His eyes squinted angrily as his hand squeezed hard, so hard she couldn’t draw a breath. She didn’t fight him. Instead, she held his furious glare and waited for death. If she couldn’t have Jason, at least she wouldn’t be kept by Bossman. That was a fate worse than death. She hadn’t known it the first time around but, after experiencing Jason’s love, she knew it definitively now. Dark motes swam in her vision, as her lungs burned and her ears buzzed loudly. With an enraged roar, Bossman pushed her roughly, sending her tumbling back. She crashed heavily on the floor, pain shooting through her back, as what little air remained in her rushed out. Her head spinning, she had time to suck in a breath before he was upon her. Roughly dragging her to her feet, he then held her by her upper arms, so forcefully his fingertips dug into her painfully. Bringing his face menacingly close to hers, he sneered.
“Do you think I’d let you go? After all I’ve put into this? You think you can escape me by dying? Do you really think I’d allow you to throw my gift in my face like that?”
Wrapping his hand around her throat again, he dragged her to the chains. She didn’t protest when he shackled her, didn’t fight him, she didn’t react at all. When he’d secured her wrists, he stepped back, his face an enraged mask.
“I will beat submission into you,” he roared. “You will kneel before me, call me Master, kiss my feet, and do anything I demand. You’re mine to do with as I please.” She held his furious gaze and still didn’t react. He scoffed. “Do you still think your so-called mate will save you? Do you view him as some sort of hero? He’s nothing and he can’t do anything to stop me. He couldn’t save his first mate, so what makes you think he’ll save you? I took her from him and now I took you.”
Sucking in a startled breath, she gaped at him in disbelief. “That’s right,” he continued, “I killed his first mate. Of course, back then I didn’t know anything about him, or her for that matter. Dan, the shifter Mark killed, was with me. He spotted her and wanted her. It was in the early days of all this, and I figured sure, what the fuck. Neither one of us expected her to fight the way she did. She attacked Dan and got some good shots in. I grabbed her and slammed her head against the car door. Then did it again and again.” He grasped her chin roughly, his fingertips brutally biting into her cheeks. “I killed her so don’t think for a minute I can’t kill you. The difference here is I don’t want to kill you. I want you on your knees before me, where you belong.”
After shoving her roughly, he stomped a few feet away. She swung with the force of his push, the shackles digging into her wrists, her shoulders burning with the pull on them. Hardly believing what she’d heard, she wondered if Jason knew what Bossman had done. Had he somehow uncovered that information while looking for her? If he had, she didn’t think anything could deter him from tracking down Bossman, no matter how long it took. Suddenly her death didn’t seem as meaningless as it had. Jason would find Bossman and he’d kill him. It didn’t matter if it happened a day from now, a week, a year, or ten years. It would happen. Jason would avenge Trina’s death. He’d avenge Naomi’s death. He’d rain all that fury down upon Bossman and tear him to bits. The only thing she resented was that she wouldn’t witness Bossman’s death. A small smile crept over her lips as she pictured her mate as his striking white wolf-self, sinking his huge fangs into Bossman’s throat, snarling with years of pent-up rage. He’d make Bossman suffer.
Bossman saw her smile, and his already furious expression deepened. With a vicious snarl, he shifted, his clothes shredding and falling from him as his wolf grew. In an instant, a silver and black wolf stood before her, growling. With the belief that having her throat torn out was better than being beaten to death, she closed her eyes. She sensed his quick approach, his pounce, and tensed when she felt his teeth on her throat. Pain tore through her as his fangs pierced her skin but then the teeth were gone. She opened her eyes to see him standing before her in human-form again, his chest heaving as he breathed heavily.
“I erased his mark. I’ll beat every thought of him out of you. Soon, he won’t exist in your mind at all. Then, when you’re where you belong, unquestioningly loyal, kneeling before me and loving every minute of it, I’ll track him down. I’ll destroy him for daring to touch you. I’ll erase him as easily as I did his bite.”
Fury built inside her. It filled her so quickly and with such force, she was certain she’d burst. The abhorrent thought of Bossman targeting Jason, after everything he’d taken from him, tore through her brain. Jason had already lost too much and so had Avery, Lily, and Ella. Bossman would kill her, but no fucking way would he break her first. She wouldn’t allow Jason to lose her love, her loyalty, her allegiance. Those belonged to him and they would never fall into Bossman’s hands.
A derisive laugh left her lips before she narrowed her eyes. “You’ve erased nothing. I’m his and will never be yours, no matter what you do to me. He’s ten times the shifter you are, a hundred times, a thousand. That’s why I love him and why I’ll never show you a speck of loyal. He will rescue us, and if you kill us before he can, then he’ll tear you to pieces while you beg him for mercy.”
His shocked expression turned nasty in a split-second. “Say what you will, bitch, you will kneel before me. I told you before, I don’t care if I have to start your training all over again.”
“Bring it on,” she taunted. “You might have come close to breaking me before but you won’t get that far this time. I know now, what you are. You’re a fucking coward. I’m not afraid of you, or what you’ll do to me.”
Silver fur sprang up on his arms and shoulders as he menacingly stomped toward her, his hands balled into tight fists.
“Go ahead,” she spat. “Show me what a man you are, beating on a bound woman.”
The enraged roar he unleashed might have frightened the Naomi who entered this room but not the one who watched his approach. She was unbreakable, even in the face of the horror that descended upon her.
***
Nodding to Director Garrett as he led the group of men into the hallway outside the interrogation room Mark was within, Ryder watched the shifter’s eyes bulge at their arrival. Hank, Levi, Wayne, and Jason were present and undoubtedly expected by the director. The addition of Ryan and Scott Tremblay had visually thrown him for a loop though. Ryder still doubted Scott’s ability to keep his temper in check but didn’t care anymore. Too much had happened, his mate had been missing for too long and, he didn’t care about anything but recovering Ashlynn safely.
“Who are those shifters?” Garrett demanded.
“Ashlynn’s brothers,” he responded, his voice deep and authoritative. “Before you ask, no they don’t have law enforcement training but they’re able-bodied, strong, and determined to get their sister, brother, and mate back. They have more at stake here than Wayne, Jason, or I do. You may not think that makes them suitable additions to this team, but I do. This,” he swept an arm at the shifters behind him, “is the rescue team. We’re all committed to recovering our loved ones and, together, we’ll do it.”
Garrett’s tense posture relaxed and he released a sigh. “Fine. This situation is already out of control, but I’m cautioning you right now, Lee, keep them in line. Thomas may be our prisoner but he has rights and I won’t see them infringed on, no matter what’s at stake here.”
Ryder stifled a desire to tell Garrett to shove Mark’s rights. “I assure you, sir, they’ll act professionally.” He didn’t care if they didn’t. Hell, he didn’t even care about his job anymore, but he needed Garrett on his side, at least until he could get information from Mark.
“They’d better,” Garrett cautioned. After sweeping a stern look over the group, he then nodded. “Okay, let’s go in.”
Not pleased that Garrett had included himself, Ryder followed Garrett as he entered the room, the others filing in behind him. Mark’s face registered surprise at the large group but then instantly returned to the impassive mask he’d worn since executing the shifter. Ryder wasn’t having it a
ny longer and, using what little remained of his patience, crossed the floor, and took a seat opposite Mark.
“You’ve refused to say anything since being taken into custody. As Garrett just reminded me, you have rights, and remaining silent is one of them. You can continue to clam up, again that’s your right, but you’re going to listen to me.” As he suspected, Mark had no reaction to his words. After speaking with Garrett on the phone to arrange this interrogation, he learned Mark hadn’t been informed of anything that had happened. That was good. Perhaps the shock of what he was about to relate would slam a chink in Mark’s armour. It was all he needed, a small way in, the ability to break through Mark’s imposed wall and connect with the shifter he hoped still resided in there somewhere, his one-time teammate, confidante, and friend. Locking eyes with Mark, he leaned forward slightly.
“Ashlynn’s been taken by the rogue pack.” Mark’s eyes widened. “They kidnapped her, Nathan, Emily, and Naomi Crawford. She’s Jason’s mate, by the way.” Mark blinked slowly and pressed his lips into a thin line. Cocking his head a little, Ryder went in for the kill, delivering the information he hoped would tear down the wall for good. “Ashlynn’s pregnant.”
As his head dropped, Mark’s hands came up, as far as his bounds would allow, and covered his face. The silence in the room was weighty as Ryder stared at Mark, waiting to see if the knowledge his pregnant mate was in danger would garner the reaction he expected. Slowly, Mark’s head lifted to reveal his devastated face and tear-filled eyes.
“I’ll tell you everything I know,” he informed Ryder, “but I want to be there when you move against the pack. I want to help rescue her.”
“Just tell me what you know,” Ryder returned forcibly. “You’re in no position to make demands.”
With a slow nod, Mark spoke again. “The man I killed was Daniel Richie. He was Bossman’s lieutenant and yes, he recognized me. He’d been working with Bossman for years, building the pack, taking female shifters.” His guilty eyes held much and Ryder, while anxious to hear everything, began to feel sorry for him. Mark was once like a brother to him and those emotions flooded him now, not realizing until this moment just how much he’d missed him. “Taking human women is new for them and is undoubtedly Bossman’s idea. Well, everything is, really.”
He visibly swallowed and then sought out Garrett in the group. “Could I please have some water?”
In an instant, an agent entered the room with a water bottle and handed it to Mark. The quickness confirmed what Ryder already knew, that SASS agents were observing and recording this interview from the neighbouring room, behind the two-way mirror. It was exactly why he’d cautioned Ryan and especially Scott, imploring the shifters not to act out and find themselves in cuffs. As the agent departed, Ryder turned his attention back to Mark, impatiently waiting while he opened the bottle and drained half its contents. As he turned the bottle in his hands, Mark looked back to Ryder.
“Bossman’s real name is Logan Witt, and he’s my brother.”
***
In the awed silence that followed his revelation, Mark regarded the water bottle in his hands. His throat still felt dry and weird, and he struggled to remember how long it was since he’d last spoken. While it felt odd to speak, finally revealing the secret he’d kept for so long felt sensational. He hadn’t realized how much it had physically weighed him down until this moment.
“Your brother?” Ryder sounded bewildered.
As he nodded in response to Ryder’s question, Mark mourned all he’d put his mate and friends through. It had to end. While he’d kept quiet so far, unwilling to incriminate himself further, now Ashlynn was in danger. He had to do everything he could to help her. Before he could disclose anything further, Jason’s voice rang out.
“Wait, Witt? As in Harrison Witt? Emily’s father?”
“Yeah.” Reluctantly, Mark looked to Scott and Ryan. “Emily is my half-sister.”
Ryan appeared shocked, but Scott’s face pulled into an angry scowl. “And you allowed her to be taken?”
“No,” Mark replied quickly. While Scott seemed close to losing it and attacking him, he knew the others wouldn’t allow it. However, he was quick to defend himself anyway. “No, I had no idea Logan would kidnap her.” He blew out a breath. “Please. I would never have done anything to endanger her, she’s my sister.”
“Why didn’t you say something before?” Ryder demanded. “We could have protected her.”
“Because I didn’t think she was in danger. Even had Logan found her, I never thought he’d kidnap her. It doesn’t make any sense to me.”
“None of this makes any sense to me,” Ryder returned. “Why don’t you start clearing some things up for us? Okay, you’re Logan’s brother, and Emily is your half-sister. How is that possible? You’re a shifter. She was human until a short time ago.”
“Our father was a halfling.” He saw the understanding spread across the faces of the others as all grasped that, as Emily’s mother was a human and her father apparently hadn’t claimed her mother, the offspring would be human. “It always caused problems. My mother hated his being a halfling, and was angry the Universe had paired them. It embarrassed her and, when we were old enough to understand, it embarrassed Logan, too. He resented my father and fought him over everything. I never felt like less of a shifter with a halfling father but Logan did. He claimed it made him and me weaker than other shifters, not full-blooded shifters as we should be, as all shifters should be. He said halflings should never exist. When I pointed out that some humans weren’t willing to be claimed, he told me they should be forced to.”
He finished off the water and, holding the empty bottle in his hands still, locked eyes with Ryder again. “I asked him what shifter would do such a thing. The Universe picked mates, and due to our fertility issues, sometimes they were human. No shifter would force the mate they loved to become a shifter. He hated the entire idea of the Universe picking mates, especially if they were human. His answer to our fertility issues was that female shifters should have more offspring than they did. Most had a single litter. It wasn’t enough. They should be made to breed as much as possible. I couldn’t believe his warped thoughts and they just got worse. He thought much more should be done to further shifter numbers, to turn the tide of their declining numbers and get to a point where humans wouldn’t have to be claimed. After all, even turned into shifters, were they truly shifters? They weren’t born that way. He envisioned a day when all shifters were as they once were, born as shifters, strong, whole, and full-blooded, the way they were meant to be, not watered down with human blood.”
He shrugged. “I told him it was madness and that other shifters would never accept his views. He said ‘Then I’ll create a pack so strong we’ll conquer any wolf pack that resists us. Eventually we’ll be one pack, and the strongest shifter species.’ I told him his thoughts were immoral and he flew into a rage. He told me I was either with him or against him. I was definitely against him.
“A few years went by and we hadn’t spoken at all. When our father fell ill, we put aside our feud in order to say goodbye. Just before he died, he admitted to having an affair, and fathering a daughter with a human. He told us that he’d financially provided for our sister but that there was plenty of money left for us. Logan pushed for details about her, but Dad refused to provide any past her name being Emily. He died shortly after, never revealing any more about her despite how angry my mom and Logan were with him.”
Pausing, he turned the bottle in his hands. He didn’t like relating the story, the testament of how fucked up both his brother and mother were, but knew the group in the room needed this background information in order to understand his entire story and, especially, his actions. “Logan was furious and wanted to track Emily down. He thought she should be forced into the family and said he’d bite her to turn her into a shifter. I couldn’t believe what I’d heard, that he’d consider doing do to our sister, turning her against her will. He didn’t see anything
wrong with it. He said once she was a shifter she’d thank him for bettering her. I knew then he was crazy and I warned him to keep his distance from Emily. She didn’t know about us and that was probably for the best. She could live out her life as most humans did, without ever knowing about shifters. Logan said it was high time shifters stepped out of the shadows, and stopped hiding from humans because we were stronger, better, and should be ruling humans.” He exhaled loudly. “We got into a fistfight, a bad one. I managed to overpower him and warned him to cut the shit. I told him that if I ever found out he acted on his crazed beliefs, I’d report him to the Shifter Alliance. I thought that was the end, and that I’d never hear from him again.”
After placing the empty bottle on the table, he looked around at the gathered shifters, trying to ascertain their mood. They all looked pissed and he reasoned they should be. Maybe he should have said something before now. “It wasn’t too long after that the SIA approached me with a plan. They knew of Logan but not his whereabouts. Apparently, word had reached them of his extreme thoughts and his manifestos that circulated in some wolf-shifter circles. They gave me a new surname, and then planted me in SASS. They wanted to use me to flush out SASS agents working with the rogue pack. I was to pretend to be on Logan’s side, infiltrated in SASS, a place where he already had allies. I hated it but when they showed me the influence Logan was having on other shifters, I had to stop him. So, I went through SASS training, became an agent, and sought out Logan. I told him that after working with humans through SASS I realized he’d been right and wanted to be part of his plan. Unfortunately, due to the bad blood between us, he never fully trusted me and constantly demanded information. I was sick to death of it, giving him info I knew resulted in the kidnapping of females and I didn’t feel I was getting anywhere with him.
Saved by Her Wolves Page 15