“Why?” She wasn’t understanding him.
“Death.” His eyes glassed over, and she could see that he was living in the world in his head. He was watching a death.
“That’s what will happen if you keep taking them.” She wished she could make him understand. To see that drugs were not the answer to whatever was bothering him. “Tell me why you have to take them?”
“Please don’t ask that of me, Tea.”
“Why not?”
“Because I can’t. I’m doing this to save you.” His mouth slammed shut. It was like he realized he’d said too much.
She heard Kas move behind her, and she turned her head slightly to see him watching her interaction carefully. He nodded at her. Soft love and reassurance wasn’t working. There was only one thing left to do. The thing that would break her.
“You won’t give up the drugs and tell me what’s going on?” she asked. Surprised at the sudden strength in her voice. She brushed the tips of her fingers against Tyler’s then pulled her hand away and stood up. He let out a hiss as though she had burned him, but did not move his hand or make to stand up himself.
“This is my life now,” he said resolutely.
“If you continue down this path then I’ll not be with you. I won’t be in your life and watch you kill yourself with drugs. No matter what confused justification makes you think you need to.” Her lip was quivering as she spoke, but she made sure that he knew she was serious. “I’m going to get a few hours sleep and then go to the elections for the Council board. If you choose to beat the addiction and be the man that I know you are, then get Jessica to bring you to me. If you don’t come, then I won’t return to Glacial Blood.”
He reached out for the bar. It sizzled under his touch. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead, he shifted to a wolf. She could no longer stop the tears falling. Kas appeared at her shoulder. Brayden was with him. She hadn’t even heard him come in.
“Let’s get you upstairs.” Kas placed his arms around her. She could feel her legs starting to collapse. The tiredness mixing with the agony of losing her mate was too much. She turned around and took one last look at him.
“You’ve just shattered my heart.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Tyler wasn’t sure how long he’d been locked in the magical cage. It could have been days or a matter of hours. All he knew was that he needed to get out and get some more catnip. He hoped the girl wouldn’t be too angry. It wasn’t his fault. The people who he thought were his friends had staged an intervention. Didn’t they know that it wasn’t wanted? He was doing what he needed to do to look after Teagan. He vaguely remembered her coming to see him. The brush of her fingertips against his still burned. She would die and he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Kas had returned a few times and asked him if he was willing to give up the drugs. He’d stated, ‘no,’ each time, and the polar bear had skulked away in a furious temper. Thankfully, Kas seemed to have disappeared now. Hopefully, the annoying alpha had given up and would release him soon. Scott had been left watching him; what a joy that was. He was either talking about impending fatherhood, or berating him for having to take time out to guard him and not watch over Emma. All the time he sat in so much pain. He felt his insides were trying to rip their way out of his body. He needed a fix and soon.
His body shivered then stilled, the air around him electrified. He knew what was coming next.
“Scott you need to go,” he called out to his friend. The lion looked up from where he was reading a prenatal book.
“Why?”
“Trust me. Get out.”
“Yeah, not happening until you give up the drugs and tell us what’s going on.” The lion returned his attention to the book. All of a sudden, Tyler watched as Scott was lifted up and thrown through the air smacking into a wall. He dropped down to the floor and lay there unmoving.
“No,” he yelled. “Leave him alone.”
“Why?” The air fizzled again, and the ghostly girl appeared. The cruel smirk on her face telling him that she was willing to hurt anyone without remorse.
“He’s nothing to do with this.”
“Was he not stopping you from doing what I asked?” she questioned. “Or were you defying me? In which case I should find Teagan.”
He couldn’t let Teagan get hurt.
“Please, he was just following orders. It was my alpha who removed the drugs. Get me out of here and give me more. I’ll take them. I’ll do anything that you ask. Just please, don’t hurt her.” He was on his knees with his hands clasped together in a prayer position. His clothes were stuck to his body with sweat, and the stench of his failure filled the room.
The ghost stepped forward and threw her head back. The laughter that followed brought bile to his mouth, and he promptly emptied the sparse contents of his stomach at his feet. Repulsed with himself, he shuffled backwards. All the while the ghost was laughing, a feminine cackle that showed him just how far he had fallen. He truly was the devil: a murderer, a drug addict. The laughter grew louder; his ears must be playing up, he thought, because it also seemed deeper. No, he wasn’t hearing things. The laughter had turned masculine. He looked up to be greeted with the malevolent faces of Nuka and Ciaran staring back at him.
“What the hell?”
Nuka pulled a bag from his pocket. Tyler didn’t need to ask what was in it because he could smell it. His mouth watered.
“Give it me,” he stammered. Shit, no. “No.” His hand involuntarily reached out. “I need it to take the edge off.”
Nuka laughed again, his big polar bear body shaking.
“It was nice of my brother to leave you alone with only the world’s stupidest lion for company. It’s made this job so much easier.” He waved the bag again, and, despite the magical bars Tyler reached out for it. He was rewarded with a jolt of electrical energy through his body. He shuddered and sank to the floor.
“Who would be a canine when you can have such a vulnerable weakness? It’s just begging to be exploited,” Nuka laughed. “And here was I thinking addiction was nonsense. Nobody was that weak, but our friend here is proving me wrong.”
Ciaran smirked.
“He was far too easy to break. I didn’t even have to try that hard. I guess that’s what love does to you.”
“What are you talking about?” A sharp shooting pain shot through his side. The catnip, he needed it so badly.
Nuka shook the packet in front of him.
“Oh Tyler, you’re such a fool. I should’ve gone after you first.”
“Let me have the packet, please.”
“This doesn’t come cheap, you know. This is pure. Gets you addicted faster, and means that coming off it is even more of a killer than the cheap stuff.” Nuka gritted his teeth and came nearer to the bars. “What’ll you do for it Tyler?”
“What do you want?” his voice broke.
“I want my brother dead.” Nuka’s response was matter of fact. Like it was an everyday occurrence that someone wanted their brother to die. Mind you, in Nuka’s case it probably was.
“I won’t do it.” The spittle in his mouth ran down his chin. Nuka opened the bag and pulled out a small pinch of the drug. He threw it just inside the cage. Tyler leaped forward. Using his tongue, he licked clean where the drug had fallen. It didn’t matter that dirt or vomit was mixed in with it. He just needed to feel the high run through his blood. The amount was so minimal, though, that it only increased the agony he was in.
“No, no, no,” he cried.
“I want him dead!” Nuka shouted.
“Please. I can’t.”
“Maybe I should kill Teagan instead.” His face was a mask of anger now. “Take her out into the woods, shift into a polar bear, and shake her by the neck until she’s a rag doll to my needs.”
“You killed me.” The ghostly girl’s voice echoed around the room. “You killed me. You killed me.”
Tyler looked towards where the voice was coming f
rom. He did not see the girl though. He saw only Ciaran, who flashed to the ghostly girl and then back to himself.
“You.” Despite the catnip addling his brain, Tyler realized what had been happening. “The ghost isn’t real.”
“Not only that, but the murder wasn’t either.”
“What?” he spluttered out.
“You didn’t kill her. Her death was at the hands of a human.”
Tyler sprang forward and went for the bars. “Bastard.” The electric fried through him. He shook and collapsed back to the ground.
Nuka took charge now. “It seems her stepfather had been abusing her since she was ten. She finally got up the courage to tell a friend. The stepfather overheard and knew that it was time to get rid of the problem. He dragged her there because of rumors of wolves, and he murdered her. You were so drug addled you collapsed next to the body and assumed you’d killed her. It was such an easy plan.”
“How do you know all this?”
“It would seem that your old pack has a new alpha. One keen to align with my pack. He followed you that night. He saw everything but chose to keep it a secret. It meant that he got rid of you, and he became next in line for a shot at power. Fate decreed itself on my side for once.” The polar bear laughed and then waved the bag in front of him again. Tyler had kept the addiction at bay for a few moments. It was tempered by the anger he was feeling but again it flared, reminding him of the bliss inducing herbs that Nuka held within his hand.
“Do you know the interesting thing, Tyler?”
“Let me have it, please?” He was bored of listening, and now he just wanted the drugs.
“I have you under my power. Drug rehabilitation in wolves, though quicker than in humans, still takes a week. You’ve had less than twenty-four hours. You’re hooked. You deny you’ll kill my brother, but you will because you want this.”
“I won’t do it.”
“Fine. Ciaran, let’s go. I’ll have to give the shipment, I’ve just received, to someone else.”
“Shipment?”
Ciaran clicked his fingers and a briefcase appeared in Nuka’s hands.
“Thank you.” Nuka opened it and revealed hundreds of packets of catnip. Tyler’s heart started to beat out of his chest. He needed it. God, he needed it so badly.
“I’ll do anything else you want.” He tried to reason with Nuka, as if such a thing was possible. In his drug crazed state, he hoped that it was.
“I only want one thing.” Nuka picked up a packet and threw it into the magical cage through a small window that Ciaran had magically opened and then sealed again, once the packet was inside.
Tyler dropped to his feet and snatched the packet up. He ripped it open and swallowed the catnip before anyone could take it from him. The pain that had crippled him for twenty-four hours abated, and his legs felt the urge to run. He felt in control.
“I haven’t visited Clements mountain for a while now. I think I’ll go there and take my drugs with me.” Nuka focused his attention directly upon Tyler. Through the high he was feeling, Tyler was barely able to focus on Nuka’s words. “I’ll be there for six hours. If you come to me with my brother’s head, before that time ends, I’ll give you the entire case and as many more as you need. I’ll become your permanent supplier. I’ll give you land to run on, away from everyone. But most importantly, I’ll bring you Teagan and guarantee her safety. What do you say?”
“I bring you Kas’ head, and you’ll let Teagan and me be.” He was licking his lips, still trying to get the last remnants of the drug down.
“You have my word.”
The drugs flowed into Tyler’s blood stream. He was back in his place of bliss where the world was peaceful. He knew he should fight against something. His brain tried to process that he hadn’t killed the girl, but it couldn’t. He was a monster amongst angels. A murderer. He had to prove his demons wrong. He would be Teagan’s knight in shining armor and save her. He would kill Kas. He would have his drugs.
“I’ll do it.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Teagan, darling, what are you doing here?” Ebony’s shrill voice had the wild dog hunch her shoulders and hope that the ground would swallow her. She was nursing a broken heart and didn’t need to have the woman who was, supposedly, her best friend tell her she deserved it because she was a piece of trash. Hiding wouldn’t solve anything, though.
“Hi, Ebony.” She turned to greet the wolf with a friendly air kiss. “I’m here for the election.” Kas and Jessica, who were walking with her, stopped.
“Oh. Mr. Lincoln, are you running? I asked Hunter if I could be put forward. He said no at first, but I wore him down. We must keep up appearances of helping out those less fortunate than us. And, well, let’s face it, I’ve had enough experience being Teagan’s best friend all these years.”
Kas raised an eyebrow, and his voice popped into her head. “Is she for real?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” she replied with her own telepathic projection.
“Kas.” Hunter strode down the corridor, and the two men shook hands. “Good to see you again.”
“Same here.”
Hunter stepped back to his wife’s side, and Teagan watched Ebony drape herself around him. She couldn’t help but notice that the wolf alpha didn’t look that impressed with his wife’s over affectionate display.
“Are you here for the election?” Hunter enquired.
“I am,” Kas replied. “I’m supporting my nominee. “
“Nominee?” Ebony interrupted. “You aren’t running yourself so that will be a big loss to the committee.” Ebony gave a pout which left Teagan just wanting to roll her eyes. “But then, I’m sure having a witch of Jessica Raven’s skills will be extremely beneficial.”
“I’m not running.” Jessica looked bored with the she-wolf’s annoying behavior.
“Well then who?” Ebony asked.
“Teagan,” Kas replied, and Ebony burst into a fit of merriment at that news. Nobody else laughed.
“Seriously.” Ebony tried to catch her breath in between cackles. “Why?”
“Because she’s extremely well qualified for the role,” Kas responded.
“She’s a wild dog. I’m surprised the Council even allows them in this building.” Ebony stopped laughing now and was rolling her eyes in disgust.
“Ebony,” Hunter warned with a growl in his voice.
“Husband, dearest.” Ebony turned her attention back to her man. “What could she possibly offer? She’ll make a joke of the committee.”
“I think she can offer a lot,” Hunter replied. “I think we’ll go in to cast our votes, and you should do it in silence.”
“What?” Ebony screeched. “Are you serious?” The she-wolf looked around and spotted someone. “There’s Ethern Lennox. I’m going to have a word with him. I’m not going to be part of a committee that’s a complete farce. He won’t stand for it.”
Teagan had been standing quietly watching the exchange between husband and wife. She was so used to Ebony’s disapproval of her breed by now that she was numb to it. She’d wanted to be a part of the committee to try and help protect people from the abuse of their breed that she’d grown up with. But, it was obvious now that, with people like Ebony on the committee, it was going to be a farce.
“Teagan.” Kas’ voice entered her head. She looked up at him with sad eyes. “Follow your heart.”
The world slowed around her. People moved at the speed of snails, while the words penetrated her brain. Ebony’s heels clicked on the marbled floor as she purposefully strode towards the multi-shifter councilman.
Her mouth opened.
“Ethern’s my second.” Ebony’s heels slammed to a halt. The wolf spun around with an incredulous look on her face.
“He’s what?” she shouted across the room.
“He’s my second.”
“Why would he lower himself to that?” If they hadn’t been in the hallowed Council of the shifters Teagan would have strode
right up to her so-called friend and punched her straight in the face. Re-arranging it for all the years of oppression would give her great satisfaction.
“He did it because he knows, that after years of being your friend, I know exactly what it’s like to be a second class citizen in the shifter world. Ever since the day I first met you, you have put me down just because of the breed that I am.”
Ebony laughed. She actually dared to laugh. “I think you’ve been sniffing something because the delusions of grandeur are starting to show. You’re a wild dog darling. Nature’s vermin.”
That was the last straw, to call her vermin, and infer that she was taking drugs. When the man she loved was locked in a magical prison because he was riddled with addiction.
“No, I’m the perfectly sane one here. You’re just a nasty piece of work who, if on the committee, would ruin all Ethern Lennox’s hard work. You’re a racist, and as such are the vermin. I’ve put up with your jibes all my life, so I know more about how to help integrate breeds than you ever will.” Everyone in the corridor was looking at them. “Wild dogs are no different to wolves, who are no different to lions, tigers, polar bears, or even those funny little monkey shifters. We’re even all the same as humans. If you cut us open, we all bleed blood as red as the anger surging through my body right now. We differ in culture and beliefs, but the thing you will find about wild dogs is that we are the most tolerant of others’ ways of living. If you were to come to my house and not do something the way that I would, I wouldn’t berate you for it. I would try to accommodate your cultural beliefs as best that I can. Yes, I would probably do it while falling over ten times, because my breed is clumsy. But then wolves are constantly doing that butt sniffing thing, cats have those hair balls that they yack up everywhere; and don’t get me started on polar bears and their tempers, especially when you fall onto their desk while having rowdy sex.”
She heard Jessica snort a little laugh behind her at that comment.
“We’re all different, but all the same underneath. No one breed is superior to the other. Not even a tiny mouse is inconsequential, when placed next to an elephant, for it will scare it. That’s what this committee is for, and if you’re elected to it then I fear for the future of our Council. They will all become air headed bimbos who think that it’s alright to place their best friend at the back of a room, in a God awful lime green bridesmaids dress when they have bright red hair. Not that I’ve ever been your best friend or for that matter, after this conversation, your friend. Not until you accept me for who and what I am. And that’s all I have to say on the matter. Now, I’m going to go and cast my vote, and then, I’m going to go home and get the biggest jar of cookie mix known to man and eat it all, because that’s how I roll.” She turned around to head into the voting room but froze when a round of spontaneous applause broke out in the corridor. Kas and Jessica stood in front of her, both of them clapping as well. She flushed bright red and tucked her head down into her chest in the hope that the floor would swallow her up. Had she really just said all that? She was going mad. After so many years of oppression, it had just all come out. Ebony would be a nightmare for the committee.
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