Chapter 102 – Kidnapped by My Mate Series II: His Lost Queen

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

He must have been able to sense how worried that made me feel because he quickly said, “But you have nothing to worry about because I’m not leaving your side either. No matter what.

“No one is going to come near you. I can promise you that.”

Grayson started to purr quietly, making my eyes snap up to meet his and my body relax into him.

I was worrying him. And, Lord knew, when Grayson was worried about me, things tended to get intense pretty quickly. And not in a good way.

“I’ll be fine,” I said, trying to soothe him, rubbing my hands on his arms. “I just don’t like the idea of being surrounded by all of those red eyes after all of the night terrors I had. But I’ll be fine. I’m not worried.”

Lie. I was terrified.

I studied Grayson’s eyes which were currently a dark red, both his wolf and vampire sides staring back at me. Liam’s eyes were also red. I tried taking in some deep breaths.

If I could get used to the two of them looking like demons straight out of hell, who was to say I couldn’t handle more, right?

“That’s what your night terrors were about?” Liam asked, suddenly swinging the car door open.

I gasped. “You could hear that?”

Liam scoffed as if I had just insulted him. “Of course I could hear it. I’m a vampire, remember?”

A low growl ripped through Grayson’s chest. He hugged me closer to him. “How does he know about your night terrors?”

His gaze snapped to Liam. “How the hell do you know about my mate’s night terrors?”

“It’s not what you think—” I started to say.

“I know about them because I could hear her screaming bloody murder every night when she was staying with me. You know, after you abandoned her and left her homeless with nowhere to go?” Liam explained.

Grayson’s body started vibrating with anger as his chest grew wider, stretching out his T-shirt. He looked down at me with livid eyes. “You lived with him?”

Well, shit.

I swallowed. I had very intentionally not brought up my time spent staying at Liam’s apartment, knowing it would just cause issues. “Well, yes, but it’s—”

“For how long?” Grayson bit out through gritted teeth.

“T-Two months,” I replied stiffly. “But I didn’t want to, I swear! And I got out of there as soon as I had enough money for my own apartment. I didn’t have anywhere else to go.

“And where would you have rather I slept, outside in the cold, or inside in Liam’s very nice, very safe apartment?”

“You were sleeping in the same house as a fucking vampire, Belle. That’s the furthest thing from safe.”

I threw my hands up defensively. “Well, it wasn’t like I knew that! And aren’t you technically a vampire now too? And I sleep in the same bed as you.”

Grayson abruptly grabbed my head, making me gasp. He tilted it to the side so he could examine my neck. “Did you bite her?” he demanded from Liam. “If you fed from her, I swear to God—”

I scoffed, pushing him away from me. “No, he didn’t bite me—”

“I’m not asking you.” Grayson shoved me behind him.

My mouth fell open in shock. Rude.

“Humans often don’t remember when vampires feed from them. In fact, they release a venom that makes you keep going back to them, addicted to their presence like a drug.” He glared at Liam.

“It’s what makes them so deadly.”

“I would never feed from her,” Liam fumed. “She’s my friend. I only ever wanted to help her. I took care of her—when no one else did.”

Grayson lunged forward with me still on his lap—probably meaning to strangle my friend—but I quickly wrapped my arms around his neck, stopping him.

“I’m okay,” I whispered into his neck. “I’m okay. He never touched me. He wouldn’t even think about touching me like that. I promise.” I leaned back to look at him, giving him a small smile.

“There’s only one person who has ever put his teeth in me without my permission, and that was you.”

I expected him to return my smile at my joke, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, his hand gripped my jaw—not hard, but definitely stiff and unyielding.

A small ring of red formed around his irises and then slowly bled over the black that signified his wolf until it was completely covered. His vampire was in charge.

“That is how it will stay,” he snarled. “Mine are the only teeth that will ever pierce your perfect skin.”

His hand skimmed down to my jaw until it was loosely wrapped around my neck, his thumb running over my pulse. He was so close to me—I could feel his breath fanning over my lips.

He stared down at me with so much intensity, so much longing that I found myself leaning into him. “Take another step, boy, and my teeth will be sinking into you next. Right over your throat.”

Grayson didn’t look at Liam as he spoke. I hadn’t even noticed Liam getting closer to us, taking slow, careful steps.

I knew he was only concerned for my safety, but I wanted to tell him that he needed to stop messing with Grayson when he was in such a state as he was now. He was going to get himself killed.

Thankfully though, I saw him pause his movements out of the corner of my eye.

Grayson grunted. “We will only be here for one night. The plane is already on its way.” I wasn’t sure if he was saying it for my benefit or for his own.

After checking our surroundings, he lifted me into his arms once again and stepped out of the car.

The inside of Liam’s childhood home was even more spectacular than the outside. It was all big windows, white walls with matching furniture, and hard granite flooring.

As nice as it was, however, it somehow managed to feel both beautiful and unwelcoming at the same time. It felt cold and staged, nothing like what I was expecting from the place Liam grew up.

I was grateful that Grayson had allowed me to walk on my own as we stepped through the large double doors. He stayed close, though, his presence behind me like an unrelenting shadow.

Liam led us through the main foyer, lit by a chandelier and framed on one side by a winding staircase, and into a living room.

Three people were waiting for us—Laila and two red-eyed vampires who I could only assume were Liam and Laila’s parents. I could see aspects of both children in their facial features.

I had always thought Laila was one of the most gorgeous women I had ever seen, and now I knew why. I was immediately stricken by the beauty of her mother.

She had dark, golden skin that seemed to sparkle in the light, and her hair was pinned up in intricate braids, revealing her slender neck and sharp collarbones.

She wore a long, yellow dress meant to look casual but appeared chic and elegant on her slender form.

She was the sort of woman with a presence that demanded to be noticed and admired—maybe even envied.

The man standing next to her had the same demanding presence but, unlike his wife, whose captivating beauty was what made her unique, his allure came from his extreme size and intimidating posture.

He wasn’t as big as Grayson, but he might’ve given Kyle a run for his money. His hair was dark brown, almost black, with bits of gray starting to show with his older age.

I immediately noticed how well-groomed he was, the lines of his beard and hairline above his forehead sharp and precise.

This surprised me considering the fact that Liam preferred to keep his hair messy in a way that screamed boy-next-door and just-finished-messing-around-with-some-random-girl.

He was wearing black slacks and a gray buttoned shirt and was holding a half-full glass of some kind of brown drink—probably scotch or whiskey.

Unlike their children, who looked like perfectly normal humans, neither Mrs. nor Mr. Blackwood bothered to hide their vampire features.

Both had fangs peeking out from beneath their top lips and red eyes so bright they were almost too striking to look at directly.

They even had long claws protruding from the tips of their fingers, sharp and deadly.

I took a step back as soon as we entered the room, suddenly very aware of how small I was compared to all of them and how easily they could kill me.

I wouldn’t stand a chance against any of them; I wouldn’t even last a second in a fight.

I didn’t remember Liam being nearly as intimidating as his parents the night he saved me from Adalee and I found out he was a vampire.

My back met Grayson’s front as he stepped up behind me, wrapping a thick arm around my waist, pressing me to him tightly.

Laila’s lips turned up into a bright smile as soon as she saw me. “Belle,” she breathed out, relief clear on her face as she jumped out of the large leather armchair she was sitting in and raced toward me.

She held her arms out, meaning to hug me, but Grayson stepped in front of me before she could reach me.

“Absolutely not,” Grayson said to Laila sternly. He backed me up until I was sandwiched between him and the wall behind us, his large hands squeezing my hips.

I let out an exasperated huff. Laila was the last person he needed to be protecting me from. “It’s just Laila, Grayson. She’s my friend. She won’t hurt me,” I said to him.

“You said no matter what, remember?” he replied in a low tone.

“Well, yeah, but I’m kind of smooshed back here.”

He took a small step forward so that I wasn’t completely pressed against the wall anymore, but he didn’t offer me any more room.

“A room full of vampires, Belle. A room full of vampires.  You’re staying right where you are.”

My forehead fell onto his back. This was embarrassing. “At least let me look at them. Don’t you want them to respect me?”

Grayson loosened his hold on my hips, allowing me to peek my head out from behind him. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, still keeping half of me behind him.

He had quite obviously staked his claim.

I looked at Laila. She was glaring at Grayson. I didn’t blame her, though. I wouldn’t like him either.

“Hi, Laila,” I said, giving her a small wave. “I’ve missed you.”

She looked back at me. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’ve been so worried,” she took another step forward. Grayson growled.

“Too close,” he snapped.

Laila’s expression soured even more, if that was possible. “I don’t like you.”

Grayson stared back at her, unblinking and completely unaffected by her words.

His lack of response only seemed to infuriate Laila more. “Let Belle go. She’s not some dog you can just order around.”

To my surprise, it wasn’t Grayson who grunted out a response. It was Liam.

“Just leave it, Laila. Belle can be a part of the conversation from back there,” he responded, stepping up a few feet from Grayson and crossing his arms over his chest.

His eyes were narrowed on his father, who was sipping his drink and watching our interaction with dimmed interest.

How I ended up with two overly-protective, supernatural men was beyond me.

Jeffery Blackwood’s eyes fell to mine as if he could sense my gaze. He regarded me for several long seconds, looking me up and down and then licking his whiskey-covered lips.

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