“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Miss Holloway,” he tells me. “And, of course, Fynn. Not such a pleasure, right?” He laughs at his own joke, and the two guys next to him chuckle silently. “If you would be so kind as to follow me inside.”
The guards rush over to get our weapons from us, and they search both of us.
“Hey!” I shout, trying to push him away, as he presses his hands on my breasts.
“Bear, don’t be so hard with the girl,” Sven shakes his head. “On second thought, maybe I should do it. You know I’ve got the softer touch.”
He walks over to me, while Bear stands next to Fynn.
“This is just a precaution, my dear,” Sven starts.
His fingers grab me by the neck, but they don’t squeeze. He rakes them through my hair, probably to see if I’m hiding anything there. Then, the tips of his fingers trace lines down my back, and he is so close to me that our faces are almost touching. I turn my face away, to the side, and he grins.
“We don’t want you pulling a little handgun or something in the most awkward moment, now do we?”
His hands then cup my breasts, but I don’t say anything.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” I hear Fynn thunder.
He tries to lunge at Sven, but the two guards hold him back. Sven turns to him.
“Oh, I apologize. Does she belong to you?” he asks. “Has she been claimed already?”
“Claimed?” I repeat, wanting to spit right in his face, but I resist the urge. It would only make him angry, and that’s not what I want.
“Every shifter needs a mate,” Sven explains. “Someone to prolong the special race, you see. And, she has to be very…” he pauses to get so close to me that he inhales deeply the scent of my hair and neck, “special.”
He exhales loudly, and the grip he had on my breasts loosens. He goes over my waist, inner and outer thighs and then stops.
“I must say, Fynn, she is a fine choice. A fine choice indeed. But, is daddy dearest in agreement with this?”
“Fuck you,” Fynn growls.
“All in due time,” Sven grins. “I also might include your trophy here in that endeavor.”
He cups my chin with his fingers, and I jerk away from him.
“She’s got spunk. You gotta love that in a woman,” Sven looks over at his guards, and they all start laughing.
I look over at Fynn, helpless. I see the rage in his eyes. But, I also see that he has a plan. I can’t be sure of it, but it’s a gut feeling, and if anything, I’ve learned to trust my gut feeling over the years.
“Alright, now that the fun is over, we can continue with the matter at hand,” Sven informs us. “Take them inside.”
We are then led inside the old, forgotten tavern, and the darkness that opens up before me is frightening. But, not as much as what I fear I might find inside of it.
Chapter 22
Fynn
We’re brought into a small room. It’s dusty and dirty. There is no furniture apart from some old, broken down piano with a layer of cobwebs on it. Two chairs are brought in, and we’re tied to them. I curse silently at myself, for not telling her about this. I take a deep breath as the big thug wraps a thick rope around me, and tries to tighten it as much as he can. I’ve been tied up more times than I can count, so this isn’t new to me.
I watch as she does exactly the opposite. Maddie cowers. She makes herself as small as possible. Her body comes into itself, and it’s easy to entangle her so hard that I doubt she’d ever get out of those ropes without some help. As for me, I might. But, I need to bide my time.
When the rope welcome is over, the thugs move to the side, giving Sven the spotlight.
He takes one of his cigarettes and lights it up.
“You know those’ll kill you?” I frown at him.