Taken Ch. 03

Hi everyone, here is the next chapter of Taken hope you guys enjoy. Thanks to Angelicsounds for editing this piece for me, once again you did an awesome job.

JAMMANN

*

Alicia's head was pounding, literally. It felt like someone had taken a hammer to her head. Sitting up, she massaged her temples, hoping to alleviate the pain. After a moment, she laid back down, groaning. Maybe if she went back to sleep, she'd feel better when she woke up. Lying down on her pillow, she closed her eyes, wishing the pain away, when suddenly her eyes flew open. She wasn't in her room. Popping up, she fought down a wave of nausea. She tried to remember what all had happened the night before. She knew she had been taken by Gabriel, but the details, the how and why of that night, were fuzzy.

Oh God, how long had she been out? Had she been raped? Throwing off the covers, she jumped out of bed, but fell down immediately. Whatever Gabriel did was obviously still working. Pulling herself off the floor, she took good look around the room, expecting to see a dungeon. Instead, she saw a spacious bedroom. The room was fully furnished and done up in rich earth tones; the room was absolutely beautiful, which confused her even more.

Who the hell kidnaps someone and then puts her in a big ass room fit for a queen? Better yet, didn't most abductors keep their victims chained up? None of this made any sense to her. She was nobody, why would he take her? Maybe it was because he knew nobody would miss her. Well, maybe William would. Alicia felt her eyes starting to tear up at the thought of being locked away, and to think she thought he was a nice guy after the way complimented her. And those eyes, she could have sworn the way he looked at her...Alicia shook her head. Now was not the time to reminisce, she needed to figure out a way to escape.

Slowly, she crept towards the door, not sure what was waiting on the other side. She pressed her ear to the door to see if she could hear anything, but she heard nothing. Deciding to take a chance, Alicia attempted to open the door, but found it locked. Upon further inspection, it looked like the door had a deadbolt on it that was locked from the outside.

"Think, girl, think," she whispered to herself.

There was no point in trying to break the door down, she was strong, but not that damn strong. Screaming wasn't going to solve anything, and besides, there was no telling who was on the other side of that door. Looking around, she spotted the curtain on the other side of the room. Forgetting all about her dizziness, she ran to pull the curtains back in the hopes of escaping through the window. However, any hope she had quickly faded away as she saw the steel bars on the other side of the window. It seemed like Gabriel had thought of everything, but he was sorely mistaken if he thought she would give up and accept what he had in store for her.

****

"Are you out of your mind?"

Gabriel leaned back in his chair, looking at his brother Michael. He was furious and, truth was, Gabriel didn't blame him. Hell, he had asked himself the same question over and over since he took Alicia, and at this point he was beginning to think he was.

Never in all his years had he done something so crazy or, better yet, stupid. For Christ's sake, he'd kidnapped a girl. Running his fingers through his hair, Gabriel sighed. His head told him what he did was wrong, but his wolf didn't give a damn. His wolf clearly recognized her as its mate and it wasn't going anywhere without her.

Gabriel was naturally aggressive and his wolf was ten times worse. He always went after what he wanted, and, nine times out of ten, he got it. For him to go against his wolf was unnatural. When he left the Garrisons', his wolf rode him hard; it wanted Alicia and the more he fought against it, the more crazed he'd become. The fact that her mere presence alone soothed the beast was the only reason why he'd been able to take her without claiming her body.

For the first time in his life, Gabriel was at a loss. His mate was human. After what happened last night, there was no point in denying it. That alone brought on a new array of problems. Where he came from, it was unacceptable.

"Gabriel, have you heard anything I've just said?" Michael yelled.

"How can I not, with you yelling." Gabriel was getting irritated. The last thing he needed was for his brother to tell him how bad he screwed up. Out of all of his siblings, Michael was the one that Gabriel trusted most, the beta to his Alpha.

Gabriel was a natural born leader, always at the front and ready to tackle anything, while Michael was calm and collected, preferring to stay in the background, tying up loose ends. Their father had groomed all of his children, making sure they were well prepared to take over, and Gabriel just went and blew it all to hell.

"Does she know what we are?" Michael asked impatiently.

Gabriel sighed. "No, I made sure she was out before I shifted and I did a memory sweep to make sure she'd only remember what I wanted her to."

Another one of the many perks of being Were, unlike vampires, they couldn't implant memories in humans, but they could erase memories or alter certain things.

In Alicia's case, Gabriel just distorted the events of that night; she'd remember the gist of what happened, minus him being naked and rendering her unconscious. He just couldn't bring himself to wipe out her entire memory. It was bad enough he took her the way he did, the last thing he wanted was for her to wake in a strange place with absolutely no memory. It would probably been easier for him, that way he could make up grand lie about what happened, but he'd already fucked up by taking her forcefully. He didn't want to make it any worse by lying about it.

"Please tell me you haven't mated with her?" Michael said, bringing him back to the present.

"The girl's been unconscious. I'm not a rapist," Gabriel replied in frustration.

"Well, you did kidnap her. I mean, what do you think is going to happen when Garrison realizes his niece is missing?"

Gabriel sat back in his chair, inhaling deeply, even now he could still smell her. "Trust me when I say Garrison is the least of my problems."

Which was true. After picking up on what that bitch said to Alicia in the kitchen, Gabriel decided then and there, that Alicia was his. So after dinner, he met with Mr. Garrison and made his intentions clear; he wanted Alicia, no matter the cost.

Of course, the man was taken aback at first and even appeared insulted that Gabriel would suggest such a thing. But Gabriel didn't get to where he was today by not recognizing one's weaknesses, and William definitely had a weakness. His father always said there were only two things that could make a man weak, money and love for a woman. Fortunately for him, Mrs. Garrison had Mr. Garrison's balls in a death grip, so he simply explained to the older man that it would be in his and his family's best interest to let him take Alicia. Garrison was no fool; the offer Gabriel gave him was just too good to pass up. He was already on his last leg financially; if Gabriel were to back out of their deal, it would be the final nail in the coffin.

Once the contracts were signed, the old man did look upset, even somewhat guilty over the arrangement, but clearly not enough to say no. The only problem was instead of waiting a couple of days to take Alicia like he originally planned, he had to go and lose his damn mind. If he was thinking straight, he would have planned things out, taken her to his loft in the city instead of bringing her to the compound.

Sighing, Michael ran his hands across his face. "Gabriel, you can't do this. You know this goes against everything we stand for. Our tribe is one of the few that is of pure blood. The Council will never allow you to taint us with human blood."

Walking over to the desk, Michael leaned down. "I know this is hard for you, but you have to do what best for the pack. Father is already preparing a union between you and Liz. You bringing the girl here will ruin everything."

Gabriel let out a growl. He was beginning to curse the day he ever started anything with Liz. "Whatever I do, I can guarantee it won't be mating with Liz."

"Gabriel, you know, just as well as I, that few in our species actually marry their true mates and once the mating process is complete, true mate or not, the bond you share with your chosen is unbreakable. Besides, what's going to happen when this girl wakes, huh? Is she just going to fall into your arms and pledge her undying love?"

Gabriel bit the inside of his jaw at his brother's attempt at sarcasm.

Hoping to get his brother to see reason, Michael tried one more time. "We're not like the common wolf. We're bigger, stronger. We are of a different breed, like a mammoth to today's elephant. Most shifters have had centuries to mate with humans, learning to adapt to allow their mate to survive the transition. Yet, in the beginning, many women died during the mating process, and if they survived that, they died in childbirth. Even if this woman is your mate, are you willing to risk her life?"

Getting up from his desk, Gabriel walked over to the bar. He needed a drink and a strong one at that. He said nothing, he knew his brother was right and everything that he said made sense, but he couldn't bring himself to admit it.

Following his brother over to the bar, Michael placed a hand on his shoulder. "Whatever you decide, you know I'll stand by you no matter what, but I hope you can live with it."

With that he turned and left the room.

****

Michael headed out to his car. He hoped his conversation with his brother would be enough to convince him to get rid of the girl, but he knew his brother. That would be the last thing Gabriel would do. Once inside the car, he pulled out his phone. He hated to do this to his brother, but he had no choice. He couldn't let history repeat itself; the cost would be too great.

Dialing the number he waited for an answer. As soon as the call picked up, he wasted no time. "We have a problem. It's Gabriel, he's found the girl."

****

Gabriel stood outside of Alicia's room, contemplating what his next move would be. Well, he knew what he should do, but that and what he was going to do were two different things. He took a deep breath. God, it was as if her scent was all around him, engulfing him to the point of insanity. Hell, if he was being honest with himself, just the thought alone of Ms. Monroe was enough to drive him crazy. He remembered how she had felt pressed against his chest as he carried her in his arms that night. She was so small and fragile, but she fit him just perfectly; he knew right then and there, she was his no matter what.

Unlocking the door, he noticed she was still asleep, her body curled up with her back facing him. Quietly, he walked across the room, but before he got to the bed, he stopped. He could feel her heartbeat quicken, hear the short intake of breath, and smell the fear; obliviously, she was awake. He sat down on the bed and leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear, "I know you're awake, Alicia."

Before he could react, Alicia swung her arm out, hitting him hard across the head with an object. He barely felt the blow to his head; he was shocked more than anything, as he watched her jump out of the bed, running toward the door.

He smiled. His mate was a fighter. Quickly, he recovered and had her pinned to the floor within seconds. Face down on the floor, struggling, she screamed and tried to put up a fight, but it was pointless.

"Help! Somebody help me!" Alicia screamed.

She had hoped the blow to the head with the metal candlestick she found would have knocked him out, but Gabriel apparently was as strong as a horse. She tried as hard she could to shake him off, but he wasn't going anywhere. Finally, out of breath and tired, she stopped moving.

"Are you finished, 'cause I could hold you like this all night," Gabriel stated. She could tell by the sound of his voice that he found the situation amusing.

That motherfucker.

Alicia wanted to cuss him out and call him every name in the book, but she stopped and tried a different approach. "Look, whatever you were planning on doing, if you let me go, I won't tell a soul. I promise," she pleaded, "Just let me go, please."

"I can't."

It was the truth. Just the thought of letting her go put him on edge. No matter what happened, he wasn't letting her go. His admission seemed to spur her even more, causing her to struggle even harder. It was useless though, he would just wait until she tired herself out again.

After a couple of minutes, Alicia was out of breath and on the verge of hysteria. What on God's green earth did she do to deserve this? She wasn't perfect, but damn, she did the best she could. Everything she had hoped for, all her dreams, the promises she made to herself, only to end up like this; not able to hold it in any longer, she started sobbing.

Gabriel laid there with his chest pressed against her back, feeling her body shake as she cried. Knowing he was the cause of it brought a tightness to his chest that made him question his actions.

Leaning down, he whispered, "Shh, I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanna talk. Ok?"

Slowly, he rolled her onto her back, but Alicia being the hellcat she was, immediately tried to kick him in his groin, only to miss, catching him in the stomach instead.

"Damn it!" he yelled as he grabbed her hands, placing them above her head.

Planting one knee in between her legs, he pried her legs apart and situated himself between them. Spread eagle, she was a sight to behold, with her large chest heaving up and down. Even with her puffy eyes, she was still beautiful. Damn, he was in trouble.

"Listen, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, it really doesn't matter to me, one way or the other. As a matter of fact, I like when you fight me." He smiled.

Alicia knew she wasn't strong enough to overpower him, but that didn't keep her from trying. Despite him holding her down, she continued to buck and jerk her body out of sheer stubbornness. Chest to chest, pelvis to groin, she kept squirming against Gabriel until she felt something hard pressed against her sex. Once it hit her, what it was, she stopped moving immediately.

Nervous and scared, she looked up at Gabriel. She hadn't really looked at him since he entered the room and everything had really been a blur up until then. The moment her eyes connected with his, Alicia wished she hadn't. Mesmerized, she held his gaze as a heat crept through her body. It was almost like a warm, fuzzy feeling, and now that she thought about it, she had felt that same feeling the night he took her. The heating sensation started to intensify and she felt the need to grind against him. She gasped when realized she'd done just that and stopped immediately.

Embarrassed, Alicia licked her suddenly dry lips. Even though the man was crazy as hell, he was also gorgeous and that made her even madder. Why was her body reacting like this? Everything within her wanted to be appalled, but a small part of her, a part she wasn't ready to examine, felt something pulling her towards this man.

Looking away to break the connection, she asked, "What do you want from me?"

Everything, his head screamed, but he needed to get control of the situation first. Although he wanted her above all else, the last thing he wanted her to think was that he was some crazed pervert, and the fact that he was lying on top of her with a hard-on wasn't exactly helping his case.

"Right now, I just want to talk. Now, we can talk in this position," he said as his eyes roamed over her body, "which I have no problem with, or if you promise to be a good girl and not try anything, I can let go of you. Ok?" Gabriel watched her face as she glared at him. He could tell she wondering if she should try anything.

After what seemed like an eternity, she whispered, "Ok."

"Ok, what?"

She glared at him, letting out a harsh breath as she did so. "Ok, I promise not to try anything. Now can you get off of me?"

Slowly Gabriel lifted himself off of her. Taking her hand, he pulled her up off of the floor. Unable to let go of her hand, he used his thumb to caress the inside of her palm until she snatched it away, turning her body away from him.

Wanting to be as far away from Gabriel as possible, Alicia walked to the other side of the room. Wrapping her arms around herself, she looked down at the floor, waiting to hear what he had to say.

Gabriel stood there staring at Alicia; she looked so innocent, yet lost at the same time. He could still smell her fear. Unsure of what to say, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "You feel it don't you?"

"What?" she responded, looking at him, confused.

"The pull between us, the..." He stopped himself. He started to say heat, but he realized that might sound crazy to her. "The connection we have, Alicia, I felt it the moment I laid eyes on you."

Even though he was right, she would never admit it, especially after what he did. "So let me get this straight. You kidnapped me, took me from my home, because you felt a connection? Listen, I don't know what world you're living in, but most people now-a-days," she paused, taking a breath, "when they feel a connection with someone, they get a phone number, you know, go on a date. They don't kidnap someone," she finished, frustrated.

"You're right, but I had my reasons for why I did what I did."

"Well, by all means, please enlighten me."

Gabriel thought about telling her the truth, the whole 'I'm a powerful werewolf and you're my mate and we'll be together forever' speech, but thought better of it. She already thought he was psychotic and telling her that would just confirm it. Leaning back on heels, he realized that it was going to be harder than he thought. Knowing she wasn't ready for the big picture just yet, he decided to deal with the current situation.

"Look Alicia, I know you have no reason to trust me, but I assure you, I'm not here to hurt you," he stated, hoping she could see the truth in his words.

"Why on earth should I believe you?" Alicia held Gabriel's gaze. Though her heart wanted to believe him, her head said everything about the situation was crazy and she'd be stupid to think otherwise.

"Alicia, I know what I did was wrong, but can you say you were honestly happy where you were at?"

When she didn't answer, he continued. "Did you enjoy living like that? No friends, no one to confide in? The very people who took you in, treating you as if you don't belong? I mean, you were one of the top students in your class, yet here you are, attending some second rate college and working at some crappy diner, while your family continues to live comfortably."

Alicia bristled at his words. "Excuse me. Times were hard, hence the reason why William was selling the company."

Walking towards her, he replied, "Really, if times were so hard, why is it that you were the only one making sacrifices? What about Melinda and Melissa, what did they sacrifice?"

Alicia shook her head in fury as she backed up. She couldn't believe the nerve of this asshole, who the hell was he to question how she lived. "My life back home was just that, MINE. And how the hell would you know anything about it since we only met once?"

"I know that you allow yourself to be treated like crap out of some sense of loyalty to Garrison, since he took you in. You don't even feel comfortable enough to go to man to tell him how his wife and daughter were treating you, which, by the way, I'm pretty sure he knew, he just chose to ignore it."

"So what if he did? That still doesn't give you the right to kidnap me. Why don't you stop talking about my life and tell me what you're going to do to me?"