by Eva Harper
She was curled in the corner, tears wetting her cheeks. Her hair was messy like she ran her hands through it multiple times, and she was scratching her wrist incessantly. Her head snapped up as we entered. She bolted to the bars, grabbing onto them before hissing and dropping her hands, burning from the silver.
“Theo, please,” she begged, wiping her cheeks. “You’ve got to believe me. I never wanted any of this to happen.”
“What did you do, Albia?” he asked softly. She looked down, scratching her wrist again.
“I was only trying to help at first,” she began. “Saskia came to me and told me she wanted to help people find their mates because she had lost hers. She told me, ‘the Weston’s deserve to have their mates.’ Then she asked me to get clothes with their scents on them and bring them to her.”
“When was this?” I prodded.
“Just after the war. I met her outside pack grounds and gave her the bag of their clothes.”
“And?” Gabriel prompted angrily. She looked down again, breathing heavily.
“And then she called me. She said that it wasn’t right that we lost our mates.” She stopped and looked up at me, her jaw jutting forward. “She said we never got a chance to be happy. So, she wanted me to help her get revenge.”
“On?” Gabriel prompted again.
“All your mates.”
Theo growled loudly and instinctually put his hand in front of me, pulling me back behind him. I allowed him to.
“It isn’t fair,” she shrieked. “You get your mate, and you kill mine before I even get to say two words to him!”
“Albia, Reed was insane.”
She growled lowly at Gabriel.
“He was my mate,” she growled again. Then she paused and looked down sadly. “But then she said she wanted to get revenge on Gabriel and Reese and Eli, too, and I didn’t want to do that!”
“Why?” Theo asked.
“Because Rush was the one who gave the order to kill her mate and brother.”
“Rush was the Alpha?” I whispered under my breath.
“So, she tries to kill our mates?” Theo asked, stepping closer.
“She said ‘if we can’t have our mates, they don’t deserve to have theirs.’”
Theo was fuming. I rubbed his back gently, trying to keep myself calm as well.
“I realized she was crazy,” Albia said frantically, grabbing fistfuls of her hair. “She came back to the packhouse two weeks ago and threatened to kill me if I told anyone what we did.”
“So, where is she?” Theo asked.
“Her plan was to bring all the girls back here once she found the third one but those men, they were in on her plan to get revenge on you all, and she owed them money. They took the girls hostage until Saskia could pay them. Saskia said they could do whatever they wanted to those girls until she got back, and that would pay her debt.”
“Then why did she need us?” I said stupidly.
“You gathered them all up and brought them back here. So, she fulfilled her debt to those rogues, and she still gets to plan how she’s going to kill all of you.”
“The games over,” Theo told her, stepping away from me. He walked up to the bars, breaths away from the silver. “No more tricks. You’re going to die in here, Albia.”
Albia whimpered, and a fresh set of tears cascaded down her face.
“Where is Saskia?” Theo asked darkly.
“She’s here,” Albia said so softly only Theo could hear.
“She’s here?” he asked louder. Gabriel and I were immediately on guard.
“This was my last task,” Albia breathed out. “She was going to kill me.”
“Well, now I’m going to kill you,” Theo hissed lowly. “So, I wonder who you should be more afraid of. Saskia? Or me.”
The few dim lights on the ceiling sputtered and went black as Theo talked. We left the cells quickly, ascending the steps, moving faster when we heard loud noises coming from upstairs.
As we came to the ground level, we were plunged into darkness again. All the lights in the packhouse were out.
Gabriel led us slowly to the medical wing, listening carefully for any suspicious sounds. As we opened the door again, everyone in the room tensed until they smelled our scents.
“The power’s off,” Eli said frantically. The machine that recorded Verona’s heartbeat and administered her medicine and oxygen was off. “We need to get her out of here.”
“Albia told us Saskia was here. That’s what she wants, she wants to flush us out of the packhouse, and that’s when she’ll attack.” Gabriel rushed to where Pilar stood.
“We can’t just sit here!” Eli exclaimed. Theo shut and locked the door behind us, leaning up against the metal surface.
“We need to get the power turned on, that’s the first thing,” Gabriel ordered. In our human forms, our eyesight was better than a normal human’s, but it wasn’t pristine. I could make out shapes and shadows, but it wasn’t much help.
“The power box is in the basement,” Sloane noted. “I’ll go.”
“Mom, you aren’t going,” Theo nearly spat. Sloane came to his side and put her hand on his cheek.
“Sweetheart, you all need to stay here and protect your mates. Let me do this,” she insisted.
“Mother,” Gabriel called. “Saskia is somewhere here, either in this house or outside of it, but either way, you aren’t going to wander around here by yourself. I’ll go with you.”
“Gabriel, with all due respect, you don’t order me around. You said it yourself, I was the Luna of this pack for twenty-six years. I know this house better than any of you. If Saskia wants revenge for something Rush did, let her get revenge on me-not my babies.”
Before anyone could protest, she threw the door open, hitting Theo in the process, and left the room. Theo’s chest rumbled, and he reached for the door. I grabbed his outstretched hand and pulled it close to me.
“Theo, let her go.” He wrenched his hand out of mine. “Theo.”
“That’s my mother,” he said softer. I sighed and let go of his hand.
“We can’t just sit here,” Reese declared. “We’re a pack of werewolves, and we’re going to let one person keep us prisoner in our own house? Let’s go show her exactly who she’s messed with.”
“Easy,” Gabriel warned. “Saskia is dangerous. She’s manipulative and a liar. We don’t know what else she’s capable of. We have more than just us to think about now.”
The air grew thick as everyone clutched their mates close to them. Theo’s hand curled around the curve of my neck and brought me to his chest. I wrapped my arms around him, grabbing onto the thick muscle of his back, not caring if I left nail marks.
“We need to get Verona out of here,” I said, speaking the thoughts of everyone else.
“If we can get Eli and Verona out of here, the rest of us should be enough incentive for her to stay here,” Gabriel said, plans reeling in his mind. “The cars should still be out front, I’ll mind-link the guards in the prison to come and escort them out. We need to keep her inside the house, if she goes after Verona, I don’t know how much longer she’ll be able to hang on.”
Eli took the cords and needles off his mate carefully. He lifted her to his chest, and Pilar covered her with the soft blanket on her bed.
“Let’s go,” Eli said. Theo opened the door and led us outside, looking down every hallway, and peeking into every corner as he walked. We got to the front door and hesitated. We breathed, almost synchronously, as Theo unlocked and opened the door.
The black SUV was running, a guard in the driver’s seat, another waiting near the door to open it. Eli stepped forward with Verona.
Before they exited, Gabriel and Reese stepped back, moving into the open area of the room. Gabriel reached out and grabbed a lamp from the corner before turned and smashing it loudly against the wall.
Reese began doing the same thing with anything breakable. The loud noise was enough of a distraction for Eli to ge
t Verona to the car. He looked back as he climbed in. Theo nodded to him, assuring him we would be okay.
The car started, and Theo closed the door quietly before locking it again. Gabriel and Reese came, and we walked together into the middle of the room.
“Quiet,” Gabriel said, holding up a hand to silence us. We waited and listened closely. There are a few rumbling noises that come from below us and then a few light tapping noises. I could hear the prison bars rattling even though they were two floors under, and I wished my eyesight was as good as my hearing
Someone started clapping behind us. My body tensed. Theo’s grip on my hand tightened to a bruising degree.
Collectively we turned; Gabriel, Reese, and Theo stepped in front of their mates on instinct.
“That was a great distraction you made,” Saskia drawled, lips curving sinisterly. “Too bad it’s not going to save you.”
“Saskia,” Theo said sternly, no fear in his voice. “It’s over.”
“Oh, you think it’s over?” Her voice rose as she talked. “That’s so…cute.”
The lights flickered on slowly, illuminating the half-destroyed room in front of us. I sent a silent thanks to Sloane and braced myself for Saskia. She stood in front of us, holding a small sphere in her hands.
“What is that?” Gabriel asked.
“This?” She lifted the ball and her eyebrows raised, almost innocently. “I had it developed by a couple of people who owed me a favor. It’s a silver gas bomb.”
She stepped forward, crossing her ankles as she strolled inches ahead.
“When my finger pulls this pin, this entire house will fill up with silver and wolfsbane in seconds. It’s funny that you think this is over.”
To The Next
“Saskia, I need you to think about this,” Theo warned, holding his hand out, cautioning her. We knew the moment she pulled the pin, we would be dead in a matter of seconds.
“Theodore, you aren’t in control here.”
“Saskia, if you let this off right now, you and Albia are going to die, too,” Reese pointed out, uncharacteristically serious.
“You honestly think I care about that? That little bitch is too weak to even think for herself. She wouldn’t’ve lasted a day with Reed.” She shook her head.
“You knew Reed?” Theo asked. I knew he was stalling for something; I didn’t know what, but I figured we needed to keep her talking.
“Knew him? He loved me,” she said smiling. She looked happy for once, but it was short-lived. “I told him I despised humans, how else was I going to get him to kill the Enforcer’s mate?”
“You were behind the attack?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Did you think Reed was smart enough to plan all of that on his own? I mean, he is diabolical-that idea of hanging the girl in your tree was all his idea. He messed everything up, though, wanted to make it something personal with Theodore for getting the Enforcer position over him.”
She played with the pin in her bomb, clanking the metals against each other.
“The original plan was to start with Margo and work my way down although, I must admit, Reed’s mistakes sure made for a more…dramatic ending, wouldn’t you say?” Her words were mischievous, but her voice held a tone of absolute control.
None of us moved.
“You know, Eli and Verona escaped, you can’t kill all of us,” Pilar said, voice wavering.
“And them living in a world where they know they left their family to be murdered is enough revenge for me.” She moved closer towards us.
“Saskia, this has nothing to do with us,” Theo told her, stepping forward. She took a step back and put her finger in the pin for good measure. “What our father did is on him. If you want to get revenge, then get revenge on us, but leave our mates out of this.”
“You’re sweet,” she told him, nothing teasing in her voice. “You all want to protect your mates, and I think that’s really noble of you. But I know what it’s like to live in a world without your mate; I’m really just putting them out of their misery early.”
“We can all walk out of this room right now.” Theo stepped further. We all heard the click as she pulled the pin to its taut end; the next move she made would detonate the device.
“Yeah? And do what? We can all live happily ever after? You know the second I put this bomb down, you either kill me or throw me in a jail cell to rot.”
“That’s not true,” Gabriel stepped forward.
“No? Then what’s going to happen?”
“We can figure it out together if you just hand Theo the bomb,” Gabriel smiled nervously.
Reese put his arm out and pushed us backward, Saskia didn’t notice, she was too busy paying attention to Theo and Gabriel.
“Margo, get out of here,” Theo told me through our mind-link.
“No, I’m not leaving.”
“This isn’t time to play around, you need to get yourself out of here. Take Olympia and Pilar with you. Grab my mother if you can, but get yourself out of here safely.”
“Theo, I told you, wherever you go, I go. I’m not leaving.”
“Margo,” he nearly shouted.
“Theo, I love you.”
There was silence.
“I love you so much.”
“This is all very touching." Saskia smirked. “But, my patience is running thin, and I’m getting bored with this.”
“Saskia, this is the last thing you do before you die. Is this really what you want your last moments to be?”
“You don’t get to choose how you die,” she growled. “Alexei and Malachi didn’t get to choose how they died.”
“Alexei and Malachi? That’s your brother and mate?” Theo asked gently.
“Don’t say their names. You don’t get to say their names.”
“Is this what they would want you to do?”
“I think it is.” Her eyes with sadness
“I hope you’re happy with the way things end then.”
She paused at Theo’s words and slipped her finger out of the pin. She closed her eyes for two seconds, whispering a soft but notable, “I’ll see you soon.”
I closed my eyes at the same time and sent Theo one last, “I love you.”
He didn’t get to answer. I opened my eyes again. I wanted him to be the last thing I saw.
I didn’t get to join my parents, though.
Before Saskia’s finger could even enter the pin, a heap of blonde hair flashed behind her, lifted something over her head, and brought it down violently on Saskia’s arm.
An ax cut through Saskia like a marshmallow, just below her elbow. Her vocal cords must have burst with the scream she let out.
As her severed arm hit the ground, Saskia turned and gripped Albia’s throat with her other hand. Her claws elongated as she held onto Albia, cutting through the tendons and veins in her neck.
Albia’s eyes widened, sinking forward as Saskia’s claws sliced through her windpipe. The ax dropped to the floor loudly. Her claws remained in Albia’s neck, her other arm soaking the floor with her thick blood.
I couldn’t look away, none of us could.
The bomb laid at Saskia’s feet. Theo noticed at the same time as I did and started forward to take it before Saskia’s uninjured arm pulled the pin.
Saskia’s claws left Albia’s neck with a nerving, squish. She was going to pass out soon from the blood loss, and she turned to us with a dizzying look.
Theo reached for the bomb seconds before Saskia did.
He looked up at her just as the ax sliced through her neck, from one side to the next. Her head hit the ground first, and then her body tumbled after her.
Pilar shrieked.
I looked up from Saskia’s head to Sloane, who held the axe in her hand, heaving to breathe, blood splattered on her shirt and face.
“Mom?” Theo asked, standing up slowly and reaching for the axe. There was a faraway look in her eyes, dazed almost.
“No one messes with my fa
mily,” she breathed, sliding the ax onto the ground next to Saskia’s body.
Reese turned, and Olympia dove into his arms. Gabriel quickly rushed to Pilar, who was shaking.
I didn’t notice any of them. All I could see was Theo, covered in Saskia’s blood, and looking at me with such relief, I nearly cried. I jumped childishly onto him, wrapping my legs around his waist, and my arms curled around his head. He held me, inhaling my scent, touching me.
“I thought we were going to die. I didn’t know if my mother could get here in time,” he admitted with his face stuck in my curls. He yanked my head back to look at him. “Margo, don’t ever do that to me again. If I tell you to leave, you leave.”
“Theo.” I grabbed his face in my hands, Saskia’s blood transferred onto my fingers. “I will never, ever, leave you.” And I kissed him, ignoring to iron taste on his lips.
He set me on my feet gently, and we looked at the two bodies on the floor.
Sloane knelt down next to Albia and slid her eyelids down over her eyes.
“She’s with her mate now,” she said depressingly. “I’ll tell Emily.”
“We’ll tell her together,” Gabriel told her, resting a hand on his mother’s shoulder.
“Where did you get the ax?” Reese asked.
Sloane’s lip twitched. “Your father liked to chop his firewood himself. I keep it by my bedside, it makes me feel safer.”
“How did you get from the basement to your room?”
“Sons, there are many things you don’t know about this house and this pack,” she reminded them. “You should go get cleaned off,” she told Theo. “We’ll get someone to take care of this mess.”
Theo pulled me down the hallway to a bathroom. He grabbed a towel and soaked it in water before wiping his face violently. When he rang it out, he turned and wiped the bloodstains from my lips and fingers.
We didn’t speak.
There was no reason to.
Color Theory
Theo disappeared three days after Saskia’s death.
On the first day, we burned Saskia’s body in the front yard. Theo chopped up the wood with his father’s ax. Most of the pack came to watch her burn. News traveled fast that someone had tried to kill the Alpha’s family and the Enforcer. No one shed any tears, although I felt a strange feeling in my stomach like somehow, I understood what she did.