by L Ann
“Why?” Damien made a show of looking around.
Who else was here?
“He asks me why! Like he has no idea what he did!” Damien leaned close to his cousin, until they were nose to nose. “You left me to die, to rot in a cage, That’s why!”
“No … didn’t …” His words slurred, and Shaun shook his head, trying to break through the fog in his mind.
Damien’s laugh was hard, angry. “How can you say you didn’t? I woke up in a cage, alone. It was supposed to be you and me, cousin. United against them.”
Shaun tried to move, felt the muscles in his shoulder wrench and stilled. His arms were chained above his head, but however they had been attached, his arms were on an angle. If he moved from the spot he balanced, his arms would be yanked backwards, dangerously close to dislocation.
“Damien,” he tried again. “I … saw you … die.”
“You saw me fall. Knocked out. And you took the win and the money for yourself and bought your freedom!” Damien shouted.
“No.” Shaun shook his head – a mistake as a wave of nausea washed over him. “Damien, I never would have left you.”
“No! you don’t get to make excuses now.” He drove his fist into Shaun’s stomach. “Have you any idea what they did to me after you left?” Another punch connected with his ribs.
“Didn’t leave,” Shaun tried to explain, to no avail.
The blows came thick and fast – stomach, ribs, kidneys, face – until Shaun was battling to stay conscious. His vision faded in and out and he could taste the metallic tang of blood filling his mouth.
When Damien’s blows slowed, and he stepped back, panting. Shaun spit out the blood and summoned the strength to lift his head.
“If your issue is with me,” Shaun coughed, spat out more blood. He was sure another couple of ribs had been broken. “Why take Scarlet? Why take the human girl?”
“Enough talking.” Damien lifted a vial filled with purple liquid. “Look what I’ve got for you. I bet you’ve been missing this, craving it. What will you do for a fresh dose, cousin?”
“Don’t do this, Damien.”
Cassie was curled on her side, face buried in the pillow. She knew Shaun’s pack … her pack … were surrounding the bed. She could feel the scent of their worry – and, if she hadn’t been in such agonising pain, she’d have questioned how she could feel the emotion of a scent.
“It has to be Shaun,” Deacon was saying quietly. “There’s no other explanation.”
“His trail ended at an alleyway beside the bank,” Asher said, entering the room with Jaden beside him. “There were two other scents. One of them was –” his eyes slide toward where Cassie moaned on the bed. “Her ex. The other was Damien. They must have surprised him.”
“That’s not all they did,” Jaden added, grimly. Turning to his Alpha, he held out a hand to show the syringe he was holding.
“What is that?”
“Not sure. It’s not belladonna extract, though. It’s the wrong colour,” Jaden said. “At a guess, I’d say it was something to knock him out.”
“You said her ex’s scent was there, too? Do you think he’s involved or just happened across Shaun prior to Damien arriving?”
“Hard to say.”
Cormac waited, his eyes on Jaden.
“Gut instinct says he’s part of this,” Jaden conceded. “It seems far too coincidental for both men to meet Shaun in the same location.”
Cormac turned to Jaden. “Find him.” His attention turned back to Asher and Deacon. “We need to get Cassie back to the house. Chase called earlier. The rest of the pack have arrived. She’ll be safer there, and Chase can monitor her.” His lips curved up into a hard smile and his eyes flared silver. “Then we hunt.”
“Is she okay to move?” Deacon asked, his eyes on Cassie.
“She’s feeling the pain through their mate-link. She’s not actually really hurt herself,” Cormac reminded him. “What I need to find out is why she’s feeling it so strongly.” As he spoke, he crouched beside the bed near Cassie’s head.
“Cassie,” he spoke her name softly, and there was a weight to it, an extra emphasis that caused all the Shifters in the room to focus their attention on their Alpha. “Look at me, little female.”
Cassie stirred, her head turning on the pillow, reacting to the command in his voice.
That’s right. Focus on my voice. Listen to me, now. Can you hear me?”
“Ye-yes.”
“Good. We need to go home, little one. Back to the house. Your mate would want you safe, do you understand?”
“Where is he?”
“We will find him, Cassie. But first we need to take you home, to safety.”
“What’s happening to me?” She reached out and clutched at Cormac’s arm. “Is this part of shifting?”
Cormac rested his hand on top of hers. “It’s not you, Cassie. What you’re feeling … it’s coming through your mate-link with Shaun.”
“Why?” She bit back another moan.
The pack Alpha gazed at her, eyes unreadable. “I’d like an answer to that very question myself. It shouldn’t be this strong. Not this soon.” He straightened, letting her hand slip away from his arm. “Deacon, get her in the car. Asher, wake Isabella and take them both back to the house. Gather the pack and tell them what’s happening. Deacon, Jaden and I will head out and see if we can pick up a trail.”
Deacon moved around the bed and carefully slid his arms beneath Cassie. “Hang on to me,” he told her, waited until he felt her arms circle his neck and lifted her up.
“If you drop me …” she panted between moans. “I will kill you.”
“Relax, Blondie. I haven’t dropped a woman yet.”
Shaun came to with a thudding headache. He lifted his head and the movement sent an explosion of pain through him. The back of his skull throbbed in time with his heartbeat. Cursing, he moved his hand to inspect the damage to his face, except he couldn’t move it. His arms were still restrained above his head.
How long had he been out? Days? How many times had Damien poured belladonna down his throat? How many beatings had he taken?
Mentally, he catalogued his body for damage. His lips were parched, hunger growled in his stomach – but was that for food or for the drug? He cracked open his eyes again and was greeted by darkness. A complete absence of light.
Had Damien blinded him? No, he didn’t think so …
He was blind, drugged, restrained. A tremor of panic vibrated through his body.
He’d been in this position before.
He needed to get free, find his pack and warn them. He tried to wrench his arms free of whatever was binding them and felt narrow straps twist and dig into the flesh of his wrists. Forcing back the pain, he tried again, twisting and pulling at the restraints, to no avail.
A frustrated growl tore out of his throat and he threw back his head and howled, the sound reverberating off the walls around him. Nobody answered, the echo falling into a thick deathly silence.
“Damien!” Shaun roared his cousin’s name, in fury and panic, over and over until his voice grew hoarse, but still nobody responded.
He panted, sucking in ragged breath after ragged breath, and the scents on the air caused him to gag.
How had he missed the metallic scent of blood, mixed with the stench of sex, excretion and violence?
He could feel what remained of his strength beginning to ebb, the need for the drug beginning to rise. The pounding in his skull grew heavier, slower – like the painstakingly slow rhythm of a burial march. Shaun laughed, the sound harsh in the silence, at the poetically morbid thought.
You will not die here, he told himself grimly. You’ve survived this before, you can do it again.
He forced himself to stillness, to listen past the chaotic beating of his heart.
There!
A squeak from rusty hinges some distance away. Faint voices – one raised in anger while the other, female, cried out in pain.
The sound caused him to attack his bonds again with renewed vigour. He would get free. He’d escape, he’d return to his pack, to his mate …
Cassie …
He jerked upwards, every muscle in his body screaming in protest. Shaun gritted his teeth against the pain and threw himself forward, back, feeling the binding around his wrists groaning and creaking at the force of his struggle.
Had one loosened?
Blood dripped down his arms, but he ignored it, feeling his hand slipping through one of the straps. A few more inches. He clenched his teeth harder. Just a little more and then he’d be free.
“I see you still have some fight left in you, cousin.” Damien’s voice rang out in the silence. “But what are you fighting for, hmm?” The voice came closer until Shaun could feel his cousin’s breath on his face. “What are you struggling to reach? Freedom or drugs?”
Light flared, burning his eyes and he flinched, squeezing them shut, only to feel fingers prying his lids apart.
“I mourned you,” Shaun snarled. “I lived with the guilt of your death for over a year.”
“Because you left me to rot in a cage while you saved yourself. But I survived and now it’s time for you to pay.”
He felt a hand grab his chin, and his head was wrenched back. “You must be hungry, cousin. Open up.”
Shaun clenched his mouth shut, fought against his cousin’s hold, but he was too weak – but was it physical weakness or an inability to fight the craving – and Damien easily forced his mouth open, poured something down his throat.
He gasped, groaned, his eyes rolling back into his head when the drug hit his tongue.
“Do you know why I don’t just use a needle, cousin?”
“Wh.. what?” He forced himself to focus on Damien, but his eyes slid shut. He felt fingers on his face, peeling his lids up, forcing him to stare into a light.
“Sticking a needle in your vein would be so simple. But watching you fight, watching you resist. Seeing you break, that moment you give up. That makes forcing you to swallow it worth the battle.” He tapped the vial against his lips. “I think you’d like some more, don’t you?” He unscrewed the vial and placed it between Shaun’s lips. “Swallow, cousin.”
Froth rose up in his throat, coated his lips, and his whole body shook in faint spasms as the drug entered his system.
Sweet oblivion slowly embraced him in its warm, inviting arms, and Shaun sagged, his cousin’s grip the only thing holding him steady, all fight gone from him.
“There’s a good boy.” Damien patted his cheek. “If only your brothers could see you now. The mighty Alpha of the Midnight Pack, confident enough to keep two other equal-strength Alpha Wolves as his seconds. How ashamed he’d be to see you like this. From Alpha to Beta – weak, pathetic, needy … broken.”
Shaun didn’t react, too far gone under the drug’s hold to make any coherent response.
“Shaun … Shaun?”
“Gemma?” He turned his head toward her voice.
“He said I could bring you water. Can you open your mouth?” He felt fingers touch his face and threw his head back, away from her. “I promise, it’s just water.”
“Take it away.” He couldn’t trust Damien hadn’t put something in it.
“Shaun, please.”
“If he doesn’t want it, don’t waste your time.”
Shaun heard her cry out, and she stumbled against him. He jerked against his bonds, automatically trying to catch her and he heard Damien chuckle.
“Always the gentleman, cousin. Maybe you deserve a treat for trying so hard.” Shaun tensed. “Do you remember the girls we shared?” Damien continued. “In fact, I’m sure we shared quite a few sisters in our time. Do you remember the redheaded twins? Now they were something else, weren’t they?”
Damien’s voice came from behind him. “I’m thinking you deserve a thank you for trying to help the half-breed bitch from falling. And I know how much you’ve always enjoyed the sight of a girl on her knees.”
“Don’t …” Shaun whispered.
“I know … I know … you prefer the sister. But one wet mouth is as good as another in the dark, isn’t it? Especially with the belladonna high.” Damien rested his hands on Shaun’s shoulders. “You lose the ability to shift, but the sense of touch is magnified. Do you remember all the girls the Hunters brought to us as a reward for winning those fights? How good it felt, riding that high and fucking them hard? Do you remember the things we did to them? How many do you think survived?”
“Damien … please.”
“Do you think she’ll want you when she finds out what you’ve done here, what you allow her sister to do to you?”
“Won’t let it happen …”
“Oh cousin, do you really think you have a choice in it? The minute her mouth wraps around you, you won’t care. Shall we find out? Care to make a wager? I know how you always like to win.” His hand patted Shaun’s back. “The half-breed bitch will go down on her knees and suck you off. If you don’t come, I’ll let you both go … how about that?”
“No!” Gemma’s cry was shrill. “Don’t.”
A crack reached Shaun’s ears – the sound of a fist hitting flesh and Gemma sobbed.
“Don’t make her do this, Damien. Please. It’s me you want to punish, not her.”
“Sit down, Cassie.” Cormac’s voice was soft but firm. “Wearing a path into the carpet isn’t going to help.”
“It’s been twenty-four hours!”
“And we know he’s still alive, thanks to your mate-link.” He waved a hand toward the couch. “Now sit down and focus.”
“I can’t. Every time I do, all I feel is nausea. Whatever Damien is doing to him is making him ill!”
“It’s drugs. At a guess, I’d say Damien will be reviving his addiction. It’ll make controlling him so much easier.”
“How can you be so calm?” Cassie lost her temper, spun to face him. “How can you just sit there! We know where they have Shaun and Gemma. Don’t you care at all!” she shrieked.
Cormac rose to his feet and prowled toward her, his wolf aspect shining behind his silver eyes.
“You are new to the pack, new to our life, so I’ll forgive your lack of respect. But hear this.” The power of his position rolled over her with his softly spoken words, buckling her knees, and she dropped onto the couch behind her. “This is my pack. I am the Alpha and you will sit down and focus.”
“I can’t, Cormac, really I can’t. All I feel is pain, nausea.” Her hand rose to her lips and she dived sideways to the wastepaper bin and vomited.
She felt Cormac settle beside her, and a hand came to rest on her back. “It means he’s still alive, take comfort in that. He’s still fighting.”
“Has anyone found Sam yet?”
“No. He’s still missing. We have to assume Damien either killed him or is using him for something else. He wouldn’t want anything tracking back to him.”
“What about Scarlet?”
“She doesn’t seem to be there. We’ve had eyes on both Shaun and Gemma, but so far, not even a glimpse of Scarlet. Damien was always close to her. That could save her life.” He left unspoken that it could also be the reason for her death, but Cassie knew he thought it.
“Are you ready to try again? If we can get just a glimpse of what’s going on, it will help our plan to get them out.”
“I still don’t understand why you think I’ll be able to see what Shaun sees.”
“The mate-link between you is wide open. That’s why you’re feeling the things Shaun is going through. We have to assume the drugs Damien is feeding him is messing with Shaun’s control. Otherwise he would never let you feel what is being done to him.”
“He could block me from feeling it?”
“Absolutely. I doubt he’s even thought about the fact you’ll be feeling everything he is right now. We can use that before he figures it out … because he will the minute you successfully connect with him. And when that happens, he�
�ll lock down and we’ll get nothing more from him.”
“Okay … okay,” she repeated firmly. “I can do this.” She took a deep breath, stiffened her spine and closed her eyes, chasing the thread of emotion she knew came from Shaun.
Nausea was the most overwhelming sensation she felt as she followed the link with her mind. Dizziness … hunger ... pain … anger … so much rage. Then fear, so sudden she swayed from the impact. Panic … desperation … despair … a mental cry filled with so much pain it made her sob uncontrollably.
She was vaguely aware of Cormac’s presence beside her, his palm warming her back, steadying her.
“Focus, Cassie,” he murmured, and she pushed through the emotions bombarding her senses.
A light …
Her attention latched onto it, chased it. Her breakthrough was sudden, and she came face to face with a stranger – the visual image so real, she cried out and grabbed Cormac’s arm.
“Steady. Stay calm. You’re not there, you’re here.” Cormac’s voice soothed. “What do you see?”
“Damien.” Her connection with Shaun gave her his name. “I can feel him holding Shaun. He’s holding a vial … purple liquid. NO!” She watched as the vial came closer to Shaun’s lips, felt him fight against his mouth being prised open.
“Just a mouthful, cousin, and then you won’t care whose mouth is wrapped around your dick.”
She felt Shaun’s revulsion battling with his need and then blackness … darkness overtook her, and she felt like she was floating, at peace, and Shaun’s scent wrapped around her, warm and comforting.
~ Cassie? ~
His voice was like a whisper across her mind and she began to sob softly.
~ How are you here? ~ A long pause, and then … ~ The mate-link? You have to leave. I don’t want you to experience this. ~
She felt the connection stutter, begin to weaken, then shatter, and with a cry she fell back against the cushions.
“He found you,” Cormac stated. “And disconnected.”
“Why would he do that?” she demanded.
“To protect you.” He rose to his feet and began to pace. “I’d hoped the connection would stay open longer. Give us enough time to assess his condition.”