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“Oh they’ll try,” he said. His footsteps echoed on the floor of the room. “You’re the first wolf they’ve thrown in here with me though. I’m guessing they’ll expect me to torture you to submission. If it comes to that, Callum, just know I’m sorry.”
“Survival has to be selfish, Holt,” I reassured him. Though I did not like the sound of what they had planned. I’d wondered what happened to the alphas of the packs they’d overtaken. I assumed it was coercion or magic, and here he was confirming it’s a bit of both. The enemy had Emma, Ava, and now my whole pack as leverage.
But if there was one glimmer of hope in all this darkness, it was that I had the unique opportunity to be able to see what they’re planning here. To figure out their secrets, and the moment my pack came to blow this compound apart, I’d use everything I learned against them. We’d free the witches and wolves he’d enslaved and if the gods ruled in our favor, we’d slaughter the alpha and his witch. They deserved nothing less than a brutal, slow death that was watched by all the men and women they’d used as tools.
The first thing Holt told me was I should expect pain and I believed him. If it was his first thought, then it must be the most prominent thing he faced in this prison. My mind drifted back to the tablet and Emma’s and Ava’s screams. Clearly that was his number one tactic. At least I was a strong enough person I could withstand the torment. Or at least I fucking hoped I could. It was terrifying not knowing what was happening to me or what to expect. Sure he’d given me the summary of what I’d likely face, but there was no real way for him to know what happened beyond this cell or whatever small glimpses he was given into the lives of the rest of the pack. The fact I was with only one other person was not a comfort. It meant Holt and I were forced in here together for a fucking reason. I had a feeling everything here was just as calculated as the tracker’s own tactics. He used power and money to get his way and from what I’d gathered on the Grave Alpha and the dark witch, Straya, they did the same. This would be nothing short of a long string of torture, pain, and a true test of my own faith. But for Vanya and my pack, I would endure it all.
* * *
Vanya
Our alpha had been missingfor days. And with each passing day under Steele’s regime, our pack was losing hope. They’d burned down over half our community and apparently shielded it so the town didn’t see because not a single human came to our aid. All that remained was Callum’s home and two others, the pavilion, and the security building.
Steele paraded himself through the streets like some sort of small-dicked dictator. He was shorter than the average wolf so that likely played into his Napoleon complex as well.
Emma and Ava were still missing, and I had a feeling it would stay that way. If they didn’t have leverage over us, we wouldn’t be quite so compliant. As it was, this was now a boot camp. We were forced to train each morning, unless we were on kitchen duty feeding the masses. They also forced us to feed someone in the pack before them to avoid poisoning. It had me wondering just how many packs had fought back for them to get to this level of paranoia. But I guess when you tried to take over the entire supernatural community, you get used to everyone wanting your head on a pike. Hell it was only noon and I’d already envisioned him dying at least twenty different ways. My favorite so far was tossing his short self over the Bluffs and into the river below. I had a feeling he couldn’t swim. Maybe there’d be a rogue river mermaid in there to eat him and rid the world of his tyranny.
“Focus, Vanya,” Brent hissed. I snapped out of my mental murder and stirred the ground beef that was quickly burning.
“Shit, thanks,” I said quietly. We couldn’t discuss anything with the guards always hovering over us. Thankfully today we had Kent who was the laziest of them. He got distracted often enough we could get away with a bit more than usual.
“Hey blondie!” Kent’s voice cut out. “Alpha Steele requested that you take him his food today. He’s in his office.”
“Nothisoffice,” I countered without thinking. Kent’s eyes flashed, and if he had been another guard, I’d have been punished. I’d watched a few too many of our people being thrown around and starved the last few days. “Fine.” I gathered a tray and laid an extra fork on the plate, knowing he’d force me to taste it first.
The walk through town was disheartening. It was a shadow of what it once was with the scent of smoke still hanging in the air. The charred remains of what Callum and the others had worked so hard to build were a stark reminder of how fast our plans went south.
When I entered the security building, I was met by a wall of muscle. The guard stared down at me like they were ready to snap my neck for insubordination.
“Calm down, boys. I was ordered to come here byyouralpha.” They raised an eyebrow at my extra emphasis on ‘your’ but they couldn’t push it when a throat cleared behind him.
“She is correct. However I think you forget that I am your alpha now too,” he said in a teasing voice that wreaked havoc on my fragile nerves. It took every ounce of control I had to not punch him right in the dick. If he’d even feel it.
“Here is your lunch,” I said. He merely glanced down at the tray I held then looked back at me.
“Put it on my desk.” Everything with this man was a challenge. I tensed but followed orders. The moment I placed it on Callum’s desk, the door clicked closed. “Now, this clearly wasn’t about the lunch. You have someone very interested in acquiring you and the money he’s offering to have you for himself is…” he trailed off and whistled low. “It’ll be hard to refuse.”
“Yet you’re clearly considering it since we’re having this conversation… Out with it,” I demanded. My voice was biting, and his smile only grew at the effect he was having on me. It was the first time I’d truly cracked and I cursed myself internally for giving in.
“You can choose to be my Luna. You’re a loose end that the boss wants handled. So he left it up to me, his trusted second, to choose your fate,” he said with enough pride that his chest puffed out. He was a few inches shorter than me but he’d clearly worked out to earn a bit of bulk. His graying hair was combed back but it only made him look pompous. Though the man clearly thought he was handsome with the way he talked to women. Then again, if he was Grave’s second then he didn’t actually have to earn women to have them. I didn’t even want to know half of what this man had done in his years under Grave’s dictatorship.
“I would rather die,” I said evenly. “And if you think I’m going with that tracker, you are dumber than you look.” His reaction was so swift I couldn’t defend myself, the blow jarring my head back as pain bloomed on my cheek. He was on me in a second, pushing me into the wall as he stared me down, breathing like an angry bull.
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but that is not how you are going to talk to me.” He shoved my head hard against the wall and I bit my tongue to keep from responding. “Get back to the kitchens before I decide to make you my Luna anyway. I’ll spend every fucking day of your life breaking you in and teaching you how a Luna should submit.”
With one last shove, he moved away and calmly walked behind his desk. I took a shaky breath and left the room, catching Antonio’s eye as I went. He was seething but I gave him a shake of my head so he wouldn’t act. He sighed in resignation and turned away. The poor guy had been through enough with the assholes interrogating him and forcing him to keep tabs on the pack through his security feeds.
The guards let me through this time, without complaint, and I walked out into the afternoon light with anger pulsing through my veins.
A group of our men were being herded off to the makeshift arena they’d set up, and as Carlo passed me, he pressed something into my palm. I didn’t react but I picked up my pace and ducked back into the pavilion. Brent’s eyes widened at my face that was likely already bruising. I gave him a quick smile I hoped was reassuring as I slipped inside the bathroom and locked myself in.
Opening my hand, I glanced down at the piece of paper that was tightly folded. It looked so unassuming but it held the weight of the world. Knowing Carlo, this was our ticket to freedom. I opened it with shaky hands and read the instructions detailing the plan and my mission. We’d spoken in secret of gaining allies, the closest friendly pack being my home pack. Seeing Torryn again would be tough, but if it meant saving the Bluffs, I’d risk my own heart.
He’d had to have overheard something in order to push me to go tonight and I’d never been more grateful to flee. Leaving everyone behind, including my mates, would be torture. But the ending line filled me with enough determination I knew I could do this.
You are the key to saving this pack.
And I’d do everything in my power to make that happen. Twelve more hours and I’d execute the plan he’d laid out for me.
