A Taste for a Mate Read Online Free Page A

now. We will find her.” Adam gave him a rough hug before he left the shop. The sound of a car outside signaled the arrival of his brothers.  Time to kick ass and find his mate.

 
     
    Chapter 4
     
     
    A slam of a car door woke Willow.
    Where am I? What happened?
    Head pounding, her thoughts collided then slowly coalesced. The scratchy surface of a torn fabric rubbed against Willow’s bound wrists behind her back. She craned her neck to the side and discovered faded upholstery. She was in the backseat of a car. Well, at least I’m not in the trunk. Sarcasm aside, terror churned in her belly. An unwelcome friend in a dire situation.
    Why couldn’t she be the kick ass heroine of one of those newer, cheesy romance novels? She could take the knife tucked in her boot, free herself, and kill anyone in her path. Okay, maybe not kill, but seriously maim nonetheless.
    Willow inwardly winced. Damn, she was officially going crazy. Who were those men that had taken her? Isaac and Reggie. That’s right. What did they want with her? She was just a bakery owner with no family to speak of.
    Jasper.
    They’d tossed his name about before they knocked her out. But why? What did he have to do with it?
    The car door opened abruptly, the sound of the metal grinding against metal piercing Willow’s ears. Her breath stopped, fear taking over.
    “She’s awake.” A man – no Isaac – spoke to people she couldn’t see before leaning in the car. He reached beneath her to pull Willow out by her tied hands. The rope dug into her flesh, and she felt the faint trickle of warm liquid down her hands. Oh God, they’d broken the skin. A whimper escaped her, as Isaac pulled her to his chest.
    “You smell sweet. We’re going to have fun with you.” Like in her shop, his breath assaulted her face. Distress trailed up her chest, seeping into her bones. Don’t let this man be the last face I see, please.
    He pulled her, not at all struggling with her weight, toward a drab gray building.
    A wolf walked out the door, leading her down a dimly lit hall.
    They keep wild animals here?
    The wolf growled, then its body rippled. Its bones crunches and muscles tore, finally reshaping into a naked man.
    “Hello, Willow. I’m Hector, the Alpha, leader of the Centrals. And I’m going to be the last thing you see.” He smiled.
    Willow screamed as he backhanded her, throwing her into the wall. At the sound of the man called Hector’s laughter, she fell into blessed darkness with some last conscious thoughts.
    Werewolves are real.
    And they are going to kill me.
     
     
     
     
    Bracing herself, Willow cracked open only her right eye because her left one had been swollen shut and took in her surroundings. Water trickled down the aging stone walls and dripped against concrete floors. A draft from the small crack under the door cooled the room and froze Willow’s bones. She was locked in a basement or cellar of some sort with no windows and only a steel door as a way out.
    The handcuffs currently digging into her wrists and ankles deterred any thought of moving. Hector had knocked her out cold with his fist, and she hadn’t woken until they dropped her on the cold floor, naked and chained with a collar around her throat. The lack of an ache between her thighs was a blessing as she knew she’d escaped being raped – for now.
    After trying to stay awake for what seemed like hours, she drifted in a" wnd out of consciousness until hands tugged at her chains, jostling her awake again.
    “Get up,” a gravelly voice ordered. “Time to speak to the Alpha.”
    What was an Alpha? Why couldn’t she sleep? Her eyes felt heavy and exhaustion pulled at her, but she couldn’t rest. Oh God, she didn’t want to see the werewolves again.
    Trying to conserve the last of her dwindling energy, she let them drag to a room on one of the upper floors.
    “Ah, my pet. I’m happy to see you here. I’m Corbin, the Alpha’s son.” He smiled a cruel smile and Willow