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I followed him down the steps with Javier and Del joining me. When we reached the bottom, I saw the rows of cellars made with silver bars. Everything else from the floor to the ceiling was made of stone. It felt damp and dreary, which had my skin crawling with goosebumps.
"Dios mio." Javier gasped as he too took in his surroundings. "Looks like a dungeon you'd find onGame of Thrones."
"Even the cells my father had in his station were nicer than this," Del commented.
"Pierce's father was the one who had this room built this way, and Pierce made sure to keep it in use. It's meant to be used to keep the most dangerous of criminals in containment, either to interrogate them, or to kill them," Byron explained.
"And Joaquin was held here," I stated, not meaning it as a question.
"Yes. Pierce put him in the cell farthest to the right."
Not sure what I was expecting to find in there, I schooled myself, prepared for take it all in. When I felt like I could handle it, I marched forward until I reached the designated cell that held Joaquin. The door was still wide open. I didn't have to walk inside to see the darkened stains that ran from the center of the floor and up against the wall. A pair of silver chains dangled on a ring bolted to the wall, the ends stained with blood and black goop. I felt sick, knowing that was probably remnants of his skin melted from the silver. The myriad of foul smells grew stronger from this cell. Blood, sweat, urine, and more. I wanted to cry all over again. I wanted to run up and find Joaquin, hold him in my arms and never let him go again. I wanted to beg for his forgiveness, even though he'd tell me he had nothing to forgive.
The only consolation I had was that seeing this cell did what I hoped it would do for me. It filled me with the desire to stop Pierce. To kill him. To make him suffer, just as he made Joaquin suffer. I wouldn't rest until that man was dead at my feet.
"Rose." I jumped when I felt Javier's hands on me, not realizing that I spaced out for a second. "Are you okay? You're shaking, and your hands are bleeding."
Confused, I looked down to see that my fists were at my side, seeing streams of blood were oozing and spilling to the floor. When I opened them, I noticed my wolf claws were extended. They pierced through the skin of my palms when I balled them. I hadn't realized I did that, nor did I feel any pain from the sharp nails breaking skin.
"I'm sorry, Rosie." I turned to Byron who looked as troubled as me. "I'm so sorry for everything Joaquin went through. I wish I came to my senses sooner."
I had to be honest, there was a part of me that wanted to be angry at Byron. After all, he was the one who'd seen Joaquin suffer and did nothing to help him, but that wasn't fair. Byron still had loyalty to Pierce, and I was sure he did as much as he could before realizing Pierce wasn't the noble alpha that he believed him to be. Besides, what mattered now was that they were both here, and safe from any danger. That was enough.
"You don't have anything to apologize for," I said truthfully. "While I expected Sabina to have been the one to keep an eye on Joaquin, I'm glad that you did it instead. I'm glad he had you around."
That seemed to have helped lighten his mood. The warmth in his eyes when he looked at me, it felt affectionate. Like he was seeing me in a new light than considering me being trouble from the moment I joined the pack. Between him and Rowan, I wasn't sure who was meant to be my fourth mate, since I was certain I wasn't meant to have five. I hope that regardless of the outcome, both men would still fight beside me.
Giving myself a moment, I mentally prepared myself before stepping into the cell. I wasn't sure why I felt compelled to do so since I could see the result of Joaquin's abuse from the outside, but something in the back of my mind told me to take a closer look. The smell alone was enough to make me reconsider, but I pushed onward. My eyes trailed from the dark goop covering the chains, and the splattering of dried blood decorating the wall and floor where Joaquin was held. I reached forward, lightly touching the stains on the stone walls when I felt a tingling sensation crawling up my spine.
I gasped as my vision blurred. Suddenly, I was seeing images flashing one after another. Joaquin naked and bound. Pierce standing over him, interrogating him about my location. Pierce slashing lines across Joaquin's body with a blade, knowing they wouldn't heal thanks to the wolfsbane gas. I saw Byron squatted in front of Joaquin, treating his wounds, talking with him, telling Joaquin to hold on. Joaquin's words were the hardest to hear.
"I love Rosie more than I fear Pierce or death. If I'm destined to die, then so be it. I'd endure pain and torture for the rest of my life if it means she's safe. That's what it means to love someone, something that Pierce will never understand."
"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."
If... I don't make it... find Rosie. Protect her... and tell her... how much I loved her."
"Rosie!" I gasped back to reality when I felt a pair of hands grip me from behind and turned me around. When the images fade, and I could see clearly again, the first thing I saw was Byron's panicked face as he shook me frantically. "Rosie, can you hear me? Snap out of it!"
My eyes blinked rapidly before giving my head a shake, bringing myself back to the present. "Byron?"
"Thank Mother Moon." Byron sighed in relief and pulled me into his embrace. "Don't scare me like that. You nearly had us all freaked out."
"What do you mean? What happened?"
"You froze in place. Your eyes were rolled to the back of your head. And... that mark on your forehead..."
I pulled back from Byron's hold at the mention of the mark. Confused, I lifted my hand and ran my fingers over my forehead, feeling the ridges that made up the Wolf Moon's mark. It reacted somehow.
"Rosie!" Footsteps came paddling down in rapid succession until Kai and Kao ran into the cell. Byron stepped away while the twins fussed over me. "Rosie, are you okay? We felt something was wrong though our bond," Kai said.
It was hard to discern what I was feeling at that moment. Confusion, sorrow, pain, anger. I wanted to say something, but the words were clogged in the bottom of my throat. The only thing I felt now was the need to see Joaquin. I didn't expect to see the whole ordeal of what my poor mate went through, but now that I had, I didn't think asking for forgiveness would be enough. What he went through was a nightmare, but I swore I would make it right. I'd see to it that Pierce paid heavily for what he did. There was no question about it: my fated mate needed to die.
3
BYRON
Rosie was quiet the rest of the evening after what transpired down at the cellar. No amount of coaxing could get to her say anything but wanting to see Joaquin. I led her upstairs to the second floor where Joaquin's room was located. Using my universal key card, I unlocked the door and held it open for her. Rosie and I walked in and went straight into the bedroom where Joaquin rested. Rosie still hadn't said a word. She only went to the other side of the bed and crawled in, looping her arm around his middle and rested her head on his chest.
