Filed To Story: Kidnapped by My Mate Novel (Belle & Grayson)
“I came here looking for you, obviously,” Liam said, keeping one eye on Grayson at all times. “I got back yesterday. Where have you been?”
“Where have I been? Where the hell have ~you~ been?”
“Canada,” he answered, glaring at the wolf in my lap who was paying absolutely no attention to him.
“Canada? Why were you in Canada?”
“Your mate told me to go there.”
“What? Grayson told you to go to Canada?” I looked down at my mate, but he ignored me and licked his paws, acting oh-so-innocent. Oh, he was ~so~ lucky he was a wolf right now.
I tried once again to shove Grayson off my lap. He whined but let me roll him away.
“Go shift,” I told him. “You have some explaining to do.”
He looked up at me and huffed unhappily. When he tried to set his head back down on my lap, I quickly moved my legs, so he landed with a thump on the hard ground.
“I’m not kidding. I need to talk to you. Go shift,” I repeated.
Grayson threw an angry glance at Liam and then looked back at me as if he were saying, “You think I’m going to leave you alone with this idiot?”
“Liam isn’t going to hurt me. He tried to protect me from you, remember?”
Grayson didn’t look convinced.
“Look, the sooner you get back, the less time I’ll end up spending alone with him,” I tried again.
If wolves had facial expressions, then I swore Grayson would have looked bored.
He plopped his head back down on his paws.
My jaw clenched. “Fine. How about I promise not to fight you on going to work tomorrow if you shift right now? We can do whatever you want for the entire day.”
That got his attention. His black wolf eyes peeked open and then narrowed on me for a few seconds before he finally lifted from the floor.
He slowly licked me once on the cheek—thoroughly grossing me out—growled loudly once at Liam, and then went bounding off to the bedroom.
I sighed as I stood up, facing Liam. Now that Grayson wasn’t in the room, I didn’t hesitate to hug him tightly to me, embracing my friend, who I hadn’t seen for several days.
He embraced me back with a relieved sigh.
“I missed you,” I told him, releasing my hold and stepping away from him before Grayson came back and got all growly.
“You have no idea how worried I was when I couldn’t find you the day Grayson found me.”
“I know. I saw all of your texts and missed calls. Are you okay? Has he hurt you?”
I shook my head. “No. No, he would never hurt me. Everything that happened between us was just one huge misunderstanding. Everything is okay now.”
Liam narrowed his eyes. “Why do I find that hard to believe? Am I the only one who remembers how upset and broken you’ve been for the last few months?
“That doesn’t sound like a misunderstanding to me. He hurt you, Belle. And I need to make sure you remember that and don’t just give in to the mate bond after everything he did to you.”
I licked my lips. “I know. I know how it must seem. But I promise you I’m fine. And I’ll explain everything to you later.”
Liam’s frown grew. “Belle…”
“How are you?” I asked quickly, trying to change the subject.
I didn’t want to have to explain myself to him right then.
Especially when my mate would be back any second and definitely wouldn’t be happy to hear me talking about our relationship with the man he had just been fighting.
“Want to explain to me why you just up and went to Canada?”
He crossed his arms over his chest, annoyance quickly taking over his expression.
“Your stupid werewolf mate told me to walk there after I tried to protect you in the diner.”
Frustration welled inside me. I knew Grayson had done something to Liam. Oh, he was so getting an earful later.
“He told you to walk to Canada?” I asked. “And you listened to him?”
“Well, I didn’t exactly have a choice, did I? I know you said your mate was powerful or whatever, but you didn’t think it was worth mentioning he was King Grayson fucking Stoll?”
I nearly laughed, put off by that statement. “Grayson isn’t a king. He’s an alpha.
There’s a big difference.”
“Uh, no,” Liam continued, a groove in his forehead appearing. “That’s not—”
“If you want to keep your fucking head on your shoulders, you will shut your mouth now, vampire,” Grayson said, cutting him off.
He joined us on the balcony once again, wearing only a pair of jeans, leaving his upper half completely bare. Of course, he made a beeline for me, grabbing me by my waist and pulling me far from Liam.
Liam’s brows furrowed at the threat. His eyes widened. “Hold on. Does she not know? That’s kind of a huge ass secret to keep from—”
Grayson was suddenly in front of Liam and had a tight grip on his throat, slamming his back into the wall behind him. “Speak another word, and I’ll tear your red eyes out of your head and feed them to you.”
I scampered over to them, quickly ducking under Grayson’s arm so I was between the two men. I placed my hands on Grayson’s chest.
“Stop,” I begged. He looked down at me but only seemed to tighten his hold. Liam sputtered behind me. “Please.”
Having flashbacks of the flight to Paris when I met him, I rose up onto my tiptoes and pressed my lips to his.
Grayson immediately started to purr, and I heard Liam gasp for air behind me as Grayson released him. Relief swelled inside of me.
Grayson pulled away seconds later, breathing heavily. He peered down at me, gripping my waist tightly. “You are the only person I will ever risk looking weak for.”
I swallowed, trying to get my emotions in check. “Will you stop trying to murder my friend?”
“Probably not,” he replied mildly, scowling at Liam, who was still a mess on the floor behind me.
Frustration consumed me even as I turned from Grayson and crouched in front of Liam to ensure he was okay. He couldn’t stop coughing. His throat was bright red.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
He nodded, glaring up at Grayson as he continued to cough.
“What was he talking about?” I looked at Grayson. “Why did he call you a king?”
His square jaw made a grinding noise. He hesitated for a moment before answering. “He called me a king because I am one.”
My brows tugged together. Well, this was news. “A king of what, exactly?”
“King of the supernatural. And, soon, you’ll be queen.”
I blinked. “I’m sorry,” I shook my head to clear my thoughts. “I think I must’ve misheard you. Did you just say you are the king of the supernatural?”
Grayson nodded, taking a hesitant step toward me like he was afraid I would run at any given moment.
“Yes. It’s a very long story that I planned on telling you when I thought you were ready”—he glared at Liam—“but, yes, it’s true.”
Feeling a little betrayed, I asked, “Is…Is this a new development, or has this always been the case, and I just didn’t know?”
“No,” Grayson said straight away. “It’s a new development. Of course it’s a new development.” He reached for me, his chest already vibrating with quiet purrs as he pulled me to him.
“I would never keep something like that from you. I was only an alpha before everything happened, I promise. It’s a long story, but I swear I plan on telling you everything.”
I nodded, leaning into him a bit despite the fact that I knew Liam was watching us. I needed the comfort Grayson provided and didn’t care what Liam thought of me.
“Bullshit,” Liam snapped. “Are you gonna believe a single thing he says to you, Belle? He’s in the middle of a war with a Mortar. He used you for the power you provided him with once.
“What’s to say he wouldn’t do it again?”
“You’re on very thin ice, vampire,” Grayson spat. “If I were you, I would swallow my tongue before I lose it. You have no idea what happened between Belle and me.”
The two of them were squaring off, Grayson moving in front of me as if Liam would ever consider hurting me.
It was almost comical how much bigger Grayson was compared to Liam, and it almost had me feeling insecure about what I must look like next to my huge mate.
“I’m not afraid of your threats. You are no king of mine,” Liam spat back.
“You wanna test that theory? Fancy another hike to Canada?”
I rolled my eyes. Men. “Okay!” I squeezed myself between the two of them, placing a hand on each of their chests.
“When you two are done comparing dick sizes, would anybody maybe like to hear what I have to say?”
“Stop touching him,” Grayson demanded, tugging me into him so harshly that my head banged against his bare chest. I gave him a dirty look, but he was too busy glaring at Liam.
“You’re lucky I didn’t snap your arms in half for hugging her earlier.”
“You two are being ridiculous!” I shouted. I looked up at Grayson. “Especially you.
He’s only trying to help. He’s the only reason I wasn’t homeless for the last few months.
“He and his sister were there for me when I was at my lowest and thought I had no one. I don’t know where I would be if it weren’t for him.”
I turned to Liam. “And you. This is my mate. I know I told you that he treated me terribly and that I never wanted to see him again, but I was wrong.
“There were things I didn’t understand. And I…I really think Grayson does love me.”
Grayson pulled me closer at those words, a slight vibration coming from his chest.
I could feel his intense happiness surging through the bond. “So I know you’re super protective of me or whatever, but I’m fine. I promise you I’m fine. I’m safe with Grayson.”
“And you’re sure he didn’t just use the power of the Mortars on you?” Liam asked.
“What even is that? That’s the third time you’ve brought that up,” I noted.
“The power of the Mortars is the ability to persuade any person to do whatever I say,” Grayson explained softly. “I developed the gift after Azazel left my body, and I became king.”