by Jenny May
Nikolas paused. “Who told you about that? Zain? I swear, I’m going to have his head. That good for nothing—!”
“No! It wasn’t Zain. Listen to me. Let me go. We’ll stay at the ranch. We’ll never bother you again. Just unbuckle me and I’ll walk out of here like nothing ever happened.” It was a lie, but one she was willing to tell.
All Zara could think of was getting back to Rogue and Cooper before her father really started in with the pain. Sure, it was going to be excruciating, but she wasn’t think about herself. If her mates knew what was happening, they would go ballistic. They’d die trying to get here. “Father, don’t do this. You’re asking for a war. You can stop this underground stuff before it’s too late. Just walk away from it. You can be a good leader, again. I know you can.”
A laugh poured from his mouth. “I’ve been doing this since before you were born, Zara. Hell, before I ever met your mother. Good is not what I choose to be. Rogue will soon join your dear, sweet George, and I couldn’t be happier to be the one to put him down.”
The man she grew up knowing as her father was suddenly a stranger. Horror wasn’t anything close to what she was feeling. It went way beyond that. She was appalled and disgusted to the core. “You make me sick.” She spit at him. “You want war, so be it. They’re going to eat you alive, and I can’t wait. Your reign over Triple Z is close to being over, and when it is, my mate is going to take over. And everyone will love him. You’ll be a speck of distaste in their mouths when they think back on your rule.”
Nikolas uncurled her hand, snapping the bone in one of her fingers in the process. What felt like lava touched the tip of her index finger. The agonizing pain as he slowly twisted the nail from her cuticle had her shaking her head frantically. A scream came from her mouth, regardless how hard she fought it. This was it. Proof of Nikolas stepping over his alpha role was clear. Words were just that. They could have been a lie, or not, but this…physical cruelty. He was finished as Triple Z’s leader. She’d make sure of it.
Chapter 17
Glass shattered against the kitchen floor. Rogue’s wolf vibrated his insides as pain took over his body. His eyes met Cooper’s, and he knew his mate felt it, too. “Zara.” He could feel his breathing increasing with panic. Slowly, his eyes went back to the glass he’d been holding. His arm was tingling, and he’d felt like his whole body had been thrown into a giant bug zapper. What in the hell were they doing to her?
“Is this how an alpha usually trains, because truthfully—” Cooper’s eyes closed just as Rogue felt the feeling shoot through his body again. “Fuck!” Cooper yelled. He pushed up from table and shook himself. “She’s feeling it worse than us, isn’t she?”
“Maybe not you, Coop. You’re pretty sensitive to her. I’m sure I’m dulled to the pain, but you might be feeling exactly what she is. I don’t know. It’s hard to say.” Rogue lowered and began picking up the glass. He tried calming his beast as he threw the glass in the trash. “And to answer your question…it depends. Everyone trains alphas differently. I can’t see what electrocuting her has anything to do with leading. Of course, they’re probably doing interrogation techniques. If that’s the case, then yeah. It would be common…but it won’t be much worse than that. We’re probably feeling the extent of what they’re going to do, right now. I doubt we’ll feel anything more.”
Cooper nodded and leaned his hands against the table. “Damn, my arm freaking burns.” In circular motions, he rotated it. As he did, Rogue caught sight of discoloration. He walked forward, pulling up Cooper’s T-shirt.
“That’s a fucking prod mark.” The welted skin amazed him. Rogue lifted his shirt, not seeing any signs of redness at all. “Jesus, Cooper. You must have one hell of a connection. I knew when I was watching the two of you cook that you were so in sync. Now I know why. Your link must be super strong. Probably because we’re both alphas.”
He shrugged and shook his head. “I guess.” The way Cooper turned into his self worried Rogue. Silence filled the room while he sat back at the table and looked down at the wooden surface for minutes. “Something’s not right,” he said, lowly. “She’s scared one minute, then next angry. Right now…rage. Zara’s—”
Pure anguish showed on Cooper’s face. The chair crashed into the wall as he jumped to his feet and the top of his body doubled over. “Fuck! Shit!” Fire was engulfing Rogue’s fingertip, but nothing like what Cooper was probably feeling.
“What is it?” Rogue rushed over and pushed the top of his body back, upright. His mate was clutching to his hand. Blood was seeping through his clutched fingers. “What the fuck? Show me your hand, dammit.”
Cooper shook his head but put his hand out. Besides the blood, the tip of his finger looked white as if it’d been burned. “Phantom blood?” Rogue wiped it away and noticed it was coming from the top of his cuticles. But there was no cut. “They’re fucking pulling off her nails.” He could feel his eyes go wild. The wolf inside of him hammered against his insides. “Nikolas is fucking dead.”
Rogue grabbed his keys and felt a hand grasp his bicep. “You promised Logan you would call him. You gave him your word, Rogue. Do it. Call him.”
“Zara’s being tortured. They’ll never get here in time.”
“Do it, Rogue.” Cooper pushed his phone at him. “If he’s hurting her, there’s only one thing he wants. You. You’ll be walking into a trap. Now call Logan.”
Bile pushed into his throat. He grabbed the phone and hit Knox’s number, instead. On the third ring, he almost hung up.
“Brother!” Knox sounded cheerful. It was almost another reason he wanted to hang up. He had a baby on the way. Damn, he’d forgotten about that. Cooper yelled again and he rushed to his side. More blood appeared through his fingers. “Rogue? Rogue! Talk to me. I know you’re there. Who’s yelling?”
Rogue was sure he was going to be sick. Everything in him was driven to go to Zara. Right now. “I’m in trouble, Knox. My mate. Nikolas has her. It’s not good.”
“Fuck.” He got quiet. “Let me get some men together and I’ll head to the border. Meet me where Dark Days spots out Triple Z. I’ll call the boys on my way.” His brother howled and yelled out to a few of his men. “I’m glad you called me. You did the right thing. Just, don’t do anything stupid once we get off the phone. You’re going to want to. Don’t.”
“I can’t help it. I want to be there, tearing his ass apart. I’m going to fucking kill him, Knox.”
A door slammed in the background on Knox’s end. “I know exactly where you’re at right now. Remember? You were there for me and Lewis when Lynna was captured. Now let us be there for you. I know your instincts are driving you to your mate, but just, hold on. You’ll be no use to her if you’re dead. Remember that.”
Rogue clenched his jaw and slammed his fist into the counter. At Cooper’s yell he pulled his mate into his arms. “Hold on, Cooper. We’re going to get her back. Just. Shh. I know it hurts.”
“Cooper can feel her pain that bad?” A car engine roared through the line.
“Yeah, they’re removing her nails now. Cooper’s fingers are bleeding, but it’s phantom blood. His fingertips are scorched. They’re using something hot. Probably pliers.”
The increase in the engine told Rogue that Knox was picking up speed. It helped a little to put him at ease, but not much. “Shit. Okay. Keep calm and help your mate. Let me call the guys. Meet me at the border in about half an hour. I think I can get there that fast.”
“All right.” Rogue hung up the phone and hugged Cooper tighter. His mate’s head was buried in his neck. The deep breathing from the pain seemed to be helping him. “Knox will be here in half an hour. Why don’t we go ahead and head in that direction. I need to let Zain and Zavier know what’s going on, too.”
Cooper nodded and stepped back. The white skin at the tips of his fingers was starting to fade. “It should be coming again soon. Let’s try to hurry.” He took off walking toward the door and Rogue gripped his keys tig
htly. As they approached the truck, he noticed Cooper stumble over his feet. A curse left his mouth and he wiped the blood on his jeans.
The bumpy ride to the hills only made the pain for his mate worse. He tried to avoid the big potholes, but in some places it was impossible.
“God, the fucking throbbing starts in my fingertips and just takes over every inch of my body,” Cooper said, breathlessly. “I don’t think it’s just the fingernails, Rogue. They’re doing something else, too. Something more that I can’t put my finger on.”
Rogue threw the truck in park. “There’s no telling, Coop. We’ll find out soon enough.” He slid out and watched Zain and Zavier appear.
“You come to join us? We could use relief.” The smile melted from Zain as Rogue ignored him to go help Cooper out of the truck. The moment the brothers saw the blood on his mate’s jeans, they rushed forward. “What the hell is going on?” Zain lowered his head trying to see the hand Cooper had clenched against his chest.
Rogue took a deep breath, trying to think of the best way to tell them. A shitload of people were about to come into their territory and if they didn’t stand by Rogue’s side, they were fucked.
“Your father has Zara.”
Zain shook his head, confused. “We know. They’re training her for alpha. I thought we all talked about this last night?”
“No, he’s not training her at all. He’s fucking torturing her.”
Cooper grunted and reached out to Rogue’s arms for support. The skin on his forearm began to bubble in the shape of three Z’s.
“What the…” Zain’s eyes got big. “He’s experiencing what’s happening to her?”
“Yes,” Rogue breathed out. “And it looks like they just branded her. “Fuck.” If he wasn’t holding on to Cooper, he would have hit something. Fingers squeezed into his arm, and a circle with a line going through it suddenly appeared over the ranch logo.
Zavier shook his head. “They’re branding her a traitor. That’s what father does when someone crosses him.” The guy went to rush for their truck, but Zain caught his arm.
“We’ll go in with you to get her back. It’ll be hard. Father had guns along the gate, this morning, but we’ll figure it out.”
Pressure eased from his arm and Cooper leaned against the truck. Rogue turned to the brothers. “I have my own cavalry on the way. Your father’s done being alpha. Before the day is out, he’ll be dead. You have to know this. I’m not going to sugarcoat shit for either of you. I’m going to kill him.”
Zain and Zavier got quiet and looked at him. “Fighting, or cold-blooded murder?”
The question took him by surprise. “Fighting, of course. We’re doing this the traditional way. It’ll be to the death. Nikolas wouldn’t have it any other way, and I personally don’t think he deserves to live after what he’s done to so many people. He killed George for crying out loud. Not to mention, he’s torturing his own daughter. He’s sick.”
Blood began pouring from Cooper’s nose. Rogue quickly took off his shirt and pressed it to his mate’s nose. “Is it phantom or an actual injury?”
“Given the pain, I’m going to say injury. But not unbearable like the others. I’ll take a bloody nose, any day, over my skin being burned off.” Cooper pulled Rogue forward and pressed their foreheads together. The slight pain Rogue felt in his face told him that the shot to the nose wasn’t the only place she was getting hit.
“Shh. Breathe through it, Coop. We’ll be getting to her soon. Then no one will ever hurt either of you, again.”
Zain ran his fingers through his dark hair. “I swear, if you don’t kill him, I will. I wish I would have known something. I would have made sure she wouldn’t have gone. Father’s always been distant, but I never saw him going this far. And over what? Fear that you’d try to take over. He has to know that you’re sure as hell going to try now. Why walk into something like that? I don’t understand it.”
“He probably thinks I’m going to head straight over there to try to save her. Like you said, he has guns on the gate. He’s waiting, trying to draw me out. And he almost did. If Cooper wouldn’t have stopped me, I’d be there by now. Your father had this planned, and he’s so going to pay for it.”
Rogue’s phone rang and he pulled it from his pocket. For the life of him, he couldn’t let go of Cooper. He made sure the sides of their bodies were touching at all times. Logan’s number appeared on the caller ID and he pushed the button to accept the call.
“Logan.”
“Knox just called me. I’m on my way with Jack. We lucked out, he just happened to be in town with a few of his boys. Your brother also mentioned that Damien and his men are heading in that direction, too. It’ll take him longer to get to us, but not more than two to three hours.”
The head shake was his subconscious taking over. “Can’t wait that long, Lo. I’m sorry, but I can’t. I have one mate getting tortured, and the other basically going through the same thing. Cooper’s experiencing everything Zara is. That son of a bitch fucking branded them, Logan. Cooper is bleeding before my very eyes, and there’s nothing I can do but help him get through the pain that Zara’s going through. It’s taking everything I have to stay grounded here, but a couple hours isn’t going to work for me.”
“You will wait!” Logan snapped. “I waited days to rescue Myles. Or have you forgotten that? We’ve all been through pain, but you will not risk your life, or anyone else’s. We will get to her, but we’re going to do it by the book, and the safest way possible. Now use your head, Rogue. This is your specialty. You know how bad these things can get. If something goes wrong, they could kill her. Do you want to risk that?”
Logan was right, and he couldn’t stand it. “No.”
“That’s right. Now sit tight. We’ll be there shortly.”
The line disconnected and Rogue shoved the phone in his pocket. If they were all going to make it through this safely, then he needed to get in the right frame of mind. Yes, his mates were in danger. But if he didn’t use his head, he was going to get them killed. That, he couldn’t risk. They were his new life. A piece of his soul that he’d never known he’d had. He couldn’t lose them. Cooper and Zara went hand in hand. If she died, would his other mate, too? The thought made his blood turn to ice. He couldn’t live without them. He wouldn’t.
Chapter 18
The darkness that was visible as the door opened had Zara’s stomach sinking. Her father had returned, and he wasn’t happy at all. Maybe she had been wrong about her mates. She thought they would have arrived hours ago. But they hadn’t. Did they not feel the pain she was going through? It was probably for the best. She couldn’t bear them feeling that kind of agony. The only thing that put her at ease was that she’d promised Rogue before she left in the morning that she would call. Had nine come and gone? There was no telling.
“I know he can feel what you are. Why doesn’t he come? Does he care so little for you? What a worthless mate.” Her father made a sound of disgust.
“Maybe he’s gathering the other packs he has an alliance with,” Miller whispered.
Nikolas turned and slammed him into the wall. “Do you know something you haven’t told me?”
“No, I’ve been here the whole time.” His eyes came to Zara. “You’ve put her through every form of torture we know of, and if he knew that, maybe he called people.”
Zara looked down. That had to be it! He probably had gotten in touch with Logan, and they were getting things ready. They’d be here soon. As long as she kept telling herself that, she felt a little calmer.
“If they come, it’ll be the biggest mistake of their lives.” He pulled out his phone and turned on the speaker. “One word, Zara, and I’ll cut off your right hand.” He grabbed the knife to emphasize his point. Ringing filled the room. Zain answered almost instantly.
“Where are you,” Nikolas said, coldly.
“On the border. Where else would we be?” The tone of Zain’s voice didn’t sound out of the norm. He didn’
t appear nervous, or show any signs that he knew something was going on. It made her stomach turn. If Rogue knew something, wouldn’t he inform her brothers? Surely, he would.
“You are to go to Zara’s house and tell me if her mates are there or not. I’ll stay on the phone while you go.”
Silence filled the line and Zain cleared his throat. “Is everything okay, Father? You don’t sound so good.”
“Go! Now! I don’t have all day.”
Something rustled over the line and Zara strained to hear. “I’m going, calm down. Is there anything you want me to say to them or do you just want me to check?”
“Just check,” he growled.
Again there was silence and more sounds of movement. “How did Zara’s training go? She seemed really excited about it last night.”
Nikolas looked over at her and smiled. “I’d say she’s taken it like the alpha she was born to be. Hardly complained at all.”
“Really. What’d you have her do?”
An annoyed expression crossed her father’s face. “What’s with all the questions, Zain?”
“She’s my sister. I can’t ask how she did in training?” The way he flipped the questions on Nikolas was so Zain. And she loved it. Anything he said to keep the conversation going. If Nikolas was preoccupied, he wasn’t taking his anger out on her.
Zain didn’t get a reply. Nikolas just glared at her.
“Okay, I take that as a no. Wait, do you still have her? Why else would you want to know why her mates were home? You would have just said, go check if Zara is home. Right? Can I talk to her? She made me and Zavier some awesome dinner last night. I want to thank her.”
Nikolas threw a hammer across the room. “Just fucking do what I told you to, god dammit. You’ve always been a daft one.”
The pain that rushed through her hands as she flexed her fingers against the anger nearly had her crying out. She looked over to Miller, barely able to see him through her swollen left eye. He walked more into her view and she continued to stare.
