Filed To Story: Kidnapped by My Mate Novel (Belle & Grayson)
“I would never have hit on her if I’d known. Calling her the alpha’s plaything was just a joke—”
Everything happened so fast. There was a chorus of gasps followed by a loud grunt.
When I looked up, Madoc had Ben pinned to the ground and was throwing punches at his face.
My stomach dropped. Instantly, I forced myself to my feet. My head screamed in protest at the sudden movement, but I ignored the blinding pain, knowing I had to do something.
“What the fuck is going on here?”
Everyone froze.
Ace stood in the doorway of the classroom, looking like a volcano about to erupt.
His chest heaved, his eyes dark and livid.
His gaze immediately found mine. He scanned over me, stopping briefly on my tear-stained cheeks. His expression instantly darkened, and I swear he grew taller.
“Ace…,” I whimpered. I was suddenly desperate for him to touch me.
Thank god he’s here. Thank god.
Faster than I could comprehend, Ace was in front of me, pulling me against him. I slumped in relief. His touch felt like a cool salve on my aching brain.
Ace framed my face in his hands, searching for signs of harm. “Your head?”
I nodded.
He released a low growl, which soothed me more than it scared me, and the familiar sparks between our skin made me relax against him.
“We’re going home.” His voice left no room for argument. Scooping me into his arms, he pressed my face into his neck and carried me to the door.
Right before leaving the room, he turned back to Madoc. “Deal with this.”
Ace kept a firm grip on my thigh the entire drive to his house. Every time he squeezed too much, I would wince, and he would loosen it and start rubbing the spot in soothing circles with his thumb.
I didn’t mind his possessive touch. It helped settle my pounding head. I was even grateful for his brooding silence.
As soon as we got to his house, I knew he would have questions about what happened, and my migraine would flare once more as I tried to come up with answers.
So, I valued these few moments of peace. It gave me time to gather my thoughts.
Once we pulled into his driveway, I tried to bat his hands away from me, refusing to be carried like a child yet again, but he just growled and lifted me before marching me into his house.
His touch was soft, but his message was clear: he was upset and in no mood to be disobeyed.
To my relief, he placed me on my feet once we were inside, though his hand remained on the small of my back as he ushered me into the living room.
There, he took a seat in the big, leather armchair and looked at me expectantly.
I remained a few steps away, anxiously shifting from foot to foot. His thunderous expression made me nervous. Was he upset with me?
His eyes softened, and he held out a hand. “Come here, Doe.”
My muscles loosened with relief. I took his hand and let him tug me into his lap so I straddled him.
Ace led my cheek to rest against his chest and massaged the back of my head, his quiet purrs reverberating through my bones.
As always, his touch filled my belly with warmth and forced me to relax, causing my worries to melt away. The hammering in my brain ebbed to a low, aching thrum.
After a few minutes, Ace broke the silence. “Tell me who made you cry.”
I moaned in exasperation. “Do we have to talk about this right now?”
“Yes. I know your head still hurts but I need to know what upset you before I completely lose it. I’m hanging on by a thread.”
My head touched his chest in defeat. “It was stupid really.”
Ace dragged his fingers up and down my spine, waiting for me to continue.
“I got a bad grade,” I finally said. It wasn’t a lie; it just wasn’t exactly the whole truth. “On the science midterm.
“And I know it’s not a big deal, but I really want to get a perfect GPA. That one class is going to ruin everything.”
I knew that wasn’t what Ace expected me to say. He wanted me to tell him what happened with Ben, but I would do anything to avoid that topic.
Something dark flashed in Ace’s gaze. “What grade did you get?”
The backs of my eyes pricked as I pulled my test out of my back pocket and handed it to him.
“I’ve been doing the math,” I said as he flipped through the exam. “With all the other low grades Mr. Callahan has given me, I can’t recover. I’m going to end up with a B-Minus or lower in the class.”
“You got all the multiple-choice questions right,” Ace said.
“Yeah, but he gave me zeros on the three essay questions. They were all worth 10
percent.”
Ace turned to the back of the test, skimming over my answers. The muscles in his body visibly tightened.
“You got a perfect grade by the way.” I slumped with embarrassment and toyed with the bottom of my shirt. “I think Mr. Callahan has a vendetta against me,” I muttered under my breath.
Ace looked up. “We can fix this.”
I shook my head. “I tried already. Mr. Callahan said I couldn’t retake it.”
Ace set my exam down on the side table next to us. “We can fix it. No more worrying. You’re going to get the grade you deserve.”
His tone held so much conviction that I almost believed him.
“If you say so,” I said, my shoulders slumping with dejection.
A tense beat passed. Ace gripped my chin and tilted my head up. “Are you going to tell me what Ben did to you or am I going to have to hunt him down and ask him myself?”
I let out a heavy breath. “How do you know it had something to do with me?”
“Madoc wouldn’t have reacted that way for anyone else. He doesn’t attack people for fun.”
I could already feel my migraine creeping back in. “Why don’t you just ask him? I’m sure he would love to tell you all about it.”
Ace leaned back, placing his hands on the armrests on either side of him. How he managed to look so intimidating yet so sexy all at the same time was beyond me.
“I would like to hear it from you,” he said in a dry tone.
Dread churned in my stomach. Knowing there was no way around it, I said, “Ben…
he called you my keeper. And my pimp. He basically said you own me and control everything I do.”
“He was right. You’re mine. I do own you.”