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“What’s this trash?” A man that looked rather like a gorilla said.
“That’s unkind,” I said.
“This isn’t a day spa, kitten,” he said.
My upper lip curled in disgust.Kitten? Ew. Pet names were a no-go from him. They were a no-go from most men, but especially not from this dude.
“Trevor thinks the queen will want her alive, best put her in the cells with the less dangerous types,” Madison said. “But I can turn around and let you use your best judgement.”
What was with all the comments that made it seem like these people got off on hurting and killing others? The queen really hired some sick fucks. “She’s going to be pissed if you kill me before I can tell her what I came here for.”
“Nobody asked you,” Madison snapped.
“Throw her in the back cell with the little demon. We’ve got too many feral shifters in the others. They aren’t taking to the stone and as well as they should,” he said.
Well, that was interesting. I made sure to study the faces in the dim light as Madison pretended to drag me down the line of cells. I recognized a few of them. Shifters I’d worked with, a couple I’d taken in as marks, and a handful from Xander’s pack. There were easily fifty shifters in the cells. They gripped the bars and glared at me as I walked by. Their tired eyes following me as I walked.
“Do they really have the alpha?” One of them asked.
I stopped walking and locked my gaze on a teenage male shifter. He must be a member of the High Moon Pack.
“Don’t worry,” I said.
The kid looked terrified and I wished there was a way I could help him. Madison pulled on my arm. “Let’s go, bitch.”
“Was that necessary?” I hissed.
“He’s coming to save us, right?” The teenager called after me.
I stopped walking and looked back at the kid, then placed my index finger over my lips in ahushsign. Then I winked. The teen smiled and backed away from the bars.
Madison pulled again and I turned away from him to follow her down the hall. I wasn’t just going to have to find Clara and the stone, I was going to have to get all these captive shifters out too.
We stopped at the last cell. It only had one figure in it. From the looks of it, the person was female. Small and frail, she was bundled in the corner as if she was either too afraid or too injured to move.
Anger surged through me, my inner wolf feeling instantly defensive and protective of the stranger. How could these people treat others this way? I wasn’t one to judge. I literally hunted and killed supernaturals for a living. But I got the sense that the prisoners here were not on a list due to their transgressions.
Okay, maybe a couple of them were. And technically, I was still on that list. But let’s not get picky here. The queen and her minions were bad news. And while I’d learned my lesson and learned that the system was flawed, they didn’t give a shit. A shifter was a shifter. It meant more for her army for whatever her evil plan was.
“Open it,” Madison called.
Another guard, this one a squat, balding man with more hair in his nostrils than on the top of his head hobbled forward. Where did the queen find these guards? I couldn’t get a read on him. He wasn’t human, shifter, or vampire. He was something else. Fae, maybe? A goblin? I wasn’t sure.
The squat man unlocked the cell then held the door open. Madison roughly pushed me inside. “Enjoy your last few hours. Once the queen gets what she wants, I doubt you’ll last long.”
Squatty started closing the cell but Madison stepped in front of him. “Wait. One last blow?”
The guard smiled and I could see his pointed teeth. Definitely a goblin. I didn’t know they were willing to align with vampires. What else was going on in this palace?
Madison walked into the cell and grabbed my shirt, pushing me toward the back wall. I slammed into it, a little harder than probably necessary. I guess she was giving them a show.
“Listen very carefully, wolf bitch,” she said. “Bad things happen to prisoners who rock the boat down here. They’ll call in the big guns and they won’t care if you’re important or not. They’ll send them in to finish you off.”
I raised my eyebrows. Madison was giving me an exit strategy.Why thank you very much. “I can hold my own just fine. When this is over, I’m coming for you first. Watch your back.”
Madison punched me in the stomach. I groaned and doubled over, trying to act like it hurt worse than it did. While I was down, she kneed me in the chest. I moaned and grunted. She held back enough that it didn’t hurt, but it probably put on a good show.
She leaned down so her face was level with mine while I was still doubled over. “Watch your back.” She reached around and slipped something into my waist band before pulling me upright. “Nobody will mourn if they kill you.”
With that last warm fuzzy, she walked back to the door. “Lock her up. If she gives you trouble, you know what to do.”
The goblin looked positively giddy at the thought of inflicting or watching someone inflict damage on me. Now I knew why he worked for the queen. There were sadists in all types, weren’t there?
