by A Lonergan
My father sighed. “What is done, is done. That is his mate, he has every right to do what he did.”
I leaned back in my chair and barked out a laugh. “Are you still living in the dark ages? He doesn’t own her.”
This was why I never wanted a mate. I would never be owned by anyone, regardless of what fate said.
My father chewed his food for a minute while my mom looked at her plate submissively. They had a good, healthy relationship. I had adored learning from their example as I grew up but something wasn’t right about this. Wasn’t my mom going to stand up to him? I had seen her do it before. Unless she agreed with him…
“Mom?”
She sighed this time. “What do you want me to say? I don’t agree with the part that he didn’t ask for her consent. But I’m sure he had his reasons to do it, he didn’t have the madness in him. I have seen that first hand with…” She stopped what she was saying and shook her head.
“I know the reasons why he did it but that still doesn’t make it okay for either of you to blindly accept the fact that her choice was taken from her!”
My father was done with the conversation. He slammed his palms on the table as he stood up. I didn’t bother to flinch. His show of dominance didn’t frighten me. It hadn’t since I was a child. I rose from my chair and stared right back at him. “You will respect your Alpha. What he says is law. Don’t forget where he will sit in a few years. Our pack won’t be the only one he dictates.”
I snarled as my wolf fought to get to the surface. She wasn’t going to let him talk to me this way. The magical strands around us intensified. “You have questioned his rule for years but now that you find out that he has a mate, everything has changed?”
My mother planted a hand on my father’s chest and shook her head. “A man calms down when he finds the one. He isn’t so reckless. When an Alpha finds his mate, it means he is ready to lead. Why do you think she was taken from him? Someone doesn’t want him taking his rightful place with Pack Law.”
I closed my eyes and took a step back, my food was still untouched. “Thanks for dinner, Mom.” I didn’t usually back down from a challenge but I knew this wasn’t the kind of challenge that any of us were prepared for. I could have stayed with my parents but what good would that have done? I had been staying at the Crimson Manor since everything had happened with Jade. I closed the door behind me and was surprised when no one followed me out. They knew how I felt and that was all that mattered. Maybe one day my dad would stop living with such archaic thoughts. My eyes roved the wooded property behind my parent’s home. Maybe it was time I started to build my own.
I shook my head. Maybe not. Maybe when we got Jade back, I would just live with her. That would be better than hopping back and forth. We were both the black sheep out of all of this. I hoped she still wanted something to do with me when she got back.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and scrolled through the contact list. My finger hovered over the one person I hadn’t spoken to in ages. The one person I wished would just come home. I clicked the name and listened as it went immediately to voicemail. My heart felt like it was ripped out of my chest.
“It’s Lucas, sorry I couldn’t get to the phone right now, leave a message.”
Just hearing his voice did something to my insides. It made me not feel as angry at our parents anymore but it didn’t make me feel less sad. I grasped onto the nearest tree for support as my legs buckled beneath me. I gritted my teeth till it was painful but still the tears spilled from my eyes.
Would I ever get better? Would the pain ever stop?
Chapter 29
Jade
I mulled over the information that Damian had bestowed upon me as I walked back to my shared room. But the closer I got to that room, I knew I couldn’t go there. I took a detour and ended up in a common area where people were sparring and playing board games. Everyone ignored me as I walked through, observing. Everyone but Bee, her eyes met mine and an emotion I couldn’t place passed over her face. She waved me over.
I sat down beside her at the small, square, wooden table. She had a tablet in front of her and was looking at pictures of a little girl. “This is my daughter.”
“She’s beautiful,” She was blonde like her mother but instead of sharing the same bright blue eyes like Bee had, she had brown eyes. They reminded me of Lucas. I pushed the thought down.
“Damian has her, like he has all of our children. Either that or we have nowhere else to go.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Damian kidnapped our children from school or on playdates. He had everything perfectly calculated and if he couldn’t take something important to us, he changed us. I was lucky to not have a wolf forced on me but the rest in here? Most of them are wolves and witches or humans that are now wolves like you.”
My heart hurt. This was so much bigger than I had imagined. Of course he had created an army. The humans that had been forced to turn had nowhere else to go. They didn’t know about pack dynamic or what life as a wolf was really like. All they had was this place. I remembered how lost I had felt after I had been turned and I had people that were looking out for me. But the witches that were also wolves? Where did they belong in this? Then the ones that had their family members taken? I pinched the bridge of my nose to keep the burning from behind my eyes. I couldn’t afford to cry. I had kept myself from crying this entire day and now my eyes were betraying me.
“Sheeva also has a niece that’s here, but she hasn’t been permitted to see her. Damian lets me see my daughter on occasion.”
“Where is he keeping them?”
I was surprised that she had an answer for me. “He keeps them in a building similar to this. I think it was an abandoned boarding school. They have nice rooms and get an education. They have no idea what is really happening to them there but we know.”
The sadness in this room was thick. “What can you do about that?”
Bee leaned back and sighed hard. “Nothing. We are prisoners here and the ones that aren’t prisoners? They have powerful magic and they are very happy to kneel at Damian’s feet.”
“Why would they do that?”
Bee shrugged. “There are many reasons. The witches feel like they’ve been at the bottom of the food chain for too long. The Vampires are tired of being afraid of the werewolves and their poisonous bite.” At my look of surprise she chuckles. “Oh yes, your bite will kill a witch and a vampire. Possibly more than just that. How do you think the wolves are at the top of the food chain?”
“Then how is it possible that a witch can be turned into a werewolf?” I didn’t know if it was safe to ask these questions but my mind was spinning with all the new information. I needed more. I needed to know it all that way I could put together a plan. I knew Rafe was plotting but I couldn’t rely on him. What if he got bored with all of this and decided I wasn’t worth it anymore? The last thing I wanted to be was a sitting duck.
Bee shook her head. “I wish I knew. You’ll have to ask Damian.” Her eyes flashed angrily. “I heard you’re getting rather cozy with him.”
I couldn’t blow my cover, even if it meant the people here would hate me. “I want revenge.”
“On Rafe Crimson?” She raised her light brows. “That’s funny considering what I saw in your head.”
I smiled. “You can read thoughts?”
“When I was in control of your body, I saw things. I know what he did to you but I also know you’re confused by it all and you want to know why. You know he isn’t a psychopath that did it like Damian is doing.”
I leaned forward and my voice dropped low. “There are things I need to do while I’m here. I had my chance to run and leave you all behind. Remember that when I need something from you.”
There was no point in denying what she saw in my head. If she wanted to use that against me, then so be it. But I wasn’t going to let her think I was a traitor.
A voice spoke in my mind as I walked out of t
he room. “We will rally behind the one that saves our children, then we will die to destroy the man that did this to us. If you have a plan, we will ready ourselves.”
I hadn’t done anything to deserve their loyalty but I had stayed and I guess that was enough. I doubted they had many that would care about them. I didn’t know them but I knew I had to do something. There were too many innocents involved. But first, I had to talk to Lucas and I was dreading that conversation more than anything else.
Lucas was waiting for me on my bed this time. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and his bronzed body had started to put on weight again. He didn’t look so emaciated anymore. His eyes met mine and I was shocked by how handsome he was. But as I continued to stare at him I wanted to beat myself up for not seeing it sooner. He looked just like Tracey except he favored his father more.
“What did Damian want?” He lounged back on my pillows and for a moment I wondered if he was trying to seduce me. The corner of his mouth picked up and I knew instantly that was what he was trying to do. There had been nothing remotely sexual between us but this was different. His body language had warning bells going off in my head.
“He had lots of information he wanted to share with me.” I sat on the edge of his bed and put my face in my hands. Before I knew it he was up and out of my bed. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and I relaxed into him. My body seemed to sigh with relief but Nalia growled in my mind. She didn’t like this one bit. I shooed her away mentally. It felt good to have human contact again. To be touched. When was the last time someone had touched me? Hugged me? I wrapped my arms around his bare waist and held on like it was a lifeline.
He knelt down in front of me and cupped my face between his hands. “If you don’t want to be touched, say the word. I know you haven’t had the opportunity to consent to so much in your life recently.”
“What’s going on, Lucas?” He had never been this touchy with me before. He had always kept his distance.
“I didn’t realize how much I cared about you till they took you away from here. You have been the one thing they have given me in five years that has meant something. I don’t know if it’s because they are going to use you against me or if it’s something else but I don’t want to take you for granted. I want you to know that I care. That I am your ally.”
I brushed a curl from his forehead and my face fell. “Thank you for being my friend. Your presence has made this so much easier on me but I have a question for you.” I didn’t know if I wanted to ask him about Tracey or not, so I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “Aren’t you gay?”
He planted his hands on either of my shoulders and his body shook with laughter. “I’m bi, actually.”
I didn’t know if it was relief that made my shoulders relax or something else. I laughed with him and rolled my eyes. “So you’re trying to seduce me right now?”
His face went serious. “If Damian has touched you in ways that you don’t want to speak of, I will wipe your mind clean of the encounter with my own hands. I will do what it takes for you to feel whole again. If he forces himself on you and you need to feel in control, I will be here to let you have control back.”
I launched myself off of the bed and wrapped my arms around his neck. I didn’t know if I went through trauma that I would want him to have to be my healing balm but the thought and care that went into those words were enough to be a balm over my soul. “He hasn’t touched me or tried anything like that but thank you for being open with me and trying. That means more to me than anything else.”
I could feel his body relax against mine. “Is that the only question you had to ask me?”
It was now or never. “Is Tracey your sister?”
His face fell then. “That night they threw you in here, I wondered if it was my mind playing tricks on me that you smelled like her. Now I know they had done that intentionally to hurt me.”
I rubbed my hands up and down his bare arms. “I didn’t know. I promise you I didn’t until Damian told me today.”
“You saw her, didn’t you? Before you came back a different person and willing to work with the devil?”
“Do you want me to tell you about her?” I was treading carefully. As carefully as I could manage.
“Please,” He sat on my bed and stared at me like an anxious puppy.
“She has magic like you,” I swallowed hard. “Damian admitted that you still have magic inside of you somewhere.”
Lucas pulled his bottom lip into his mouth and nodded. “Yes, I know I have magic still. That’s why Micah brought me the tarot deck. I was always better as a Seer. Other magic wasn’t easy for me. My granny is an earth witch. She gets her magic from the plants and the sun. She’s a green witch.” He chuckled. “But she could never help me with my magic because it dealt with bones, stones, and cards. My magic is different. I don’t know how or why but I can’t see the tethers to the world around me like other witches can.”
“Wait, that’s a thing?”
He grinned. “Yes, magic is a complex thing. It lives and breathes in the air around us. I learned so much when I left the Crimson Pack, but life outside of the Pack Land was both easier and harder. Being bi in the witch community is openly accepted, whereas being bi in the wolf community is frowned upon. The wolves aren’t nearly as progressive as the witches. I hate to say it. Wolves mate for life and unfortunately, there has never been a same-sex mate pairing. At least not any that the packs are aware of.”
“And witches?” I prompted.
“Witches celebrate life and love. Magic can be created in love and lust. Depending on the type of witch, she could be more powerful if she takes on more lovers.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t know though. I have never experienced that. I fell in love with Damian and this is where that got me. I think my judgment is messed up.”
I shook my head. “Looks and actions can be deceiving. I have been tricked many times. Rafe Crimson not being the first.”
His eyebrows pulled together. “Rafe Crimson? He’s about as good as they come, Jade.”
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “I heard he was your protector but unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience that side of him.”
Lucas narrowed his eyes at me. “Rafe was always kind to everyone but he never took anyone’s shit. Something must have happened in the last five years.”
I chewed on the inside of my lip. “I heard he killed his father.”
Lucas’s face crumbled. “That will do it. Do you know why?”
I shook my head. “No, but I adore his mother. She got me a job before all of this,” I waved my hands around dramatically. “happened.”
“Alice was always the den mom to all of us. She never judged me when everyone else did. I would imagine that’s where Rafe got his kindness from.”
“Rafe is the one that forced the wolf on me.” I could no longer hold the words back. The man that Lucas had known was gone. At least that was what I told myself, even if Nalia didn’t believe it.
Lucas watched me carefully before he cocked his head to the side. “What were you doing when he changed you?”
I bit the inside of my cheek again. It was really starting to feel raw inside of my mouth. “I was at a party but that has nothing to do with this.”
He smirked and his entire face changed. It reminded me of Rafe for a moment. “I can see it now, the innocent girl going to the party expecting nothing to happen to her.”
I frowned. “That wasn’t how it was at all.”
“No? So you expected the bad boys to not prey on you? You smell innocent. You smell good. You have ever since they threw you in here and you expected no one to harm you?”
I blinked. “That’s not it…”
“Then tell me how it is,”
And as he sat there across from me, I realized something that I hadn’t thought of before. “I was very naive I suppose.”
The smirk fell from his face. “Aren’t we all, love? At one point we trust too easily and that’s how we g
et hurt.” He sighed and leaned back. “That just doesn’t sound like Rafe, okay?”
Lucas wasn’t the first one that had said that. I had heard it around the pack, I had seen the look on his mother’s face. I had even talked to his little brother.
All I could manage was a nod. Who was the real Rafe? What was I missing? Up until I had been taken, I had seen little bits but not enough to actually know who he was behind the snark and dark looks.
Chapter 30
Rafe
I grabbed the ends of my hair and pulled gently. It had been a while since I had a haircut but I couldn’t take the time to do anything mundane like that when I needed to figure out how I was going to help Jade. I had no doubts that she could get herself out but I wanted to help. I needed to help. My wolf would have it no other way. I had to at least try to help for his sake.
But we were practically sitting ducks. No matter how many times we had looked at the situation, there didn’t seem to be a solution unless we didn’t care what happened to the other families involved. There was also the possibility that the witches were lying to her to get her to stop fighting.
Archer leaned back in the leather recliner across the war room. “We could always say to hell with the other people and just rescue your mate. No one would know if he punished those people. We wouldn’t know.”
He had said exactly what I was thinking. Mav wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like that idea. Jade would never forgive us. She stayed back for a reason.”
Knox held up his beer in salute. “Jade is already a hellhound, the last thing we need is to piss her off further.”
I sighed as my eyes turned to Tracey, she was sharpening a knife and was the farthest from the Guardians, I didn’t blame her. They were starting to annoy me too.
Gabriel leaned across the bar on the far side of the room. “We need a distraction.”
I looked over at one of the quietest Guardians. “I’m listening.”