“No, no clue. They don’t know, either. I interrogated the ones involved right after I watched this, and they were clueless. In fact, the idiots even didn’t realize demons could teleport. Luckily for them, they hadn’t succeeded in capturing one, or a very pissed off demon would’ve destroyed the whole facility.”
“Where did they get that liquid?” Markus pinned him with his deadly gaze, his black eyes flickering with a banked fire.
Victor flinched. Once before he’d seen that fire flare in Markus’ eyes. He, along with a roomful of Coterie and Enforcers, had then spent hours frozen as a statue. Julia had almost died that day, hit with death magic, and Markus had lashed out. The amount of power it took to lock down so many people at once was truly frightening.
“I’m not sure where they got it. They didn’t even know. And like you, I’m pretty damn sure it’s demon essence. When a demon is banished from our plane, their bodies are destroyed, and the essence goes back to their own plane. As you’re aware, a demon can’t be killed since they’re not tied to our plane. Makes no difference what happens to them here, they will always manifest back home. Seems they found a way to keep that essence and use it on this poor woman. The idiots told me she was the first one to survive. The rest died within seconds of being injected, convulsing and bleeding even though there were no wounds on them. I do have a few of those on video as well. Damn disturbing to see a person bleed out from their pores. Want me to put one on?” He suppressed a shudder at the memory, hoping Markus didn’t want to see it.
He really didn’t want sit through it again.
“No, I don’t need to see it. Find that woman. She can’t just wander around. Contain her. And if necessary, destroy her. I’ll have another mage relieve you down here.” Markus stood up briskly as if he’d already dismissed this concern from his mind.
Victor knew protocol and would immediately hunt for this unknown woman. Markus would be his point of contact as he had given Victor this assignment.
Mages didn’t check in with Mara or Roan. The grunt work didn’t concern them.
“Speak to Keeper before you go. And this time,” Markus paused at the door, not bothering to turn around, “don’t piss him off.”
With that, he left the room.
Chapter Seventeen
Light flooded the room, illuminating every corner. Sylvia closed her eyes, momentarily soothed by the brightness. The dark hid too many terrors for her now, unknown assailants ready to drag her back to the tiny prison cell.
Sleep would not come, though. Thoughts zipped through her mind, each one increasing her heart rate. Her breaths came in shallow gasps and her fingers dug into the blanket covering her.
A gentle knock at the door sounded like gunfire to her sensitive ears and she bolted out of the bed. Her feet tangled in the sheets, trapping her, and a small cry escaped her lips. She sprawled on the floor, hidden from sight.
“Sylvia?” Derek’s voice curled around her, calming her. She wasn’t back there. This was her Alpha’s bedroom. A safe place.
With a gulp of air, she answered in a small voice, “Here. I fell.”
“Ah, sweetheart, are you okay?” His knees appeared next to her face as he knelt down. Tender hands untangled her before he lifted her tense body onto the bed. She sat at the edge with him inches away from her, still kneeling at her feet.
Embarrassed he’d witnesses her face-plant on the floor, she pushed some hair out of her eyes and nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just startled, that’s all.”
“I saw the light on, thought you might like some company.” She opened her mouth to protest when he continued, “I’m having issues sleeping. Too worked up over this Shawn situation. I feel like I’m failing my pack.”
Her mouth closed with a snap. First, Derek was the glue that held their pack together. His strength sustained them all. Second, he admitted this to her. Derek didn’t share fears. Hell, they believed he didn’t have any.
She moved over on the bed and patted the mattress next to her. It dipped with his weight, drawing her closer to him. She scooted away, just enough to keep some distance between them and hoped he didn’t notice.
“Sylvia, I won’t hurt you. You know that, right?” Derek said calmly, as if she hadn’t just implied he would harm her.
“Yes, I know.” She laid down on the bed, her long nightgown covering her from neck to ankle. After months of nakedness, the feeling of cloth against her skin comforted her. “I’m sorry. Lay next to me. Talk to me. Please.”
Being alone in the bright light, startled by every noise, wore her down. Each night she waited for sleep, and each day she woke more tired than before. When she closed her eyes, the fears attacked her. The humans had taken her in a crowded room and left no evidence behind. It would be simple for them to snatch her again, even with werewolves surrounding her.
Derek laid next to her, his body stretched out and taking up more space than hers. Not an inch of him touched her, although his heat radiated from him and relieved some of her tension. He made no move to shift closer.
“Shawn has been snipping at me for about six months now. Little things. Irritating things. It didn’t bug me, so I let it go. If he wanted to challenge me, then fine. If not, I couldn’t be bothered as long as he took proper care of his pack. They had no complaints, so I shrugged it off.” Derek’s deep voice curled around her, and her eyelids drifted downwards.
“Why didn’t you tell me any of this?”
“There wasn’t any reason to. He hadn’t done anything except verbally needle me. After you... disappeared, nothing else mattered. You were my sole focus.” The bed moved as he shifted. “Now, though, now he’s harassing my pack. And that I will not accept.”
“The pack knows you’ll protect them. Do the lower packs know what’s happening?” As she waited for his answer, Sylvia breathed in his scent, a unique blend of cologne and Derek. Home. He smelled like home to her. A safe haven.
“No, they don’t. Some of the Alphas felt the shift in stability, but not the submissives. Shawn’s been waiting for a chance to attack, though. Once I have enough information against him, I’ll summon him here. I just hope the pack will still trust me. I haven’t been the best of Alphas lately.” His voice carried a hint of what? Embarrassment, guilt, a combination of the two? Why?
“Of course they’ll still trust you. You’ve been Top Alpha for fifty years with the Toronto pack, and everyone respects you. I haven’t heard of anyone wanting you replaced.”
The quiet snort of derisive laughter confused her. “You haven’t been here for the past three months. There have been some talks even amongst our Toronto werewolves. Zmitro and the Deltas took over running things, and some felt slighted over that. I have some work ahead of me to repair the damage.”
“They’ll understand. You were worried about a pack member. You would’ve felt the same for any of them,” Sylvia mumbled, sleep tugging at her brain.
“Yeah.” Such a tiny word, and yet it held a wealth of meaning she couldn’t decipher.
With a touch so light she almost didn’t feel it, he skimmed her cheek and tucked her hair behind her ear. Her heart jumped. Dread or desire? The answer didn’t come to her. The aversion to touch perverted her instincts, poisoning her reactions. She couldn’t separate the two. Touch meant pain. Her world had become a narrow sliver of torment and expectation of more.
But she wasn’t there anymore. She’d escaped, and the scientists were now the prisoners.
One, two, three, four... she counted, focusing on the numbers. Learn to cope and overcome, use the tools Dr. Zayler gave her and become strong again. Derek wouldn’t hurt her. Her pack wouldn’t either.
Tranquility, something she hadn’t experienced for so long, embraced her, and sleep finally claimed her for the night.
Sylvia’s breathing pattern changed as she fell deeper into sleep. Derek debated leaving. Would she panic finding him next to her, or would it be worse to wake alone?
He hadn’t meant to tell Sylvia h
is fears. An excuse to stay, that’s all he had wanted. Instead he’d spilled his weaknesses to her, made himself more vulnerable to a woman who might very well reject him in the end.
Peace settled over him. Sylvia wouldn’t use this knowledge against him. She wasn’t devious and manipulative. She was a straight-for-the-jugular kind of werewolf. At least, she had been. How much had she changed due to those bastards? Did it change her fundamental core, or was she still Sylvia, the woman he fell in love with so many decades ago?
The faint taint of panic faded from Sylvia. He’d almost left the room when the scent had hit his nose. She’d been afraid…of him. Love for her had kept him there. She couldn’t control her reactions. Patience and understanding would help her through this.
With a swiftness at odds with his sheer size, he rolled off the bed and placed the blanket around Sylvia. He leaned over, pressed a soft kiss against her forehead and whispered, “I love you.”
Chapter Eighteen
“I need a girls night out,” Sylvia stated. “I’m going stir crazy.”
Derek’s head whipped around, caught off-guard by her declaration. She avoided eye contact, instead staring intently at the TV. Neither of them cared for the show, having put it on for background noise and nothing more.
He shifted on the couch, twisting his body so he could face her without craning his neck. His knee brushed against her hip as he folded it onto the cushion between them. For a split second Sylvia cringed from him before she straightened. The movements appeared subconscious. And still she wouldn’t look at him.
Sylvia, out of his sight and away from his protection. He shook his head, rejecting the idea. She’d been home for less than two weeks. The days passed quietly and the nights he spent talking to Sylvia until she fell asleep. No issues had cropped up during patrols. The Alphas had apparently crawled back into their respective holes, leaving his personal pack alone. Which meant he had nothing to accuse them of, no legitimate reason to challenge them.
And now Sylvia wanted a girls night out.
He glowered at her and growled, “No, I forbid it.”
“Excuse me?!” She swung her head to stare at him and huffed a disbelieving laugh. “You can’t forbid me. I’m your Beta, not your child. The past three months, I suffered. Confined, locked up and denied everything. I will not accept that from you.”
Her words were a punch to his gut.
“I…” he tried to speak, but the sudden gravel in his throat prevented it.
His anguish must have shown on his face, as she hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, that was low. I shouldn’t have compared you to them.”
Her hand hovered for a moment before she gave him a comforting pat on his arm then snatched it away. A disbelieving laugh almost escaped him. She wanted to comfort him. He wasn’t the one who’d spent the past several months confined and tortured.
He closed his eyes against the pain. Thoughts of her hurt, in agony, churned acid in his gut.
Lock her up, keep her hidden from the world so she’ll never be hurt again.
A stupid, impossible thought. In the end, he’d be no better than her abductors. While his reasoning may be different, the end result would be the same. He’d crush her spirit as surely as they had.
No longer calm, he jumped to his feet and paced the room. Long legs ate up the distance from one wall to the other. Chaotic, wild thoughts bounced around his brain, hardly making any sense.
He couldn’t. He just couldn’t let her go.
Keep her safe. Protect his mate.
Why couldn’t she see that?
But she wasn’t a child, unable to care for herself.
His mate didn’t need his protection. She needed his respect and trust.
He stopped short, mid-stride, as Sylvia planted herself in his way. He barely avoided slamming into her. Hands on her hips and an angry scowl etched on her lovely face, she was an avenging angel ready to smite him. Her thick red hair settled on her shoulders and he wanted to bury his face in the silky strands. She was liable to punch him instead of embrace him though. His protective response was not sitting well with her.
“You don’t get to dictate my personal life. I will not stay here indefinitely because of some jackass Alpha. And no, I don’t mean you, but keep this up and I will. I need to get out, to get used to being around others again. My shrink said so. He said my phobias will get worse if I don’t try to control them. I already get jittery thinking about large crowds, people too close to me. How bad will I get if I’m a hermit for months?” Her anger leeched from her, and he hated the defeated look in its place.
If he wanted her to heal, then he needed to man up and help her as much as possible. This wasn’t about him. It was about Sylvia and only Sylvia. If she needed this, then who was he to stand in her way?
He raked his fingers through his hair, wishing he had an easy answer, wishing it wasn’t so hard to let her go. And therein lay his problem. For thirty years he’d tried to let her go and accept that she wasn’t his. Now he finally had a shot at claiming her, and it was even harder to step back.
“Who’s going?” he ground out the words, his voice a husky growl of anger and defeat.
“Emma, Heather, Nadia, Simone and Julia. I’ll be well protected.” Her eyes shifted away from his but not before he saw the embarrassment and shame.
As both an Enforcer and a Beta, she shouldn’t need protection.
Unable to help himself, he reached out and cupped her cheek, turning her face back to his. The slight flinch nearly destroyed him. She still didn’t fully trust him to not hurt her. Two weeks of random touches hadn’t come close to obliterating the conditioned response. Her lashes lowered, hiding the vibrant blue from him along with her pain.
“Sylvia, sweetheart, look at me, please.” He waited an eternity, maintaining physical contact the entire time until she raised her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“No. No, you have nothing to be sorry for. Don’t you ever apologize to me.” He pulled her into his arms, hugging her tight. After a moment’s hesitation, she squeezed him back, clinging to him.
He muttered into her hair, “You’re right. You need normalcy. I’m an ass for trying to smother you in bubble wrap. I didn’t go through what you went through, but these months were hard on me as well. I’m afraid if I don’t keep you close, you’ll disappear on me.”
Her head turned, like she was nuzzling his neck, and he exhaled, a shot of desire riding him hard. It took all his willpower to keep the hug platonic. A few inches lower and his hands would be on her ass. A fraction tighter and her whole body would be flush with his. Temptation, such sweet temptation.
Mentally counting to ten, he almost missed her reply.
“I’ll stay home.” Soft, crushed words, her strength beaten down.
And he had done that to her. He had reduced her to a victim needing protection. She was right to compare him to those monsters. He wanted to keep her in a cage, locked up for his own selfish reasons. She’d never heal if he kept crushing her spirit.
“No. Go out, have fun. All of you are more than capable of handling any situation that arises.” Lifting his head, he burrowed his fingers into her silky hair. He deeply regretted the pain shadowing her eyes, the pain he caused. “Go, and don’t feel guilty. My feelings are my issue, not yours. You need to do what’s good for you and will help you heal. Understand?”
A faint smile, so fleeting and rare since her return, curved her luscious lips and he nearly groaned. He wanted to kiss her again, to taste her and imprint her upon his soul.
“Yes, I understand.” A twinkle in her eye and a slyness to her smile warned him that her next words were in jest. “But just because you’re Alpha doesn’t mean you can order me to have fun. If I want to be miserable, I will be. In fact, I might spend the entire evening miserable.”
He glowered, knowing she’d see past his fierce countenance. Dropping his arms loosely around her waist, he savoured the closeness as he rumbled, “
I’ll order Emma, Heather, Nadia and Simone to show you a good time. If you don’t enjoy yourself, then they’re punished.”
Sylvia’s mouth dropped open and she pulled back far enough to punch his shoulder. “You jerk. You wouldn’t dare!”
Dropping his head, his lips brushed her ear as he taunted, “Try me.”
A tiny shiver skated across her body, and he smiled. The faint scent of lust teased him before it abruptly disappeared. It took all of his control to stay where he was, to just enjoy Sylvia in his arms. She’d gone through a horrific experience and didn’t need him pawing at her.
“Hey, is this a private party, or can anyone join?” The low, husky voice of Heather broke the intimacy. His first inclination was to snap at Heather, frustrated at the interruption, but honestly, it was for the best.
He dropped a gentle kiss on Sylvia’s forehead before turning to Heather. His actions wouldn’t raise any eyebrows, as he’d do the same to any of his female packmates. It was a sign of affection and nothing more. At least towards anyone except Sylvia.
Releasing her, he strode to the nearest armchair and dropped onto the thick cushion. Slanting a glance at Sylvia, he directed his words at Heather. “Just the person I wanted to talk to. You, Emma, Nadia, Simone and the mage Julia are having a girls’ night out with Sylvia. She is to have a fantastic time or I’ll punish the four of you.”
“Derek!” Sylvia gasped. “You will not!”
Sprawling his large body in the chair, legs stretched out and arms opened wide, he rumbled, “I told you to try me.”
Her eyes turned molten at the double entendre, and her gaze lingered on his wide-spread thighs and hard pecs. Damn, it was hard to recall why he couldn’t carry her to his bedroom. A few hours alone might take the edge off his craving for her.
Or dig her even deeper under his skin.
Tilting his head back, he watched Sylvia with narrowed eyes as she succeeded in dragging her attention away from him. She turned to Heather and accepted a quick hug before they both sat down on the couch.
Sylvia's Torment (Enforcers and Coterie Book 2) Page 13