I hadn’t been able to see the liquid they were injecting, but I’d made it a point, as Alpha, to know what it felt like to be under the influence of all kinds of different drugs. I needed to know, so I could recognize the signs, in preparation for something like this. From the sluggish way my mind was working and my inability to hold on to my connection with Darcy, there was no doubt that Wolfsbane was what they’d used. My body was burning through it as quickly as it could, but it wouldn’t help me escape my chains.
For the time being, I was stuck here, alone, in the small room.
“Hello?” I called out, hoping someone would hear me. With my eyes now open, I was surprised to see I was in a dungeon-like area. Everything was made of grey concrete, bars blocking the small window that allowed in a small amount of filtered light. I was in a basement, my voice echoing off the walls.
No one answered.
“I’m awake. You might as well come in and tell me your demands.” Just beyond the reach of my senses, something tingled, signaling I wasn’t as alone as I’d thought. Someone was here, listening, waiting. For what? I didn’t know and I didn’t care. “Or, you can let me go and we can forget this ever happened.” I added.
What I didn’t say out loud was there would be no way this would go ignored—by me, my Pack, or the powerful friends I had. Any chance my captors had of receiving leniency evaporated the moment they made the decision to capture me. Their punishment was an inevitability, whether they surrendered now or later.
This kind of terrorism was viewed with zero tolerance. The seeming willingness to negotiate was merely a front, a way for me to know what I was facing—who I was dealing with. To act any other way would throw my authority into question.
The presence I felt was still there, hovering as if they weren’t quite sure how to respond. “How about you ask the Master to join me. I’m assuming this was his plan.” The timing was too close to Darcy’s possession for this not to be a coincidence.
A key jangled in the lock moments before the door swung open. Two people entered—a young man I instantly recognized as a young member of Amber’s old Pack, and Helena, a cruel, gloating smile all but dripping from her lips.
“Ahhh, why am I not surprised?” I uttered, my gaze never leaving hers as she towered over me. It sickened me to know I’d trusted her so completely, with not just important information, but especially the well being of my mate. I hadn’t questioned her loyalty, taking the new friendship on faith because Vivien had shared how close they were. It was a mistake I regretted deeply.
“It’s good to see you again, Mason. I trust you’re feeling well?” Everything about her was fake—from the sugary sweet tone to her apparent hospitality.
“Just peachy. In fact, these straps and chains are a little tight. How about you loosen them for me? For old times’ sake?” My fingers twitched, muscles weakly flexing. I didn’t care about the other person standing in the room. Even if it killed me, I’d wrap my hands around her throat and squeeze. She was behind the plot to possess my wife. She was part of the suffering Darcy was going through.
“Where are my manners?” she simpered, turning to the young wolf and gesturing to my wrists. “Take care of our esteemed guest, will you?”
Eyeing him carefully, his name was on the tip of my tongue. “I know you.” He didn’t acknowledge my comment. Instead, he yanked hard on the restraints, tightening them further, making the silver bite deeper into my flesh.
“How’s that, Mr. O’Connor. Better? I’d hate for you to be uncomfortable before we’ve even had a chance to start. I’ve waited a long time for this.”
Finally a name surfaced. Dismissing Helena, my entire focus rested on who she was ordering. “Ross. Ross Green. I know your parents. Do they know where you are?” It was like I was talking to myself. His features remained blank and unaffected.
“I will ask that you stop trying to distract my helper,” Helena interrupted.
“Whatever she has over you, Ross, you don’t want to do this.”
That got his attention. “That’s where you’re wrong. I very much want to do this. Someone has to hold you accountable for how you treated Amber.” His cold stare bore into mine, his lip curling back slightly as he growled low. Gone was the young man I’d seen and in his place stood someone filled with anger, his teeth clenched together as the muscles along his jawline tensed. There would be no reaching Ross. Whatever Helena had in store, I couldn’t rely on receiving mercy from him.
“I think it’s sweet how you think he’ll save you from what’s to come. What were you expecting? That he’d help save the big, powerful Alpha? That you’d convince him to spare you?” Helena laughed and playfully slapped my cheek. “From the moment I met you, I knew you’d be a weak, sentimental fool. Thank you for proving me right.” Her last strike stung as she curved her fingers at the end and scraped them across my skin. I didn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing me flinch.
If she thought that my willingness to reach out to one of my kind was weakness, it would be me who would enjoy showing her the contrary. My sentiment extended to those I felt would benefit from my influence. From the way Ross stood straight, like a solider waiting for further orders from his commander, there was no way he’d respond to me. He was under her control, answerable to her.
By the time this was over, the only consolation I would be able to give his parents would be that I tried to reach out to him.
Helena leaned to the side and whispered something softly into his ear. With one last hateful glare, Ross retreated from the room, leaving me alone with the betraying witch.
“So, you’re the Master?” I asked, wanting to see how chatty she could be.
“Me? No. I’m just the one he trusts enough to prepare the way. Like John the Baptist was for Jesus. Once all my arrangements have been fulfilled, he’ll come and the world will fall on their knees.”
“That will never happen,” I fired back.
“Then it will burn; and from the ashes, he’ll build his empire.” It was sickening to hear the almost reverent way she spoke of him, her eyes glazing over as if she was imagining what life would be like once he’d carried out his threats. I’d seen this kind of reaction before—people sucked into the grandeur and false promises of the power-hungry. It never ended well for anyone, especially those who’d broken faith with friends and family to follow the rebel.
“Like I said, that won’t happen. I don’t care who this Master is, he won’t find us so willing to bow to him.”
It was as if I was a child and had said something naive. “We’ll see,” Helena replied patronizingly, the room plunging back into silence.
I didn’t push the conversation. I knew enough to relay to Darcy what was happening, hopefully giving her enough information that my stay here would be over shortly. My reach for her was tentative, careful not to grab the link too quickly and drop it. The drugs in my system made it fragile and it was imperative I not shatter it.
Sweetheart? I whispered inwardly.
There seemed to be a kind of static along the pathway—a fogginess that shouldn’t be there. The Wolfsbane was still mixed in my bloodstream, but this was something else. It was almost as if . . .
Mason? Her voice seemed so far away.
I don’t know how much time I have. Are you okay? My grip on our conversation was wearing thin as a wave of exhaustion hit me.
Something murmured in my mind, her response, and I concentrated harder, coaxing the connection between us to clear.
I didn’t catch that, sweetheart. Say it again.
It had to be the drugs, and if my hunch was correct, she was feeling it, as well. It was the only explanation for why her voice seemed so faint. Any other time it was like a clear bell ringing in my head.
“As much as I’d love to let two lovebirds talk, I can’t have you spoiling my reward, Mason. I need to keep both you and your wolf subdued,” Helena spoke up, a stern look on her face. Reaching into her sweater pocket, she pulled out a syringe filled wi
th the mixture, and without hesitation or further comment, jabbed it into the side of my neck. I could feel the liquid draining into my body, the brutal hit the drug gave me as it clouded my vision and began darkening my world.
I tried to speak, but my words came out in a long, drawn out slur.
“Damn it. I gave you too much. I never was good at torture. Lucky I have someone who is willing to learn.” Helena struck me, her heavy-handed slap causing my head to loll to the side. “Sleep while you can. Enjoy the peace while it lasts because believe me, when we’re finished, the only thing echoing in that stupid head of yours will be your pitiful screams for death.”
Flexing against my restraints, there was no fighting the drug’s influence.
There was no keeping myself from going under.
****
“Come now, wakey wakey. You don’t want to sleep through all the fun!” The feeling of hot breath against my ear pulled me from my drugged stupor, the cloying perfume Helena wore making me nauseous the moment I inhaled. I was still chained to the stone table, unable to move an inch. My dream of Darcy—of making love to her—was just that. A cruel dream.
“Ahhh, there we are, Mason. So nice of you to rejoin us.”
Opening my eyes, my gaze instantly fell on Ross who stood stone-faced beside a wheeled tray. It was even with the edge of the slab I was chained to, so I could see what it held.
Knives of every size were arranged in a row, along with sharp tongs and something else I didn’t recognize. Beyond the sickening scent of Helena, something burned hot. I sniffed the air, but it wasn’t necessary. Ross, seeing my interest, stepped aside, revealing a steel bucket of whitened coals with metal pokers sticking out from the top. There was no mistaking the excited fervor gleaming in his eyes. The young man I’d known before, the one who would race to greet me whenever I visited Amber, was gone. Something had happened to this wolf, something dark, something had twisted his youth and innocence into a man who looked like he was about to enjoy himself.
He glanced at Helena who replied by nodding. As a cruel smile crossed his lips, Ross picked up the first knife he touched. Without taking a moment to measure its weight in his hand, he slashed across my chest, slicing the front of my shirt and scraping the skin beneath. My body barely moved as I gritted my teeth from the contact with silver.
“I think it’s best we remove that, don’t you agree?” Helena asked, pointing down at my torn clothing. It was clear Ross would do anything she asked. With two quick rips, he wrenched the rest of my shirt from me, the action uncomfortable as it jerked at my confined body.
“Much better.” Helena smirked, handing him a leather strip with buckles. “Now, secure his head. I don’t want him hiding his pretty face where I can’t see his pain.”
My focus split as my gaze bounced between them both. Ross didn’t speak another word, silently obeying his orders, strapping my head into place where all I could do was move my eyes. Peering over me now, Helena’s face swam in my vision.
“Are we ready?”
“I don’t know what you’re hoping to prove with this. We know you work for the Master and we know what you’ve been planning. Darcy informed us of everything, so you’ve lost your element of surprise. Torturing me won’t get you anything,” I answered.
“Who said this was meant to give us anything but the pleasure of seeing you reduced to nothing? Here you lay, the powerful Alpha of the Mystic Wolves, respected leader in the community, and I have you completely under my control. Yes, the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, but who’s to say you’re the target for today’s attack?”
“You failed with my wife, so now you’re needing another way to seize power. You can slice all you want, but you’ll never get it from me. All you’ll get is frustration because you’ll never break me.”
My words did nothing more than make her laugh. “You think we need you? You are merely my reward for loyalty and Ross’s play toy. The Master doesn’t need your pathetic authority or connections. The one he wants is much more worthy of his attention.”
“I know he wanted my wife,” I growled.
Helena glanced over at Ross and nodded once more. “And now he has her.” Her words were perfectly timed with the cutting edge of the blade as it sliced across my chest. My body bucked off the table as I felt blood flow from the deep gash and over my sides.
Control yourself, I demanded myself, refusing to let either of them see my vulnerability.
“You lie.”
Two more long slashes accompanied her words. “I have no need to lie, Mason. I hold all the winning cards. When my Master possesses Darcy’s body and controls the power her dual natures grant her, he’ll be one step closer to being invincible. Harness the magic of the vortex? He’ll become unstoppable.”
“So that’s your plan?” I had to punch each word out, determined not to scream as Ross continued using his knives against my flesh. The coppery scent of blood all but clogged the air and made me gag.
“It’s only the beginning. Now scream for me. My young friend here is designing a beautiful crisscross pattern over your chest. I know it hurts. Show me how much.”
Glaring at her, I grit my teeth, refusing to part my lips despite the flaring agony bursting through me. They might have succeeded in keeping me hostage, torturing me at will, but damned if I was going to give them the satisfaction of breaking me.
Frustration flooded Helena’s face, revealing her impatience. For all her smug, sarcastic taunting, it bothered her that I wasn’t bowing to her wishes. Grabbing one of the silver blades, she held it to my throat, pressing down firmly as she lowered her head closer to mine. “You are nothing, Mason. You’ve already lost. Let it go and give in to the pain. I promise you, it will be nothing compared to the agony of seeing your wife and knowing she’s dead, and that your worst nightmare is walking around inside her.” The maniacal spark I’d seen earlier had returned to her eyes.
“Cut my throat, it won’t change the fact that he’ll never possess her.” Somehow I managed to smile up at her. “We stopped it from ever happening again, you bitch. Factor that into your plans.”
Blood trickled from the cut she was making as Helena pressed even harder. “Impossible. Vivien isn’t strong enough for that kind of magic. It requires a darker kind of energy than she’s comfortable using.” Looking away from me, she growled at Ross to continue with his slicing.
Dragging in a ragged breath, I exhaled through clenched teeth. “Then you underestimated her. You underestimated us all. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do to protect someone we love. Masquerading as our friend should’ve shown you that.”
Once Amber had been destroyed, and before releasing Elynor back to the other side, Vivien had asked her dear friend to also help with a spell to keep Darcy safe from ever being possessed, closing her body to any future attacks. It had required darker magic, something that placed me forever in her debt because I knew how keenly Vivien had fought against ever using it. Elynor had argued, insisting she take on the consequences for conjuring up the power needed, but Vivien had stubbornly refused.
Vivien might not have been blood related to Darcy, but she’d taken on her own form of oath when she’d agreed to help Devlin all those years ago. To her, my wife had become the daughter she’d never had—family in every sense of the word. If there was ever a reason to taint her magic, Vivien declared this would be worth it.
For the rest of my life, I would never forget the sacrifice she made. Her dedication to my mate humbled me.
“Then we no longer have use for your wife. Her death will be something else I enjoy,” Helena murmured, moving the blade from my throat as she traced a path over my jaw to my cheek. “Maybe I should bring her in here, let her watch as I carve up her handsome husband. I wonder if she’ll love you after I’m done.” The tip of the knife pierced my tender skin.
Her threat caught my attention as anger lit a fuse within me. “Shut your lying mouth, witch. She’s far from here, guarded by her Pack and uncle.”
“Or is she lying in a drugged stupor in the dungeon next to you?” In an exaggerated, slow move, Helena opened up the side of my face with a deep cut.
I didn’t care what she did. I didn’t care what Ross was doing. All that mattered was knowing Darcy was safe and far, far, away from here.
“I won’t let you mess with my head,” I snarled as a drop of blood flowed into my mouth.
“How about you check that connection of yours? I know you have one.” Pulling back the knife, its surface was stained red. “Oh wait, I’m guessing it’s not as reliable with the drugs in your system.”
I wanted to slap the smirk from her mouth. I wanted to hand over control to my wolf and shift, tearing apart everyone in this room that tried to stop me from seeing whether she was right. The Wolfsbane was still working a number on my wolf, his spirit struggling to surge forward and protect us, but he was just as weak.
Unfortunately, the only weapon left was my words. Unless something miraculous happened, there was nothing we could do. Being this helpless infuriated me—going against everything in me.
“I’m going to kill you when I get free,” I threatened, my energy lagging, again, from blood loss.
It was as if it fell on deaf ears. “Ross, I’m disappointed we haven’t heard our guest scream, yet. If he has the strength to talk, we haven’t hurt him enough.”
“I agree,” he replied.
“Then let’s see how the Mystic Wolves Alpha responds to your next party trick.” Helena bent forward and whispered softly. “This part’s my favorite.”
My skin sizzled as Ross drove a flaming hot power into my side, the air instantly filling with the scent of burnt flesh. Sweat dripped down the side of my head. With my eyes screwed shut, I screamed inwardly as the searing pain continued with a second power, this time above my hip.
Darkness Unleashed Page 14
