by Tate James
“I can't believe my luck,” she crowed, licking her wrinkled lips in delight. “After all these years, I can finally get my revenge for the things you've done, you whore.”
“Listen, old lady,” I tried again, “you've clearly got me mixed up with someone else. I have never met you before in my life, and I've certainly never done anything to deserve this sort of reaction. We were sent here by N to speak with Vic. That's all.”
She laughed a hollow, humorless sound. “The fact that you think I will believe that is pathetic. Don't you worry, though, I am not as cruel as you. I'll give you a fighting chance.” One of the men received a text message, then showed it to Granny. “Well, you enjoy your last moments here while I speak with the pack and arrange your execution. You won't be getting away this time, Bridget.”
“Wait!” I screamed as she turned away and began climbing the stairs. She was surprisingly quick for such an old lady. “I'm not Bridget! You've got the wrong person!”
No reply came, except for the slamming of the door at the top of the stairs.
“Shit!” I swore, looking around at my surroundings. “Shit!” It was the sort of situation that deserved a double swearing. Because we were fucked. How the hell was I going to convince this crazy old bat that I wasn't Bridget? By all accounts, I was the mirror image of my mother, and if she truly was immortal, then it was entirely plausible that we would look the same age. Fucking hell. Whatever Bridget had done to this woman, it wasn't good. And now, it seemed, I would be the one paying for it.
A low groan came from Wesley, and I crouched beside him, running my hand over his hair gently.
“Hey, Wes, it's okay. Just me,” I whispered as he slowly regained consciousness and pushed up on his hands.
“Kit, what the hell just happened?” he demanded, rightfully confused as fuck. Poor guy had a split on his cheek and a huge red welt where he'd been hit. It was going to come up in a seriously impressive bruise the next day. If we were still alive.
“Turns out they think I'm Bridget, and they seriously hate her. The old bitch said something about going to arrange my execution…” I tried not to sound worried, but fucking hell, that woman just used the word 'execution' like it was a totally normal afternoon activity!
“What?” he exclaimed, sitting up the rest of the way sharply then wincing as his head undoubtedly pounded from the hit he'd just taken. “Sweetheart, that doesn't sound good… Why didn't you use your abilities and run while we were still outside?”
“And leave you?” I smiled faintly at him. “Don't be ridiculous, Wes. I couldn't do that. We just need to hope the guys will find us and get us out of here because these cages look like they're designed to counter superstrength.”
Wesley groaned and rubbed his face. “Yeah, I figured they might be supernatural when Mechanic-Frank just knocked me out with a backhand. Hopefully the guys don't get taken off guard.”
As if on cue, the door to the stairs banged open once more, and several sets of heavy footsteps clattered down. Five very angry-looking men were directed into the next cage, and the door slammed behind them before the rough locals retreated back up the stairs.
“Nice of you all to join us,” Wesley joked, and I snorted a laugh then covered it with a cough.
“Nice face, Wes,” Austin glowered. “You walk into a wall or something?”
“Or something,” Wesley muttered back, frowning unhappily, and I took his hand, squeezing lightly to show that I didn't blame him for this situation.
“Where did they find you all?” I asked as they took up spots against the walls or bars of their cage.
“The twins and I went down to the post office to ask around about that address. We found out that a guy named Victor lives there, but before we could ask anything else, the girl we were talking to got a text. Next thing we knew, we were surrounded by guys with your sort of strength,” River reported, coming to stand at the bars separating our two cages. “Any idea what's going on?”
“Hmm yeah,” I grimaced. “The old bitch that seems to be in charge thinks I'm Bridget.”
“Okay…” He frowned. “And that's clearly not a good thing?”
“Definitely not. She said something about arranging my execution so…” I shrugged, then caught sight of Vali's face.
“Jesus, what happened to you two?” I exclaimed, noticing bruises on Cole as well. Vali looked worse, though, with a black eye already so swollen it was almost closing the lid completely.
“Nothing,” Vali muttered, and Cole met my panicked gaze.
“Just had to work some shit out,” Cole contributed, and I clicked on that their injuries had nothing to do with these crazy townspeople detaining them.
“I see.” I squinted at the two of them in warning. “Well, it had better be out of your systems. We have too much other shit on our plates to be dealing with infighting as well.”
“Speaking of that other shit,” River redirected my attention, “run me through everything that's happened so far. What exactly did this woman say to you?”
Word for word, I repeated what had been said. Luckily my short-term memory retained the conversation in its entirety because I had totally missed the clue she had dropped.
“'A fighting chance', that's what she said?” River clarified and looked over at Cole when I nodded my confirmation.
“Sounds like she's going to make you fight someone,” he murmured, drumming his fingers on his knee while he thought out loud. “Which means she's giving you an opportunity to survive.”
“What if she makes you guys fight someone?” I questioned, chewing my lip so hard it was bleeding a little. “There are definitely supernaturals in this town, and no offense to you all, but you probably won’t stand a chance.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Kitty Kat.” Caleb snorted, and I smiled at him.
“You know what I mean, Cal.” I sighed, rolling my eyes, and he grinned back at me.
“Yeah, yeah, I know us mere humans wouldn't have much luck in an arena with supernaturals,” he agreed, “but Cole and Vali are no longer human, are they?”
“That's a good point,” Wesley said. “Have you guys noticed any increased strength or speed or whatnot?”
The two of them both grimaced, but Vali responded. “Yes.”
We all waited for elaboration, but when none came, we moved on. Clearly it was something to do with them “working things out.”
“Okay. So we're in agreement that it sounds like my 'execution' is actually to fight someone, and most probably a shifter or something, yes?” I clarified, and the guys all nodded. “So, the question is, if I win—”
“When,” Cole growled.
I gave him a small smile. “When I win, how the fuck do we convince them I'm not Bridget?”
For a moment, no one replied.
“We can cross that bridge when we come to it, love,” River assured me, and I dropped my head to rest on my knees.
From above us, the muffled sounds of feet and voices trickled down, which made sense. Granny Winter had said something about calling a meeting, so they were probably all here to discuss our fate. Whatever it ended up being, I just prayed the guys would make it out safely.
Before long, the door to the stairs slammed open once more, and the slow, lighter footsteps of the old woman came down, followed by several heavier pairs.
“Well, Bridget, I should have known you'd bring your own little harem to town with you. Not that they'll be in any position to save you, considering my boys tell me most of them are still human.” She leered at me with a victorious grin pulling at her wrinkled face. “What have you done with the others? Or did you get sick of them too?”
“Listen, you crazy fucking bitch,” I snapped, standing up to grasp the bars, “I am not Bridget. What part of that do you not understand?”
“Oh please,” she cackled. “I've fallen for your bullshit too many times, Bride. I will not fall for it again now. No, I told you twenty-three fucking years ago that if I ever saw your
face again, I would get my revenge.”
“Wait, what?” I was even more confused. “Bridget was incarcerated at Blood Moon twenty-three years ago.” Or was that just after she had escaped?
The old woman gave me a withering glare, and it was clear she wasn't going to answer me. “The arena is being set up as we speak. You'll get your fair opportunity to win your freedom, but I wouldn't bother trying if I were you. You've been gone from Victor for far too long to still have his strength, and I don't see either Nicholai or Lachlan with you. Unless you've managed to bond with any of these children, you're on your own.” She smiled smugly. “And we both know if you could bond more than three men, you'd have done it a long time ago.”
“What the actual fuck are you talking about? Who the hell are Nicholai and Lachlan? What do you mean bonding? I don't know how many times I can tell you, I'm not Bridget!”
My brain felt like it was imploding. This woman held so much information about my mother and about her, or my, powers. Why couldn't I make her believe I wasn't my mother?
“Ma'am,” River started, “this isn't Bridget—”
“Do not speak to me, child,” she hissed, turning her furious glare on River. “I may look old, but I am no fool. This is Bridget, and she will pay for what she did to my boy.” She waved a gnarled hand at the men who had followed her down the stairs.
“Take them all out to the arena, but make sure you bind the big ones.” She pointed to Cole and Vali. “Tommy said they were changed, but he wasn't sure what species. Better safe than sorry.”
The door to the cage the boys were in was thrown open, and a small scuffle broke out between my guys and the locals.
“Stop!” I screamed, and they all immediately froze. Even Austin. “Just go with them; I don't need you guys suffering because of me. Again. Just… do what they want, and maybe they'll let you go.” I arched an eyebrow at Granny Winter in question, and she just shrugged, the bitch.
The boys did as I said, though—even Cole and Vali who had their wrists bound with heavy shackles while giving me pleading looks. Of course, I knew it was killing them to go against their natures, to let themselves be contained in such a way, but I would rather them be pissed at me than get hurt again.
“Aw, how sweet,” Granny crowed. “You always did keep your men on a short leash, Bride. I just hope Nicholai and Lachlan finally saw you for the evil whore you are and left before they got hurt.”
“Whatever,” I sighed. “You're totally delusional. Let's just get this over with.”
The arena turned out to be just a wide open clearing deep into the woods behind Granny Winter's house. Snow had begun falling while we'd been locked in her cages, and the ground was dusted with white, showing up countless sets of footprints ahead of us. As we approached the “arena,” the owners of those footprints were waiting, scattered around the perimeter, watching.
“So, what are you all?” I asked, aiming to learn something that might aid in our eventual escape. “Shifters, right?” Granny Winter totally ignored my question, but the guy holding tight to my arm rolled his eyes like I was being a moron.
I glanced around at all the people gathered, and the first thing I noticed was the lack of anyone past the age of maybe thirty-five. Other than Granny Winter, there were only a handful of people showing any signs of aging, and out of close to a hundred gathered spectators, it was a noticeable discrepancy.
A beautiful girl, around my age or a little older, stalked towards us from across the arena. Her dark hair was pulled back from her face in a severe ponytail, and the scowl on her face made her high cheekbones stand out sharply. She was dressed head to toe in leather. Tight leather pants were tucked into absurdly impractical high-heeled boots, and a cropped biker jacket was open over what looked to be some sort of corset.
“Don't I know you?” I frowned as she came closer, and a smug grin pulled at her lips.
“You should,” she sneered. “You probably still carry scars from me on your side.”
My mind flashed back to our escape from Blood Moon and the fight I'd had with the bitch that shot me then clawed me up. The wounds had taken an unusually long time to heal, but they had, and no marks remained.
“Nope, no scars here.” I smirked, and she narrowed her eyes at me.
“Well, no matter. Today I get to rip your head clean off your shoulders. Won't that be fun?” Her eyes lit up, and she looked genuinely excited by the idea. Psychotic bitch. She glanced past me to the guys. “And when I'm done killing you, maybe I'll have some fun with the friends you brought with you…”
She prowled over to them, looking them over like they were meat at the butchers, but I saw her face blanch and her step falter when she came within reach of Cole and Vali. Curiously, I wondered if she could sense they were bigger beasts than whatever she was. Passing by the two of them, she paused in front of River.
“This one,” she announced. “Granny, when I win, I want this one.”
“Fuck off,” River sneered, and I mentally cheered him.
“Why that one?” Granny asked the beautiful psychopath, and the girl leaned in close to River, dragging her nose up the side of his neck.
“He's one of us.” The crazy girl growled. I mean, literally growled. River met my eyes over the top of her head, and I gave him a tiny head shake. He clearly wanted to do something, but I needed them to stay out of it. They needed to stay safe.
“We can discuss it after Bridget is dead, Chesca,” Granny Winter snapped, and the brunette girl pouted like a petulant child.
“Get the prisoners over there so they don't miss any of the action,” Granny commanded her men. “Then throw Bride in the middle. She's to fight Chesca to the death.”
The dark haired girl grinned like a fucking lunatic and smacked a wet kiss on River’s neck. “I'll be seeing you soon, lover.”
River visibly shuddered in revulsion, and I smothered a smile as I pictured handing this chick her ass. I had beaten this chick before, in the halls of Blood Moon, so I could do it again. Glancing at the other guys, I could see the tension had dropped ever-so-slightly from them as well, as they must have come to the same conclusion.
“I don't know why you're so happy, Chesca,” I smirked. “This could quite easily be the death of you, too.”
Her confident grin faltered slightly, then pasted back into place. “Don't make me laugh; Granny Winter knows all about how your strength works, and without your bonded guardians, you're nothing more than a weak, pathetic little girl.” She tossed her ponytail and sauntered toward the arena, sliding out of her jacket and tossing it aside as she strutted like it was fashion week.
“Bride,” Granny Winter sneered when it was just the two of us and my guards left. “I wish I could say it was a pleasure knowing you, but it most certainly was not. I hope Chesca makes this painful for you and you rot in hell for all eternity.”
Without waiting for me to respond, she stalked into the arena as well, leaving my guards to drag me along behind her.
“Family!” Granny shouted, garnering the attention of everyone gathered. “A lot of you will remember Bridget from her stay with us some twenty-three years ago!” There was an angry rumbling in response, and I wondered what the fuck my mother had done to piss these people off so damn badly. “Well, now she gets what she deserves! As decided by your council of elders, she will fight our chosen warrior to the death.” A cheer went up from the surrounding spectators, and my palms started sweating. Even if I could survive this fight, how was I going to convince this angry mob that I was not my mother?
Granny Winter smirked at me once more as she backed out of the clearing then yelled out, “Begin!”
32
RIVER
It felt like my heart had momentarily stopped as that psychotic bitch, Chesca, launched herself at Kit. She moved so damn fast, and Kit wasn't even looking. My girl was still staring after the old lunatic who had been speaking, so she probably wouldn't even see the attack until it was too late. Just as my mouth dropped
open to yell a warning, Kit just moved. We'd seen her use her superspeed a handful of times in the past few months, mostly in training, but it was nothing compared to the way she moved now. One second she was standing there, her back totally exposed to the crazy girl's incoming fist, and the next she was just a blur as she darted out of the way and reappeared some half-dozen yards from her opponent.
“Holy shit,” Caleb whispered from beside me, and I was inclined to agree with him.
“Come on, Vixen,” Cole muttered from behind me, his shackles clinking as he most-probably clenched and unclenched his fists. “Why isn't she attacking her back?”
Cole was right; Kit was standing well clear of the other girl, her hands raised as she spoke in a voice too quiet for any of us to hear. Chesca prowled closer to Kit, her hands morphing into lethal looking claws, and the fading afternoon light glinted off the tips, almost like they were made of metal. Kit lowered her hands cautiously, and the older girl darted across the short distance at a speed only fractionally slower than Kit's, her clawed hands extended. Kit ducked and twisted out of the way right at the last second, but one of Chesca's claws must have clipped her because she clasped a hand to her arm and I saw red well up from under it.
“Shit,” I swore. “Careless. Why is she being careless?” The careful control I kept over my raging emotions was cracking, and I could feel it testing the barriers.
“She thinks she can still talk reason into that crazy bitch,” Wesley suggested. “I think she probably doesn't want to have to kill someone based on a misunderstanding.”
“She'd better fight back soon, or we will intervene for her.” Cole's voice was quiet but loaded with menace.
