Chapter 22 – Kidnapped by My Mate Novel (Belle & Grayson) Online Free by Annie Whipple

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

Before the kiss could get too heated, I pulled away from him and smiled.

“The sooner we find the book, the sooner you can come back to me.” I kissed him one last time. “I’ll look down here while you look upstairs.”

Grayson nodded and stepped away from me. “Okay.”

I watched as he walked up the stairs to the second floor, never looking away from me. I could feel the dull ache grow in my chest from being apart, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the pain before.

I let out a relieved breath. Okay. I can do this.

I smiled at him one last time before he reached the top of the stairs and turned the corner onto the second floor.

I immediately ran to the lady at the front desk.

“Hi, do you speak English?” I asked her.

She looked up from her computer, seeming a bit shocked.

“Um, of course. What can I help you with, miss?” she asked in a thick French accent.

“Oh, thank goodness,” I said.

“I need your help, please. In a few minutes, a man is going to come down those stairs looking for me, and when he realizes that I’m no longer in the store, he may freak out.

“I need you to tell him that there was something important I needed to do and that I’ll be back in a little bit. Tell him not to freak out.”

The woman gave me a strange look. “Miss, I don’t know…”

“I’m sorry, this is a strange thing that I’m asking you to do.” I quickly opened my purse and took out a twenty euro note and handed it to her.

“Please do this for me. If he gets too upset, just keep reminding him I will be back soon. Do not call the police.”

The woman’s eyes widened. “Miss, are you in danger? Do you need me to call someone?”

I shook my head quickly. “No, no. It’s nothing like that. I have something I need to do and my…my boyfriend can’t come. Nothing is wrong, I promise.

“But—” she said.

“Now, I have to go. I don’t have much time. Can you do this for me?”

The woman glanced down at the money in her hand and then back at me. She nodded. “I can do this.”

My heart lifted. I felt like hugging this sweet old woman.

“Thank you so much,” I said, stepping away from the counter. “You have no clue how much this means to me.”

She gave me a sweet smile. “Of course, my dear. Please stay safe.”

“Thank you,” I said. And then I turned and ran out the door, beginning my sprint down the street.

I could hear my heart beating in my ears as I ran down the streets of Paris to where I hoped my mother lived. I couldn’t stop looking behind me, waiting for Grayson to come around the corner and chase after me. But he never came.

By a stroke of luck, I was able to slip into my mother’s building, and in very little time, I found myself standing in front of the door of her apartment. I knocked on the door quickly, hoping to God that someone would be home, otherwise this would all be for nothing.

“Just one second!” I heard someone shout from the other side of the door.

I nervously ran my sweaty palms over my jeans as I looked up and down the extremely fancy hallway, hoping I wasn’t about to see Grayson come up the steps behind me before I got the chance to talk to my mother.

This place was really nice. I’d known that my mother’s husband was rich, but I hadn’t remembered her living somewhere this nice.

The door opened and my mother stood in front of me, wiping her wet hands on her apron. She didn’t look at me just yet.

“Sorry, about that. I was making dinner and had my hands are covered in chicken fat.”

Then she lifted her head, and her eyes widened as they met mine.

I gave her a small smile and shrugged. “Hi, Mom.”

“Belle!” She pulled me to her, wrapping her arms tightly around me. It was the sort of hug she used to give to me when I was younger—after I’d won a soccer game or gotten home from a long day at school.

It made me feel warm.

I was surprised that she was showing me any affection at all. I couldn’t remember the last time she’d hugged me.

“Oh, my darling girl, you have no idea how worried I was!” She held me tighter and then moved back. She took my face in her hands. “Oh, you’ve gotten so beautiful.”

I pulled away a bit. “You were worried about me?”

Her face dropped and then turned sympathetic. She glanced down the hall in both directions, as if she was making sure that no one was watching, and then looked back at me.

“Why don’t you come in?” she motioned to the inside of her apartment.

I nodded and hesitantly followed her inside.

She led me to a lavish living room that was very well decorated. It was all white with accents of gray and cream. I didn’t even want to sit down in case I stained her furniture.

My mother smiled at me as she sat, removing the apron tied around her waist. She fit perfectly with her decor.

She was wearing a black A-line skirt and a white blouse, with pearls in her ears and her hair up in an elegant bun. She looked beautiful—like the perfect housewife.

After I’d sat down, she spoke: “You came at a good time. The kids are at school and Carl is at work. We have the entire apartment to ourselves.” She was wringing her hands nervously. “I’m so happy to see you, Belle.”

I nodded, not knowing how to react to all the affection that she was giving me. I looked around me. It didn’t seem like any children lived here.

Everything was so pristine—like I had just walked into a very fancy hotel.

“You have some explaining to do,” my mother said. “Will you tell me where you’ve been?”

I took a deep breath. I hadn’t really thought about what I would tell her once I got here. “I’ve been in Paris.”

“This entire time? Where have you been staying?”

“Well, I…,” I said. “It’s a long story—one that I don’t think I can explain right now. I just wanted to come here and let you know that I’m okay and that I’m going home tomorrow.

“I don’t know when I’ll be able to get in touch with you again.” I watched to see if she would react to what I was saying. “I figured I owed you an explanation. You are my mother, after all.”

Not that you’ve acted much like one.

My mother’s eyes narrowed, and I wondered if I had said that out loud. I looked away from her piercing eyes.

“What’s that on your neck?” she asked suddenly.

My hand immediately went to my neck, to where my mark was. It burned a bit at the touch, and I knew that it was because I was so far away from Grayson.

“It’s nothing,” I said.

My mother rose slowly from her seat. “That isn’t nothing.” She approached me and then sat down next to me. I moved away from her a bit.

She had this frightening expression on her face that was making me nervous.

“Let me see,” she said.

I shook my head. I had no way of explaining a giant bite mark on my neck without sounding insane. “No. Really, it’s nothing.” I stood.

“I actually should probably get going. I’ve done what I came here to do.”

Before I could even take a step though, my mother grabbed my hand. She stood up next to me so fast that I didn’t have time to react. Just as quickly, she moved my hair away from my neck, revealing my mark.

She gasped and stepped back.

“Mom, I can explain,” I started. “I—”

“You have the mark of an alpha,” she stated with a frightened expression. “And it’s fresh.”

My eyes widened to the size of saucers. “How do you know that?”

As if in slow motion, she reached up and pulled aside the collar of her own shirt.

There, sitting on her porcelain skin, were puncture wounds in the shape of teeth.

They were covered over by years’ worth of scar tissue, telling me they were very old. I gasped.

“Because I have my own mark,” my mother whispered.

I stared at her. I couldn’t believe what she was telling me.

“Is that why you didn’t come here once you got to Paris?” my mother asked.

“Because you met your mate?”

I nodded my head slowly, still shocked that we were even having this conversation.

She looked away from me with a pained expression on her face.

“Mom?” I asked. “Are you a werewolf?”

She turned back to me and shook her head. “No, no, of course not. I’m human just like you.”

“But you have a mate?” I asked.

She nodded. “Yes.”

I swallowed. How common was it for humans to have mates? And how did I not know that my mother had one? How did I not know that she was part of the werewolf world?

Had my mother really not wanted me in her life that much? To not tell me about one of the biggest parts of it?

“What is his name?” she asked. I assumed that she was asking about Grayson.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I’m going home tomorrow.”

“You’re not staying with him?”

I shook my head. “No. No, I can’t.”

My mother stared at me for a few seconds, looking hesitant. “Belle, is your mate violent?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…” my mother started. “I’ve heard stories about how abusive alphas can be toward their mates. They’re possessive and controlling.

“I know what it’s like to be with a normal wolf; I can’t imagine being with an alpha.”

I sat down in shock. Grayson had never hurt me, but it seemed like my mother was implying that he would. She sat down next to me and took my hands in hers.

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