Kevin: Always And Forever (The Guardian Shifters Book 3)

by KM Lowe

  “What’s taking so long? If we were late they’d have had something to say…” I snap, just as the door behind us opens, and in walk two large men.

  “Sorry to keep you, gentlemen. I’m pleased to see you were on time,” says the biggest of the two men.

  He has one of those faces that you wouldn’t get fed up of pounding. His smarmy tone. His cheeky, arrogant smirk. He angers me by just being in the same room as me.

  Both Jasper and I sit in silence. I want to give these bastards a piece of mind, and I have no idea where that anger and frustration came from, but it stops my knee from bobbing ten to the dozen, it reins in my fidgeting, and I stare at a spot in front of me.

  “Okay. Let’s get down to business. I take it Jasper filled you in, Kevin?”

  “Yes, he did.”

  As I pause, so does everyone in the room. Jasper’s foot nudges mine slightly, but I don’t let him deter me. I know I should be addressing the council with manners, but that works both ways. Respect is earned.

  “Sir. Yes, he did, sir,” says the boss, mocking my words. “I see Jasper will have his work cut out with you.”

  Jasper clears his throat. “Actually, Kevin is a valued member of Carlos’s pack. He’s going to be missed while he’s here. Yes, he’s young, impressionable, and a little streetwise, but he’ll make a good beta one day. I’m sure of it.” Jasper sounds like the proud father every time he talks about me, Lisa, or Markus. I can see that this boss guy is dying to say something, but he just glares between Jasper and me before he sits down. I’m guessing he’s Braxton, because he seems to be calling all the shots.

  “Right. I’ve been thinking about you two all weekend. I think I’ve come up with the perfect plan. You see, I think we’ll start your training right away.”

  I keep my face straight and don’t take my eyes away from Braxton. He won’t intimidate me, and I won’t show him that he gets on my nerves.

  “I have two perfectly good cells downstairs with your names on them. For forty-eight hours, you’ll both have a cell. A very simple, dark, cell. Only, you’ll not be allowed to sleep. You’ll get the basic rations, and minimal contact with anyone. On Wednesday morning, you’ll be taken to the ring, where, Jasper, you’ll start Kevin’s training. I want eight hours a day of intense training. I want you to repeat it for ten days. After those ten days, I’m sending you to Canada for three months. While you’re there, you’ll be joining forces with a few of our guys that are staying in Canada now.”

  “And what do we do in Canada?” asks Jasper.

  “All will be revealed in good time. You need to have patience, Jasper.”

  “I’ll have patience when this is over with and I can return to my family for good. Can we make our way to these cells?”

  For the first time since I met Jasper, I hear a side of him that I hope I’ll never hear again. Anyone could see his patience is wearing thin for the council, and I can see him saying something he’ll regret later if we didn’t get shown to these cells.

  “Always eager to please, young Jasper.”

  Jasper sighs. “No. I’d say the quicker the job is done, the quicker we’re finished. Don’t flatter yourself that it’s to please you. Those days are well and truly over.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Jasper.” Although Braxton’s words say one thing, his face and body language say another. He doesn’t want to hear that Jasper is done with them. “Callum!”

  Callum. He was one of the enforcers that helped us find Lisa. I didn’t have much contact with him, but he didn’t do or say anything to hurt me, which was more than I deserved at that time.

  “Yes, sir. You called,” says Callum as he stands in the doorway behind us.

  “Yes. Can you take these two gentlemen to their living quarters for the duration of their stay? I trust that I can trust you to follow these orders.”

  “Yes, sir. Let’s go, gentlemen.” Callum stands in between Jasper and me. Jasper stands first and I hesitate for a moment before following his lead.

  “One more thing…” We all stop dead mid-stride, but we don’t turn around. “There are no more chances. Fuck this up and I’ll have no option but to fuck you up. Go!”

  We all make our way out of the office and I follow Callum and Jasper. At first, I thought we were going to walk in silence, but the moment we round a few corners Callum says, “Are you crazy, Jazz?” Fuck’s sake, buddy. This is going to be hell for you.”

  “I’ll get over it, bud.”

  What exactly are we going to be walking into here? I shudder to think what the next forty-eight hours are going to be like, but I’m no stranger to being locked up. I just need to keep my head screwed on, which isn’t going to be easy.

  “For what it’s worth, the wolf communities have heard about this, and to say they’re pissed off is an understatement. How they can do this to you is diabolical. What’s Carlos saying?”

  “He’s taken it in his stride. Not much he can do, because I told him not to go against my wishes. I took the blame, I should take the time. Why they’ve brought Kevin into this mess is beyond me. If this was just me I wouldn’t mind much, but an innocent kid changes the ball game. They’re out of order.” Jasper’s anger and fury radiates from him. I feel the hairs rise on my arms, because I hate seeing him like this.

  Callum looks over his shoulder at me. “Just stay strong, kid. You’ve got a good teacher here. I’ll drop you in some water and supplies when I’m passing. It should help to tolerate the slops they give you down here.”

  I look around the dungeon we just entered. To say I’m shocked and angry was something else. This is like something from the dark ages. Surely this is some kind of joke.

  “Fuck!” Jasper’s eyes lock on mine, but I break the connection by taking in my surroundings. “It’s like a prison in a dungeon. What the fuck? They can’t do this, surely?” I ask.

  The stench is revolting. Urine, metallic blood, sweat; it’s a smell I won’t forget in a hurry. I look around the walls. Candles flicker to show us the slightest bit of light. There’s no electricity down here, and the dark walls and floor make it very hard to see where we’re going.

  “Whether they can or can’t do this, there’s no one above them to stop them,” Jasper explains.

  “Just keep your head down, follow orders, and don’t break any rules. Stay off their radar and you’ll be fine,” Callum says.

  Stay off their radar? It isn’t like I can do or say anything down here.

  “Which one’s mine?” Jasper asks while rolling his eyes.

  “Down the end. They’re keeping you apart, just so you can’t be in contact while you’re down here. The only contact you’ll be getting is from the guards on duty. You’ll see each other at your training sessions, but they’re going to try everything to break you both.”

  “It will take more than the damn council to break me, Cal.” Jasper scoffs.

  “I hope so, because I don’t exactly look forward to the fallout if anything happens to you.”

  “Yeah, thanks for the vote of confidence,”

  “Sorry. I didn’t think. I know you’ll be fine.”

  “I have to be fine. I have a family to take care of. Now, I’m going to say goodbye, because I’m going to lie down on my flea-infested bed.” Jasper places his hand over my shoulder and squeezes it tightly. “Stay strong. This is only to play with your head, and you can do this.”

  “I’ll try, Jasper,” I say nervously, because all that’s going through my head is the last time I was in a place like this. My father beat me into submission and locked me in a cage for weeks.

  I leave Jasper and follow Callum down the long, dark hall. The further I get, the worse the smell gets. The worse the smell gets, the harder I find it to tolerate.

  ‘You’ll never amount to anything, you useless piece of shit.’

  With every step I take, I hear my father’s words echo in my mind. He was never shy at telling me how it was, how disappointed he was in his offspring, how we all wre
cked his life. The only thing was, we felt the exact same way about him.

  “Kevin?”

  I look up at Callum, who’s leaning against the doorframe. I turn my head to see the open space I’ll be kept inside. My head feels like it’s spinning on my shoulders. Whether the council is aware of it or not, this is the worst possible punishment for me, and I’ll be lucky if my head is intact when I leave here.

  “You okay, buddy?”

  I shake my head and hold my hands together to stop them from shaking. “Yeah,” I croak out. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. You want to talk about it?”

  I shake my head and step into my cell. It’s smaller than I initially thought. The mattress on the floor is dirty and soiled. My heart races in my chest and I turn my back to lean against the wall. I need the support before my legs give out.

  “I’ll come back when I can. Just keep your head down, don’t answer anyone back, and be strong. You can do this. You will do this.”

  I nod, watch the door close, and then sink down until my backside hits the floor. I can’t believe I’m in this position again. I thought when I found Lisa and moved to Carlos’s pack, I would’ve been safe and out of the reach of monsters. Yet, here I am, stuck in this place. I just hope that the time I’m stuck down here flies by, because I don’t know how much I can take.

  ***

  Callum was back in here this morning, giving me fresh water. If it wasn’t for him telling me that my first twenty-four hours was up, I wouldn’t have known how much time I’d spent down here. The minutes feel like an eternity, and every time I close my eyes, I either get woken up by the guards, or my mind wanders and I think about all of the bad things my father made me do, or the things he did to me. I’m never going to be free from people who are on a power trip. There’s always going to be someone above me, bringing me down, making me miserable. That’s the life we live in. The hierarchy of wolves is greater than many, and all of the layers underneath either conform to the rules or suffer the consequences. That will never change.

  I was too locked in my own head that I never heard the door creak open. “Kev.”

  I look up and see Callum peeking around the door. He’s holding a bottle of water out to me, and a packaged sandwich. I don’t feel like eating, but I know I need my strength if I’m going to get through this fucking ordeal. The food they’ve given me down here is inedible. It looks and smells revolting. I haven’t eaten a thing since I came down here, so my stomach will be grateful for the sandwich.

  “Thanks,” I whisper with my dry, croaky voice..

  “I had to come back and see if you were okay. You looked hellish this morning,” said Callum quietly.

  “Thanks.” I snigger. “It’s a shame every other bastard down here isn’t like you.”

  “Yeah, well, they’re all a bunch of pussies. A stunt in here won’t bother me and the council knows that. I’m not about to stand by and watch you and Jasper suffer any more than you have to. Get that opened so I can take the packaging away.”

  I shake my head at Callum, because although he comes across as a joker at times, he looks and sounds like a hard-headed bastard. Nothing much fazes him, and I can see that he genuinely means everything he says.

  “What’s going through your head, kid?”

  I take a bite of the sandwich and savour the taste. I never thought a simple ham sandwich would be so good.

  “It just brings back memories. My father was a shithead, Callum. This punishment would be right up his street. I don’t know how much time I spent in his cells in his basement or shed. Each time got worse. Each time, I wanted to close my eyes and never wake up. This just reminds me of that time. A time I’d much rather forget. A time I thought I’d buried so deep I’d need therapy to recover it.”

  “I’m sorry, kid. I had no idea. One more day. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Stay out of your head and don’t let the memories haunt you. Think of happy memories. The future.”

  “What happens if we don’t have a future, Callum?”

  “Of course you do! Do you think Jasper, or I, will let anything happen to you?” He kneels down in front of me and puts his hands on my cheeks. “Whatever you were brought up with, that’s not how decent wolves behave. Jasper is the best of the best. I promise you that a future is guaranteed. Just stay strong, kid.” He pats my cheeks and stands up to leave. He picks up the rubbish and heads for the open door.

  “Thanks, Callum.”

  “Don’t mention it. I’ll be back later.”

  I keep my eyes trained on the door as it locks shut. Why it’s locked, I don’t know. Even if we got out the door, we’d never make it out of here alive. It’s a suicide mission. Mind you, I bet many wolves would rather take that suicide mission as live like this. I know I would if I had to stay down here for weeks upon weeks.

  Time is endless when you’re stuck in a desperate situation. Time never feels like it moves forward. It feels like you’re stuck in a warped universe, waiting to get out.

  That’s exactly what it feels like in here.

  Torture.

  Chapter 6

  Karina

  Exhaustion. Physical and mental exhaustion is taking over me. I can’t think straight. I can’t see straight. I see double when I try to lift my head. My body protests as every bone and muscle aches. My mind is racing. Every blood-curdling scream, every bone breaking, every punch reverberating around the cave makes my stomach clench as nausea rolls over me.

  I’m still chained to this table, and I’ve lost count of how many times my body’s been violated. I don’t want to see anymore. I don’t want to hear everything going on around me. I just want it all to end, and if I had the use of my hands, I would end it now.

  I’m startled awake again when I hear a scream from very close to me. My eyes open and I see a young girl; she can’t be any older than fifteen. Her body is black and blue. Her hair is matted. Her face is bloodied and dirty. But she isn’t giving up the fight. The more she fights, the harder it is for her, but that isn’t deterring her.

  “You bastards!” I yell, to take the attention away from the child. “Pick on someone your own age! Does it make you feel good beating woman and children? You’ll get your day and I hope I’m here to see it!” I spit then let my head bang down on the table.

  “Ah, the little wolf is jealous. Are you not getting enough, you little whore? James!” His yell makes me jump and gasp as pain shoots through my ribs. “James! Come and take care of your little bitch! Her yelling is giving me a headache.”

  I know what’s coming before I see or hear James near me. I’m going to be raped again. I’m going to bear another mark on my body that will be a constant reminder of what’s happened here. These men are evil. Something is missing inside their heads, because this isn’t normal. Every girl I’ve come across in here is no older than nineteen, but the newbies are getting younger. Someone needs to stop them before it gets too far out of hand. Surely someone will come and rescue us. Won’t they?

  I close my eyes, and instead of thinking about here and now, I take my mind to the only place that’s helped me since being in here – my, tall, dark, handsome stranger.

  “Run, baby. I’m catching up with you,” yells my mysterious stranger playfully, as we dart through the thick, green, forest. I feel alive. I feel every piece of my body tingle from the mischievous chase. Something I’ve always dreamed of–my own mate to run through the countryside with.

  I make the mistake of looking over my shoulder. It slows me down and my mysterious beast pounces on me, making us both roll down the embankment.

  “Told you I’d always catch you.” His tongue licks up the side of my nose, ruffling my whiskers. His wolf scent tickles my nose, making me crazy inside. I feel weird things for this man… shifter. “I love you, baby.”

  A loud scream breaks my chain of thought. When I return back to the hell hole I’m in, I quickly realize the scream was coming from me. The large body on top of me is weighing me down. I can’t
breathe. I’m repulsed that this man is abusing me like this. I’m disappointed that I can’t fight through this like a true shifter would.

  I’m weak.

  I’m defeated. Tears roll down my cheeks and I close my eyes. I don’t want to do this anymore.

  Please, Goddess. Let me go. Let this end.

  Chapter 7

  Kevin

  Who would have thought that two days would feel like a lifetime? I’ve sat in the same corner for two days. I’ve just kept my head down and thought about Lisa. Maybe if I think about doing this for her, it won’t feel as raw, because right now, I feel like I did in my father’s cells. Helpless. Used. Alone.

  I feel like shit.

  The door clicks open, and instead of only opening a crack, Callum barges in and throws it open, making it bang off the stone wall.

  “You ready, kid?”

  I look up, confused. I know this is day two, but I didn’t expect to walk out so easily.

  “Just like that? Where’s Jasper?” I stand and wipe my hands down my jean-clad legs. I feel dirty and disgusting sitting in my own squalor. It’s shocking that they treat their own kind like this.

  “Let’s go and get him.”

  I follow Callum down the dark, damp corridors. It looks even worse today, but I guess that’s because I feel so bad.

  We round the corner in time to see Jasper pinning a guard up against the wall. I go to assist him, but Callum catches my hand. The swift shake of his head lets me see that he doesn’t want me getting involved.

  “I’ll be whatever the fuck I like. It’s true what they say, you figure out quickly who your friends are when you need them. I won’t forget who didn’t stand by me through this.” Jasper pushes him hard against the wall and lets him go. I can feel the anger radiating from him from a few feet away.