So much for her escape attempt. She only managed to stay away a few hours.
Seriously, she was in trouble.
And she was in even more trouble because she didn’t know whether to be frightened out of her mind that he found her or… elated.
They were nearing the cabin and she knew instantly there were people inside.
So shocked at this, forgetting to hide her gift, she whispered, “Callum, there are people –”
“Quiet.”
“But –”
His arms grew so tight they almost, but not quite, hurt.
She thought it prudent to be quiet so she did.
He walked right in the porch door through to the cabin’s backdoor and straight into the cabin.
There were four people there. All tall. All looking a lot like Callum, three even had sky blue eyes but one had green. One was a woman.
They were all staring at Callum and Sonia with knowing, amused expressions on their faces.
Callum ignored them and tossed Sonia on the bed.
Sonia bounced then settled and looked up at Callum’s handsome but enraged face, not knowing what to do or if she’d live long enough to do it.
Callum’s voice was back to even and calm when he stated, “So yesterday was a lie.”
Knowing this voice heralded the scary roar if she said the wrong thing, Sonia decided not to speak at all.
And anyway, they had an audience.
Were they going to do this in front of an audience?
“Answer me,” Callum demanded.
Apparently they were going to do this in front of an audience.
“Um…” Sonia muttered.
“Answer me!”
There it was, the roar.
Okay, maybe he was a murdering, kidnapping madman and there was a better way to play it. She just didn’t know what that was and she was so angry, she didn’t care.
She threw off the blanket and got to her knees, shouting, “You kidnapped me!”
“I told you, Sonia –”
“I know what you told me!” she interrupted on a shriek. “That I’m your mate, your queen, yadda, yadda, yadda. Do I get a say in this?” she demanded.
“No you bloody well don’t!” he shouted back.
“Well, that’s unacceptable!” she yelled. “It’s even insane!”
“I take you down the mountain, I put you in your house, I take away your guard, you’ll be kidnapped and killed within days,” he clipped.
“Seriously,” she muttered scornfully.
“Seriously,” he shot back.
“I –” she started.
“Do you forget what happened three nights ago?” he demanded.
“Of course not!” she snapped.
“The threat is real,” he informed her.
“Only if you didn’t set it up to make me think it was real,” she shot back.
His whole body jerked before he thundered, “Why in fucking hell would I do that?”
“To make me go along with your crazy plan!” she answered.
Callum growled, his head twisted to the side and he bit out, “I should have seized her, taken her to a castle and bedded her. This would have been finished within hours, not fucking days and not with this ridiculous garbage. But no, I listened to you.”
“Don’t drag me into this,” the green-eyed man said, grinning ear-to-ear like their show was enormously amusing.
“Sonia, darlin’,” one of the blue-eyed men was speaking to her and she moved her gaze to his, “what Callum says is true. You’re his queen and you’re under threat.”
“You would say that,” Sonia returned. “He’s brainwashed you. I hate to be the one to tell you this but you’re a member of his cult.”
All of them, including Callum, stared at her like she’d lost her mind.
She didn’t know much about brainwashing but they said brutal interventions were often the way to go when someone was addicted to something, even the charisma of another person so she forged ahead.
Anyway, she was already screwed. She had nothing to lose.
“I don’t blame you,” she went on. “He can be pretty charming and charismatic. Still, he’s not a well man.”
The newcomers all burst out laughing.
Callum scowled at her a moment before dropping his head back and saying to the ceiling, “Bloody hell.”
“Sonia,” the woman called and Sonia looked at her. “Sweetheart, I’m Regan, Callum’s mother.”
Sonia’s mouth dropped open at this news.
She looked like Callum, for certain. But she had to be his sister, not his mother. In fact, she looked even younger than he was.
“What?” Sonia breathed.
Regan came forward. “Let me show you something, sweetheart,” she said softly.
She had a big, designer, leather handbag over her shoulder and from it she pulled a framed photo. When Regan got close to her, she turned the photo to face Sonia. It was a picture of her mother and father’s wedding day.