Everything That You Are

by Nikki McCoy

  “Whatever. I’ll leave him alone. Meanwhile, we have meetings to set up. Get the others and meet me in my office.”

  Thomas gave one last leering look at Kaden, then turned and left to do his Alpha’s bidding. Gregory proceeded to rip his jeans from him roughly and jerked his head towards a rusted pot lying three feet away.

  “You know where to do your business. I suggest you use these next few nights to rest up. I’m looking forward to giving you your punishment for running from me.” He placed his hand back over the wound in his neck and squeezed until Kaden let out a cry of pain. “And you try to pull any more stunts like this and I’ll break your fingers, you understand me, boy?”

  The threat wasn’t idle, but Kaden couldn’t bring himself to respond. Thankfully, Gregory was too impatient to set up his meetings with the men he planned to manipulate using Kaden’s power to stay and push the issue. The large Alpha rose from the ground and strode out of the door. Kaden could hear the loud click of the padlock on the other side as Gregory locked him in.

  Alone, naked and in pain, Kaden allowed the darkness and familiarity of the room to surround him and swallow his fears like it always did. This is where Gregory always brought him to be punished or to await his punishment.

  What the man didn’t know was that this room had always offered Kaden a measure of solace and escape when he was left alone. Like any arrogant, conceited prick, Gregory believed that anyone would rather be in his presence than out of it, but down here, Kaden could lose himself in his secret dreams.

  Only this time, there were no dreams. No hopes, no desires. No fantasies that his mate would come to his rescue like he had imagined so many times in the past.

  He’d walked out on Michael without even waiting for their last week together to end like he had promised he would. There had been no mistaking the looks of anger and disgust on the faces of every man in that office where he had laid bare his past. What’s more, he had yelled at Michael again for rejecting him at their first meeting.

  He didn’t have the energy to blame his mate for the result of his life anymore.

  Kaden tried not to let his fears over Missy’s future consume him. He was fairly positive that if Katherine didn’t take her in, Cheryl would. Katherine would be able to teach her about her were blood and possibly find information to help her with her power.

  He wasn’t sure if the brief respite from his misery, his job at the ranch and his few days of happiness with Michael, had been worth it or not. It felt as if he had been given a taste of what everyone else took for granted, only to feel more pain as it was ripped away so suddenly.

  He wanted to rage against the injustice of it all. To scream and cry and reject the world that had tossed him away before even giving him a chance to live, to love, but it would do no good. He would escape again. He was stronger and wiser than before. There was no doubt that he would be able to find a way, but for now, he would endure like he’d always done.

  He began to think of his time at the lake and the lessons Michael had taught him about shifting. As painful as the memory of the man was, remembering those words might be his only chance to escape this time. He had no doubt that Gregory would be watching him more carefully, but being able to shift would definitely help when an opportunity to run made itself available.

  Chapter Nine

  It had been three days—three days—since his mate had been taken from him. The stress of waiting was eating away at Michael’s mind and insides like acid. Dennis had pulled up records of Alpha Gregory’s bank accounts and influxes of cash that were unaccounted for, but they couldn’t accuse the man on that find alone.

  No one in Gregory’s or Michael’s pack knew about Kaden except for his men, parents and Gregory’s Betas, so it would be one Alpha’s word against the other. With Kaden’s questionable background and mage blood, Michael had to admit that the man’s testimony might be looked upon as unreliable.

  This morning, however, Mother Earth must have decided to reward their efforts to unravel the truth because they finally got the break they needed. Joseph, in his oh-so-charming, threatening way, had managed to intimidate a wolf belonging to Alpha Gregory’s clan whom they had discovered was doing business with the man.

  Fortunately, it had not been hard to convince Gustin that his Alpha had been taking advantage of him. For years, Gustin had been meeting with Gregory in order to discuss the financial plans and state of his expansive landscaping business. He’d admitted to leaving every meeting feeling confident that his business was producing successful profits, but the numbers never added up when taxes came due and his accounts wouldn’t match the sums of his inventory.

  Gustin had also admitted to having seen a young man who fitted Kaden’s description on occasion, at Gregory’s house during his meetings with the man, but had been told he was a relative from another clan. Michael had been appalled to learn of the blatant disregard Gregory obviously had for his clan, but even worse was the fact that his clan members had seemed to accept the sad state of affairs.

  They weren’t a large community, and when Michael had asked the man if he had ever become suspicious of the fact that their Alpha always seemed to have more money than their clan could produce, he had just shrugged with a guilty look on his face. Michael had never wanted to slap the stupidity out of someone more in his entire life.

  They needed him, though, so Michael had reined in his sudden homicidal urges and worked with him, Sam and his Betas to come up with a plan set to be executed that night. Gustin had been called by Thomas, one of Gregory’s Betas, a few days ago to meet with his alpha tonight at seven.

  The fact that this was his first meeting with his Alpha in almost a year and Kaden had been taken just days ago was too much of a coincidence for Michael. He was positive that Gregory was planning to use Kaden at some point during the meeting.

  However, they wouldn’t be able to rely on Gustin very much, considering he would probably come under the influence of the Alpha’s emotions, broadcast through Kaden, within minutes. That left Gustin with a very small window in which to notify Michael and his Betas via the mic set they’d attached to his chest underneath his shirt. It was a very human, very risky tactic, but also their only means of communication. From the information Gustin had been able to provide to them about Gregory, Michael was sure that the Alpha would be too confident in himself to consider that one of his own might go against him.

  Michael looked up from the coffee table in his living room, where he and his men were going over the map of Gregory’s territory, to see Sam escorting Gustin in from the kitchen. Two men who had acted as Sam’s Betas before his father retired walked in with them, completing their rescue and containment crew. The idea was to incarcerate and convict Gregory and his Betas with as few deaths as possible, but everyone understood that Kaden’s safety was top priority.

  Michael noticed that Gustin was fidgeting with nervousness. He had only one part to play, but going against one’s Alpha, even if it was the right thing to do, was never easy.

  “Is everyone set?” Sam, Gustin and Nick nodded.

  Once Michael got confirmation from Gustin over his earpiece that Kaden was in the house, he would inform Sam, who would be coming in through the back with his own Betas, through their mental link. Michael would be leading Nick, Joseph and Dennis through the front entrance since, according to Gustin, it was the closest to Gregory’s office.

  He looked at the man and asked, “You remember what to say if you see the young man there?”

  Gustin smiled wanly and said, “Yeah. My daughter is expecting pups. Are you sure you’ll be able to get past the alarms on the doors, though?”

  “Got it covered,” Dennis said from across the room.

  Gustin nodded but continued, “Uhh…Alpha Michael?”

  Michael knew what was coming. He and his father had discussed every possible outcome for this scenario and there was only one topic that had yet to come up in the group. “Go ahead, Gustin.”

  “Well…
I’m not contesting the fact that my Alpha needs to be held accountable for his actions but, as you’re probably already aware, we’ll be without an Alpha afterwards. If his Betas are in on his schemes also, well…”

  Michael curbed his impatience and replied, “Don’t worry. I would never leave a clan to fend for themselves if there was anything I could do about it. I’d be willing to accept your members into my own clan, or help out until you could choose another member fit to be Alpha.” Gustin let out a sigh of relief and nodded gratefully.

  “Okay then,” Michael said. Let’s load up. It’ll take us a few hours to get there, and I want us to be in position well before the meeting. Gustin, Sam will drop you off at your place so you can go directly from there to Gregory’s house.”

  He didn’t tell the man that Sam would also be keeping an eye on him until he left for the meeting. It wouldn’t do to lose the key person in this mission because the man suddenly got a case of the nerves.

  Michael walked everyone out, waiting until they had climbed into their cars and left before walking to his own truck. A soft hand on his elbow stopped him and he turned to see his mother standing there with a fierce look on her face.

  “I don’t think I need to tell you that you will have one pissed-off mother if you don’t bring both of my sons home safe, right?”

  Michael laughed and pulled her into a tight hug. “No, Mom, I figured that was a given. Don’t worry. We’ll be back before you know it.”

  Missy was standing a few feet away, hugging herself and looking lost. Her presence had been the hardest part about having to wait these past three days. Her happiness had turned into despondency and she’d taken to quietly following him around every chance she got.

  When he’d asked her why she didn’t want to spend time with Katherine anymore, she’d said, “I can smell Kaden on you.” After that, he had started camping out in the living room with her at night while she slept so she could stay close as much as possible.

  He turned to her now and wrapped her tiny body in his arms, then kissed her forehead. “Make sure Mom doesn’t eat all of the brownies you made for our return, okay?”

  Missy smiled tentatively and Katherine let out an inelegant snort but backed away as he got into his truck. He couldn’t help but grin at the woman’s tenacity. It had taken Sam an entire day to convince her to stay behind. She would have been right there with them but for the little girl standing next to her.

  Heading towards the road, he cleared his mind of everything but the task at hand.

  * * * *

  Kaden turned off the bathroom light before taking out a washcloth from the side cabinet and soaking it in warm water at the sink. He had no desire to see his reflection or look at his body, and though his vision wasn’t as acute as other weres’, he had years of practice at cleaning himself up in the dark. His hands were shaking from lack of food and sleep, causing him to spill water onto the floor, but it would hurt too much to take a shower.

  Gregory’s promise not to punish him until they conducted their necessary meetings hadn’t held out.

  He blotted the wet cloth gingerly against what skin he could reach. His shoulders still ached too much to allow him to lift or cross his arms to their full extent.

  Fortunately, his face was still too smooth to require that he shave, so he wouldn’t have to aggravate the bruises on his jaw. He hung the washcloth on the rack beside the cabinet and picked up the bottle of shampoo Gregory always kept for him underneath the sink, along with toothpaste and a toothbrush still in its wrapper. He quickly brushed his teeth, then washed his hair over the side of the tub, not surprised when his hands came away full of thick clumps of it.

  He didn’t particularly care about what his hair looked like, but he hated it when they constantly thinned it out by yanking roughly on it. It meant that he had less to hide his face behind. After rinsing, he blindly reached out and took the towel from the rack, gently dried his hair, then folded it across the edge of the tub. He stayed in his kneeling position on the floor, though his knees throbbed, and rested his head on the towel with a barely audible sigh.

  He was locked inside the bathroom and didn’t want to leave the sanctuary of the darkness any sooner than he absolutely had to. Every muscle in his body ached. His skin was on fire from the numerous lashes that had split it open, and his head pounded mercilessly. But none of that could compare to the despair clawing at his chest, threatening to burst out of him in huge sobs.

  He’d thought he could get through this until he found a way to escape again, but his will to keep going until then was almost completely gone. How could he have forgotten the sickness of the emotions he was forced to endure as Gregory pounded into him, deepening his assault with every cry that was brutally wrenched from Kaden’s lips? The constant battering of hatred and anger and greed took more out of him than any beating ever could.

  He was beginning to wish he had never escaped in the first place. Just thinking about that brief amount of freedom and knowing he might never get it back was almost enough to make him lose hope, and he couldn’t afford that.

  He jerked at the sudden loud banging on the door and heard the lock release before Thomas exposed him to the light in Gregory’s bedroom through the doorway.

  He couldn’t keep himself from flinching away from the man as he reached for him, which only served to piss Thomas off even more. “I may be under orders to get you ready, but Gregory didn’t say anything about having to keep my hands from you,” Thomas sneered as he grabbed a handful of his hair and dragged him over to the bed. “You take any more time being lazy, and I’ll make sure you’re in too much pain to sleep tonight.”

  For emphasis, Thomas grabbed his penis and squeezed until tears slipped from the corners of Kaden’s eyes and he let out a soft wail. Kaden knew Gregory had warned his Betas that he was off-limits to them until Gregory was done punishing him, but Gregory’s threats had never stopped them before, and it wouldn’t stop Thomas now. He knew Kaden wouldn’t risk another beating by telling the Alpha.

  Kaden would have laughed at the empty threat of Thomas’ words if not for the pain. He hadn’t slept since they’d brought him here days ago. He doubted that would change tonight. Kaden hissed as Thomas wrenched out even more hair from his head when he released him.

  Taking a moment to regain his balance, he began to dress in the outfit that was laid out for him on the side of the bed.

  Everything was in black, and even though the material was soft, it still felt like steel wool on his battered body. Gregory didn’t like to take the chance of someone noticing the blood that occasionally seeped through the cloth when one of Kaden’s wounds opened up during a conference.

  They were meeting with a wolf tonight, however, who would be able to smell his blood if he started bleeding and would be likely to get suspicious. It meant that Gregory and his betas would have to treat him a little more gently than usual so as not to reopen a wound until the meeting was concluded.

  Lucky me, he thought as he finished getting dressed and rose to retrieve the hairbrush lying on the dresser behind him. He studiously kept his head down and turned away from the mirror before lightly running the brush through his hair, pulling out even more blond strands. At this rate, he could be bald in a week or two.

  Gregory had forbidden him to don footwear at any time now as an extra precautionary measure to keep him from running again, so he was led barefoot down two sets of stairs and along a long, dark hallway.

  As they entered Gregory’s office, where he always conducted his business, Kaden let years of habit take over and mutely took a seat at the end of a long couch against the nearest wall. Gregory had already positioned himself to stand within casual reach of Kaden so that he could be ready to use his emotional influence when necessary.

  Kaden never looked up, but he recognised the scent of a clan member from several previous deals, during which Gregory had conned him into giving his Alpha an extremely inflated percentage of his yearly profits.

&n
bsp; Not that he cared.

  The men Gregory dealt with either ignored him completely or looked at him with lust in their eyes. Gregory’s one good quality was that he wasn’t into sharing, other than with his Betas. Kaden remembered that this member had always barely noticed his existence, which helped to calm his fears a fraction.

  Gregory usually waited to touch Kaden until he started to see doubt cross the faces of the people he was conning, but this time, he immediately reached to place his hand on the back of his neck. Before he was able to make contact, though, his guest blurted out, “So, Alpha Gregory, have I told you yet that my daughter recently discovered that she’s to have a litter of pups soon?”

  Gregory quickly recovered from that unexpected interruption and continued to settle his hand against Kaden’s skin. “Why no, you haven’t,” he replied smoothly. “I’d love to hear all about it, but perhaps at another time. We have plenty of business to discuss and unfortunately not a lot of time to do it in, wouldn’t you agree?”

  Kaden didn’t have to look into the guest’s eyes to see the confidence and devotion that would soon be reflected in his voice. He could feel both emotions being transmitted through him, as well as impatience to take care of their dealings as quickly as possible. He lowered his head even more as he felt his own disgust for himself rise and tried in vain to retreat to that corner of his mind that allowed him to become oblivious to his surroundings.

  Thomas acted as courier, transferring necessary paperwork back and forth between the two men, so that Gregory wouldn’t be forced to relinquish his hold on Kaden.

  Though they managed to take care of business and end their meeting in less than fifteen minutes, which was extremely expedient considering the amount of financial generosity the guest had just unwittingly agreed to, it seemed to Kaden as though hours had gone by. The manipulation of his power against his will always forced him to expend great amounts of energy and left him feeling nauseous.