Under Sean’s Protection by Lisa Oliver
Chapter Eight
Kyle knew he was a long way from home. Not because of the time he spent in the car, which he figured was at least eight hours. Hell, they could have just driven me around in circles for that long to disorient me. No, Kyle could tell he was in a strange place because of the smells.
The last thing Kyle remembered was falling asleep in the car. When he woke up, the hood had already been removed, and his wolf was going crazy trying to find anything that might smell familiar to him.
Kyle had never been away from home before, and he was familiar with every different smell in his house and territory. On the odd occasion, a stranger with an unfamiliar scent would pass by but they never stayed long. Well, strangers were rare, until Alpha Aiden had taken over from his father, bringing with him the assassins and encouraging enforcers from other territories to fight for a position with him. It was those challenges that led Sean indirectly to him – after Kyle and Michael completed the challenge circle and stands for the new alpha.
There must have been some kind of smell deterrent in the material, Kyle thought, pulling his mind away from the past. He didn’t remember smelling anything in the car apart from the leather of the seats, the two brutes in the front seat. And the lingering scent of Sean on his clothes, hair, and skin.
That’s what kept him going the most as he sat helplessly shackled in the back of the car. Thoughts of Sean. But now that the mask was off, every fiber of his being perked up and he started to familiarize himself with his new surroundings.
He was in an apartment of some kind, but there was no overriding scent indicating anybody lived in the place. It’s more like a hotel room, Kyle figured, as he noticed there were no personal effects or pictures around at all.
The furnishings were new and impersonal, as if chosen purely for practical purposes. There was a couch that would fit two people, the bed he’d woken up on, a small night table and a kitchenette that had a kettle and toaster but not much else. There was a desk that probably doubled as a dining table and two wooden chairs. The only other major thing in the room was a huge television screen mounted to the wall.
Kyle tried the door even though he knew it was hopeless. It was a heavy fire door, reinforced with steel and double bolts – clearly locked from the outside. There would be no way Kyle could get through it, even with claws.
Sean could do it. If only he was here.
But Kyle knew there was no point in crying, even as he brushed the tears from his cheeks. Instead, he went over to the window, looking out past the bars that were secured outside of the glass.
Forest – there’s an awful lot of forest around, but for once the great outdoors didn’t make Kyle or his wolf feel any better. Peering down the edge of the building, Kyle could make out a cleared area that held a couple of cars, but there was nothing anywhere that gave him a clue as to where he was.
Even if I got out, I wouldn’t know where to go.
As he was walking back to the door, he noticed an old rotary phone on the desk. He picked up the receiver and was about to dial something, he didn’t know what, when an unfamiliar voice spoke on the other end.
“Ah. You’re up,” it said. “Be right in.”
Kyle dropped the receiver and backed as far away from the door as he could. Minutes later he watched as a woman walked in, carrying a tray of food.
“I thought you might be hungry.” The woman laid the tray on the desk. She was dressed in a cream color business suit of some kind, with material that seemed to float in the air. Kyle had never seen anyone like her before. The door was flanked by the two enforcers who brought him here. Once the woman had stepped inside the room, they stepped back and closed the door behind her.
Kyle turned his focus to the tray, the scents filling his nose and reminding his stomach it’d been more than twenty-four hours since he’d eaten. Bacon, sausages, pancakes, toast, fresh fruit, pan fried potatoes, scrambled eggs drizzled with — what was that smell? Dirt? Animal shit? Sweat?
“Truffle oil,” the woman said, acknowledging the confusion on Kyle’s face. “On the eggs. It’s delicious if you haven’t tried it before.”
Kyle hadn’t tried it, but the smell was overwhelming.
“I didn’t know what you like or don’t like, or if you were a vegetarian or not,” the woman said, then paused. She looked at Kyle for a moment as if waiting for a response.
Kyle was still trying to put it all together. He smelled something else that hadn’t been present in his world since he was a kid - perfume.
The woman laughed. “That was a joke, Kyle. Of course, you’re not a vegetarian. What kind of wolf boy would you be if you didn’t eat meat?”
Kyle watched as the strange woman pulled some napkins and cutlery out of her front pocket.
“The knife and fork are plastic, I’m afraid,” she said. “We can’t exactly arm you with weapons now, can we?”
“Who are you?” Kyle demanded. “Why am I here?” he weighed up whether or not he could take the woman – she wasn’t young, but he decided against it when he remembered the enforcers who’d escorted her and were likely just waiting outside. “I need to know what’s going on.”
“My name is Janelle,” she said with a small smile, “and I’m hoping we can be friends.”
“Friends? When you kidnapped me and are holding me hostage?” Kyle said.
“Well yes, there’s that,” Janelle replied, “but let’s not allow such technicalities stop us from getting to know one another. I’ll bet you’re hungry. Eat, first. Talk second.”
Kyle looked at the tray of food. He was hungry, but the last day or so has taught him nothing if not to be cautious.
“Or we can talk while you eat,” Janelle said. “Look, it’s perfectly safe. Nothing’s been poisoned. As a gesture of good faith, and because I’m also famished, I’ll eat with you.”
Kyle watched in astonishment as Janelle loaded up a plate with healthy portions of nearly everything on offer, took a seat on the couch with her plate on her knees, and tore into her food.
“I’d get moving if I were you,” she said around her mouthful. “If you haven’t had your firsts before I go up for seconds, you’ll be sorry.”
Kyle, confused but starving, clutched three greasy slices of bacon in his hand and shoved them in his mouth, never taking his eyes off the woman on the couch.
“Yes, eat the bacon,” Janelle purred, “I won’t touch it myself. Pigs were my pets growing up, so I’ve never been able to stomach pork in any way, shape, or form. But you eat the bacon and help yourself to the sausages as well.”
