Chapter 441: Hostage
Olivia’s POV
"You have two minutes," the voice said. "Leave now, Lord Frederick, or both women die."
Frederick did not move at first. He stood like a statue, his chest heaving. His eyes burned red. I could see the war in him—anger, fear, something like pain.
"No," he growled. "You promised to hand over Selene."
The voice laughed softly. "And you are foolish to believe that."
The red light on Selene’s chest started to blink faster. I heard it—tick, tick—small and sharp in the loud room. My hands shook. My collar buzzed cold against my skin.
Frederick took one step forward. He looked like a beast about to break free. But the cartoon-like voice spoke again.
"Last warning," it said. "One minute."
Frederick’s jaw clenched. He looked at me once. In his eyes I saw something soft, a word without noise. He was coming back for us.
Then, with a hard look, he turned away.
He did not walk slowly. He ran. He did not look back.
The two men grabbed my arms roughly. One of them pulled a dark cloth over my face. Cold cloth. My sight went black.
They dragged me. Hard. My feet scraped the floor. My heart pounded so loud I thought it would break my ribs.
I felt hands on my shoulders, on my arms. I felt the collar catch and tug. I felt the rope around Selene’s chair being cut as she was dragged along with me. The cloth pressed harder over my eyes. I could not see. I could not move. My legs were pulled, then pushed, then hurried.
Someone shoved me into the back of a car. The floor of the car smelled like oil and metal. The world spun.
I tried to think of the triplets. I tried to think of escape. My fingers closed around the knife hidden under my thigh, but my hands were tied. My breath came fast.
From beside me I heard the ticking of the bomb.
I squeezed my eyes shut under the blindfold and prayed I could still teleport. I prayed Frederick could find a way. The triplets, even if angry, would find a way.
Soon the car began to move, and I couldn’t see where they were taking me. All I could do was wait and see what plan these people had, taking me and Selene hostage.
The car stopped with a jerk. Metal screeched. My head hit the seat. My blindfold stayed on.
Two men hauled us out. They pushed us hard. I stumbled.
They shoved us into a small room. The door slammed. My blindfold was ripped off.
Light burned my eyes. I blinked. I looked around.
Selene sat beside me on the floor. Her hair hung in her face. Her eyes were dark and tired.
She glared at me. "Why did you come?" she asked, sounding pissed.
I breathed out slowly. My throat felt tight. I did not want to say it. But I had to.
"I didn’t do this for you," I said. I tried to sound cold. "I made a deal with Frederick. If I go with them, he will let me go. He will break the blood vow if you come back safe."
Selene’s face changed. Surprise flickered there. Then anger returned like a flame.
"You two are fools?" she hissed. "How could you believe such?" She spat and glared at me with disappointment before looking away.
I frowned but realized she was indeed right. Why did we not think this through? Damn it!
I sucked in a deep breath and relaxed against the cold wall as I closed my eyes, trying to communicate with my wolf, but unfortunately she was subdued. I tried to unleash flames from my fingers, but nothing flickered out.
Selene scoffed. "Don’t bother... it won’t work."
I forced my eyes open and stared at her. It hadn’t been more than twenty-four hours since she was taken, but she already looked... different.
Her lips were pale, her skin had lost its glow, and the usual fire in her eyes was dim. She looked drained—weak—like someone had sucked the life out of her.
"What did they do to you?" I asked softly, even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
Selene gave a short, bitter laugh. "What do you think? They’re vampires," she said coldly. "They didn’t bite, if that’s what you’re wondering..."
My stomach turned. I didn’t ask more. Her voice alone told me she wasn’t in the mood to speak.
Silence hung between us again. I stared at the locked steel door, my wrists sore from the ropes.
"We need to get out of here," I muttered.
Selene turned her head slowly toward me. "And how exactly do you plan to do that?" she asked, sounding tired, almost mocking. "Your powers are gone. So are mine. That collar drains everything from us."
I bit the inside of my cheek, refusing to give in to the hopelessness pressing against my chest. "Frederick will come," I said. "And my mates... they will come."
She gave me a look stripped of hope, then turned away. The silence didn’t last long.
The door creaked open again, slowly this time. Not like before. A man stepped in—tall, dressed in black from head to toe, his face hidden behind a metal mask. The sound of his boots echoed softly as he crossed the room. He didn’t rush. He moved like he owned the place.
He dragged a chair from the corner and sat in front of us, leaning back casually, like this was a friendly meeting and not a hostage situation. The mask tilted slightly as he studied us.
"Well," he said finally, his voice deep and calm, not like the cartoon one from the speaker—this one was real. Cold and smooth. "Now that we’re all settled..." He rested his gloved hands together. "Let’s have a civilized discussion."
Selene scoffed weakly beside me, her head turning away. "You call this civilized?"
The man chuckled under the mask. "Considering you’re both still breathing," he said, "I’d say yes. Civilized enough."
I kept quiet, watching him carefully. His scent was strange—not vampire, not wolf, not human. Something in between. My jaw tightened. "What do you want from me?"
He tilted his head, like he found my question amusing. "Actually, the question is what do I want from you both."
He leaned forward slightly. "And trust me..." His tone dropped lower. "It’s not what you think."