In Her Heat - Ainsley's Story

In Her Heat - Chapter Eighteen

Ashton pushed me inside. I stumbled on the ledge of the car and fell face first into Raoul’s lap.

“Gee, what a nice welcome,” he leered as I turned my head so my nose wasn’t in his crotch. He grabbed my head and held me there, thrusting his hips against my cheek.

I batted my hands against his thighs and struggled to get out of his grasp.

“Stop fooling around,” Ashton said from the driver’s seat. “Just tie her up and shut the door before someone wakes up.” Wakes up? Had they somehow drugged them with a sleeping pill? Powder?

Raoul lifted me up and forcefully sat me on his lap. I could feel his erection poking my butt and had to make a conscious effort not to vomit. If I ever got out of this, he was losing his balls. No, that was wrong. When I got out of this, he was losing his balls.

He wrenched my arms behind my back so hard I was surprised they didn’t pop out of my arm socket. Tear sprung to my eyes at the sting of pain, but I refused to let them fall. He loped the coarse rope around my wrists and tied them so tightly I feared for my blood flow.

“Where are you taking me?” I demanded.

“Shut up, girly. Don’t worry your pretty little head about that,” Raoul jeered, “But enjoy this pain free ride.” He pushed me into the revoltingly dirty back seat.

His words sent a shiver down my spine. I wondered briefly how much time I had to live before shoving the negative thought out of my head. Pondering the longevity of my life wouldn’t help me now. I had to find a way to get my hands untied, at least. That was the first step.

With trouble, I sat myself right side up on the seat. My hands were tied at my back and my back was hidden from their view. Perfect. Ashton started up the car and eased out of Headquarters’ driveway. I tested the knot keeping my wrists bound. It was a tight, complex knot. Clearly Raoul knew what he was doing. Ashton turned and made his way down the shop lined streets to the gate leading out of the reserve. My heart quickened. Once we were off the reserve, God knows what could happen.

Desperately, I looked out the window, looking for even the slightest form of life. Nothing. Not even a whisper of movement. Even the wind stood still. It almost seemed like the world was hushed, holding its breath in anticipation of what would come next.

Ashton pulled out to the security gate and rolled down his window to punch in the series of codes. He stretched his arm out the window and began tapping away.

Several things happened at that moment.

The first thing I took notice of was thanks to my sharpened eyesight. There was the barest whisper of movement in one of the bushes that grew haphazardly all throughout the reserve. I held my breath and my heart pumped even faster. I closed my eyes for a second, and tried not to alert Raoul or Ashton that I’d noticed something.

Please let it be Cade, please please please! I said the words to myself with more emotion that I’d imagined.

The next thing things happened all at once. Simultaneously, there were four popping sides before the van started to slowly lower. The tires were shot. Cade!

In the same instant, Ashton’s arm came snapping back inside, blood staining his skin. He was wounded. “Aw hell,” he said. As if to punctuate his words, the front and back windshields exploded as bullets collided with them. Multiple shots were being fired at the van and Ashton and Raoul looked bewildered as to what to do next.

“What the hell, man?” Ashton shouted at Raoul. “I thought you said they were all under! Crap! You can’t do anything right, can you?!”

“They were, I swear! I don’t know how this could have happened!” Raoul whined.

“Damn, damn, damn, damn!” said Ashton. He slammed his fist into the horn and it bleeped in protest. The shots kept coming. At this point, I wasn’t paying too much attention to what they were saying. I was too focused on the fact that Cade had come to save me. I knew he would!

“What do we do?!” cried Raoul.

“Get Ainsley and hide somewhere. Don’t let them follow you.” Ashton said. He picked out a two guns from the front seat floor and another small pistol from the passenger compartment.

“How the hell do I do that, they’re all over the place!” Raoul shouted.

“Figure something out, damnit! We cannot afford to lose her!” Ashton was practically screaming in rage now and his face was very red.

Raoul reached back and grabbed me, pulling me to his seat. He gripped my face with one big, sweaty palm. He was nervous. “You better behave, girly, or I’ll make sure you die out there. Understand?” I nodded, all the while knowing that as long as Cade was out there, no harm would come to me.

Raoul grabbed hold of the car door and pulled it open slowly. The shots came to a stop.

In an extremely low voice, Ashton said, “On the count of three: one... two... three!”

They both hopped out the car, Raoul pulling me with him. Ashton stayed on the side of the car closest to the gate and began firing shots. Whoever was hiding in the bushes started their shots again. Some were aimed at Ashton, others at Raoul.

I heard Cade’s voice call out, “Anybody hurts her and I swear they’ll end up worse than these two!” That put some reassurance and relief into my body. Nobody, not even the worst sadist, would want what Cade could give them if he was so provoked.

Raoul began running, dragging me behind, heading for the thick bushes to the left of the gate.

“Follow him!” came Cade’s order. I could just make out the soft padding of feet in our direction. I assumed some of them would come in were form, and others in human form, wielding guns. Raoul kept running for the woods.

Needless to say, he didn’t make it. Someone’s gun caught him in the foot and he fell. I was able to yank my arm out of his grasp as his hands went out to break his fall. In an instant, three wolves were on him, and his screams pierced the morning air.

Strong, safe arms wrapped around my waist and turned me. I looked into Cade’s eyes and saw the steel war glint fade to sweet concern. He pulled me close as the gunshots faded to soft footsteps leaving, giving us privacy. He buried his nose in my hair and breathed in deeply, as if to calm himself.

“Are you okay?” he asked softly. I noticed the faintest quiver in his voice and my heart melted.

I nodded against his hard chest, before my lips slowly curved into a smile. “Besides, you know, my wrists still being tied.”

His chest rumbled with quiet laughter. “Maybe they got something right.”

“Oh shut up!” I said, laughing. Our laughter faded into comfortable silence. We just stood there, hugging. My worries about mating and Ashton and the death of my parents vanished for a moment.  And everything, for the first time in a long while, felt right.