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Pierce's gaze drifted, his mind wandering elsewhere other than the present.His voice softened as he said, "I took pleasure in paying him back for all the cruel torment and abuse he put me through. Tasting his blood on my tongue was the most satisfying moment in my entire life. Father raised me to be heartless, hard, ruthless, and powerful. In the end, that was his downfall, and it will be the downfall of anyone who dares to try and come for our pack."
My gaze fell to the floor, recurring my own memories of a younger, more timid Pierce, and our cruel father. I remembered the torment, the abuse, the violence. I remembered Pierce covered in bruises and blood, tears running down his face and rage exuding from his frame. It used to break my heart seeing it. I tried talking to him, offering him some form of comfort, but he always brushed me off. His hatred was too great that it spread like a plague, infecting anyone in his line of sight. Me, his father, my mother, everyone.
"I used to feel sorry... for you," I muttered. "I felt... helpless... watching you suffer. I wanted... to be there... for you."
Pierce narrowed his eyes. "You felt helpless because you didn't do anything to help me. Nobody did. Everyone just stood around and watched him beat me black and bloodied. Nobody stood up for me, not one. Nobody intervened."
"I was only... a kid."
"You still did nothing, Joaquin!" Pierce screamed. "You did nothing, your mother did nothing, nobody in the fucking pack did anything until I did something. I pushed through because I wanted revenge. I wanted him dead at my feet, to feel even a sliver of the pain he inflicted on me. I. Wanted. Justice!"
Even in my weakened state, I was caught off guard by the sudden outburst. This was the first time I'd ever seen him emotionally snap. Pierce was normally put together and aloof. He was more of the silent killer type, keeping a neutral tone even when his alpha aura filled the air with dominance. Now, he seemed to have lost his composure.
"I tried... being there for you," I said, trying to reason with him.
"Ha, by comforting me?" Pierce scoffed. "I didn't need comfort, Joaquin, I needed to be saved. I needed action. You were meant to be the alpha of this pack before my father and I showed up, and you didn't even bother fighting for it. You were too busy being the kind, loving alpha with no results. Where did love get me, huh? My father didn't love me, nor did he love you or your mother. He only wanted your pack and it was given to him on a silver platter. And since you were too weak to be the heir, it was up to me to take your place."
Pierce huffed out an aggravated breath, slouching forward to calm himself before standing to his full height and wearing that emotionless mask he was known for. "That's why I'm the alpha now. That's why I get the results I wanted, and why after all these years, you still couldn't face me for your pack. I lived by the term, might makes right. You will never win against me, Joaquin, and that's why in the end, I will still get the Wolf Moon's gift from Rosie. I deserve what belongs to me."
"And what about... Rosie?" I asked. "She may not... feel the mate bond... but you do. Isn't there any... part of you... that actually cares for her?"
I expected Pierce to answer right away, but to my surprise, he seemed to be hesitating. Almost as if he was trying to find the right answer without lying. He couldn't actually care for her, did he? Maybe I was reading too much into his silence, but something in the way he looked told me there was something going on in the back of his mind. Fortunately for him, he never got to answer my question before the door from up the stairs opened, and Byron came paddling down the steps to where we were. Seeming to know that the cell would be filled with the deadly aroma of wolfsbane, Byron wore an oxygen mask concealing his mouth and nose. His eyes went to me, assessing my condition from top to bottom, before reverting them back to his alpha.
Byron fell to one knee and turned his head to the side to expose his neck before speaking. "Forgive the intrusion, Alpha Pierce, but there is someone by the name of Mordred who's here to see you."
Who is Mordred, I wondered?
Whoever he was seemed to be of great importance, considering how Pierce's body was stark still at the sound of the visitor's name. "Yes, thank you, Byron. Any news on my mate's location?"
Byron shook his head. "Nothing yet, sir. She hasn't been spotted so far."
I greedily took pleasure in knowing that Rosie hadn't been found yet, even as it was getting harder to stay conscious. My body felt ice-cold thanks to the blood loss. The darkness had me in a chokehold, trying desperately to turn the lights off in my mind, leaving me in total emptiness. How I wasn't dead yet was beyond me. Maybe it was the sheer will-power in me not giving into Pierce's torment, or maybe I was right all along about being a glutton for punishment.
"Very well," Pierce muttered, turning off the vapor machine and picking it up by the handle. "I will be in my office for the remainder of the evening. See to it that we're not disturbed."
"Yes, Alpha," Byron said, still in the same submissive position.
When Pierce was gone, his body laxed and he rose back to his feet. Stepping into my cell he crouched down, pulling out the first aid kit and began cleaning off my body once again. I didn't think he would after the way I talked to him last time. I wouldn't apologize for defending my love for Rosie, but I was man enough to admit how wrong I was for bringing up Byron's deceased wife and unborn child. That was a tough time for him, one that shouldn't have been used against him. It was one thing to have your fated mate leave you because she rejected you, but losing her because she died, that was a whole different ball game.
While Byron worked to wipe off the blood and stitch my stab wounds, I found my voice and said, "I'm sorry."
Byron didn't need me to elaborate why I was apologizing, he already knew. He was silent for a while, that I thought he wasn't going to forgive me, but then he asked, "Is she worth it? Rosie?"
"She is," I said immediately.
Byron snorted. "She must be one hell of a woman for you and the twins to risk your lives for her. Are you only in it for the gift, or—"
"No," I cut in before he could finish his atrocious accusation. "I told you last time, I love her, and I know the twins do too."
"I just wanted to make sure," Byron said, finishing up with closing the wounds on my chest and going for my arm next. "You and the twins have never found your fated mates, but they're still out there. You guys know this, yet you chose to steal someone else's fated mate. I'm trying to understand why, but I don't. Help me out here, Joaquin."
I hadn't thought about my potential fated mate since I was a teenager. Most wolves would've spent their whole lives never meeting the one who could complete their hearts. For some, it became an obsession to search for them. There were those who were successful and found their fated mates, like Byron, but others would settle down empty handed.
I originally didn't want a mate, not while I was under Pierce's thumb. If my fated mate was female, she would've automatically been moved to my pack, according to shifter laws, and that wasn't something I'd want for my mate. If it turned out it was a male, I'd have the option to move to his pack, but I knew I wouldn't. Leaving would've meant abandoning everyone I loved to Pierce's wrath. Now here I was, dangling from chains like fresh meat in a restaurant freezer with no way to escape.
"First of all... Rosie chose me, and I accepted," I began. "Secondly... I know my fated mate is still out there... but I knew in my heart that Rosie was mine. I can't explain it but her arrival... sparked something in me. The need to better myself and finally stand up for what I know is right."
Bryon said nothing else as he worked on my arm. When he was done, I decided to ask something more personal. "Do you think Carly would want you to move on?"
