Captured by Two Alphas [The Alpha Legend 1] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 3

  Landon pulled two chairs over and sat in one, directly in front of her. Nevada then took a seat in the other. “I asked you a question. Why do you need to hide?”

  “I told you. I’m running.”

  “From whom?” asked Landon.

  Up close, his eyes were even bluer than they’d appeared outside. She hadn’t had much contact with humans, but she’d had enough to know this one was different. His aura was more like that of a shifter, but yet she knew he didn’t possess any of those qualities. How could that be? She suddenly missed Topaz more than she had since her death. There were too many things she hadn’t yet learned, and which she now desperately needed to know.

  “Are you going to answer our questions or not?” Nevada’s tone was impatient now. “Because we have better things to do.”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m running from my uncle. He’s trying to force me to mate with two brothers from my village. They’re…they’re evil. I want nothing to do with them. There’s no one left to protect me now, so I ran.”

  “That’s quite a story.”

  She glared at Nevada. Captor or not, Saffron would not be called a liar by any man. “It’s not a story. It’s the truth. I don’t know who you think I am, but you’re mistaken.”

  “Then tell us who you are.” Landon’s voice was soft, but his eyes were still wary. Neither of these men trusted her, and she realized they wouldn’t, no matter what she said.

  She could shift. Nevada would, too, but maybe she could outrun him? Her backpack was on the floor, right in front of them. If she could shift and grab it, maybe she’d have time to get away? But would her paws be bound as her wrists were now once she shifted, or would the cuffs fall away as surely as her clothing would? She had no idea. She’d never tried it before. And he’d said she couldn’t shift inside this cabin, but why not? Had he only said that so she wouldn’t try to?

  “Are you going to tell us your name, at least?” asked Landon.

  She looked into his eyes, and didn’t like the way her thoughts suddenly stirred toward candlelit rooms and naked, writhing bodies. Was she completely out of her mind? He was human, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t cast a spell on her. She glanced toward the floor again to try and keep her head clear. The only way out of this was to stay calm and focused. “Saffron. My name is Saffron Estampado.”

  “And which of the current Rosen alphas are you related to?”

  Saffron snapped her gaze back toward Nevada’s face. “What? You think I’m a Rosen? What gave you that idea? I just told you I’m part of the family of Estampado. The Rosens are the ones I’m running from.”

  * * * *

  Landon Sterling wasn’t as adept at keeping the emotion off his face as Nevada was, and he knew that as he gave his best friend another quick glance, the incredulity surely showed on his face, which meant this beautiful girl could see it as well. But he hadn’t been able to hold it in check this time. Was it possible that Nevada had made a mistake? Landon had known the man for sixteen years, and his instincts had never been off. No. It was more likely that this girl was a sorceress of some kind, in addition to being a shifter.

  “Is that so?” asked Nevada, leaning back in his chair exactly as if he were about to settle in for a long tale from an elder. “Tell me more.”

  “You don’t believe me.”

  “You’re right. I don’t. So convince me I’m wrong.”

  “Why should I bother?”

  “Because you’re cuffed and we’re not. You can’t shift inside here, and we aren’t going to let you out. So start talking, or we’ll leave you here without food or water and let you think about it for a while.”

  Landon knew that Nevada would never do that, even if this girl had been sent by the Rosens, but she didn’t. The way her eyes suddenly widened as fear returned to them told him that. “My uncle Dennis is in league with the Rosens. He always has been. They’re powerful and evil. Everyone in our village fears them and my uncle, and they control everything.”

  Nevada’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What about the rest of your family?”

  “My parents died when I was five, and my mother’s mother—I called her Topaz—came to live with me in my uncle’s house. He was my father’s brother so it was his duty to take me in. But she died three months ago and now I no longer have anyone to intervene for me or protect me.”

  “Protect you from what?” asked Nevada. Landon could tell he still wasn’t convinced by her story, and he totally understood why. The girl had a way of looking into his eyes that nearly rendered him unable to move, and he didn’t think that was only because he was human. Nevada was affected as well. Maybe not to the same degree, but it was obvious he was rattled.

  “I told you. He was trying to force me to mate with two of the Rosen brothers.”

  “Give me names.”

  This time, she was the one who narrowed her eyes. The effect was to make her look even more like a cat. “How do I know you’re not one of them?”

  “They’re all leopards, right?”

  She nodded.

  “You said you knew I wasn’t. So, therefore, I can’t be one of them.”

  “You could be part of the others my uncle is in league with.”

  “Now you’re just stalling, and I’m near the end of my patience, Saffron.” Nevada pushed his chair back and stood. “I don’t have time for games like this.” He nodded toward the chains that Landon had placed on the table next to them. “We’ll rig it up the way we did that time with the jaguar. She’ll be able to move about the cabin, but not far enough to walk out the door or climb out the windows.”

  Landon’s heart fluttered as she began to cry again. “No, please. Don’t do that. Don’t leave me alone in here. I’m afraid. If they find me…please…”

  “Then tell me what I want to know.”

  “I’ve told you all I can.”

  “Who are the brothers you’re supposedly being forced to mate with?”

  “Marc and Jake. They’re the sons of Gregory.”

  Nevada glanced at Landon, but Landon couldn’t interpret his expression. Did he know the names? Were they the same Rosens who would kill him and Mancie if they found them? Nevada and his family had taken Landon in after his parents had left him in the woods to die when he was twelve, but other than the occasional suspicious person who got too close to the village, nothing had happened in all these years. Was that false sense of security about to come to an end?

  Nevada took his seat again. “Who were your parents?”

  “Daniel Estampado and Celadon Viridian.”

  “And you said they died when you were five years old? How?”

  Landon watched her swallow hard and shift her gaze away from Nevada’s face. “They were killed by jaguars in a fight outside our village.”

  Landon didn’t miss the sympathy that crossed Nevada’s face, or the way his voice had suddenly softened. “I’m sorry.”

  “Thank you. I really don’t remember them.”

  “What was the fight about?” asked Landon.

  “I don’t know. I was never told.”

  “Not even by your grandmother?” asked Nevada.

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-five.”

  “There’s an awful lot you don’t know for someone who has lived over two decades.”

  She looked like she was going to cry again, and Landon had to consciously resist the urge to reach out and stroke her face. “What would you know about my life?”

  “So tell me about it now. Why do you know so little?”

  “I told you that my uncle and the Rosens run everything. I’m afraid of them. Topaz and I always stayed upstairs in our rooms while my uncle and his associates practiced their rituals in the house. She wouldn’t tell me what they were doing, but I sensed her fear. I saw it in her eyes.”

  “What kind of rituals? What type of magick?”

  “I don’t know what they were practicing. Topaz
wouldn’t tell me. She only told me to never, ever go downstairs when they were in the house.”

  A shiver passed up and down Landon’s spine at her words. What had this girl been through?

  “Why didn’t you leave sooner?” asked Nevada.

  She raised her arms slightly in a gesture of frustration. “And go where? Where would you go if you had to leave your village and your people? Would someone take you in down there in Passion Peak?”

  Nevada narrowed his eyes again. “How do you know where Passion Peak is?”

  “Your mother mentioned it.”

  “But how do you know of it?”

  “Topaz told me about other shape-shifter villages, and mentioned the towns along this side of the mountains. I know about Meeker and Rifle as well.”

  “Did she mention me?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know your surname.”

  Nevada watched her face for a long time as if he were debating how much to say. Landon remained quiet and prayed that Nevada’s instincts were true right now. “Ruiz. I’m Nevada Ruiz.”

  She shook her head. “No. I never heard Topaz mention your name. What kind of a shifter are you?”

  “Cougar.”

  “We never had discussions about a cougar tribe. Only leopards and jaguars.”

  “Were both your parents shifters?”

  She nodded slowly. “Yes.”

  Landon sensed the change in her body language and tone of voice, and apparently so did Nevada. “More secrets.”

  She let out a loud exhale. “It’s the reason my uncle wants me to mate with the Rosens. They don’t want the bloodline to die out.”

  “Keep talking, Saffron.”

  “Why should I trust you when you obviously don’t trust me?”

  “Because you’re the one who is cuffed, not me.” Nevada’s voice was soft, but Landon recognized the dangerous tone in it. She must have as well, because although they stared into each other’s eyes again for long moments, Landon at last saw her concede.

  “I’m a black leopard. A melanistic. A panther.”

  “Impossible,” he whispered.

  “Not only possible, but so were my parents and my grandmother.” She raised her arms again. “Take these off and let’s go outside. I’ll prove it to you.”

  Nevada almost smiled. “Right. Nice try, Saffron. You almost had me fooled.”

  Chapter Four

  Saffron didn’t even have time to process the fact that she’d just told these two far more than she’d ever intended. Nevada was on his feet again, and because she didn’t raise her gaze right away, she was treated to the sight of his impressive bulge. But even knowing she’d aroused him didn’t help calm her when he and Landon began to thread chains through the loops on the cuff of her left wrist.

  “Don’t do this…please…” Saffron tried to run, but it was pointless. Nevada picked her up as if she weighed no more than a twig, and tossed her onto a bed. She rolled onto her side, but all that did was give him something to hold onto. Nevada positioned his body behind hers and caught her in his arms, effectively pinning her against him. Landon knelt in front of her on the bed and finished threading the chains.

  She looked up into his blue eyes, silently pleading, as tears spilled over her lashes again, but he wouldn’t hold her gaze. She was thirsty, she had to pee, and now she was also hungry because the dried fruit she’d had earlier hadn’t been nearly enough food. How long ago had that been?

  “I won’t go anywhere,” she said. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, we do.” Nevada pulled her to her feet and led her toward the wall, where she glanced up and groaned loudly at the sight of large rings in the ceiling. Judging by the marks around them, they’d held people prisoner in this cabin before. Nevada reached up, and he was so tall that he easily slipped one end of the chain attached to her left wrist cuff through it. Landon handed him a lock and Nevada secured it around the end of the chain.

  He moved his shirt aside at the neck, exposing a leather band. “See these?” He held up a key ring attached to the end of the band. “I have them with me all the time. Landon has a set as well. We’re your best friends right now, Saffron.” He pointed toward the ceiling. “It’s a pulley system. You have enough slack to walk around the cabin, but don’t try to get outside. It won’t work. The doors will be locked from the outside.”

  “What happens if they find me? I’ll be trapped. Or what if there’s a fire? Will you leave me here to die like a caged dog?”

  Landon unclipped the cuffs on her wrists and took the one off her right hand, but it hardly mattered. The only way to unfasten herself from their ingenious bondage system was to open the locks at the ceiling or the one on her left wrist cuff with keys, and she didn’t have them. She was trapped. “You won’t be alone,” he said. “If Nevada and I can’t be here with you, we’ll send someone to watch you until one of us can return.”

  “Oh sure. Leave me alone with a strange man. Why should I trust any of you?”

  Landon looked like she’d slapped him. What was that about? “You think we’d take advantage of you? Or send someone who would?”

  She wiped away her tears. “Why not? You don’t believe me. I’m your enemy, or at least someone you think your enemy sent. Why would you care about my honor?”

  “We care,” said Nevada. “There is food and water in the other room.” He took her backpack and dumped it out on the bed.

  She followed, but Landon blocked her way. “We’re not going to take anything. We only want to make sure you have no potential weapons in there.”

  She watched them rifle through her personal items, but they only removed her pocketknife. “When will you give that back to me?”

  “Not sure,” said Nevada. “That depends on how long it takes me to check out your story.”

  “Then you do believe me.”

  “I didn’t say that. I said I would check out your story.”

  “You wouldn’t bother checking it out if you didn’t believe it could be true.” The men began to walk toward the front door and Saffron followed. “Please don’t leave me alone.”

  “Landon has to get back to work. I’ll send someone to sit outside until I can return.”

  She caught up to them and touched Nevada on the back. His body was so warm, almost as if he had a fever. He spun around at her touch and flinched, but she caught the look in his eyes before he reined it in. He wasn’t afraid of her. The emotion she’d glimpsed was lust, not fear or disgust at being touched by her. “Please, don’t go. I’m so afraid.”

  “You have no reason to be. In less than five minutes, someone will be right outside the door. And I’ll return today.”

  She glanced from one man to the other. “What can I say to change your minds about this?”

  Landon took a deep breath and turned away first. “I have to go. I’m at least a half hour behind now with my trip sheet.”

  “Go,” said Nevada, without taking his eyes off Saffron. “Come by later and I’ll tell you what I’ve learned.”

  Landon gave her a quick glance over his shoulder as he opened the door, and Saffron caught the regret in his eyes. He didn’t want to do this. Not really. She breathed in the smell of fresh air from outside and held it in her lungs for a few seconds before exhaling. Would she ever be outdoors and running free again? Why had she stopped to watch him? None of this would have happened if she’d simply ignored the village, and Landon. She’d be miles from here by now.

  Landon closed the door and Saffron turned her gaze toward Nevada, who was watching her too closely. “Tell me something before I go, Saffron.”

  “What?” She’d tell him anything if it would keep him here. She was so afraid to be alone like this, trapped and caged. Anything could happen to her, and she’d be powerless against it.

  “Why didn’t you hear me sneaking up on you? If you are what you say you are, you should have easily heard me.”

  “I don’t know. I was distracted.” It was true, but she
didn’t want to tell him by whom.

  He nodded a couple of times. “I’ll return later.”

  “Please don’t go.”

  He didn’t answer her, and he didn’t glance over his shoulder the way Landon had done, but Saffron watched his body stiffen slightly at her words. After he closed the door behind him, she ran to each window and tried to open it, but only the ones in the tiny bathroom and on the southern wall opened, and then only a few inches each. She left them that way so that she could breathe in fresh air. Then she tried both doors, but he hadn’t been lying about them. They were locked, and she couldn’t move the mechanisms from the inside.

  By the time she sat down in a chair to try and think, her heart was pounding and her head hurt. She had to stay calm. If she let panic overtake her now, she’d never escape this. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, but she brushed them away impatiently. This wasn’t the time to cry. There had to be a way out of here.

  She went into the bathroom and took care of business, then splashed her face and neck with cold water. When she returned to where they’d dumped her backpack out on the bed, she put the items back inside it, and then went in search of food and water. He hadn’t lied about that either. The pantry and refrigerator were stocked. How often did they keep people here? Did they use this cabin for anything else? It was so isolated, but it had running water and electricity.

  After she ate something and drink some water, she tried to shift, just in case he’d been lying about that, but it was no use. She knew within two seconds that it wasn’t going to work. She heard movement outside and peered through the front windows to find a teen boy sitting next to the door, whittling on a piece of bark. At least they’d kept their word and sent someone to watch the cabin, but she hardly imagined a boy of no more than fifteen or sixteen could protect her against her uncle or his associates if she was found.

  What was she going to do? And why had this happened? Saffron crawled onto the bed and curled up on her side, already hating the sound the chains made as they dragged across the hooks in the ceiling. She was no better than an animal in a zoo. She missed Topaz so much right now that the pain was almost unbearable. If only she could talk to her. Topaz would at least have words of comfort, hidden in the guise of a story.