Taken by the Billionaires

Book 6 of the Mating Season series

Snowed in and trapped in a cabin with two burly mountain men.

Sarah has no idea that Mac and Callum are the billionaire owners of the forest they’re surrounded by, but she knows they will protect her with their lives.

Mac and Callum had long given up hope of ever finding their mate, until Sarah stumbles onto their land. Will they be able to contain the wolf inside of them, for her sake, or will the blood lust destroy their one chance at happiness?

Excerpt

Chapter One

SARAH

I tightened my grip around the steering wheel as the truck behind me gained speed. It had been tailing me the entire journey as I drove up the winding mountain road. Any sudden stop and it was going to crash into me and send me flying off the side of the road, and tumbling down the side of the mountain.

I squinted at my rearview mirror, but it was impossible to see the driver of the truck past the dark tinted windshield. Was that even legal? All I could tell from the silhouette was that it was a big man. My heart lurched into my throat. Had they finally found me?

I had been so careful, keeping my name off of any official records, and always covering my tracks ever since I fled from Paradise Peaks and escaped to Huntington Harbor. The image of the hitman with a clean-shaven head and a skull tattooed on his neck putting a bullet into my boss’s forehead still haunted me. Every night, after I closed my eyes and fell asleep, I saw Brian’s lifeless eyes staring at me, warning me to run before they got to me next.

All my life, I only wanted a normal job and financial security. The position as a bookkeeper at Brian’s accounting firm seemed like a dream come true. As a fresh college graduate with no other job prospects, it was everything I could have hoped for. If only my boss wasn’t helping the Russian mafia launder their ill-gotten money.

The road twisted once again. I jerked the steering wheel, snapping my car around a blind curve. The truck revved its engine and inched closer, closing in on the distance between our cars until it was almost riding my bumper. There was no escape. We were on a narrow two lane road with no turnoffs or pullouts for the next twenty miles.

I glanced down at my navigation system. Thankfully, I was past the most dangerous twisty part of the road. Looking ahead, I could already see that the upcoming section was a straight stretch of road. That meant I could gun it and try to outrun the truck. I threw my car around the next turn. Once the road straightened, I stepped down hard on the gas pedal. My engine roared angrily as I pushed my little sedan to its limits.

It wasn’t fast enough.

The truck almost clipped the back of my car as it sped up. The driver of the truck blared his horn at me before pulling into the opposite lane at the last moment. Even the window tint couldn’t hide the angry, obscene gestures of his hands as he sped off into the distance.

I let out the breath I didn’t know I had been holding. My hands shook as I clenched and unclenched my fingers and adjusted my grip on the steering wheel. It was just another impatient asshole driving a lifted truck who thought he owned the road. My paranoia about being followed by the mob goons was getting to me.

But was it paranoia? The bald man with the familiar neck tattoo sitting in my booth at the café where I worked this morning couldn’t have just been a coincidence.

The walk back to my car before the man spotted me seemed like it took an eternity. Without another glance back, I sped out of the parking lot and away from Huntington Harbor. Going back to my apartment to get my stuff would have been too risky. I had no idea if they had more men there waiting for me. With none of my belongings, cash, or time, the only place I could think of going on such short notice was up into the mountains near Huntington Harbor.

It was early winter, but the warm weather and lack of snow meant a slow season for the ski resorts. Rooms were cheap, so at least I had a place to stay and hide from the mafia until I figured out what to do next.

I stepped down hard on the gas pedal, urging my car to go faster. Suddenly, the car jerked, and a loud whirring sound came from under the hood. It seemed like every light on my dash started flashing all at the same time.

“Shit!”

The car started to lose power, but thankfully I was on a level stretch of road. I steered the car toward and empty lot and came to a stop as the front wheels slid onto a mound of dirt.

I turned off the ignition. Now what? Pulling out my phone, I wanted to cry. There was no signal. Not that I expected there to be. Dense pine trees covered almost all the mountains. It was a dead zone, and only the town and ski resort had signal in the entire area.

Without a car or a way to call for outside help, I was a sitting duck. As I climbed out of my car, I noticed a sign posted near the edge of the forest.

This was a trailhead parking lot, I realized. Scanning the sign, I did a quick calculation. The trail was over nine miles long, starting from the parking lot and terminating at an alpine lake, with almost 1200 feet of elevation gain. The lake was less than a half mile west of the ski resort. If I stuck to the trail, I should be able to make it to the hotel before nightfall. That was, of course, if nothing went wrong.

I frowned. I wasn’t exactly dressed for a mountain hike. Though I was wearing comfortable white sneakers, my outfit consisted of a pair of black jeans and a black tee-shirt under my thin jacket. If I didn’t make it to the hotel before dark, I was going to freeze to death in the woods.

Staying here and sitting in my car wasn’t an option. There were no other cars in the parking lot and I hadn’t passed any other cars on the road besides that speeding truck. I had to take a chance. If the guy in the café was the same mafia goon who killed my boss, he had to figure out that I was on the run once I failed to show up to work. The drive from town was only an hour and a half. That didn’t give me very much of a head start if they were already looking for me.

Despite the long hike, I had no choice. I had to risk it.

Grabbing my water bottle from the car, I locked it and headed into the forest. The trail was well-defined and covered with dried pine needles, weaving gently through the forest. Towering pine trees blocked out most of the sun, keeping most of the trail out of the blazing sun.

Before I knew it, I reached the next trail marker. I had already hiked a mile and had 8 left to go.

“Well, that wasn’t too bad at all.” Despite my lack of proper hiking gear, I was making good progress. At this rate, I was going to arrive at the hotel before dusk. A fresh burst of energy rushed through my body, and I picked up my pace.

The hike was so peaceful and relaxing, with the fresh smell of pine in the air, and the happy chirping of birds up in the trees. It was easy to get lost and forget that I was on the run. So far, I hadn’t run into another person on the trail. My steps snapping twigs and pine needles on the ground were the only other sounds.

Soon, I reached a fork in the trail. The old wooden sign here pointed in two directions, one was up to the summit of the mountain in fourteen miles. The other direction was the trail to the lake, and I only had six more miles to go. I stopped for a moment to take a sip of water before heading down toward the lake.

After hiking for what seemed like hours with no change in scenery, the trail ended suddenly in front of a fallen dead tree. I paused and examined the area as I caught my breath. Beyond the tree trunk blocking my way, the trail sloped downward, like it had been washed away by a storm, but a narrow dirt path continued in the thick overgrown vegetation.

Judging by the dried gray trunk of the tree and amount of plants crowding around the trail, it had been undisturbed for a long time.

It was at this moment that I realized I hadn’t come across a trail marker in a while Was I lost? But I couldn’t be. The trail didn’t split at any point after the last fork. I pulled out my phone and opened my maps app, but it was no use. I had no signal, and I didn’t remember to download an offline map before I came up here.

What was I going to do now? I looked all around and realized that there were no obvious landmarks, a lake or a mountain peak, that I could use to orient myself. Most hikers probably turned around once they reached this point.

That wasn’t an option. If I went back, I would have wasted the entire day. It was getting closer and closer to dusk, I could feel it in the chill of the surrounding air. The men coming after me would have figured out that I was on the run. If they were following me, they would have found my car already and were out there looking for me.

The previously tranquil and relaxing forest suddenly felt like it was closing in on me. An ominous and eerie feeling settled heavily in my gut. The hair on the back of my neck prickled. It felt like I was being watched. I scanned the thickness of the trees for any sign of movement, but there was nothing.

In the distance, a wolf or a coyote howled, jolting me out of my thoughts. I had no other choice but to keep going. Carefully, I straddled the log and climbed over it. Following the trail, I slid down the washed out bank, grasping at tree limbs and vines so that I didn’t roll down into the ditch. It was touch and go for a moment, but I made it down with only some light scratches on my hand.

Despite my uncertainty, I followed the overgrown path deeper into the forest. A gust of wind blew, shaking the tops of the pine trees. Wrapping my arms around my torso, I zipped up my jacket and pulled it tight around myself. It was going to be dark soon. The temperatures this high in the mountains could be frigid at night. I had to make it to the hotel before nightfall.

Suddenly, there was a low and deep, animalistic grunt. I stopped and stood still. Holding my breath, I waited.

Nothing.

Then I heard it again. A growl and then it sounded like something was digging its paw into the dirt. My heart pounded as my eyes darted all around me, looking for the source of the sound. Whatever it was, it was made by a large animal.

What kinds of animals lived in these mountains? Deer and black bears for sure, but were there wolves? I remembered serving some campers who came into the café once. They mentioned seeing wolves in the meadow around their campground. Or maybe the mafia goons found me? Whether this was a two-legged or four-legged creature, I had nothing that I could use to defend myself against it.

Once again, the beast grunted. It came from somewhere ahead of me. An overgrowth of bushes and leaves covered the area between the trees, preventing me from getting a good look at whatever it was. Twigs snapped as it moved.

I was being hunted.

Slowly, I took a step back. Despite the overwhelming panic, I remembered not to make any quick movements. Running away would only trigger the animal’s hunting instincts and make it chase me.

The leaves rustled this time. It was getting closer to me.

Okay. I couldn’t run, but maybe I could take another two steps back. My foot landed on a hard round rock. I slipped, my ankle rolling painfully beneath me. I let out a cry as I tumbled backward. Flailing my arms in the air, I tried to regain balance, but it was no use.

As I fell, an angry roar shook the forest. It was the last thing I heard before I landed with a bone crushing thud that knocked the wind from my chest and the world went black.