SEALed Embrace

Evernight Publishing ®

www.evernightpublishing.com

Copyright©
2015 Jessica Coulter Smith

 
ISBN: 978-1-77233-415-9

Cover Artist: Jay Aheer

Editor: Juliet Kafri

ALL RIGHTS
RESERVED

WARNING: The unauthorized
reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
 
No part of this book may be used or
reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

This is a work of fiction.
All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual
events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.

SEALED EMBRACE

SEALed with a Kiss, 1

Jessica Coulter
Smith

Copyright © 2015

Prologue

She
struggled, punching and kicking, fighting with everything she had against her
restraints. With a silent cry, she broke free. The scent of decaying leaves
burned her nose. The faceless man wouldn’t give up and came after her again.
Isi’s heart pounded in her chest, the beat echoing in her ears. Her lungs ached
with the strain.

The
covers tangled around Isi’s legs, trapping her as she fought to disentangle
herself from the demons chasing her. Long hair wrapped around her neck, cutting
off her air supply, just as the man’s hands had done in her dream. A scream
built in her throat as she fell out of bed and semi-woke. She untangled herself
from the covers and stood, looking around in confusion. The woods were gone, no
one was there. A shiver ran down her body as the threat to her safety still
hung heavy in the air, the feel of the man’s breath still hot and heavy against
the back of her neck. The cloying scent of his sweat and determination assailed
her nose, making bile rise in her throat. Needing to escape, she dashed out of
the bedroom at her parents’ home and ran. Behind her, she heard her mother’s
voice call out, but Isi didn’t break stride. She burst through the front door,
heedless of her scantily-clad state, and ran to the nearby woods, needing the
freedom of the night, the cool breeze, the incandescent moonlight.

Her
feet slipped and slid as she ran up the incline, dirt squishing between her
toes as twigs dug into her soles. Scrambling up the hill, she gripped the trunk
of a tree and hauled herself upright. She looked over her shoulder, convinced
the man from her dreams was still chasing her. Sweat slicked her skin and she
trembled as a breeze caressed her. Her breath came out in pants as she moved
further into the woods, fallen acorns bruising her feet. She ignored the pain
and picked up her pace. A walk turned into a jog, then a run. Isi didn’t know
how long she’d been outside, or how far she’d traveled.

She’d
thought she was alone, that she’d escaped the phantom man behind her, so she
let out a shriek when an arm wrapped around her waist. Her captor placed his
hand over her mouth, a cloth in his grip, and she struggled. Her hands grabbed
at the arm holding her prisoner, her feet kicking against her attacker. Her
heels met the man’s shins time and again, and she had no doubt it
was
a man from the height and breadth of
him. The steely arm around her had hair that was crisp against her fingertips.
The sickly sweet smell of whatever chemical he had put on the cloth filled her
nose and her arms and legs began to feel sluggish. Her sight began to dim, and
then she struggled no more.

Chapter One

Blackness
surrounded her. She couldn’t even see her hand in front of her face. She had no
idea how much time had passed, but she guessed it had been at least a day,
maybe more. She explored the cell on her hands and knees, the cement scraping
her soft skin. She
 
prayed not to run
across any spiders or rodents.

She
discovered a bucket in the corner. Her nose had wrinkled in distaste as she’d
realized what it was for, but eventually she’d caved and used it, being left no
other option. There had also been a small crate with two bottles of water and a
small package of crackers. Not enough to fill her up, but enough to keep her
alive—she hoped. No one had come for her, no sounds could be heard. She hadn’t
even found a door, which left her a little perplexed and more than a little
scared, until she’d felt along the ceiling and discovered a hatch of sorts.
What the hell kind of place was she in?

Was
anyone looking for her? She’d had a falling out with her family during one of
the few times they’d acknowledged her existence, would they care that she’d
been taken?
Why
had she been taken?
She was a nobody, both in the human world and in the pack. As a shifter unable
to shift, she’d been an outcast, beneath almost everyone’s notice.

Her
family had been embarrassed when it had come time for her first shift and
nothing had happened. She’d turned her face toward the moon, closed her eyes,
and waited. But nothing, not even a twitch. No tingle, no awareness of her wolf
coming forward, nothing. It was shortly after that her parents had informed her
she’d been adopted. They’d been told she was a wolf shifter—knew she was a
shapeshifter of some sort by her scent—but it seemed she was defective.

It
was later that she realized what she was. She had felt her cat caged in her
mind, felt her pacing on many occasions as if she was ready to burst free, but
the beast never emerged.

She’d
never known why her birth parents had given her up, and probably never would.
From what she’d gathered, ocelot shifters rarely had more than two children, if
even that many. Quite a few were barren. Why give one up when they were so uncommon?
She couldn’t remember her life before living with the Mayhews, but her adoptive
mother said they’d brought her home when she was three. Why couldn’t she
remember her other family? Surely she should remember a face, a scent, a place.
Something.

She
breathed in the stale air, and not for the first time she wondered how long the
oxygen would last. The place seemed to be airtight. Had they put her in here to
die? Was she being held for ransom? Now that was laughable. Who would pay to
get her back? Not Jill and Mark Mayhew, that was for certain. They’d probably
consider themselves lucky that she was gone, and since it was a kidnapping,
they could play the part of the victims. They’d probably even squeeze out a few
tears, all for show, of course.

Sweat
poured down her face and neck, trickling down into her shirt and making it glue
to her body. As badly as she was sweating, no amount of water would keep her
hydrated. Did anyone even care if she died? Perhaps her kidnappers had taken
her by mistake. If they had, surely they would’ve realized that by now? But if
there wouldn’t be a ransom coming for her, would they merely leave her to rot
in this small prison, or would they release her? Did she dare hope for a happy
ending or was it merely a dream? She fought against feelings of hopelessness,
against the depression pressing in on her, fought for the courage to go on. It
would be so easy to give up.

She
drifted in and out of consciousness, the heat and lack of food and water taking
its toll on her body. It could have been mere minutes, few hours or possibly
days before she heard it: a squeak, a squealing noise and a thump. Then air,
blessed air
! A cool breeze drifted over
her skin and she cracked her eyes open. Stars shone above her as she gulped
down the fresh air, sucking in as much as her lungs would hold.

Two
shadowy figures leaned over the opening and she closed her eyes, unable to hold
them open another second. The sound of boots striking concrete rang out in the
small space and she assumed one of the men had joined her. Strong arms
supported her and cool water greeted her lips. She drank greedily before he
took it away. She moaned and tried to reach for it back, but her arms hung limply
at her sides. She must have been more far gone than she’d thought.

“Easy
there, princess. We don’t want you to take in too much too soon or it will just
come right back up.”

The
voice wasn’t familiar, but it was deep and soothing. She tried to open her eyes
again, to no avail. The man lifted her into his arms and rose with her in his
grasp. She could feel herself being lifted up, then another pair of hands
gripped her and lifted her out into the cool night air. Sucking in more air,
she scented sandy soil and little else. Wherever she was, there were no flowers
or trees nearby, no civilization. Just where had they taken her?

“Miss
Mayhew, you’re safe now,” said the second man, his voice not quite as deep as
the first’s, but pleasant just the same.

She
opened her eyes again and saw one of the men press the side of his ear before
speaking again.

“We’ve
got her. Tell the parents she’s safe and on her way home.”

They
knew who she was? How had they found her? Who had sent them? She moaned,
wanting to ask the questions circling in her mind, but nothing else came out.
It seemed her questions would have to wait a little while longer. They’d
mentioned her parents, but surely she’d misheard. Her mother and father
wouldn’t care if she were to suddenly disappear.

She
must have blacked out again because the next time everything came into focus,
she heard the whirring of a helicopter and appeared to be inside the machine.
Her eyes, now fully open, took in her surroundings. Four men sat nearby, two on
either side of her. Each was dressed in black camo pants and black t-shirts,
firearms strapped to their hips and rifles of some sort slung across their
backs. At least, she thought they were rifles. She really knew next to nothing
about guns.

One
of them saw she was awake and smiled at her, his eyes crinkling at the corners.
His green gaze seemed friendly as he assessed her.

“What
happened to me?” she asked, needing to know.

“You
were kidnapped by a rival pack, transferred to yet another pack and held
captive in the desert. The Rickshaw pack decided you weren’t worth anything
except a ransom. Once they figured out where you’d come from, they sent a note
to the alpha demanding seventy-five thousand for your safe return.”

Her
eyes widened. “He’d never pay that for me.”

“He
paid a pretty penny for us to extract you, so don’t discount your worth. You
obviously have value to your pack, whether you believe that or not.”

She
snorted. “As if anyone in the McGraw clan would pay a penny for me. I’m
surprised Alpha Henry paid anything for my return.”

The
man frowned. “It wasn’t a Henry that we dealt with, but a Sean McGraw. We
assumed he was the alpha.”

“No,
he’s the alpha’s youngest.” She had to admit, if anyone was going to pay for
her return, it would be Sean. He’d always been kind to her over the years. He
hadn’t turned his back on her when she couldn’t shift, unlike most of the other
friends she’d made. Besides Sean, she had three close friends that had stuck by
her side through it all.

She
pushed herself into a seated position, holding her head when the world spun.

Another
of the men steadied her. When he spoke, she recognized his voice as the second
man who had pulled her from that death trap. “Easy. You should probably rest. The
flight to your home will take a few hours.”

Someone
handed her a package of peanut butter crackers. She wasn’t sure it would stop
the hunger pains, but it was certainly better than nothing. That, coupled with
the bottle of water someone thrust into her hand, was like heaven after doing
without for who-knew how long.

“You
seem to know who I am, but I don’t know who any of you are. Since you saved my
life, it only seems fair that I know what to call you.”

The
man with the beautiful green eyes tipped his head to the left. “That is Parker
Adams, across from him is Lee Mathers. The man with his hand on your shoulder
is Dagan O’Neal and I’m Garren Douglas.”

“As
you already know, I’m Isolde Mayhew, but everyone calls me Isi. Thank you for
rescuing me. I don’t think I had much time left.”

Dagan
patted her shoulder. “Rest, Isi. We’ll have you home in no time. I’m sure your
family has missed you.”

She
highly doubted that, but she kept her thoughts to herself.

The
hand on her shoulder was warm and soothing. She hadn’t had much interaction
with men since her shifting episode. No one wanted a defective mate. Her gaze
flicked up to Garren and found his warm green eyes assessing her once more.

There
was enough testosterone in the helicopter to drown a woman, but she rather
liked being surrounded by such blatant maleness, each man tall, broad
shouldered and divine in his own way. Parker’s white-blond hair and dark-chocolate
eyes were rather striking; Garren’s black hair and green gaze made her blood
heat; Dagan’s golden good looks and kind blue eyes were enough to make her
heart melt; and Lee, with his close-cropped brown hair and hooded gaze, had bad
boy written all over him. She imagined each and every one of them was lethal to
the female population. Her sense of smell told her they were all shifters of
some sort and she wondered what they were. Wolves? Bears? She wondered if they
would stick around long enough for her to find out.

She
must have dozed off, for all too soon the trip came to an end and they were
landing in a clearing at the edge of the pack’s village. She couldn’t think of
any other way to describe the collection of homes and duplexes owned by the
pack. She’d lived with her adoptive family until she’d turned eighteen, then
she’d gotten a job and moved out. Still, once a week she went to stay with them,
trying to be a loving daughter. She preferred being at home though. Her home.
Her place wasn’t huge by any means, but the duplex was comfortable enough.
Tomi, her neighbor, had quickly become one of her best friends.

The
helicopter touched down and before Isi could stand, Dagan lifted her into his
arms and stepped down. Garren shot him a fierce look, but the golden god just
smirked at him. She wasn’t sure what all of that was about, and she wasn’t sure
she wanted to know. Once they were away from the noisy helicopter, she pointed
them in the direction of her home. Dagan frowned.

“I
think we should take you to your parents.”

“They
won’t be pleased to see me,” she admitted.

Garren
narrowed his eyes. “Why is that?”

“I’m
something of an outcast in the pack, and an embarrassment to my family. Not
only am I adopted and definitely not a wolf, but I can’t shift.” She hated
telling them that, but she didn’t know what else to do. She had to make them
understand. The last thing she wanted to do was confront her parents right now.

Dagan
and Garren shared a look.

 
“Then we find Sean McGraw. He paid for your
rescue, he should know you’re safe.” The look on Garren’s face told her it was
non-negotiable. “But you should know, we’ve been in contact with your parents.
You may think they don’t care, but they sounded concerned to me.”

“If
they sounded concerned, I can assure you it was all an act. I’ve done
everything I can to be a good daughter to them, but I can see the hatred in
their eyes when they look at me. I’m not what they bargained for and they
resent me.”

With
a sigh, she told them how to reach the alpha’s son. He had a log cabin on the
outskirts of the village, on a large wooded lot. The man liked his privacy,
probably because of the numerous panty-throwing women he dealt with all the
time. She’d had more than one laugh at his expense over the years as she’d
watched him dodge one wolf after another, each with a one-track mind: to nab
the alpha’s son as a mate. But Sean was determined to mate with his
true
mate and none other, and so far,
that woman didn’t exist within the McGraw clan.

The
men commandeered an old Jeep from somewhere, she didn’t want to ask, and they
arrived at the cabin in no time. Dagan and Garren got out and walked up to the
porch, with Lee and Parker trailing behind them. Garren knocked on the door.

Sean
answered, looking haggard, his hair standing up every which way, his eyes
bloodshot as if he hadn’t slept for days. The moment his gaze settled on her,
there was stark relief on his face and he moved forward to take her from Dagan.

“Isi,
thank God! I worried they’d never find you.”

She
hugged her friend. “I’m fine, Sean. A little worse for wear, but I’ll be okay.”

“She
could use a decent meal and some more water, preferably some with electrolytes
in it. She’s dehydrated.” Lee smiled. “She’s a trooper though.”

“What
I need is a shower and a change of clothes,” Isi corrected. “I reek.”