Chapter 62 – Kidnapped by My Mate Series II: His Lost Queen

Filed To Story: Kidnapped by My Mate Novel (Belle & Grayson) Online Free by Annie Whipple

She glanced around us. “I just don’t feel good about sending you out into the cold, especially in your state.”

I shifted my weight, feeling uncomfortable and a little bit embarrassed. I didn’t look that bad, did I?

“Are you running from someone?” she continued in a low voice. “Perhaps the person who put that bruise on your face?”

My discomfort grew as I took a step back. I couldn’t believe a perfect stranger was asking me this.

I appreciated her desire to help, but the last thing I wanted to do was talk about what I had gone through with my old mate.

Even just thinking about Grayson made my chest squeeze painfully, sucking all the breath out of my lungs. My mark burned on my neck, and I winced.

“Oh, my darling girl,” Loretta said, obviously noticing my reaction. “I’m so sorry.”

The pain faded a bit after a few seconds, and I was able to breathe once again. I brushed my hair out of my face, my hands shaking. Exhaustion coursed through my veins.

“It’s okay. I’m okay.” I let out a deep sigh. “I mean…I’m ~going~ to be okay.”

Loretta didn’t look convinced. “Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?”

I didn’t. But I wasn’t going to tell her that.

In all honesty, I didn’t want her help. In my experience, people say they’re going to be there for you and then stab you in the back the moment you start to trust them.

Humans are inherently selfish. I promised myself I would do things on my own. I needed to build myself up again without relying on anybody else. That was the only way I would survive this.

“Yes. I have a place to stay tonight,” I told Loretta, my tone firm.

Her eyes narrowed a bit. It was clear she didn’t believe me. It didn’t matter, though.

There wasn’t anything she could do about it.

“I should get going,” I said before she could continue to question me.

“Hold on a second.” Loretta hurried back behind the counter. She grabbed a sticky note and a pen, writing something on it.

When she was done, she approached me once again. She handed me the paper.

“This is my cell number. If you ever need anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to call me or the boutique.”

I looked down at her phone number and then back at her. I didn’t understand why she was so eager to help me. What was she hoping to get out of it?

I put the piece of paper in the pocket of my coat, knowing I would never look at it or think about it again. Besides, I didn’t even have a phone. “Uh, thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Loretta nodded and smiled once again. She still seemed worried, looking over my form warily and wringing her fingers in front of her.

“Thanks again,” I said. Then I pushed the front door open and left.

I threw the phone number away in the nearest trash can.

BELLE

After leaving Loretta’s boutique, I wandered the streets a bit more, not caring how ridiculous I must have looked as I lugged my suitcase behind me, turning heads everywhere I went.

I was beyond the point of exhaustion now and was barely able to think.

I wanted nothing more than to take a shower, put on some fresh clothes, and curl up in bed, sleeping until I couldn’t possibly sleep any longer.

Unfortunately though, that wasn’t a possibility at the moment.

I had been hoping to get a hotel room for the night, assuming a town that was only able to thrive due to the money of rich tourists would have some options for places to stay.

You can imagine my surprise when none of the hotels I passed by had any vacancies. I had no idea why some random small town in Maine was so popular to visit in the middle of March, but I guessed it was the place to be.

So, once again, I found myself on a bench on the side of the road, lying down with my backpack underneath my head, trying to breathe through all the stress and pain I was currently battling.

I had no money, no job, and no place to stay, and the pounding in my head only seemed to be getting worse.

Yeah, my life sucked.

And what was worse, I missed Grayson. Even though thousands of miles separated us, I still felt this cosmic connection to him, like there was an invisible string tying us together.

I couldn’t get that stupid butthead, asshole, jerk face out of my mind.

I put my hand over the mark on my neck, groaning and squeezing my eyes shut when it flared with white-hot pain. Everything was a mess.

I was so engrossed in my thoughts that I didn’t even notice when a car rolled to a stop in front of me.

“Hey!”

I jumped, my head snapping up. I winced when a fresh wave of dizziness hit me.

I met the eyes of a guy who seemed to be about my age. He was driving a red jeep and leaning out of the open window, smirking down at me. A girl was sitting next to him in the passenger’s seat, glaring at him.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” the boy continued. “Just couldn’t help but notice how lonely you looked sitting on that bus bench all by yourself. Had to stop and see if you wanted some company.”

The girl next to him scoffed and rolled her eyes, obviously finding his poor attempt at flirting as pathetic as I had.

He ignored her and continued to watch me, his charming smile growing wider with every passing second. He was very handsome, and the expression on his face told me he knew it.

He had short, curly brown hair and honey-brown skin. His jawline was sharp, and his facial features were symmetrical and undeniably pleasing to look at.

Then there were his eyes, a warm hazel color with flecks of gold and green that reminded me of the forest.

He looked like the type of person who could become successful based on their looks alone rather than their talents or skills.

The girl next to him looked extremely similar, making me wonder if they were somehow related. She had the same hair. Only hers was twisted into long braids that cascaded down her shoulders.

She had the same eyes and the same angular facial features.

The only difference I could find between the two—besides their gender, of course—

was that she had a small button nose, while the boy had a long, pointed one. Both were gorgeous, though, that was for sure.

I sat up, trying to fix my appearance a bit. Before I could say anything, however, the girl groaned. “Liam, come on! If we’re late for dinner again, Dad is going to kill us!”

she said under her breath.

So they were related. I mentally congratulated myself on my perceptiveness.

Without looking back at her, Liam, the boy, swatted his hand behind him dismissively. His gaze focused back on me, running up and down my body in one long, appreciative take.

I couldn’t help but shrink back, immediately wishing I were anywhere else.

“You’re not leaving town so soon, are you?” Liam asked, motioning to the bus stop I was sitting at. “You just got here.”

My guard immediately went up. How did he know I had just gotten here? Had he been watching me?

The girl smacked her brother hard on the back of the head.

“Ow!” Liam shouted, finally looking at her. “What the hell was that for?”

“You sound like a stalker,” she told him, exasperated.

She looked at me, offering a kind but tight smile. “Word travels fast around here.

We all heard about the pretty brunette, walking around town, trying to find a job.”

I felt my face heat up. The entire town had been watching me fail at getting a job all day?

“You’re not leaving, though, right?” Liam asked. He was starting to sound a little desperate. He was obviously interested in me.

I would have been flattered if I hadn’t just recently sworn off men for the rest of my life.

“No. Not yet, anyway. Maybe tomorrow, though,” I muttered. I would have to move on if I couldn’t find a job here, which was starting to look like a real possibility.

So much for believing I deserved to settle down in a place as nice as this, right?

Liam’s brows furrowed, obviously not liking my answer. He leaned forward, ready to speak, but his sister cut him off before he could.

“That’s too bad,” she said, aggressively pushing Liam’s back against his seat so she could see me better. Liam glared at her. “We have to go now. It was nice talking to you. Drive the car, Liam.”

He made no move to do as he was told. “Let me know if you change your mind about the whole leaving town thing. I could show you around,” Liam told me, his grin growing again.

I nodded awkwardly, pursing my lips. “Uh, thanks.”

“Great, now let’s go,” the girl snapped.

Liam rolled his eyes. “Hold on a sec, would ya? I haven’t even given her my number yet.”

The girl looked like she was about to chop his head off, her perfect skin beginning to show signs of redness underneath.

“Uh, there’s really no need,” I intervened. “I don’t have a phone, so giving me your number would be kind of useless.”

Liam’s brows rose. “No phone?” he asked. “Isn’t that kind of dangerous? What if some stranger tries something on you, and you need to call for help?”

I shrugged. The thought had occurred to me on more than one occasion, but there wasn’t much I could do about it. No money meant no way to buy a phone.

“I guess I should probably avoid making small talk with strangers then, huh?” I proposed, raising my brows at him in a challenge.

“You know, that’s a great idea,” Liam’s sister said. “We’ll leave you alone and be on our way. No more strangers in your path.”

Liam leaned forward, completely ignoring her. “You know…that whole stranger thing can be taken care of real quick, beautiful.”

The girl faked a gag, whispering, “Puh-lease,” under her breath.

“Uh…,” I managed to say, not sure how to respond. Not many guys had hit on me before. I didn’t know what the proper protocol was. Was there a right way to turn someone down?

“I’m Liam Blackwood, and this is my twin sister Laila,” he continued before I could respond.

“Once you tell me your name, we won’t be strangers anymore, now will we? Then we can talk for as long as we want without having to worry.”

“No, we cannot!” his twin, Laila, yelled. “I refuse to let this trainwreck go on any longer! She’s obviously not interested in you, dude, so, please, move on.

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