Bear with Me (#2, Completed)

39. Twisted games

CALLUM

Boiling with fury, I ground my teeth and clenched my teeth so hard, it hurt.

"Ahhhhhh," I exploded as I threw the chair in the other end of the room, nearly smashing it, and slammed my fist on the table. The raw rage that pulsed through my veins was becoming blinding, both Mahon and I on the verge of losing all rational thinking.

It had been hours- long, gruelling hours- since whoever had Scarlett contacted me. Hours during which I had still not been able to reach her. No one had seen her leave or knew anything about her whereabouts, as if she had disappeared into thin air.

Weight pressed on my chest with every second that passed, robbing me of breath. No matter how much I didn't want to accept it, my mind kept circling back to the same thought- they had her.

"Do not contact anyone, or she dies." That was the last thing they sent and here I was, waiting for instructions like a good fucking puppy, when all I wanted was to hunt them down and have them suffer a slow, painful death.

I knew that not reaching out to Riley or Jack was a mistake, but I couldn't do anything to risk Flame's life, not when I had already watched her last breath slip between her lips the last time she was kidnapped. He or she, the person who was responsible for this, wanted me. I was the target, and Flame was their bargaining chip that they were not going to endanger by being reckless. Yet, that didn't mean that they wouldn't dare hurt her.

Let me out, Callum! Let me find them and crush them with my jaw; Mahon roared inside my head.

This is not helping, Mahon. We have no idea where they are or where Flame is.

You know that this is a trap, right? He countered.

Of course, I knew. The whole fucking thing reeked of a trap. But what choice did I have? We had no lead, and I had no clue how informed this person or people were about what was happening in the sleuth. Any contact with Jack could raise their suspicion and lead to them harming my mate. I wasn't willing to risk that- I would die than let anything happen to Flame.

The vibration from my phone made my heart kick up a ruckus in my chest- maybe it was her.

A little trip down memory lane would do you good, Alpha Andrews. Be at the cabin where you last saw your mate bleed in half an hour. You will find more instructions there.

The guttural roar I let out ripped through my cabin. My vision clouded with uncontainable anger, pure rage fueling my every move. That sick bastard was playing perverted games with me but what he or she did not realise was that their death sentence had already been signed.

Without wasting any time, I jumped on my bike and sped off to the cabin of horrors, the one where only a week ago I saw my mate bleed to death, her delicate throat slashed by another lowlife who tried to take her away from me. 

Flashbacks flooded my mind the closer I got to the hut. The sweet metallic scent of Flame's blood. The pool of red liquid that surrounded her. Her weakening heartbeat. The fear that had wrapped its tentacles around my heart, squeezing it as I held Flame's lifeless body in my arms and begged her not to leave me.

Everything played out in my head like I was still there. The fucking scumbag had wanted to mess with me, and he or she succeeded, clearly knowing how to push my buttons. Reliving your most excruciating memories crushed your soul in a way that left you in a fragile state of mind, with a pain so deep that it spread through your bones.

When I walked in, the whole place was eerily quiet. Only the creaking of the floorboards as I made my way through the place could be heard.

"Where are you, you bastard?" I bellowed, but the silence was the only reply I got.