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Easier said than done.
“We’re almost there,” Estella spoke softly from behind me. “This will be over soon.”
She was trying to reassure me, but I could hear the hitch in her breathing and the shakiness in her voice. The truth was, she had no idea what to expect, but being forced to watch what was coming must have been a living nightmare for her. I wish I could shield her from all of this.
“I can walk,” I told the person carrying me. I’d much rather go to my possible death standing on my own two feet.
‘We’re not going to die. Rylan would never allow it.’ My wolf’s confidence in our mate was admirable, but I didn’t think she fully understood what was about to happen. Hell, I wasn’t even sure, but I trusted Faela, and I trusted the Moon Spirit.
The person holding me huffed, let my legs swing free of his arm, and helped steady me as I stood. I didn’t know why he was helping me, but I hoped it was a good sign that maybe there was still a part of him that wasn’t under Tamra’s control.
We walked in silence, and after my shoulder brushed against a stone wall, I realized we were still in the Cage. The path seemed familiar, and I wondered if we were being led to the same place, I’d entered the prison from the first time.
My suspicion was confirmed when the man who’d been carrying me suddenly grabbed me and jumped up out of the hole. Once safely on the ground, I looked around and saw the same boulders that I’d traversed in order to reach the Cage’s secret entrance.
It was completely dark, the only light coming from the stars up above, and I realized that there was no moon in the sky. That meant that the Moon Spirit would be at its weakest, and the Shadow Wolf would be the strongest. Tamra had planned everything down to the minute details, it seemed. She was recreating the night she killed her sister.
I turned to Estella, who had clumsily climbed up through the hole with her wolf right behind her. She was visibly shaking, but her chin was lifted, and she looked ready for anything.
“This way,” the man who’d been carrying me said, grabbing my bicep and pulling me away from the entrance.
The ambient light from the stars helped my wolf eyes to focus on my surroundings. The first thing I noticed once they adjusted was that the man who had a hold on me was Bear. The alpha of my old pack and Tamra’s mate.
He didn’t seem to recognize me at all. He just stared straight ahead and carried out his duty like it was normal. Seeing him completely under Tamra’s control, knowing that he had been her first victim, made me furious. She’d taken away his free will, giving him no choice in his life. I couldn’t imagine being forced to marry another after finding your true mate.
“Over here, love,” Tamra called, waving to him beside a large free-standing stone.
“Bear, you don’t have to do this.” I tried reasoning with the shifter, but he ignored me, giving no indication that he had heard a word I said.
Bear didn’t react, just led me over to where Tamra stood. Pushing my back against the stone, he held me still while she tied my hands together then lifted them above my head. She quickly restrained the rest of my body. Jerking and protesting did absolutely nothing against the alpha’s hold.
I relaxed, needing to conserve my energy for whatever was about to happen.
Estella and her wolf were tied up next to me with three shifters surrounding her. One was in his wolf form, and Estella’s white wolf growled a warning, putting herself between it and her human.
“Bear, please.” I tried again to reason with my mate’s uncle, but he just looked at me blankly, like he had no idea who I was.
Tamra reappeared in my field of vision, handing him the ends of the ropes that restrained me.
“I wouldn’t try to struggle,” she said conversationally, drawing closer until she was about a foot away from me. “Bear will be behind you, keeping you secure. I have no doubt you’re strong, but he and the darkness are much stronger. They’ll rip you in half before you can escape.”
I lifted my chin and met her eyes, letting her know that I wasn’t afraid of her. She could restrain me all she wanted, belittle me even, but I would not give her the satisfaction of cowering.
“I like your backbone.” Tamra stepped back to look me up and down. “Any other time, I would enjoy breaking you, but unfortunately, we don’t have time. We need to start soon so I can watch your mate go insane as I kill you.”
My jaw flexed, and my hands curled into fists above my head. My lip twitched with the need to bare my teeth. I knew without a shadow of doubt that Rylan was on his way, and he wouldn’t let her hurt me. He would set the world ablaze. She should be scared of the monster Rylan could be. Underestimating him would be her downfall.
Suddenly, howls filled the air, hundreds of them making my chest clench. We were surrounded by hundreds of wolves, all waiting patiently. Answering howls sounded from the distance, a much smaller number in comparison, which made my heart sink. Rylan and our pack were outnumbered, and I had no way to warn him that he was running into a trap.
Fear raced down my spine, and I reached for the bond, ready to do just about anything in order to get through to him.
‘Rylan! Rylan, it’s a trap!’ I yelled through our bond, desperately hoping that my words would get through.
I felt a stirring on the other end then nothing. Biting my lip, I wondered if I could howl and alert them all. Glancing at Estella, I tried to silently tell her what I was about to do. Her eyes narrowed, but that was it. It was probably the best I was going to get.
As quietly as possible, I sucked in the deepest breath I could muster while my wolf pushed forward, ready to use both our voices to get our message to our mate. My head tilted back, my throat opened, and my diaphragm tensed.
I howled, the sound breaking the overwhelming silence. It sounded like two different voices, when it was actually just one. I sent a silent prayer to the Moon Spirit, hoping that Rylan would hear me.
