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“Then I hope the elders didn’t survive the attack,” I said. Her jaw dropped at my words but I didn’t have a repentant bone in my body over them. “I mean it. They were awful people who thrived on pain and forced you to not shift so the scars lasted. That’s not normal behavior for any wolves. Even other packs I’ve seen never went to these extremes. They have no place in our pack.”
A loud chime went off and Vanya gestured to the large building at the center of town. I had a feeling she was avoiding taking this conversation any further and honestly we both just needed time to process before we made it worse.
“You have the pavilion, they have the dining hall. Pack meeting will be in there, let’s go.” She was a mess. My stubborn girl tried to hide it but she was a war of emotions and couldn’t seem to figure out how to act. That was unlike her but this place had gotten under her skin. It held some of the best and worst memories of her life and she was likely reliving every single one as she tried to sort through the mess Torryn had thrown at her feet.
We slipped inside and took a seat at the back of the hall to stay out of their way. This meeting wasn’t for us. It started with a few wolves, but then more started showing up. I was pleasantly surprised when they were forty strong. Unfortunately they looked just as dejected as their alpha. They’d lost family and friends and my heart ached for them. Hopefully they could find their need for vengeance and focus on that, it would keep them alive and help us take down the true enemy.
Torryn stood at the front of the room with all eyes on him. They barely noticed our presence as he waited for everyone to find a place to sit. The moment the room settled, he let out a shrill whistle to keep all eyes on him.
“I have some news that might just save our lives,” Torryn announced. He cast a gaze at Vanya and me sitting in the back and the entire room turned to stare at us. “We will be moving. This ground is tainted with the blood of our people, and the longer we remain, the more of a target we are. Vanya has agreed to be my Luna, and in doing so, combining our pack with her new one. The Bluff Pack is currently being held hostage by the same monsters that did this to us. With our help, we can combine forces and retake their home. It would leave us stronger against future attacks. No more living in fear.”
Vanya stood then and went up to take her place at Torryn’s side. She looked gorgeous and strong, her expression hard and determined. When she spoke, her voice was full of confidence. That was something they all needed to see.
“My new pack is strong. It’s a very different life and I won’t lie to you, they’ve forsaken the traditions that have led us all to this point and we are stronger for it. However, the Grave Pack is a plague to all wolf-kind. There are more allies waiting to face this alongside us as well. We need your help to end the men holding our pack hostage, to avenge the lives lost to them, and to ensure we have a future to speak of. Then we can truly fill you in and take the fight to the real enemy. Will you fight by our side?”
Torryn and Vanya stood side by side as they stared out at the pack. They didn’t speak, giving the members time to process and whisper to each other. Then Stella stood up and clasped a hand over her heart. A man who resembled her did the same. Then one by one everyone stood, save for an old man in the back whose scowl could rival the devil himself.
“You would stay here and die alone?” Torryn called out to him. His voice had lost all compassion and it didn’t take a genius to know this man was one of the elders who plagued this pack. “That’s beneath you, Aaron.”
“Don’t speak on what is beneath me. You are an alpha giving up your title and handing over your pack like this is merely a shitty game of poker,” he seethed. The amount of venom in his tone had me standing up and walking over. He stared up at me but didn’t falter. “Who the hell are you?”
“Are you an elder here? One of the ones responsible for Vanya’s scars?” My voice was cold, yet calm, and I knew I was right on the money the moment his lips curled into a smile. I was right about their intentions with those punishments. He found joy in her pain and misery.
“I am. She was insubordinate,” he said simply. As if that was a reason to maim someone and not allow them to shift and heal. For the second time today, I cocked my fist back and slammed it right into his nose. It let out a squelching crack at the contact and several people around the room gasped. Though I didn’t miss a few quiet cheers.
“If you shift, I’ll kill you on the spot, old man,” I told him before turning to the others. “And let me just tell you all. If you think that will happeneveragain. To anyone. You’ll join him in exile. Even if he changes his mind, he stays behind.”
Torryn nodded once. “Agreed.” That earned him a bit of respect from me and I walked out to leave them to the final details. For now, I was done with this pack until they joined ours and learned how to be wolves and not savages.
* * *
Callum
“You’re up, pretty boy,”the guard called out as he slammed our door open. Holt brushed his hand over my arm as I stepped away but I kept my eyes off of him on purpose. He’d been taken out enough over the past few days and he deserved to have a moment of peace. And I was more than happy to get a better view of this pack.
“He’s being awfully accepting of his fate,” the second guard noted. His suspicions were spot on, but I was saving my energy just in case I needed it to escape.
“Who wouldn’t be. We’re sending him in to mate a witch. If it works, he gets some easy pussy,” the first said with a cackle. The second guard joined in, and I clenched my fists so I wouldn’t punch them in the face. Not to mention I had a gun stuck to my back to ensure my compliance.
They led me down a dark hallway and upstairs. The building above the dungeon was so vastly different it was unnerving. Up here everything was spotless and pristine as if it was cleaned top to bottom on the hour, every hour. The white walls and floors were shined to perfection and as we passed a kitchen, I noticed the fixtures were just as nice. The fact someone lived like a king above a literal torture chamber was beyond fucked up. But then again everything I’d seen here fit that same description.
We continued through the house and out the front door. My gaze scanned hungrily over the landscape around us. The building we left was a large, metal warehouse. It seemed the Grave Pack didn’t hesitate to spend their stolen funds to upgrade the insides of their prison while keeping it unassuming on the outside. The outbuildings weren’t as remarkable, simple structures to fit the masses and what looked like several sheds. Any outsider would think it an old military complex, nothing more.
The guards led me to one of the sheds and before we even got within a few feet I could feel something strange in the air. There was a static charge to the air mixed with a crisp icy breeze.
“Oh, she’s mad. Have fun, pretty boy,” the guard said as he yanked the door open and shoved me inside. I stumbled but caught myself. An angry woman was chained to the back wall. Her white, blonde hair whipped around her as she glared at me with pale-blue eyes that held enough hatred, it left me breathless.
“Another sacrifice?” she screamed into the void. We were alone in here and I was clueless about what was going on here.
“I’m hardly a sacrifice,” I said evenly. “And if you could stop this tantrum and tell me what the fuck they’re expecting to happen, I’d appreciate it.”
That knocked some of the wind out of her sails. The room warmed up a bit as the wild winds stopped slapping me in the face.
“They want us to do a bonding ceremony.” She spit the words out and the winds started up again at the mere mention of the ceremony.
“Look. We’re both stuck here. I’m not happy and neither are you. I’m not going to claim or fuck you or even attempt to, I’m mated. In fact, I’m hoping to get us the fuck out of the Nevada desert.”
Her eyes widened and the magic dropped from the room. “You know where we are?” she whispered. “Tell me more.”
