by A. E. Via
IDIOTS. YOU LET YOUR MATE GET AWAY AND NOW YOU WEEP. Wrath bashed around some more, the rage feeling like an addictive drug to him. Always had. The madder he got the better he felt. With that, Wrath released another burst of blazing energy that made the iron bars glow a brilliant orange. Heat blasted all around him but did nothing to free him. Alek had constructed a faultless confinement that even Wrath couldn’t destroy—thick walls constructed out of a magnesium and copper blend, resistant to his flames of fury.
Wrath seethed and cursed, unleashing all the vengeful hate he was accustomed to, and comfortable with. He stood in Wolf’s magnificent form, but he was bigger, and with enhanced strength. Also far darker than any Volkov wolf should look and feel. Wolf’s typically gleaming gray fur that covered his chest, underbelly, and the tip of his tail was now jet black, with Wrath in control.
He howled like a banshee as Alek and Wolf continued to wage a war of silence against him. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, this wasn’t the life he’d been promised. He was starting to feel as if the Mother had betrayed him, but he knew that was impossible. Deceit couldn’t dwell within her. There was something Wrath had missed or failed to do that’d made him lose favor, or her blessing. Or Alek had. Shit, either way he was pissed, and he was going to show it until their final day. When, or if Alek died, Wrath would be sent back to Hell. Home.
Just stop, stop okay. There’s nothing down here for you to kill, maim, or destroy, so stop wasting energy. I’ll never let you out no matter how much you beat us up and curse. I’d rather die here alone than allow you to do anything else to my pack. Or go anywhere near my mate.
IT’S NOT JUST YOUR PACK. YOUR MATE. I CAN PROTECT THEM TOO!
By killing them? Alek asked solemnly.
THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT, Wrath growled.
Yes. One that cost us everything, Wolf snarled. Even each other. Look at us. We we’re supposed to be this grand thing. A force to be reckoned with. But all we do is scare away family… friends… our mate.
Why was he even still listening to them, allowing them to speak? He should cut the link and let his mind war in peace. He didn’t want to listen to the whining and blaming any longer, but he wanted Wolf and Alek to continue to feel his rage. He’d long ago confessed to being wrong in splitting from them all those years ago to act on his own, but he’d thought he was doing the right thing for a change. He should’ve known better. His apology for using such excessive force that day that ended up costing some of the conquering pack their lives, had fallen on deaf ears.
From then on Wrath’s presence on Earth was once again deemed an abomination or threat that needed eliminating… or confining. He didn’t know why he thought his life would’ve been any different in this form. He would always be hated and feared. It had been prophesied that Wrath could be touched by affection, and could therefore react rationally; but to this day he’d never encountered anyone who could, or even would try to love him. Not until he’d looked into the slate-gray eyes of Belleron Liatos. Never had he seen anything so striking, or smelled a man so captivating. These were all foreign feelings, and new words to his vocabulary, yet they formed in his head so easily when he thought of the fierce vampire. Wrath hadn’t meant to burn Belleron when he’d reached out to grab him, he’d just been using too much energy to break through the surface, and it’d spilled out onto him. I was only intending to stop him from leaving. Restrain him. What was wrong with that?
Everything! Alek yelled. He’s not only our mate. He’s a man with his own mind. A commander with a dedicated following, and you made him feel like he was a damn pup. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stayed in London and never came back to us.
Hours upon hours Wrath wailed and thrashed about as hard as he could in the tiny space. He hated everything! He hated the world! He hated his being! Deep down, he’d wanted Belleron to touch his wounded, aching soul. But more than anything, he wanted them to connect, the three of them, and show the pack, the entire world, what they were capable of. Then he hated himself for wanting that!
But now, no one would ever know. And Wrath’s name would forever be associated with hatred. He turned his dark muzzle up and howled as hard as he could, from the depths of his diaphragm. He’d never be a wolf again. The thought devastated him that he’d screwed it up so much. Wrath fired off.
“Alek where are you?” Wrath heard yelled from far away. “Answer me, brother!”
No! Mac, don’t come here! Alek hollered uselessly. There was no way Mac could hear him, even if he was right in front of him. Alek rose from his dark corner so fast that it yanked Wrath to the side, making him stumble on his front legs. Alek barreled to the surface with a vigor Wrath hadn’t seen in him before. He was quite strong… but Wrath was far stronger. He locked Alek down, scowling at his struggle to get free.
Good. A Volkov to take my anger out on, Wrath fumed. Vengeance is all mine.
Nooooo! Gods no. Don’t hurt him, Wrath, I beg you. I’ll do anything you want me to do. Anything! I’ll stay away forever if you spare him. His wolf can do great things. Please! Please! Alek begged so hard for his little brother’s life that it affected Wolf to the point where he bolted over and without effort, instinctively linked with Alek’s mind.
Wrath went still the second he felt it. They were two-thirds complete at that moment, and he felt it within every fiber of his makeup—Wolf’s strength and Alek’s compassion. When he absorbed it, there was less darkness, less rage. The realization was startling. Wrath was still pissed, but perhaps not to the point of burning someone alive. He couldn’t help wondering how it would be if he joined them again. He barely remembered what it felt like anymore, it had been so long ago. If he tried to connect he was sure he’d find himself locked out, and he wasn’t about to deal with that kind of rejection. Instead, he paused to hear what they had to say.
Alek and Wolf spoke as one voice. If you kill him. You kill us all. Is that what you really want? Wrath, we don’t believe you are that evil. The prophesy needs them all. If you kill Macauley, there’s no going back from that. No apologizing. No fixing anything. The sound of that gruff, deep bass was like the sound of drilling in his head.
Wrath hmphed. Damn the prophesy. It was all over anyway, as far as he was concerned. There’d be no resurrecting them, saving them. Their mate had held the key. Now Bell was walking straight into the hands of the reaper. And his so-called brothers had stood by and allowed it. Why should any more lives be spared?
You don’t touch my brother and we’ll make a deal with you.
Wrath began to drop some of his shields to allow Alek’s brother closer. Otherwise, the heat would be too much for him to take. I’m listening.
Let him go. And when you allow me back to the surface, I’ll let you out whenever you ask, as long as you vow not to kill or hurt an innocent. That goes for human all the way to a cockroach. You can’t harm a single thing if it’s not a direct threat to us. Deal?
That didn’t seem fair or reasonable. Sometimes it was required to hurt and punish, right? Wrath growled and paced around the small space. He concentrated on lowering his anger and holding back the flames. He thought long and hard until he was interrupted.
“Alek, where are you?” Mac beat on the ground above them. His wolf was making a lot of noise that Wrath allowed to filter through to Alek and Wolf. Then the heavy door was yanked open and Mac was knocked off his feet from the force of heat that rose up and smacked him in his face. He shifted to his wolf for protection.
The heat was no doubt stifling and it would probably take some time before the big white and gray wolf would be able to come down. Wrath could feel Alek’s desperation to communicate with his brother, but Wrath hadn’t decided if he was going to accept their proposition. He was tired of everyone levying these constraints and rules on him. Didn’t they recognize who he was?
“Wolf? Wrath? Are you still… is that you?” Mac was in his wolf form, and Wrath could immediately detect Macauley’s one body, one mind, and one spirit. A good spirit.
“IT IS ME. Come forward if you’re that brave.” Wrath put as much intimidation as he could into his voice. He could hear Mac just beyond the door, maybe waiting for the acrid black smoke that rose into the sky and spread like a terrifying mushroom cloud to clear the tight twenty-by-twenty-foot cave.
Wrath sat on his haunches with his large head lifted high, the sleek midnight black fur along his chest and belly that differentiated him from Wolf on proud display. He tried to appear in charge regardless of the fact that he sat behind two sets of iron bars. As Mac stalked closer, his head low, tail sticking straight out and his ears drawn back against his head, Wrath felt Alek’s pride for his brother’s display of courage. He wasn’t tip-toeing in with his tail between his legs. He was on the defense and ready to respond… and Wrath respected that. Even on alert, Macauley smelled of righteousness and honesty.
“How did you find me?” Wrath shot into Mac’s mind. The way the handsome wolf gruffed and shook his head told him that he’d heard and understood him. Wrath had never tried to communicate telepathically with any of the siblings before.
“I followed the ashes,” Mac answered.
“You were a fool to come here. I could end your life in seconds… painfully.”
Wrath. Don’t, Alek begged again.
“But you won’t,” Mac shot right back. Again, nothing but goodness flooding off him. Love and concern for his brother streaming into him that Wrath hurriedly filtered past himself—barely feeling an ounce of the comfort, not wanting to like it too much—and sending it directly to Alek. “I remember you now. That night when Mom died. You were there. You saved Farica.”
Wrath hadn’t expected this.
“My father had gotten most of us in the vans and I was supposed to watch over Taleb while Justice and my dad went back for others. But, I disobeyed and got out anyway because I thought maybe you could use my help. Alek used to teach me fight moves when he trained even though mom didn’t want him to. Do… do you remember that? Were you there?”
Wrath swallowed, but he made no outward movement to show the effect Mac was having on him. “I remember everything.”
“Why are you down here like this? What is this place?” Mac’s blue eyes scanned the bars that had cooled and were now covered in soot.
“Ask your brother. This is where he and Wolf lock me away when I try to come out.”
He heard the gasp, felt Mac’s revulsion as he surveyed the small space not befitting a shifter of their caliber, and certainly not the way to treat a demigod. “Why would Alek do this?”
Let me speak to him, Alek asked, with less venom. But Wrath wasn’t finished. He’d never had this opportunity.
“I know you did what you had to, Wrath. I saw how much it took for you to break apart from Wolf. I remember because of the black chest. None of us have that. For a minute I wasn’t sure of what I was watching. Couldn’t believe my own eyes. You were massive… and on fire. Everything around you burned.”
“That’s how it’ll always be. That’s why you’re all so afraid.”
“Not me. You burned the hunters that came to attack us, but you didn’t burn Farica when you saved her. The shifters who got killed didn’t recognize who you were, that’s all, and they got caught in the crossfire. I saw it in your eyes, the regret the moment they burned and fell.”
Did Mac truly believe this? Then how come he never came to them to console them after the accident? When he’d been outcast.
“I was just a boy,” Mac said, as if he’d read what he’d been thinking. “I didn’t understand. Not until I got older and I started to put it together bit by bit. That day was so tragic that I think I’ve buried most of it.” Mac moved closer until he was perched just beyond the bars. Close enough for Wrath to swipe his long claws through the slits and rip Mac’s chest open. The sinister thought quickly fled his mind. “We all thought you’d gone. We didn’t know Alek was holding you hostage inside. It wasn’t until that scene in the common yard earlier when heatwaves started to rise off my brother. I could tell Wolf was holding you back. The shift in energy was…”
“SAY IT… SAY THE WORD YOU ALL ASSOCIATE WITH ME…TERRIFYING.”
Mac growled low, probably not appreciating the vengeful energy Wrath had just let out. It couldn’t’ve felt good. With his deep voice more restrained, he replied, “that’s not what I think. I believe that you saved us once, and with some brotherly love and teaching, you could probably save us again. And I never thought Wolf destroyed us no matter his namesake… you both protected us. We’d all be dead if you hadn’t done what you did.”
“Doesn’t matter. Alek doesn’t agree. And he never will. He thinks I let your mom die.” Wrath stood and inched closer to the bars, “so this is our great destiny now.”
“Can I speak to my brother? Can he hear me? Is… is he hurt?”
“No. No, and no,” Wrath lied, sort of.
“Wrath. I disobeyed a direct order from my alpha to risk coming here. I gambled on a lot. I did it because I wanted to prove to Justice that you’re not evil and we need to work—”
“EVIL?! DID I SEND HIS MATE TO AN EARLY GRAVE?”
Mac growled as the heat intensified. Instinctively protecting himself, Mac pushed a ton of virtuous energy into him that made Wrath stutter on his last thought—which was to kill Justice Volkov.
Wrath, calm down, Alek snapped. You’re hurting him when you yell. Feel that goodness from him, don’t reject it. Mac means us no harm. He’s trying to connect with you. Open up a little more so you can feel his wolf, and I promise the last thing you’ll want to do is hurt him, Alek begged. Your job is to protect us, not hurt us.
Now Alek wanted to believe that Wrath wasn’t public enemy number one and that there was some civility in him. How convenient. But Wrath wasn’t fooled by the temporary cooperation. They didn’t want to make an honest deal with him. All Alek wanted was for Wrath to shut up and retreat back to the shallows of their being where he’d always been, while he and Wolf plummeted headfirst into their doom.
The bold animal in front of him was still pushing a lot of power at him, but it wasn’t similar to the kind he’d been hit with by the Alpha Zenith. It wasn’t the type of energy that made him want to react in a bad way. That made him want to rage against it. No, this was different… special… a different kind of warmth than he was used to. Wrath let his eyes fall closed, dropped his head and inhaled Mac’s energy. Immediately, he sensed the wholesomeness. Irrefutably decent. There was no way to fake that.
“I’m sorry. It got a little hot in here and I suppose I got nervous for a moment. But I wasn’t afraid.” Then Mac shook out his fur, the strands appearing slightly darker from the dampness of his perspiration. “Whew! Damn, it’s fuckin hot. But, I know you get that way when you’re upset.”
“I have every right to be mad. Belleron is gone and Justice should pay.”
“I’m not saying you don’t have reason to be pissed. But you’re projecting in the wrong direction. I’ve never met my true mate, but I suppose if I did, I’d never want her to leave my side either. But that’s not reasonable, Wrath. I think you reacted like any other possessive shifter would’ve.” Mac snarled, “But Justice didn’t run your mate off… you did. From your argument, it sounded to me like the Lord High Belleron is more alpha than you thought. He won’t submit until you earn it. Mating goes both ways… not only your way.”
Wrath seethed. His chest rose and fell with hot breaths of outrage, but he didn’t send out his power. He couldn’t when Mac was only telling the truth, but not in such an accusatory way as Alek had. It appeared to be a consensus that he couldn’t force Belleron to do anything, and when he’d tried, it’d infuriated him to the point of absolute rebelliousness. Maybe it wasn’t too late to fix this mess… and Bell could possibly give them another shot… if he showed a bit of… patience. Wrath scowled at the dainty, useless word.
Mac shifted and stood before him on two strong, tanned legs. His abs rippling and dripping with tiny beads
of sweat as he bent over and placed his hands on his thighs, panting against the dry heat. “Shit. It’s like a desert in here. You’ve got to come out now, Wrath. Wolf. All of you. Now that I know you are still in there, let me help. I know Alek. And I remember how you all were before when we were younger. You and my brother were one. I remember. I remember thinking Alek could do anything.” Mac gasped for air, “I always wondered how Alek started the campfires so damn fast all the time.”
Wrath remembered those times, too.
Mac wiped at his damp brow, then ran his hand over the scruff on his stern jaw. “Wrath. You’ve been gone for hours. It’s almost ten at night. I need Alek. I need to speak to him, now. Or, I can trust you the same way you’ve trusted me when you dropped some of your shield to let me in. I’m vulnerable here like this, but I believe you truly don’t want to harm me. And… I believe you’re the only one that can help Belleron right now.”
Wrath stood taller. Help him?
“I believe in you Wrath. You’ve been here since existence,” Mac said in a soothing, masculine tone that floated past his many defenses and straight into his head. Wrath didn’t know how to receive it all. The kindness, the sincerity. He did remember Mac when he used to follow them around like an eager puppy, wanting to mimic everything Alek did. While everyone else praised and hovered around Justice, the AZ’s first-born heir, Mac was busy idolizing Alek and making him feel loved and appreciated. It had touched Wrath then and kept him content, and therefore they’d operated as one unit. Then it had all changed in one damn day.
Mac braced both hands on a set of bars, staring Wrath directly in his eyes. “I believe you were sent here to help us the same way Wick’s tiger was sent to protect us. Both of you now have mates and it makes you magnificent in so many ways. Your powers can be boundless with a true mate, Wrath.”
Wrath blinked.
Mac smirked. “I think you like the way that sounds.”
Okay, then. Wrath would try this so-called trust thing and how it goes both ways. He wouldn’t eviscerate Mac to smithereens if he got him the hell out of that cage.