by R. E. Butler
She appeared to be in a cell, with wood floors, walls, and ceilings. One wall was made of iron bars with a door in the center, facing another cell which was empty. The aisle between the cells led to a wooden door that had a rectangular opening covered with bars.
A chain rattled, and she looked down and realized there was a shackle around her ankle. She touched it, feeling the cool metal and the heaviness of the chain that was attached to an eye bolt in the floor.
She closed her eyes and reached out for Wrath. Would he know where she was? Would he feel her distress? She had no idea where she was or who had taken her, but she figured the people who’d drugged them were Blood Wolf enemies, possibly people Wrath had wronged at one time or another. Her eyes began to ache, her headache worsening, so she tilted her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.
Something creaked loudly, and she opened her eyes suddenly, realizing she’d passed out again.
Three males stepped in through the open door and stood along the wall of bars. They looked pissed.
And familiar.
“Do you know who I am?” the male in the middle asked, folding his arms.
She opened her mouth to speak, but her throat was so dry that nothing but a wheeze came out. Wincing at the pain, she wanted to ask for water, but judging from his angry scowl, she had a feeling he wouldn’t be getting her anything.
Swallowing and wincing at the pain, she rasped, “You look familiar.”
He snorted. “You don’t, human. What’s your name?”
“Trinity.”
His gaze narrowed. He was looking at her arm. She cast her eyes down, her mating tattoo visible because she was wearing a sleeveless shirt.
“You’re Wrath’s true mate. That makes you valuable. It also makes you a fool,” he said.
Her headache was a little better now, but it still hurt. She ignored the pain and met his hard gaze. She cataloged him—broad shoulders, muscular upper body that was on display as he was shirtless like his two friends. He had blond hair that dusted his shoulders, and a short-trimmed beard.
Damn he looked familiar.
His eyes flashed from brown to amber, and he let out a sharp growl.
“You’re Veltris,” she said suddenly. His eyes were a dead giveaway. Purebred alphas had brilliant amber eyes when they were emotional, and of the alphas she’d seen in her dreams, Veltris was the only one with a beard.
His brow arched. “I am. If you know my name, then you know my reputation. I was planning to take a battle to Wrath, but this is better. I’ll lure him here to save you, and then kill him and the rest of the mongrels.”
Trinity swallowed again, trying to beat back the fear that was swiftly rising within her. “If you know that I’m his true mate, then you know that he’s a changed male now. He was battling blood lust until he found me.”
“He was evil before the blood lust hit,” the male next to him said, spitting in disgust. “He’s been attacking our people for years.”
“He’s different,” Trinity said, tears stinging her eyes. She tried to push herself to her feet, but her limbs were shaking, and she was too weak. “Please. Veltris, please don’t do this.”
“You will call me Alpha,” he snarled. “You’re alive at my pleasure. That could change at a moment’s notice.”
“Think about Gemma,” she said.
He jerked the cell door open and was on her a moment later, lifting her off the floor and slamming her into the wall. Her headache intensified, and her vision winked out. His claw-tipped hands cut into her throat as he squeezed, cutting off her air. “You will not say her name.”
“Please,” Trinity wheezed. “She wouldn’t want this.”
He slammed her against the wall again, her head knocking and the room spinning as he dropped her to the floor. He stalked toward the door.
Fighting through the pain and nausea that swamped her, Trinity pushed her upper body off the floor and said, “Your mother was the daughter of the alpha of this pack.”
Veltris turned and faced her. “What did you say?”
“Your father was an orphan. The alpha didn’t want them to be together because your father hadn’t been a member of an important family in the pack. His parents were caretakers, his mother was always sick from a childhood illness that the pack healers couldn’t help her with.”
She cringed as he moved toward her, but instead of hurting her, he squatted down and lifted her face. “Wrath told you that, did he? Bastard. It doesn’t matter that you know about my family.”
“Wrath didn’t tell me anything. I dreamed about you. I’m not from this world.” She spoke quickly, the words tumbling from her in a rush. “I know you, Veltris. I saw you as a child. I know your story and how you came to find Gemma. Her family turned their backs on her when she mated you. They even sent humans after her to convince her to leave you. As much as she loves you, that’s how much I love Wrath. He and I were born for each other. His blood lust is because I was born into the wrong world. He was missing his other half, just like you. Veltris, please, let me go. I can bring peace to our people.”
“He’ll never want peace,” the other male said.
Trinity tilted her head and looked at him. He had dark hair and dark eyes, and a scar on his forearm. “You’re Furio. Your sister was killed by vampires. She’d gone hunting with friends and got caught in a trap. Her friends tried to protect her, but the vampires chased them away and drained your sister’s blood.”
Furio stared at her in disbelief. The male next to him—Lerrin—looked at him in shock. “Is that true? You said she died in a hunting accident.”
Furio swallowed audibly. “She did. Technically. How could you possibly know that?”
“A trick of some sort,” Veltris snarled. “Wrath’s doing.”
“No, I’m telling you that I know you. I know all the alphas who’ve had dealings with Wrath because I saw them in my dreams, not because he told me anything about you. Honestly, he probably doesn’t know half the things I know about you guys. But I know you. In fact, did you know that you and Wrath are related?”
He growled menacingly.
“It’s true,” she said. “His father and your father were cousins, which makes you and Wrath cousins.”
“Lies!”
“I’m not lying, I swear. Wrath’s father was killed by his pack. Your father killed his own cousin because he mated a vampiress and had Wrath. You two are family whether you believe me or not. I can help fix the rift between your people and Wrath’s. There doesn’t have to be any more bloodshed.”
“It doesn’t matter if we’re related. It doesn’t matter if I even believe that about him. He’s evil.” Veltris leaned in close, his eyes narrowed. “Do you know what he did to Gemma? She was unconscious when I found her chained up in that hellhole they use for their den. Bruised. Bleeding. When she woke, she was terrified, afraid to leave the house, worried that Wrath might be lurking.”
Trinity met his stare. “He didn’t hurt her. She got injured trying to escape several times. I mean, she’s a rock star, dude. Your mate kicks ass. The only thing Wrath did that was harmful was not give her food or water, but he never laid a hand on her. Not like you believe.”
Veltris slammed his palm to the floor and the wood splintered. He rose to his feet with a howl that made Trinity’s ears ring. He lowered his head, his eyes bright with anger. “No one speaks to her. No one brings her food or water.” He strode to the cell door and slammed it closed behind him. Turning slowly, he looked at her through the bars. “I was going to let you live, but you pushed my goodwill attempting to use my people and their history against me. So now, you’ll die. But I haven’t decided if it’ll be sweeter having you watch Wrath die first, or having him watch you die, knowing he failed to keep you safe.”
The three males left, the outer door locking with a clank. Trinity stared at the bars. At the door. At the tiny window and the sky beyond.
She couldn’t believe that she was going to die here.
She’d get free somehow. Her life depended on it.
Chapter Thirteen
Mytan woke with a growl and snapped his sharp fangs. Wrath jerked back just in time to not have his face bitten off. The big beast rolled to his paws and rose unsteadily, listing one way and then the other before digging his claws into the dirt. Mytan lowered his head and glared at Wrath, snuffling the air.
“She’s gone,” Wrath said. “Your maker is gone. You can find her. Can’t you?”
Mytan tilted his head.
Silenced stretched around them.
“You didn’t think he’d suddenly learned to talk, right?” Cael asked. “No matter that she made him, he’s still just an animal.”
Wrath felt like an idiot, but he’d also witnessed the connection between Trinity and Mytan. Wrath placed a hand on his head and said, “She’s in danger. Help me save her.”
Mytan sniffed at his arm and then jerked his head away, lowering it to the ground. His rapid sniffing led him away from their group. Wrath didn’t think it was a coincidence that he was heading in the direction of Veltris’s pack.
Wrath looked at Cael.
Cael snorted. “Okay, that’s pretty damn awesome. Assuming he actually is leading us toward whoever has Trinity and not just following a prey trail or something.”
“I trust him.”
Jet and Creek were starting to rouse. Wrath took his eyes off Mytan for a moment and said, “River, you and Magnus get Jet and Creek to the cavern. Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I wouldn’t put it past Veltris to attempt an attack on our cavern while we’re looking for Trinity.”
“Got it,” River said.
The rest of the pack had joined him at Mytan’s lair. He looked at his people. They weren’t nearly as big as Veltris’s pack, but they were faster and stronger than the purebreds. Trinity’s life was on the line. And his own as well. He had no doubt that Veltris had taken Trinity as bait to lure Wrath into a confrontation with the intention of killing him. And the rest of the hybrids.
“We’ve spent our whole lives fighting for the right to exist. I may have led you astray in the past, into a life of violence and evil, knowing I was under the lure of the blood lust, but Trinity changed that. Changed me. Veltris retaliated, and I failed her. I have to get her back, and I need your help.”
Cael considered their pack. They were down four males, which meant eight against Veltris’s dozens. “We’re with you, Wrath. She’s our alpha female. We’ll get her back safely and make sure Veltris knows that we’re not in the business of harming innocents or starting wars anymore.”
Wrath felt a camaraderie with his males that he hadn’t had before. They weren’t following him because he was dangerous, they were following him because he was doing the right thing. For once.
“Let’s get our alpha female back,” Wrath said. He lifted his head and let out a defiant howl, a promise to Veltris that the male would suffer if a single hair on Trinity’s head was harmed.
Catching up to Mytan, they followed the big beast toward their enemy’s territory. A plan formed in Wrath’s mind as they moved silently and swiftly through the forest. Wrath couldn’t pick up Trinity’s scent at all, which told him that the purebreds had somehow masked it.
Wrath wished he and Trinity could speak telepathically to each other. He’d tell her he was coming for her. That he loved her. That he was sorry.
Giving Mytan a pat on the haunches as they moved together through the woods, he said, “Good pup. Let’s go get your maker.”
* * *
Gemma Haleywehl listened to Veltris and his males talk about the Blood Wolves. She’d been reading in bed, thinking about going outside, but unsure if she wanted to face Veltris again. He hadn’t exactly been receptive to her suggestion he not kidnap Wrath’s mate. While she’d told him repeatedly that the only thing Wrath’s males did to her was not give her food or water, Veltris honestly didn’t believe her. She’d been injured during her numerous escape attempts, including giving herself one hell of a cracked rib, a sprained ankle, and a deep gash along her jaw. She’d struggled with the chains so much she’d bruised and torn up her skin.
Wrath had taunted her, of course. Had sent his males in to intimidate her. He wanted Veltris’s territory, wanted to drive their pack out so he could expand his own reach. The male was terrifying on a level that her own mate was not, because Wrath didn’t seem to have much in the way of morals.
But she was aware of how badly things could’ve gone for her in their custody. She could’ve been raped or killed, her body left as a warning to Veltris and any other alpha that he was no male to be trifled with.
The fact she hadn’t been harmed made her believe that Wrath wasn’t really all that bad. He for sure had an evil streak, but like the purebreds, once they reached twenty-five without their true mate, the blood lust began to take over, sealing their fates at age thirty.
Humans didn’t have that kind of ticking time bomb.
She’d saved Veltris’s life when she mated him.
Gemma looked at her shoulder where the black tattoo swirled and swooped over her pale skin.
“You’re sure he’ll come for her?” Furio said.
“Of course,” Veltris said. “He won’t stop until he sees her. It’s a perfect trap.”
“He’ll expect a trap,” Lerrin said.
“And we outnumber him. He can expect all he likes, but we have manpower he doesn’t. It’ll be a quick battle, and we’ll finally rid ourselves of the scourge of the blood wolves.”
“And the female?” Rahley asked.
“Collateral damage,” Veltris said.
Gemma’s stomach churned. She put down her book and swung her legs over the bed, listening to Veltris and his males discuss snuffing out the lives of their enemies so casually, including killing a female. She’d never thought her mate would become what he hated so much, but since he’d apparently gone through with the plan to abduct Wrath’s female—and knowing that Veltris believed the worst about Wrath and not the truth that Gemma knew—she wondered if the female had been harmed.
Before she was abducted, she’d never really been afraid of anything. She’d proudly stood with Veltris as his alpha female, the first human alpha female in the pack’s history. Now she felt like a shell of that person. She wasn’t a kickass alpha female; she was tired and scared.
But she couldn’t stand idly by, cowering under the blankets like a child afraid of the boogeyman, while an innocent female was used as bait.
She was about to fully piss off her mate. It was tempting to try to talk to him again, but if he had any inkling of her plans, he’d lock her up in the bedroom and she’d be trapped.
What was it her grandmother used to say? Better to ask forgiveness than permission.
She just hoped to hell that she got to the female in time to save her and everyone else.
* * *
It was faint, but Trinity heard it. A howl on the wind.
Her skin prickled, and she rose shakily to her feet. The chains wouldn’t allow her to reach the bars, but she could rise onto her toes and see a little more out the tiny barred window in the door. She knew it was Wrath howling. She could feel it in her bones.
He had to know that Veltris had taken her, and that he was using her as bait to lure him to his death.
But her mate was a powerful, dangerous male. He might have a tender and loving side now that they were together, but the purebreds wouldn’t necessarily know that. Or even care.
Wrath was a wanted man.
Turning, she tugged on the chains, wrapping the thick lengths around her forearms to protect her ankles from the bite of the cuffs. The bolt in the floor was huge, the size of a tennis ball and thick. She’d poked around the wooden floor, and discovered it was bolted
through the wood into some kind of metal plate. If the purebreds put their own kind in the cell for punishment, then the chains would have to be strong enough to prevent them from escaping.
She stopped pulling on the chains and let out a gusty sigh. Her whole body ached, and she was exhausted and stressed. She had no idea how much time had passed since she’d been taken, but the sky she could see through the window was darkening.
The door opened and a woman stepped in, shutting it quickly. She rose onto her toes and peeked out the barred window, her chest heaving.
She turned slowly and faced Trinity.
“Who are you?” Trinity asked.
“I could ask you the same thing,” the woman said. She pulled a brass key from her pocket and unlocked the door, which creaked as it opened. “My name’s Gemma. I’m Veltris’s mate.”
“I thought you looked familiar,” Trinity said. Then she took a step back. “Are you here to hurt me or something? I didn’t have anything to do with your abduction, and I know for a fact that Wrath didn’t actually hurt you except to deny you food and water and let his males taunt you with threats.”
Gemma crossed her arms. “You make it sound like that’s nothing to be pissed about.”
Trinity shook her head. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that. I know his males terrified you, but I also know you were hurt because you kept trying to escape and eventually you wore yourself out which was why you were unconscious when Veltris found you.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How do you know that I was unconscious? The Blood Wolves weren’t around when I was rescued. Veltris is the one who found me. Did he tell you?”
Trinity told her where she was from and how she’d wound up in their world.
Gemma snorted in disbelief. “Yeah, okay. You know, I came here to help but if you’re going to be a bitch and lie to me, then maybe I should just forget the whole thing.”