Filed To Story: Kidnapped by My Mate Novel (Belle & Grayson)
Ben ignored him, keeping his eyes on me. “Tell me, Dorothy, what’s the deal between you and Ace?”
My mouth dropped open. “That’s none of your business.”
Ben scoffed. “You two make it everyone’s business every time you start humping in the hallway. How you press up against him, practically begging him to fuck you every day… He must be amazing in bed.”
My cheeks brightened. Did people really think that about me? Did Ace and I really act like that?
My mind flashed with images of people’s shocked faces as they watched Ace and me in the hallway this morning.
Ron grabbed Ben’s arm in a fierce grip. “I’m not fucking kidding, Ben. You don’t want to mess with her.”
Ben rolled his eyes. “You and I both know she deserves better. Just let me shoot my shot, man.” He sent a wink in my direction.
“No. Not with her,” Ron bit out through clenched teeth, his grip on Ben’s bicep only tightening.
Ben shrugged him off. “Why? Just because she’s Ace’s plaything right now—”
“I’m not Ace’s anything,” I finally intervened, practically seething. “We’re just friends.”
Ben’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you now?” He laughed. “So, what, he uses you behind closed doors but refuses to announce your relationship to the public? That’s harsh, dude.”
Those words hit me square in the chest. “It’s not like that,” I argued.
“Come on, Dorothy, you can’t expect us to believe that the omnipotent Ace hasn’t touched you because we’ve all seen it. I mean, you’ve got hickeys all over your neck.”
I immediately covered the bruises with my hand, wincing.
Ben leaned back in his chair. “You’re being used, sweet cheeks.”
More tears pooled in my eyes. Was he right? Was Ace using me?
“Ben, you’re gonna want to shut the fuck up right fucking now,” Ron snarled.
He lowered his voice until I could barely hear him. “Dorothy’s important. Like, really important. If anybody finds out you’re talking to her this way, you’re going to get your ass beaten. Or worse.”
Ben scoffed. “How important can she possibly be? Look at her.” He gestured to me, red-faced and holding back tears. “Besides, I’m only trying to help her. I gotta stick up for my fellow human.”
His slimy gaze settled back on me, and he leaned forward. “Look, I know Ace is handsome and the alpha or whatever—”
“Ben—” Ron warned.
“But he obviously doesn’t like you enough to make things official with you. Why else would he leave hickeys on your neck but refuse to admit you’re a couple?”
My heart skittered. “That’s not true,” I murmured.
Ben looked me up and down, licking his lips. “I sure as hell wouldn’t be embarrassed to be seen with you, sweet cheeks. Don’t you want to be with someone of your own kind?
“Ace is going to leave you when his real mate comes along, anyways—
“Dorothy is Ace’s mate!” Ron cut him off. “You fucking idiot! You’re talking to the future luna of the Embermoon Pack!” He was shouting now, seemingly no longer worried if I could hear.
Ben blinked. “No, I’m not. Doe’s a human. And she hasn’t been marked!” He gestured toward my neck.
“What do you think the hickeys are for, you dumb fuck? They’re Ace’s claim on her!”
The color slowly drained from Ben’s face. “She’s…” He looked at me. “She’s the omega everyone has been talking about?”
Ron dragged a hand down his face. “I tried to tell you.”
My mind was racing, trying to keep up with everything they were saying. “What are you guys talking about? What’s an omega?
“And why do you keep calling Ace ‘alpha’ and my ‘mate’? What does that even mean?”
A low throb started at the base of my skull.
Crap. There go my hopes of getting through the rest of the day without another migraine.
Ron shook his head. “Dude, you’re so in for it,” he said to Ben. “The alpha is going to kill you. We’re not supposed to talk about that stuff around her.”
Ben’s eyes were wide with fear. I wouldn’t have been surprised if they popped right out of their sockets.
“But she’s going to forget everything, right? Because of the…the, uh, lock or whatever! She’s not going to remember I told her anything, right?”
“Yeah, but it’s going to cause her a hell of a lot of pain to clear the memories. Ace will know someone said something to her about wolves. And she’ll still remember you called her Ace’s plaything.”
“Ace’s what?”
I whirled around to find Madoc standing behind my desk, looking down at us with fury in his gaze. He took in my watery eyes and red cheeks, and his hands rolled into fists at his sides.
He turned to Ron. “Did I just hear you call Dorothy Ace’s plaything?”
Looking almost as pale as Ben now, Ron raised his hands in surrender, shaking his head. “I was just repeating what I heard, I swear! I would never say something like that about her.”
“Then who did?” Madoc bit out, his low tone promising violence. When no one responded, his gaze slid to me. “Dorothy? Care to tell me which one of these fuckers made you cry?”
I swallowed. I glanced at Ron and then at Ben who looked like he was about to pee his pants. His expression turned to one of pleading. “I…I, um…”
Even if I’d wanted to make Ben pay for what he said to me, I couldn’t bring myself to answer for some reason.
What had Ben said about me and Ace again? Something about Ace being my pimp and using me for sex?
Yeah, that was bad but wasn’t there something else? Something worse. Something important.
So why couldn’t I remember it?
Without warning, my headache flared with unbelievable voraciousness. I cried out and doubled over, clutching the sides of my skull as crippling pain took over my body.
It felt like someone was smashing a hammer into my forehead without mercy.
“Dorothy!” Madoc crouched down in front of me and gripped my knees. “Fuck, it’s another migraine, isn’t it?”
I couldn’t think. The room spun around me, and a loud ringing sounded in my ears.
My skull felt like it had cracked open like an egg, and my brain was spilling out.
“Ace should be back any minute now.” Madoc’s voice sounded far away. “Just hold on, okay? He’ll be here soon.”
I couldn’t respond. All I could do was focus on hauling air into my lungs so I didn’t pass out. I hadn’t had a migraine this bad since I was little. I thought I was over them. Guess not.
Madoc lifted his hand from my leg. “Which one of you said something to her?” he demanded, his voice ringing throughout the room. No one responded.
“You can either talk to me now, or you can talk to Ace when he gets here—but I promise he won’t be as nice as me.”
Several moments of silence followed, then I heard Ben exclaim, “I didn’t know, I swear! I didn’t know she was the luna! I thought the alpha would be mated to another wolf!”
His words, needle-like, stabbed into my brain. I let out an agonized shriek as the edges of my vision blackened.
“Shut the fuck up,” Madoc snarled. “You’re making it worse!”