by Mandy Adler
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I looked around the small room. There wasn’t much to the room, other than the chains hanging from the walls and the torches that lit the four corners.
“Same as you. I was captured during the last attack and I’ve been here ever since. I knew you guys probably thought I was a traitor and wouldn’t come for me. But as much as I don’t like you, I do care for our pack.”
I looked over at her then. She was a mess, she was dirty and bruised. Beings we heal fast I knew that meant she had been torture recently. “The others?” I ask with fear clogging my throat.
“Most made it out I think, they were pissed about that. I don’t know where Zach is though, they only brought you in.” She gave a small smile. “You don’t have to worry about Caleb though, I wasn’t so easy to capture, took him down with me, the traitor. He thought he take me, he should have known better than to betray our pack- the slime.”
“What do they want from us?”
“I don’t know. They have wolfbane everywhere, so we can’t shift. They don’t tell me anything, but from what I could gather I think it’s just you they want. The others were just leverage to use against you, for what I don’t know.”
They didn’t have me chained to the wall like they did Sue, just a single chain around my ankle that was fastened to the floor. So, I crawled over to her and placed my hands on her arm.
“What are you doing?”
“Just hold still for a minute.” I closed my eyes and felt the now-familiar pull. I watched her bruises disappear and smile at the breath she let out. “If we are going to get out of here and rescue my mate we need to work together.”
“Do you have a plan omega?” It was weird seeing her without her usual sneer, but I guess being locked in here has made her look at things differently.
“Not yet, but we need to be at our best. I don’t know what they want from me, but it can’t be good. And there’s no way I’m doing anything for these monsters; they killed both my parents. They killed Kyle.” I stifled a sob as I thought of my guard, who had given his life to protect me. “I will make them pay one way or another.”
Just then we both heard the footsteps. I rushed back to where I was and placed a finger over my lips, she nodded. The door slammed open to reveal the same man that had been in the round room we were taken down in.
“Hello little wolf.” He said as he shut the door behind him. “My name is Bran. We have a few things to discuss, and if you’re a good girl I’ll let you visit your mate.” He placed a chair backwards in front of me before sitting in it. “But if you’re a bad girl, I’m, going to have to take out my frustrations out on our good Alpha. Do we have an understanding?” I nodded. “Good girl. Now as you know our powers are waning. There are more and more dormants being born every year. This is not good for our clan. I know you can pull our power out of us and expel it out through force. I strongly believe that you can place that power into another, not just explode trees. Our elders have agreed to let you take their powers so our generation will have this power, we hope if all of our current generation has fire, our children born to us will to, and their children, and so on. You are going to help us.”
“What makes you think I would ever help you and your kind?” I sneer.
He let out a laugh that chilled me to the bones. He gestured towards Sue. “I know you can heal. And I will make you have to heal your mate over and over while you are forced to watch him be tortured. I know you don’t want that. I am sorry about your father, he wasn’t meant to die. He was just a means to bring you here, it didn’t go as planned.”
I wanted to end him just for the callous way he spoke of my dad. Was taking a life nothing to these monsters? But I stayed silent, I didn’t want him taking his anger out on Sue; who was to near to be safe from this dormant. I didn’t know what to do. How could I help him create more of the same monsters that took my dad from me, my mom? But just the thought of Zach being tortured was sending pings of pain through my soul.
“Where is he?” I growled out. “If you hurt him…”
“He is safe enough for now little wolf. Come, you can see for yourself.” He unchained me from the floor but held the chain in his hand like a leash as he led me out the door.
This place was like a maze, I don’t know how we would ever find out way out if we managed to escape. It didn’t seem to have any electricity, just the torches that lines every wall. We seemed to walk down floors and floors before he stopped at a metal door.
“We had to take precautions, your Alpha is a bit stronger than we would of thought. He kept breaking the doors.” He waved a hand at the metal one. “Thus, this to keep him in.” He opened the door and the sight I saw broke my heart. “I will give you five minutes, then you are going to keep up your end, or he will suffer for any disobedience you show.”
I took slow steps into the room, flinching as the door slammed shut behind me. I couldn’t stop the tears as I took in his still form. There wasn’t any part of him unbruised as I could see, his shoulder was dislocated, and it looked as if one leg was broken, there was also burns on every inch of him. He didn’t move as I placed both my hands on him, there was too much damage; I needed more contact. I stretch out beside him, my face wet with tears. I carefully put both my arms around him and let the healing flow out. It took a lot longer than any other healing I had done. I closed my eyes as exhaustion took over.
Zach
I could feel her, but couldn’t force my eyes to open. I could feel the despair and worry pouring out of her as she healed me. I didn’t want her wearing herself out like this, but I knew she would anyways. Just like I could never leave her hurt, she couldn’t leave me. I felt her power fade as she weakened.
Finally, my eyes opened to see my beautiful mate. She had dark circles under her closed eyes. The eyes I desperately needed to see. “Il mio bel fiore, open your eyes sweetheart.” Her eyes opened slowly, filling with tears as she saw me awake. “You wore yourself out baby.”
“I couldn’t just leave you to suffer.” She whispered. “Zach, they want me to…”
“I know. It’s okay, we will get out of this. Don’t worry about me, I’m stronger than I look. Just make sure to keep yourself safe.” I ran a finger down her face, smiling when she shivered.
“They killed Kyle.” I sucked in a tortured breath at the words. How many will we lose before this is over? “Sue is locked up with me, she didn’t betray us. We are going to get you out of here, somehow. We are going to make them pay for the lives we lost, that they took.”
I sat up, bringing her with me. “Don’t worry about me, if you find the chance… you run. You run and don’t look back; do you understand me?” I pushed all the Alpha power I could into my words. I needed her to get out if she had the chance. I couldn’t imagine the things they would make her do, I wouldn’t see her spirit broken.
“I won’t leave you here. And I am your equal, that power doesn’t work on me. I’m sorry and I love you, but I will not leave you here.” I wiped the tears away with my thumb. Stubborn girl, I should have known she would never leave me to save herself – no matter how much I wished she would.
“Times up.” Bran said from the door. I hated that guy, even with no active power the man was a menace.
“Be careful.” I whisper before kissing her, pushing all my love into that one act.
As he grabbed her arm and lead her out of the room my wolf howled. He didn’t understand how we could just let her walk out without a fight. But the man in me knew we had to bide our time, wait for the right moment to strike; then we would end them… all of them.
Chapter Twelve
Lily
I’m losing track of time, I have no idea how long we’ve been here. I have no idea how many times I’ve been forced to extract a man’s fire, just to blow up the person I was trying to put it in; how many people I’ve killed, the lives I’ve taken. I’ve lost track how many times I’ve had to watch my mate be tortured, just to heal him again whe
n I failed. I’m losing hope we will ever leave this hell.
Bran was in a real mood today. “I am getting tired of the failures little wolf. I am getting tired of you blowing up my men. So, we are going to try something new.” Dread set in as he brought in a child, no more than nine in. “We are going to see if you can be more exact if it’s the life of a child you would end. This is Sam, he is eight and a dormant. You will pull the power from his father and put it into this boy.” He walked over to me and I cringed as he placed a hand on my cheek. “But I will give you one last chance before we try this method. Pull the power from his mother and place it into Sue’s guard. If you succeed I will let young Sam here go and we won’t try it until he’s older. Up to you my dear.”
I looked over at the boy, I couldn’t kill him, he was just a child. I glanced as Zach who was chained to the nearby wall. They had started forcing him in our session after the first few failed attempts. They wouldn’t let me heal him until Bran had deemed I had tried hard enough. Zach gave me a small smile and mouthed, ‘it’s okay’ to me.
I faced the women with the fire in her, she looked so much like her young son. I slowly pulled, feeling the burn in me. When she fell to her knees with no power left in her I faced the guard. I tried to let it out slowly, I did. But it burst out of me like a broken dam, just like every other time. The guard ducked, barely missing the blast. Before I could catch my breath I was back handed, sliding across the floor from the impact. Zach let out a snarl.
“Stupid girl!” Bran shouted. “I am getting tired of these games. Take the damn power and put it into the boy, if you kill him it is on you.”
“Please don’t make me. I can’t kill a child.” I begged like the broken girl I was beginning to feel I was.
He laughed cruelly. “Then it looks like you better succeed this time. Put the fire in him or I will kill your mate.”
I looked over at Zach, my face wet with tears. I couldn’t let him die, but there was no way I could kill a child. He nodded once, I felt the love and understanding he poured through our bond.
I slowly faced the man who was looking at his young son with worry. “I won’t kill him.” I promised. The man gave me a grateful smile and turned to Bran. “I will not sacrifice my son for your cause.”
“You dare question me?” Bran challenged, taking a step towards the boy father.
“You have let enough of our people die. We let you lead because of who your father was before you. But you are lowering our numbers, not helping them. This wolf has more care for the children in our clan than you do. Enough.” Several elders stepped up to the father, backing him. “You are no longer our leader, you are relieved of your duties.”
I let out a shocked breath at the man’s words. He was putting a stop to all this! Bran had made one fatal mistake, he was willing to wager the life of a child. The rest of his clan wasn’t too keen on this idea.
“You will pay for this!” Bran shouted.
The father turned to me, ignoring the yells. “Thank you for being willing to lose everything for not killing my son. This clan owes you a dept. We will no longer hunt you or yours. You may take your mate and she-wolf and leave, we will not follow.”
I look over to see Zach being unchained and rushed to him just as he ran to me, scooping me up in a hug that was almost painful.
“Watch out!” Sue shouted before we heard the shot. Before I could blink she was in front of us, taking the bullet meant for us.
“NO!” I screamed. I pushed my healing into her as fast as I could, but it was no use. It had hit her heart, she was gone. She had sacrificed herself for us.
I look up at the snarl to see Zach shift and lunge at Bran, tearing his throat out in one move. I smoothed the hair out of her eyes. We might have started off as enemies, but being roommates for all this time as made us see we weren’t on opposite sides, we just chased after what we wanted differently. I had forgiven her when she asked, she had given her life for ours. She was pack, and now she was gone.
Zach growled as the father of the boy approached us. “Easy Alpha. We mean no harm. You may have one of our cars and go home. Bran is dead. One of ours for one of yours, we are even. Zach shifted before picking up Sue’s lifeless body and urging me out the door.
Zach
The ride home was silent. I could feel the relief that was pouring out of my mate, but there was also something else, a darkness that she didn’t have before. My mate, an omega meant to heal - had killed people. Her soul was hurt, it wasn’t in an omega’s nature to hurt anyone. She would heal, but I don’t know if she would ever be the same. I held her hand in mine, not able to break contact with her since I only now got her back.
I gently kiss her palm, and she gave me a small, timid smile. “We will be okay now love.” She doesn’t reply but I could feel her doubt that she will ever be okay. But I knew she would, she would mend with the help of our pack in time.
After what seemed like days we finally pull into the lodge. It’s dark now so the place is quiet, but I could hear them milling around inside. I get out and hold a hand out for Lily to take. She grasps it tightly. As we walk in we find them all in the meeting room, plotting another hit on the compound to bring us home.
“We will bring them both home where they belong! Remember pack, family first!” James yells to the room of hungry shifters, Abby at his side looking grim. Suddenly she turns and spots us and without another thought she ran to us.
“Oh my god!” She screams pulling us both in for a hug. James turns and sees us, his mouth dropping open.
“We thought we’d save you the trouble brother.” I say as he walks to us.
“Thank god you’re both okay.” He breathes before wrapping his arms around Abby, Lily, and myself.
Before I knew it, we were surrounded by our pack, all welcoming us home. I could feel Lily getting overwhelmed and knew she needed rest.
“I know everyone is happy to see us, and I will give you all an update on what happened tomorrow. But for now, I am taking my mate to bed. Please understand we are glad to see you all safe and sound, but we are retiring for tonight.”
Lily tenses beside me. “Seth? The children?” She whispers to James.
“They are still at the safe house with Thomas, we didn’t want to bring the pups home until we knew it was safe.” He answered, knowing what she was really asking.
“Send for them tomorrow. This war is over, I will explain tomorrow.” James gave me a nod in understanding and Abby gave a worried look to Lily.
“Give them time.” James whispered to her and she smiled lightly.
“Get some rest Lily-bug.” She said as she kissed her on the cheek. “I’m so glad you’re home.”
Without another word, I scooped up my mate and carried to our room. She was silent as she let me help her shower and dress for bed. Her silence worried me. I laid beside her and pulled her into my arms.
“Talk to me Il mio bel fiore, let me know you are okay.” I whisper in her hair.
“What if I am a monster just like them?” Her voice quivered, making my soul hurt for her.
“You’re not.”
“I killed them Zach, a lot of them. I blew them up.” Her tears where silent, the worst kind.
I tightened my hold on her. “But that you feel like this, even after all they did to you shows your heart my love. You are not a monster, you were forced to do unthinkable things. Nothing that happened in that place was your fault.” I sighed. “In time, you will come to believe me, and you will heal love. But it will take time. Sleep love, for we are finally safe.”
She snuggled in closer and after a while I felt her drift off, each time she whimpered with nightmares of the things she was forced to do, I was there to slay her demons. I would always fight for her in any way I can.
Lily
Weeks passed and while I don’t ever think I will be the person I was before all of this, before the time my life was filled with death and visions of violence- I have learned we must all move forwar
d. I won’t let them win, even if that means trying to put this behind me and moving on.
The handed over my father’s body in a show of the peace the mage’s left desire. We buried him next to my mother; Zach had said he may not be wolf but in the end, he was pack. He had tried to warn us of the trap, was willing to be left behind to save us all. I will forever miss both of them, but it will be my mission to make sure no other pups lost anyone to a senseless war again.
“Lil? You okay?” Abby asked as she carefully place flowers in my hair. “Cold feet? If so let me know and I will spell them all frozen and we will get the hell out of here.”
I laughed, she loved them all as much as I did. But I did love her loyalty. “No. I’m ready to do this, have been for a long time. My mind was just wandering.”
“Just making sure.” She stepped back and looked over me. “You look beautiful. Zach is not going to be able to take his eyes of you.”
“That’s the idea.”
“Damn right it is!” She walked over to Seth and knelt in front of him. “Do you remember what to do little man?” At his not she smiled. “Good boy. Just walk straight to Zach and hand him the rings okay?”
There was a loud knock on the door before James popped his head in. “It’s time.”
Zach
James stood beside me as the music started. I smiled watching the children walk the isle and little Seth hands me the rings. Abby seemingly floats, a proud smile on her face for her friend. But then I see her. The air seems to thicken as I watch my mate. Beautiful girl that she was, her hair was sprinkled with the flowers that inspired her name. Her dress stopped around mid-thigh, she had said she didn’t want to trip over a dress in front of the entire pack, she could have worn and paper bag and still been beautiful. But she was a vision. Her eyes filled with tears as she stopped in front of me and handed her flowers to Abby behind her.