by Ava Mason
It was high time that I received something he didn’t. He owed me this, for all those years of not showing any gratitude for everything I’d done for him. All those nights of taking care of him, covering for him…
And Carrie was just the right kind of thing to soothe this ache inside.
She was the only woman he’d really wanted who’d turned him down, and it was killing him.
Acquiring her was going to be a sweet, sweet reward for putting up with his shit all these years.
The fact that Carrie called me this morning instead of him proved that I was so close to snagging her. The fact she was so sexy and wild made it that much more fun to seduce her. Also, the fact that, for once in my life, I could have something that he couldn’t, made power surge through me.
Just one good fuck, all to myself, would be enough, and then I would share her with him.
After all, we were like brothers, and we shared everything.
And so, with my pinky finger wrapped around hers, I guided her to my old Toyota LandCruiser and opened the door, politely inviting her into my web of temptation.
The sun was out in full force and the wind whipped through her hair as we drove. The scent of her wolf filled my nose, making it flare. Damn, she smelled so good. There were a few dragons in the sky and she watched them with fascination; the weather had been rainy the past week, and most dragon shifters stayed in their human forms then. But the sun had finally peaked out, drawing our animal sides out.
“It’s so nice today.” She pulled strands of hair away from her face. “Why didn’t you go flying with them?”
I shrugged, turning down the road towards the guesthouse. “I wanted to stay with you.”
She bit off her smile, turning away, trying to hide how pleased she was. But you couldn’t hide from an empath; we always knew what you were feeling and my walls were completely down, soaking in her energy. She was feeling a bit shy and a lot interested.
“Why are you here anyways?” I asked. She turned back to me, a frown on her face. She wasn’t sure if I was insulting her. “I mean, in Aerwyna. I know you didn’t come here to solve murder cases.”
Her shoulders relaxed. “Actually, I’m not even sure. I was helping my mom and Lizzy, my Alpha. She’s pregnant.”
“Yeah, I heard.” I didn’t tell her how the other guys had reacted to the news. “Do you really like your Alpha?”
She nodded, her face certain. “I do, actually. She’s fought hard for us, and it’s been great having her back.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that but I was surprised at her trust in her Alpha. The clan Alphas around here were either divas or hard-nosed jerks.
It had been her Alpha who’d gotten the Queen to assign us to Carrie, so I’d assumed that she was pretty arrogant, having high members of the guard following around this little wolf when there were other, more important things we should be doing. At least it’d paid off.
“So what does your mom do?” I tried changing the subject, wanting to learn more about her.
“She’s a birthing witch.”
My eyebrows shot into my hairline. “And you’re half witch?” She nodded. “That would explain some things.”
“Like what?”
I gave her my most dazzling, panty-melting smile. “Like why I can’t stop thinking about you. You’ve put a spell on me.” She frowned, biting her lower lip and I knew that I’d messed up. Too fast. I parked the car just outside the guest house and she opened the door, jumping out.
“Well, thanks for bringing me here.” She slammed the door behind her.
I got out, running after her. “Wait, Carrie.” She kept going. “Please.”
At that, she stopped but didn’t turn around. I caught up to her and, tugging on her arm, turned her towards me. She stared up at me with those innocent, wide eyes. It looked like she was trying not to cry. I tuned into her feelings - she thought I was being sarcastic, cruel.
Fucking Denver. That’s what she’d come to expect from us.
“I mean it, Carrie. You’re alluring. Sexy. Beautiful.” I ran my finger over her cheek, pulling her hair from her face, and showed her that I meant what I said. Because, despite the fact that she was something for me to conquer, it was true. I did think she was beautiful, inside and out. “I love how different you are than most of the women here. You’re genuine and kind.”
“Really?” Her voice trembled and red flushed up her chest to her neck.
“Yes.” I nodded, my voice low and husky. I knew exactly what she needed to hear; she was insecure, comparing herself to the beautiful women around here. What she didn’t know was that it was all fake. The skinny waistlines, the perfectly sized breasts, the full lips. Growing up in this area, I knew what the women used to look like, until they hit puberty and decided that daddy’s money would buy them physical perfection. Too bad it wouldn’t buy them a good personality.
Don’t get me wrong, I loved to fuck the fake ones. God, they were beautiful. One riding my cock with another bending over, me lapping at her pussy like a child licking cotton candy… Sweet, sweet heaven.
And the grief-stricken ones were even better - cast-offs from Denver. Their determination to show Denver what he was missing out on always benefitted my cock.
But Carrie would be different. She was skittish, like a little lamb. I had to slowly gain her trust. I pressed my other hand to her hip, gently tugging her closer. “Go out with me tonight.”
She swallowed hard. “Like on a date?”
I nodded. “Yes, like on a date.”
“Umm, I don’t know.”
“I promise I won’t bite. Hard.”
“Actually, I have a favor to ask.” She gave me an unsure look. “Do you think it would be possible if I could speak to that wolf?”
“The one we just locked up?” Of course that’s who she meant. What other wolf was there? “Oh, um.” My mind raced as I tried to figure out if I could get access to the guy. She would be better off asking Easton or Hunter but I wanted her to stay with me. To ask me for help. “Why do you want to see him?”
She looked away, unsure how to respond.
“Look.” I took her hand, leading her towards the gardens outside the guesthouse. “I trust you. And look, you found that asshole, so you obviously have good instincts. Don’t be afraid to tell me what you have on your mind, and let’s see if we can work this out together.”
“Okay.” She paused for a moment but I could tell it was because she was thinking, trying to form her thoughts. “It just seems too… convenient. Do most of the wolf terrorists work alone?”
I tilted my head to the side, thinking. “Sometimes, but mostly they work as a pack - that’s the only way they’d be able to kill a pureblooded dragon.”
She nodded, as if this was exactly what she expected me to say. “So this wolf, by the time we caught him, he was pretty skinny. Why was he still hanging out in that cave where we could find him? Why didn’t he go back to hide with his pack, where he would have more protection?”
I looked out over the carefully trimmed shrubs, considering her words. I didn’t usually think about all this - it wasn’t my job. It was my job to keep the castle grounds safe, so whenever there was a problem, I took care of it, and handed it off to other teams to get information from them. It was rare that I even found dead bodies. Usually we killed threats, not found them.
But she was right. I thought out loud. “So, someone killed the woman and dropped her off right where we would find her. Just enough out of the woods to get our attention. Why?” I kept on, not letting Carrie interrupt because this was going somewhere. “They wanted us to find her, obviously, and cause a fuss. What if this wolf was just a scape goat? Maybe somehow they’d trapped him there, in those woods?”
She nodded again. “That’s what I was wondering. It just all seemed too easy.”
I took her hand, and turned around, marching back towards my car. I had some contacts in the prison. Maybe I could convince one of them to let us i
n to question the wolf.
“Where are we going?”
“We’re going to go talk to the wolf.”
It took me a few phone calls but I finally found someone with enough access that could let us in. They’d just barely assigned him a cell, after spending some time trying to get information from him. From what I’d been told, he was too out of it to really talk. So they’d inserted an IV and placed him in his cell, waiting for him to recover to take him into interrogation again.
I take Carrie’s hand, leading her towards the back entrance of the castle. Her steps were hesitant, and she held my hand loosely, as if she would drop it at any moment. She still wasn’t certain if I was genuine or just fucking with her, and I blamed it all on Denver. There was something about the off way that he was acting today. I wasn’t sure what he did but something told me her reluctance had to do with him.
It certainly wasn’t Blaze - he’d probably never spoken a word to her outside of his job. Blaze was like that. He messed around just as much as the rest of us, but he had a stillness about him that gave me the chills sometimes. He only involved himself with women when Denver or I were already involved and, as far as I knew, he never had sex with anyone by himself.
The castle was very large, and a combination of historic and modern. It had several hidden rooms and passageways, and I knew a lot of them, though not all. As a kid it had entranced me. When I was very little, before moving here, I’d sat on our back porch from our rented home, staring down at it, wondering at the things I might find inside. When Denver’s dad hired mine, I couldn’t contain my excitement, and as soon as possible, I’d snuck inside.
Over the years, I’d come to know my way around most of the wings, except for the King and Queen’s wing, where Queen Aria now resided. It was too heavily guarded. But I knew my way to the dungeon, had even gotten familiar with the guards when I was a kid. It was probably one of the reasons I was a guard today - I’d looked up to them as a kid. That, and Denver’s access made it an easy choice.
I silently guided Carrie down the hidden passage - a long and cold stairway, using my dragon vision to keep us from tripping. She gripped my hand tight; she was nervous. When we reached the bottom, I approached Ben. He jumped up from his desk as soon as he saw me. I reached out my hand to give him a fist bump.
“Hey, thanks man.”
He shrugged. “Sure, no problem, bro. Although I don’t think there’s much you’re gonna get out of him. He was pretty out of it when they came down here.”
Carrie shivered and I stroked the side of her hand with my thumb to comfort her. “That’s all right. We can try again another time if he doesn’t talk now.”
Ben nodded. “Sure.” His eyes drifted to Carrie, sparking with interest. “Is this the wolf?”
She stepped forward, holding out her hand confidently. “My name’s Carrie. And yes, I’m a wolf.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ben.” He took her hand, holding it too long for my comfort, and I scowled.
“Nice to meet you too. Do you always work down here?” Her eyebrows were scrunched together as she looked around. I blinked, trying to see it from her viewpoint. The stone walls were grungy and there were no windows, leaving the only light source from the yellowed lights along the wall and from Ben’s computer. The air was stale and rank.
He looked around, seeming a bit embarrassed. “They switch us out every so often, so I don’t have to be here all the time. We take it in weekly rotations.”
She nodded as if that made sense. “Where else do you work?”
I cleared my throat, not wanting them to get too comfortable talking to each other. Ben was really nice; he’d probably be a right gentleman with her. Fuck that, she wasn’t his to take. I pulled on her arm, moving her away from him. “We’re kinda in a hurry.”
Lie. We weren’t.
“Oh.” Ben gave me a look that said he was sorry. “Sure, man. Right over here.” He went to the large stone door and pressed his hands against the electronic lock. It scanned it and beeped, unlocking. “He’s in cell 410, two floors down. I’ve given you authority to pass through the second hallway.”
“Thanks.” I politely nodded and pulled Carrie into the hallway.
“Thanks so much for this,” she called over her shoulder, and she shuddered when the door closed behind us with a loud clang that echoed through the chamber. She was quiet beside me and I stood still, giving the room a moment to turn on the lights. One by one, they blinked on, flickering in the darkness. The new light revealed a long corridor of prisoners, behind an almost invisible magical barrier. Their cells were exactly what you would imagine them to be - made of large, carved stone, each having a thin mattress laid out on the floor, a sink and a toilet.
“The stairs are over there.” I pointed towards the end of the hallway. “You going to be okay walking through them?” I nodded towards the prisoners lined up on each side of the walkway. Eyes wide, she swallowed, then nodded. “Sure.”
This time, I gripped her hand harder, hesitating, but she stepped forward first, and we passed through the magical barrier.
The smell of piss and rot instantly hit my nose and she gagged, then coughed. But that didn’t stop her, she kept moving forward as the prisoners shuffled towards the bars holding them in, catching sight of us.
“Well, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” a man called out. He was at the end of the hallway, peeking through the bars. “I haven’t seen a beautiful woman like you in years.”
“Fuck you, Joey,” a woman called out. She shuffled towards us, her eyes wild. She had blonde hair but it was severely unkept, even though I knew they gave them regular baths and combs. “Hey there, pretty,” she sneered, showing a missing bottom tooth.
“H-hi,” Carrie stuttered, nodding politely. The collar around the woman’s neck sparked - she’d tried using her magic on us.
“You don’t have to answer them.” I walked forward, trying to move quickly through the arms that reached towards us. “And they can’t touch you. There’s another barrier in place if they get too close.”
Carrie nodded. “It’s okay.” Her voice was sure but her face didn’t catch the news. It was pale and uncertain. She suddenly stopped, turning towards one of the stalls.
“What happened to her?” The woman in that cell ignored us, huddling on her bed. We couldn’t see her face because it was pressed to her knees, and she was shaking. Carri’s face held compassion. “Why’s she here?”
“She killed her younger sister and brother.” Carrie gasped, looking back at me, and I explained. “She has Borderline Personality Disorder.” I remembered this case, how sad it had been. “Along with another one, I can’t remember.”
“But what about treatment?” Her eyes searched the woman’s tiny cell. “Jail, certainly, but this place?” The dungeon was definitely worse than any prison systems we had in Aerwyna.
“Doctors tried to help her but she refused any care. Her dad is high up in the Authority, and he insisted that they kept her here.”
Carrie bit her lower lip, turning her head to look back at the woman. “I’m sorry,” was all she said. Sorry for what, I wasn’t sure.
“Me too,” I answered. “Come on.” I urged her forward, wishing I didn’t have to bring her through this way. It was a terrible sight. Most of the prisoners deserved this fate but not all of them.
Carrie didn’t stop me but followed closely, not afraid to look each prisoner in the eyes as we passed by. She even smiled at a few of them and I wondered how long it had been since these prisoners had seen any kindness like that. Most guards were immune to the prisoners by now, only taking care to keep them alive and nothing more.
Most of the prisoners didn’t return the kindness, which wasn’t surprising. They growled or called her names. Some of them even propositioned her. She only politely refused and I took in a relieved breath when we got to the end.
“Hey, sweetheart.” It was the man who’d first called out to us, his voice a soft cooing. “Why d
on’t you come back and visit me sometime? Maybe I can teach you how to play chess.”
“This isn’t some eighties rom com,” I said to him, flashing him a mocking grin before ushering Carrie through the next door. Joey was a friendly guy but you shouldn’t get too close to him. He had a way of dragging you into his sick games, making you wish you hadn’t ever met the guy. He was a serial killer of the worst sort - a charming one - though it seemed like he was getting out of practice.
We descended to the second level and it only took a moment for the light to scan my hand and unlock the door.
This level was much different than the first. Everything was painted white and squeaky clean. Harsh lights bathed the large room in white, with one magical barrier between us and the rooms beyond. Only two guards were stationed at the front desk, with the magical barrier to their back, which meant the wolf was the only prisoner here.
This level was for interrogations, and only temporary spaces until the prisoners were secured in unknown locations around the country. Interrogators often used magical means to get answers, so torture was unnecessary. Most of the time, anyway. This time, bringing her through the hallway wouldn’t be so terrible. The rooms were completely sealed, with closed doors the only access to them. Passing through the magical barrier, Ethan, one of the guards, stood up. “Hey, Tallon.”
I gave him a wave; I didn’t recognize the other guard. He was brown haired and had a long scar along his jaw.
“Ben just texted me. You can go on ahead back.” Ethan said.
The other guard gave him a sharp look. “He’s going to see the wolf?”
Ethan nodded, sitting back down to focus on his computer. “Yeah, he’s going to ask him a couple of questions.”
“I thought the wolf was recuperating?”
Ethan shrugged. “Maybe they can get something out of him.”
“With her?” The other guard flexed his jaw. “Another wolf?”
“Is there a problem here?” I stepped forward. There was one thing having opinions about wolves, heavens knew we all had them. But it shouldn’t get the in the way of being a professional.
