Chapter 70 – Kidnapped by My Mate Series II: His Lost Queen

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

The genuine love in her tone made my throat feel raw. As much as I hated to admit it, I was jealous of what she had. There was a point when I was convinced that Grayson and I would have a life like that.

I shoved down the intense and sudden longing to be with my mate. What was wrong with me? He hated me. He hated me. God, why did that make me feel like crying?

I swallowed the lump in my throat while somehow managing to keep my tears at bay.

“I wish my mate loved me the same way yours does. Grayson slept with someone else and told me he only planned to keep me around for power. I truly hope I never have to see him again.”

Evangeline gave me a sad smile. “You don’t mean that.”

“Uh, actually, I do—”

“No. You don’t. You miss him. Terribly. And that is okay. It’s okay to miss him even after what you went through.

“He is your mate. Your soulmate. Which is why it is also okay to hate him for what he did to you. No one you love should ever treat you that way.”

I wasn’t sure why she was saying all of this to me. Why did she care how I felt or how I was handling my mate rejecting me?

“Give me your phone, dear,” she said before I could ask.

I found myself handing over my cell phone without thinking.

She typed something in quickly. “You call me if you ever need anything, okay? I’m here for you. And I have a funny feeling that you’re going to want to talk to me again.”

When she gave me my phone back, her number was programmed in.

“I—” I started.

“What are you doing, Belle?” someone said, cutting me off.

My attention swung around behind me. Standing by the door of the kitchen was Bert, staring at me with a confused expression on his face.

“Oh, I, uh, was just having a meal with—” When I looked back at the seat in front of me, I was shocked to find that it was completely empty.

“Where did she…?” My gaze scanned the diner, but Evangeline was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you eating some random people’s leftovers?” Bert continued.

I looked down at the half-eaten meal in front of me. “What? No. You made this for me and the woman I was just sitting with.”

Bert’s eyes fell on Evangeline’s plate of untouched food and empty seat, raising a brow. “I think you might be losing it, sweetheart. I haven’t gotten any orders for the last three hours.”

“But…No, I swear there was this woman—”

“Look, I’m honestly too tired to care. It makes no difference to me. Listen, I promise not to tell the boss you’re stealing from the kitchen if you agree to close the diner on your own tonight so I can get home.”

“You want to go home now?” I asked. “But the diner doesn’t close for two more hours. I don’t think I’ll be able to waitress and cook…”

My voice trailed off as I looked up at the big clock hanging over the kitchen window. It read 2 a.m.

I reared back. I had been talking to Evangeline for two hours? That couldn’t be right. It felt like half an hour at most. I didn’t even have time to finish my meal, for goodness sake.

“I, uh…” When I turned back to Bert, he was looking at me like I had a screw loose.

“Talking to people who aren’t there, eating random strangers’ scraps, hallucinating about what time it is. That’s three for three, sweetheart. I think you could use a good night’s sleep ‘cause you ain’t functioning correctly.”

Maybe he was right. Maybe I was losing it. All of my sleepless nights and time spent missing my former mate must’ve been getting to me.

“So you gonna close for me?” Bert questioned again.

I found it a bit funny that he was just saying how much I needed sleep but then was asking me to stay later for his benefit.

I ran a hand down my face, trying to clear my confusion and exhaustion. “Yeah.

Sure. I can close tonight.”

It wasn’t like I was going to be getting any sleep tonight anyway. Might as well avoid my night terrors full of a red-eyed Grayson for as long as possible.

He grinned widely. “You’re a doll.”

I hadn’t even realized that he was ready to go until he was marching out the door, leaving me completely on my own.

I slumped down in the booth I was sitting in, looking back at Evangeline’s untouched plate of food.

I was still extremely confused about what the hell had just happened, but honestly, I just didn’t have the energy to think too much about it at the moment.

All I cared about was cleaning up the diner and kitchen so that I could get home and at least try to get some sleep since I was opening the diner tomorrow morning too.

I groaned when I realized I would have to be back here in less than five hours.

I guess anything was better than sitting in my rat-infested, one-bedroom apartment with nothing to do other than trying to ignore my pain and not think about him.

Speaking of pain, it occurred to me for the first time since realizing Evangeline had disappeared that I still wasn’t experiencing any of the agony that came from my starving mate bond.

My body felt at peace for the first time in months, with no aches or pains or blinding headaches. Evangeline said she had taken it from me, but how? And would it return?

She said she could only hang on to it for so long.

Deciding to take advantage of the situation while I still could, I stood and began clearing off my table and the other ones that still needed to be scrubbed down, then walked to the kitchen to do the dishes.

I sighed when I saw that Bert had left me with all the dishes. Hadn’t he said he hadn’t had any orders for the last several hours? What the heck had he been doing out here all of that time?

Welp, it looked like I was going to be there for a little while longer.

BELLE

I was practically dragging my feet as I walked down the sidewalk back to my apartment once my shift was finally over, almost completely overtaken by exhaustion.

My eyes drooped, and my body ached. I needed sleep more than anything, but who knew if I would be getting any.

Guilt ate at me over how things had gone down with Liam earlier. After all, he was just trying to be a good friend, right? He was trying to look out for me.

I just hated that he had assumed his friends and I wouldn’t get along. Was I that horrible to be around?

It was cold out, and the June air was nipping at my bare legs, forcing me to pull my jacket tighter around me.

I actually wished that I had Liam’s warm car to ride in rather than walking home alone in the dark. Too bad I had ruined everything.

I felt strange. Something was off. Dull tingles were shooting up the back of my neck, and I had the odd feeling that I was being watched.

But I shook it off, convinced I was just paranoid after my talk with Liam earlier today.

Then the wind picked up, and something sounded behind me, making me jump. My mark prickled, and a sudden pressure began to form in my head. I groaned in dismay.

I knew what that meant. Grayson was trying to get into my mind again.

A loud crashing noise came from behind me. I whipped around but didn’t see anything.

With my head pounding, I kept walking, moving a little faster now. I was suddenly very eager to get home.

There was another loud bang. My nerves only grew when footsteps started behind me, very obviously following me.

So Liam was right, I thought bitterly. ~I’m about to get murdered.~

My walking picked up into more of a jog.

“Beeelllleee,”  a singsong voice said right next to my head.

I jolted and held back a scream, snapping my head to the side to look for the source.

I was met with an empty alleyway lined with trash cans.

I bit my lip and jogged faster, pulling my coat tighter around my form.

It’s just the wind, Belle,  I told myself. ~Everything is fine. You’re just being paranoid.~

Right, wind that sounded exactly like my name.

The pounding in my head increased as Grayson pushed harder to break through my mental barrier. I grit my teeth together. Why now?

It was like he knew I was in a stressful situation and thought it would be funny to mess with me some more.

“Fuck off, Grayson,” I whispered as if he could hear me. “Get out of my head.”

The pounding only got worse.

Suddenly, I heard a high-pitched laugh coming from above me. My head jerked up.

Crouching on the top of a building, like some sort of knock-off Spiderman was a hooded figure. The person was looking down at me, but I couldn’t make out any facial features through the darkness.

“Grayson can’t help you now, Luna,” the person said.

Um, so, yeah, fuck that.

I turned on my heel and started sprinting away. My exhaustion from earlier was long gone now, replaced with adrenaline and fear.

I had no idea who that person was, but there was no way I was going to stick around to find out. The moment the words “Grayson” and “Luna” had come out of their mouth, I knew I had to get far, far away.

Without any warning, a hand wrapped around my hair, tugging me backward into a dark alleyway. I screamed in terror. My hands grabbed onto my assailant’s arm, digging my nails in.

It did nothing to loosen their hold on me.

“Oh, come on, Belle,” the voice said, yanking my hair harder, so I was forced to release my grip. “There’s no need for that. Let’s play nice.”

It all happened so quickly. Faster than I could even comprehend, I was shoved up against a wall, grunting when my head smashed against the hard concrete.

I was finally able to see the face of the person holding me. My eyes widened.

“Adalee?” I whispered.

She smiled. “Surprise.” She grabbed my head and slammed it back again. My entire world rotated, and white-hot pain expanded over the back of my skull.

“I will say, I’m a little shocked you remember me, considering the fact that we only met that one time,” Adalee continued, her tone laced with malicious amusement.

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