Mandy's Story (2 page)

Another hour passed before the truck
finally stopped, and a few minutes later the back door rolled up
slowly. For the first time, she looked unsure, and he wondered if
she thought he’d escape the cage.

“
You need to eat and use
the facilities.”

“
Have you changed your
mind about letting me out?”

“
No, but I’ll hand you
what you need. I’m going to walk a couple of blocks and get us some
food. I’ll be back to take care of your business in a few minutes,
so be quick.”

“
You mean my shit?” He
couldn’t hold back a snarl.

“
Call it anything you
like. I plan to keep my civility in this situation, but you can do
as you please,” she said pleasantly.

He tried to control his huffing
breaths. “That’s easy to say when you hold the key to my
prison.”

“
Actually, there’s a key
and combination. I special ordered the lock from the people who
make the feral cages for my pack.”

“
Please tell me you know
the combination.”

“
Of course.” She walked
over to the bags and took out a plastic jug and then a box of
plastic bags. Toilet paper followed and he couldn’t believe his
eyes when she pulled out baby wipes. She removed a child’s plastic
gardening set with a rake, shovel, and hoe from another
bag.

His eyebrows shot up.

“
We’ll use these to pass
things back and forth. I don’t trust you within touching range
yet.”

“
That’s the smartest thing
you’ve said since kidnapping me. The first time I wrap my hands
around your throat will be the last.” He grumbled.

Her head tipped to the side as she gave
him a disconcerting look. “Bears sure are blood-thirsty.” She used
the end of the yellow shovel to pass the urine bottle.

He stared at the offending plastic and
then realized he needed to piss more than relish his own
stubbornness. So far she’d scored all the points. He gazed at her
slender body, perfect breasts, and not nearly oversized ass knowing
she really didn’t stand a chance against him. She might win several
battles, but the war was his.

Mandy passed everything
over using the different colored plastic implements.
How the hell did she come up with this
shit?

Lastly, she pulled two pairs of sweats
out of another bag, but only sent one in his direction. “I don’t
mind your nude body. I’ve wanted to see it for a long time, but I
thought you might be more comfortable with something to cover
yourself. It might help you feel more in control.”

He couldn’t help himself, he laughed…
and laughed. She walked out, rolling down the door and securing it
with what he would bet was another of her infamous
locks.

Chapter Three

Fifteen minutes later, she returned
with two food bags. “It’s only burgers and fries, but I bought a
lot of them.” She pushed the shovel toward him and he rested the
half-filled bottle on the scoop.

“
My shit can wait until
after I eat,” he groused.

“
Whatever.” She put the
accent on “ever.”

“
You act like you’re
twelve.” This came out on a chest rumble.

Her pixie smile came back into play.
“And bursting the seams of your clothes, roaring, and having temper
tantrums is adult?”

He shook his head because of her nerve.
“Have you ever been kidnapped?”

“
No, but I read a lot
about it on the internet.” She used the plastic child’s hoe to push
a bag of food his way.

He grabbed… unwrapped, and then shoved
a burger into his mouth… swallowed, and reluctantly continued their
conversation, “You read about kidnapping on the
internet?”

“
Yes. Stockholm syndrome
mostly. Do you know what that is?”

He swallowed another burger. “Yes, I
know what it is,” he said with pique. “But why would you
care?”

Her eyebrows drew together. “I figured
after several months it might work, but only if you keep refusing
to have sex with me.”

He couldn’t be hearing her
correctly. “Several months?”
She did not
just say that
. “You can’t keep me locked
up for months.”

She started clicking her nail again. “I
figure we have one year without a vampire. Neither of us will age
very much.” Click, click, click. “And, I just began vamp blood
rotations, so looking older by a year won’t hurt me.”

He threw the bag of food to the side
and rose as high as the cage allowed. He couldn’t stop his bear
from tearing the sweats she’d just given him and letting his rage
consume his brain. When he came back to himself, she was gone and
they were once more traveling to fuck knew where. He needed to
control his temper somehow, but god she made him
furious.

He ate the rest of the food, but a few
hours later his thirst caused him to beat on the panel of the truck
separating the front driver’s compartment from the cargo
area.

She yelled loudly and he managed to
make out her words over the engine’s noise. “We have a little
farther to travel tonight and then I’ll stop. I know you’re thirsty
and I didn’t give you back the urine bottle. So sorry.”

When he finally got his hands on her,
she would be sorry. Unable to rest his mind, he spent his time
imagining exactly what it would feel like to strangle her; the
thought of her delicate neck between his fingers made him
smile.

After turning onto a very bumpy road
and then traveling several miles more, she stopped the truck. After
a few minutes rolled the door up. She didn’t appear to be concerned
about him escaping this time, but she did look tired. First, she
passed the urine bottle and then used the green rake to push over a
large one-gallon jug of water.

“
I know the water won’t
fit through the bars, but you can tip it and drink. I have two more
up front along with two sleeping bags. I know the cage is
uncomfortable.”

He drank deeply and then looked at her.
“How would you know it’s uncomfortable?”

Her eyes looked dreamy for some reason.
“I lay inside and checked it out before putting you in
there.”

“
Why would you do that?”
She perplexed him at every turn.

“
I know you don’t
appreciate all the time and effort I put into your abduction, but I
wanted you as comfy as possible.”

His laugh came out on a rumbling growl.
“Comfy?”

“
Yes, comfy.”

He switched gears. “Do you know how old
I am?”

Her eyes swept over him. “Over three
hundred, but that matters little.”

“
It matters a lot.” The
words were slightly less than a snarl.

Nothing seemed to affect her. “I’ve
been studying history on the internet so we can have common stuff
to talk about.”

He looked away, inhaled deeply, and
then couldn’t help asking, “Such as?”

“
Patty Hearst.”

“
Who?” he
snapped.

“
She was kidnapped in
1974.” By the tone of her voice, she obviously thought he should
know who the hell she was talking about.

He almost ended the conversation right
there, but somehow his next question tumbled out, “And that
interests me why?”

The smirk came back. “Well, it
interests me.”

He gave a long exhalation.
“Explain.”

“
I mentioned it before,
but then you exploded.” She looked around for a few moments then
turned and stared pointedly at his lap. “You have a large
member.”

He shook his head in disbelief. “Fuck,
you’re kidding me? A member?” She should go on a comedy
tour.

Just a touch of pink spread up her
cheeks. “What do you call it?” she asked.

He managed not to laugh at her naïveté.
“My cock, my dick, and at the very least my penis. Where the hell
did you get ‘member’? A romance novel?”

The pupils in her eyes went to
pinpoints and her voice held indignation. “I’ll call it your penis
if member upsets you so much.” She crossed her arms over her
breasts.

His patience slipped when she dared to
show attitude. His demeanor rapidly accelerated to rage and was
reflected in his voice. “Living in a fucking cage upsets me. Being
kidnapped by a fucking cub upsets me. Having my cock called a
member is ridiculous.”

“
I told you talking about
Stockholm syndrome would make you explode again.”

He shook his head, took a long steady
breath and then silently counted to ten before speaking, “I’m not
exploding, and please hand me the other sweats so I can cover my…
member.”

She didn’t say a word, just shoved the
pants his way. He watched her leave the truck then come back a few
minutes later with two sleeping bags and pillows. She pulled down
the truck’s door and removed a candle from her endless shopping
bags of goodies. Her small fingers lit the wick with a match, and
then she dripped wax on the floorboards in order for the candle to
stay upright. When her candlelit room was satisfactory, she pushed
a sleeping bag his way. He grabbed it and unrolled the thick
musty-smelling dark blue material. After wiggling it through the
metal slats, he arranged it on the bars beneath him. Sitting back
down, he stared at her. She passed the smaller pillow over. He
managed to work it through the slats and lay down. His body didn’t
fit well, so he curled slightly on his side facing her.

“
Do you need to relieve
yourself?”

“
No.” He couldn’t believe
she still had the upper hand.

“
Then I’m tucking myself
in.”

“
Be my guest.” He waited
until she climbed inside her sleeping bag and appeared settled.
“Tell me why Stockholm syndrome fascinates you so much.”

Her breathing slowed and her voice
softened, “I want you to love me.”

He inhaled sharply. “You think
kidnapping someone makes them love you?”

“
That’s where S.S. comes
in,” she said in the same dreamy voice.

He succeeded in lowering his tone to
match hers, “And you couldn’t wait two years from now?”

“
The whole twenty-one rule
is ridiculous.” She delayed her next statement by looking up at the
ceiling for a moment before proceeding. “I heard you were going to
claim your mate.” Her voice cracked, but she looked back at him
with endless depths of pain pooling in her eyes.

“
If I have a true mate,
you can’t stop it,” he said, trying to get through her thick
skull.

“
She isn’t your true mate…
I am. I feel it in here.” She slowly brought her hand to her heart
and rested it slightly over one breast.

A million thoughts went through his
head, but his focus was her one covered breast. “I’m sorry I
brought you to this.”

“
You should be.” She
snapped.

Closing his eyes for only a moment
didn’t help the sadness that momentarily overwhelmed him. “There’s
someone special meant for you Mandy.”

“
Yes, and I’m staring at
him.” Pure defiance came through in each word.

Honey gave a quick bark of laughter.
“Now you’re being childish again.”

She lay there, also curled and facing
him, eyes glowing with sparks of fire from the candlelight. “One of
the male wolves tried to kiss me.”

At first, Honey didn’t realize his
hands had curled tightly around the bars. “What
happened?”

She watched his hands and her voice
trembled slightly. “It made me sick to my stomach.”

He tried counting to ten again, but
only made it to three before he asked, “What does that mean?” His
hands didn’t loosen their hold.

Mandy’s eyes flashed to his. “The
thought of any other man touching me is repulsive. I dream of you
running your hands across my skin and I heat up.”

The erection he’d been trying to hold
back had a mind of its own and he could barely control himself.
He’d lost another round. “I’m not discussing this with
you.”

“
How will you stop me?”
Her soft, sleepy voice vibrated across the space between
them.

“
I’ll turn my back and go
to sleep.” Now he sounded like a petulant five year old.

“
That’s a good idea.” She
extinguished the candle, but he could still make out her form in
the dark. “Goodnight.”

The huskiness of that final word made
him fight back a groan. He didn’t reply, but he stayed facing her.
The night stretched endlessly and sleep didn’t come until long
after her breathing grew steady.

Chapter Four

They spoke little the following
morning. Mandy continued to drive on the bumpy road then jumped
onto a main highway. He noticed her faster speed along with an
increase in traffic and wondered where the hell she planned to take
him.

Breakfast was another bag of fast food.
She left the emptied urine bottle beside him, returned to the cab,
and ate her food while driving. He finally gave in and used a
plastic bag, the toilet paper, and then the baby wipes. He tossed
the offending bag through the bars to land against the corner
nearest the door. Just for that humiliation alone her ass would be
bright red before his hands closed around her throat.