercises, I couldn’t get my senses under
control. Everything in my body felt like a live wire, ready to explode. I don’t
know how other Wolves went through this. No matter how much I tried to relax,
my body would tense up again.

I felt my nails grow into
claws first. This didn’t hurt, but when I tried to saw through the rope, it was
no use. I kept wiggling, mind exploding with each move. I heard more than felt
the snap of my wrist as the bone cracked. I screamed in pain. I kept trying to
get free, but my wrist healed before I could, only to break again.

For someone I thought I
could trust
,
my dad was a shitty one. He hadn’t even
thought to untie me. I had no energy left, it wasn’t like I could run and break
down the door. Instead I just got to feel my wrists break and heal over and
over around the bounds of the rope. I screamed each time, the pain coming more
unbearable, but nothing sent my dad to my rescue.

Next, I felt my rib crack.
And then my leg.
And then my elbow.
The hair on my arm grew longer and I knew the moon was fully out, even if I
couldn’t see it. I was shifting soon, whether I wanted to or not.

My bones continues to crack,
well past the point of relaxing, I screamed over and over. My throat burning,
but I couldn’t stop. Tears were freely flowing down my eyes, and I couldn’t
even wipe them away.

My body continued to tear, until the bounds on my wrists broke,
and the world- for the second time this week- went black.

Chapter Thirty-one

Too
Little, Too Late

Caleb

I could hear her screams
from a
half mile
away. My foot drove the throttle down
to the floor. I contemplated getting out and running, it might be faster. The
gravel road crunched underneath the tires as we pulled up to the house. It was
a Victorian plantation looking house with overgrown vines crawling up the side.

I barely put the car in park
before my feet were running toward Allie’s screams. I’ve never heard such
painful screams, and I knew they’d forever haunt my dreams. I followed them
around the side of the house to an underground cellar. She went silent as I
fumbled with the lock on the door. A thousand thoughts went through my head.
But more than anything I was selfish, thinking that I couldn’t lose her before
I’ve even had her yet.

Finally, I just crushed the
lock on the door, yanking it open with Brody on my tail, Sierra following
behind him. Racing down the stairs, I could see Allie on the dirt floor even
with minimal light. I was relieved to find her alive, but once again crushed
inside. She already shifted. I was too late.

     
Big
blue eyes stared at us under brown fur, taking us in before closing again. Her
head dropped onto her front paws, too heavy to be supported by her neck. Brody
and I rushed up to her at the same time, taking care not to scare her. The
first thing I noticed were the flaming red scars around her front to paws,
where her wrists would be. The son of a bitch tied her up.

     
Nicholas
Simpson was at the top of the stairs, looking down. I looked at him
expectantly. He nodded, “We got him.”

“My dad?”

“No,” he looked confused.
“Jim Underwood.”

Brody’s head snapped up from
where he was checking Allie’s fur and snout. He was filled with more anger than
disbelief. I felt the same way. Standing up to deal with him, Brody grabbed my
arm, bringing my attention back to Allie. She was passed out cold, and I knew
soon she would shift back. We couldn’t sleep in our Wolf form.

“Nicholas, can you get the
blanket from the back of my Jeep?’

“Of course,” he said as he
left to retrieve it.

When he was back, I slowly
draped it over Allie’s Wolf just before she shifted back. This time there was
no pain as the bones shifted with ease. She didn’t move at all and I checked
her pulse, worried. It was still strong and steady under my fingertips. I
sighed with relief and scooped her in my arms, trying to keep her covered at
the same time.

Brody and Sierra went ahead
of me, Sierra trying to comfort him. Even with all the recent events, they
couldn’t help but give into their pair when they needed comfort. I was just
happy to hold Allie in my arms again. I had been going crazy with her gone.

Her head was lolled back and
I tried my best to support her. Her frame seemed to light in my arms, and I
could tell she was starved. With the transition and not getting meat and
protein the days before, she must have at least dropped five or ten pounds. My
heart broke for her.

The drive back to the
Underwood house was silent. Jim was taken in the other
car
which
was good, because I would have killed him otherwise.
How could
he do this to his daughter
? I thought.

     
Tucked
with her head in my lap, Allie didn’t wake the
two hour
trip back. I brushed her hair with my hand, wondering how I could get so
attached to a girl after only a week. When we pulled into her house, I took her
straight to her room. Brody and Sierra followed me. Nearly the entire pack was
there, glad to have their alpha back, but I ignored them.

     
Crawling in next
to Allie, careful not to disturb her, I got my first good nights sleep in a
long time.

Chapter Thirty-two

Waking
Up

Allie

      
My eyes were to heavy
to open, and my throat was on fire. I heard murmuring, and I think I could pull
out Caleb’s voice.

     
“When
will she wake up?” He asked someone.

     
“It’s
an unknown. She lost a lot of nutrients and her body’s having a hard time
taking them in, even with the IV,” an unfamiliar voice responded.

     
“But
it’s been three days. This isn’t normal for a Wolf.”

     
“Patience
Caleb, she’ll wake.
She’s strong
,
I
have no doubt
.
I’m here!
I wanted to yell.
I’m awake.
I
yelled as loud as I could, but the words didn’t come out before I was dragged
under again.

———————————

     
“How
is she?” Sierra’s voice came through once I came to again. She actually sounded
concerned. I once again couldn’t fully wake up, no matter how hard I tried.

     
“I
don’t know. I’m worried,” Caleb’s voice broke. “I meant to ask you. How did you
know where she was?”

     
Sierra’s
the one that found me?
“I saw an email from your dad on my mom’s computer.
I guess they didn’t cover their tracks that well. Your dad suspected Allie’s
dad. Apparently your dad was blackmailing him for something. I don’t know
what.”

     
Y’all
have no idea
, I thought.

     
“Well,
thank you, Sierra,” Caleb said as he crawled back in against me.

———————————

     
The
next time I came around, there was a faint, constant beeping sound. “You better
wake up soon Al. This week has sucked without you,” I recognized Matt’s voice.
I tried my best to smile at his words. I guess I got somewhere because Matt
perked up, “Allie?”

     
He
didn’t need me to answer before he was yelling for Caleb. The door slammed
open, and Caleb along with three other people bolted in. I could barely make
out Sierra, Brody and an older man I assumed was a doctor through my blurred
vision.

     
Caleb
ran straight to me, kneeling by the side of my bed next to Matt. He took my
hand in his and bombarded me with questions. “Allie, are you alright?”
No.
“Do you need anything?”
Yes.
My throat felt like a vast desert, void of
water.

     
My
voice sounded hoarse and it cracked with each syllable, “Water, please.”

Caleb was up before I could
finish, placing a cool glass of water to my lips. I drank greedily, needing water
more than I needed oxygen. When I finished he asked if I needed more. I told
him no, my voice a little back to normal.

     
He
came and sat by me once again. Brody, Matt, and Sierra all stood quietly by my
desk, ready to help. The doctor ran around my bed, messing with IV tubes and
the machine next to me that emitted the smell beeping noise.

     
I
looked at Caleb who was regarding me as a frail puppy, “Don’t you think this is
a little much?” I pointed to my IV line.

     
He
looked at me as if I were stupid. “No Allie, I don’t think this is a little
much when it comes to your life. You’ve been unconscious for nearly six days
and this is the only way your body was accepting nutrients.”

Six days?
I
thought. I had no idea. Taking in Caleb’s appearance, I realized how hard the
last couple of days must have been on him. I was knocked out cold so I didn’t
have to miss anybody, but he was the one standing next to my bed, waiting for
me to wake up. His clothes were dirty and wrinkled as if he hadn’t changed
since I’ve been gone. His hair was also greasy, but what bothered me most was
his face. It looks as if he’s aged a hundred years.

Matt cleared his throat and
approached me. “I better get going, I’ll be back later to see how you’re
doing.” Unworried of Caleb’s overprotectiveness, he bent a knee on the bed till
he was right next to me. He kissed the top of my forehead, dropping something
cool into my hand, wrapping my fingers around it into a fist. “Happy late
birthday, Allie.”

He left without looking
back. Uncurling my fingers, a small bracelet laid it my palm. Not just any
bracelet though.
The silver wolf and diamond moon bracelet
that we saw together last week.
I smiled as tears pricked my eyes. This
week has gone to hell and back, and something as simple as a charm could make
it okay.

Brody was next to stand
forward. “Well, Sierra and I are going to make lunch. What do you want Allie?”

“Soup,” Caleb said before I
could respond.

Yeah,
no.
I haven’t been awake all of five minutes and he’s
already trying to order me around. “No, I want a steak. Medium rare and a
twice baked
potato. Make that two actually.”

Brody smiled before leaving
taking Sierra with him, their hands clasped together between them. When did
that
happen? Looks like I’ve missed a couple of things. Sierra gave me a small smile
before leaving. I vaguely remembered a conversation about her being the one to
find me, but I wasn’t sure if my conscience had made that up or not.

The doctor left with them,
leaving Caleb and me alone. He crawled back under my covers, already half
asleep. “Will you ever do what you're told, Al?”

“Will you ever stop bossing
me around?” I refuted.

“No.”

“Ditto, then.” It was nice
to mess around with Caleb again. “Can you help me up?” I asked, already
throwing back my covers. I felt gross, and I needed a shower.

“Why?” Caleb asked
,
sitting up to support me when it was obvious I wasn’t
going to stop.

“Because Caleb I’ve been in
bed for six days, there are some things I need to deal with.”

His brow furrowed until he
understood what things. “Oh,” he said, getting out of bed. He supported my arms
as I tried to get out of bed. As soon as any weight was on my legs, I nearly
collapsed. He caught me around my waist, lifting me up. My feet were still
unsteady, as if I were a newborn taking her first steps. Looking down, I can
tell I’ve lost a lot of weight. Maybe the IV was necessary.

Slowly but surely, I made my
way to the bathroom. Turning on the shower, Caleb’s face turned ashen. I tried
my best to work around him, grabbing a towel. I was about to shoo him out when
spoke, “Al, I’m not comfortable with you in there.”

I groaned, “And I’m not
comfortable smelling like a dirty cellar. Now out, I really need to shower.”

“What about a swimsuit? I
could just make sure you didn’t slip and help.”

He made it sound completely
innocent, but I couldn’t help but tease him. “As much as I’m dying to take a
shower with you, Caleb- no.” He frowned at my attempt to make a joke. I finally
shoved him out, promising to yell for him if anything went wrong.

I hated him treating me like
a three year old. I was
fine,
yeah maybe a little
scared but fine. Stripping out of my dirty clothes, I stepped under the
pounding stream of water. It burned my sensitive skin, especially my wrist
where there were still burn marks from the rope. I washed my body carefully,
wincing at the joints where my bones broke. Even though I was supposed to have
faster healing, I still felt like every bone was broken.

Scrubbing my scalp, I felt
tears run down my face. Passing them off as water droplets, I tried to ignore
the overwhelming need to sob. This week was hell. My dad had kidnapped me, my
first shift broke me, and I scared the living shit out of my pair.

Before I could stop myself,
I was sliding down the tile wall, balling.
So much for
staying strong.
I sobbed until my tear ducts were dry. The water running
down the wall had now turned cold, chilling me to my bone.

Turning off the water, I
used the glass door to my shower to help me support my weight. After a couple
of failed attempts, I was finally able to pull myself up. Wrapping myself in a
fluffy white towel, I opened the door to my bedroom. Caleb was there in
instant, helping me to sit on my bed.

“Geese, Al. Did you take an
ice bath? Your skin is freezing,” Caleb looked mad at me, but I gave him a look
not to mess with me. Turning his back to me, he went to my dresser. He came
back with a pile of clothes. Normally, I would have been embarrassed to have
him digging around my underwear drawer, but instead I just said a ‘thank you.’
Leaving me to change, Caleb went to take a shower of his own, which was good.
Not that I would tell him, but he stunk.

He was faster in the shower,
probably because all the warm water was gone. He got dressed in an outfit
similar to
mine, sweats and shirts
. Without hesitating
he crawled back into bed, pulling me with him. Even though I just woke up, my
energy levels plummeted just by taking a shower. On the other hand, Caleb
looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

Before he could get fully
situated, he was snoring.
Poor Caleb
, I thought while brushing my hand
through his dark hair. He leaned into my touch, nuzzling my hand. I watched him
a while longer before drifting off into my own sleep.

When I woke, Brody was opening
the door with a tray full of food. Silvia filled my mouth as the scents of
steak filled my nose. The scent woke up Caleb too because he stretched before
sitting up next to. Brody, ever the comedian, was wearing my floral apron.

“Good morning, sweethearts.
Breakfast in bed,” he placed the tray in front of me.

I looked down at al the
food, falling in love. “Brody, you’re the best!”

Caleb reached around me to
get to the food. “I thought I was the best,” he pouted.

“Yeah, sure, you too,” I
muttered distracted. Cutting into the steak, I put a large piece in my mouth,
savoring the juicy flavor.

Brody suddenly serious, and
Caleb both looked at me concerned. “Al,” Brody said. “You may want to take it
slow. We weren’t able to give you a lot of nutrients while you were sleeping.
Your body hasn’t consumed anything in almost more than a week.

     
Wow,
no wonder I was starved. I tried to slow down, but my body was screaming at me
to feed it. Brody was turning to leave when I called out to him, “Where’s dad,
Brody?”

     
Turning
around, his face turned to stone. “Locked up, as he should be, in pack cells.
He’ll be there till his Tribunal.”

     
Tribunal?
I wanted to ask him more, but he left before I could. Even Caleb didn’t want to
talk about because he kept shoving his mouth with food, not meeting my gaze.
Dropping the subject, I started eating. I took it slow, but in the end, I
finished a lot more food than the boys would have preferred.

Caleb set the tray back on
the bedside table and drew the curtains shut, blocking all the light. “Back to
sleep?” I nodded, wanting nothing more. Caleb pulled me to him until I was
tucked under his arms, safe.

It was strange. Four weeks
ago, I was happy with my best friend, Matt. Three weeks ago, all I wanted was
for Caleb to leave me alone. Two weeks ago, I was head over heals for him. One
week ago, I turned. And now, everything was different.

It was
funny,
I was so far from where I
planned. I wanted to go to college, and leave this town. Yet, here I was. So
far off track, but somehow I was right where I needed to be.