Finding My Breaking Point

by C. C. Masters

  “What’s the code you’re supposed to respond with if you get the message and are on your way?” I asked him.

  Alex frowned. “There isn’t one. I’m supposed to get rid of the phone so that no one can track it and then meet him there. He would have disposed of his phone the second he sent that message.”

  Mason and I made eye contact in the rear-view mirror and he nodded. “Looks like we’re making a trip to the train station.”

  “Do you know what your dad’s been up to lately?” I asked Alex casually as Mason got back on the highway.

  Alex frowned. “He’s been acting kind of weird, but he hasn’t said anything. I just thought he was going through his mid-life crisis because I started college.”

  Mason snorted and I rolled my eyes. “Not quite. Your dad went to the council and made some serious allegations against Anna that caused her to get locked up. I’m sure you can see why Mace and I aren’t our usual happy selves.”

  Alex stared at me with his mouth slightly open. “He wouldn’t…he likes Anna. He said she was one of the best things that has ever happened to the pack.”

  “Well, kid, looks like he changed his mind at some point. When did he start acting weird?”

  I continued to question Alex as Mason drove, but he really knew nothing about what was going on. It looked like Tony had kept him completely in the dark. Mason slowed as we approached the train station and I looked at Alex. “What’s the protocol now?”

  “Um…” Alex stuttered. It looks like we had the poor kid completely terrified. Tony had always spoiled Alex, and the rest of the pack took it easy on him because he was half-human and unable to shift. “I guess I look for my dad?”

  Mace and I exchanged a glance and after a silent conversation, he addressed Alex. “I’m going to call Caleb and make sure he has eyes on the place. Once he does, I’m going to drop you a couple blocks from the station and let you go in alone.”

  “You have a choice right now,” I told Alex seriously. “You could go to your dad and tell him to run, but we’ll catch him.” I met his eyes to convey the importance of my message. “Your second option is to meet with your father and convince him to come with us. He did something wrong, but we’re going to give him the chance to make it right.”

  “We know you have loyalty to your dad,” Mason added. “My brother and I can understand that. Family comes before everything else. But there’s a difference between sticking with your family and helping them to commit a crime.”

  Alex nodded, but I could see the indecision in his face. “What did he say? About Anna?”

  “He told the council that she’s responsible for the murder of his pack mates,” Mason said angrily.

  “Do you think Anna’s a killer?” I asked Alex more gently.

  Alex shook his head no. “There has to be some kind of a mistake.”

  I nodded in encouragement. “That’s what we think. Your dad wouldn’t turn on the pack unless he was threatened, and running away won’t help him. He needs to stick with us and make things right if he wants to have a safe future.”

  Alex let out a breath. “But you aren’t going to hurt him?”

  “No,” I answered before Mason could say something threatening. “We just need to talk to him and figure out what’s really going on so that we can save him and Anna.”

  “Okay,” Alex said with a nod. “Tell me what I need to do.”

  My phone buzzed and I glanced down to see a text from James.

  Asshole: Anna’s missing. Don’t take it easy on the fucker.

  That text caused me to see red and I immediately called his phone.

  “You have him already?” James answered with an almost imperceptible hint of surprise in his voice.

  “What do you mean, Anna’s missing?” I growled at him. “I thought the council fuckheads had locked her up?”

  “They tried,” James said grimly. “Cody reported that by the time he and Austin took a break from arguing with the council to check on Anna, they found her cell empty.”

  “Anna wouldn’t just leave,” Mason said in confusion. “She’s too good for that.”

  “Justin disappeared around the same time,” James said quietly.

  My brother and I both shouted out curses at the same time.

  “Stay on task,” James said sharply. “Caleb’s pulling video footage from the entire area, but it’s going to take time to go through. Tony might have a lead that will allow us to beat the council’s enforcers to wherever Anna is being held.”

  “We’re on it,” Mason said as he gripped the steering wheel.

  “One more thing,” James said before he paused with hesitation. “The council believes Anna escaped and declared her guilty of all her accused crimes.”

  “That’s bullshit!” I shouted.

  “We know that,” James agreed. “We just need the evidence to show them how wrong they are. Tony could be the key to that.”

  I exchanged a look with my brother. It wasn’t just Anna’s reputation on the line now, it was her life. And we would do whatever it took to get her back, safe and unharmed. It looked like neither Mace or I were going to be able to play good cop today.

  Chapter 20

  Mason

  I pulled my baseball cap a little lower and circled around the back of the train station. As much as I might try to stay incognito, people tended to notice me and my brother wherever we went. Alex had followed our instructions perfectly and he and his father were now standing in the back of the building away from the trains and out of sight of the parking lot. Caleb was monitoring this on the security feeds and would clean the footage once we were done. James was on his way here, but I was hoping he would miss the action.

  Unfortunately, I didn’t have the skill necessary to cloak my presence like James did, so Tony felt me coming before he saw me. His body stiffened and I could see the fight or flight reactions warring inside of him. What’s it going to be, Tony? I thought to myself. Run like a coward or stand up for what you believe in?

  I was still around fifty feet away, but tapped into my stronger senses so I wouldn’t miss a word of what was said. When Tony made his decision to run I saw his shoulders slump before he turned to Alex. “They won’t hurt you,” Tony mumbled to Alex. “You have no idea what I’ve done and they’re good men.”

  Tony turned on his heel to run, and I relished the challenge. I sprinted towards him, knowing I was fast enough to take him down. I caught him in a flying tackle just as Jason came around the other side of the building and ran towards us. Blood dripped from where Tony’s face had hit the concrete, and his hands were scraped raw from trying to brace his fall. But having a two-hundred-pound man slam into you at full speed took a toll.

  “Where’s Anna?” I shouted at him. Jason cracked his knuckles as he stood above us and I knew he was just waiting for an excuse to let out some of his anger.

  Tony shook his head. “She’s missing?”

  I stared into Tony’s bloodshot eyes for a moment, looking for any signs of duplicity. I saw shame and regret, but I didn’t sense that he was lying. “Justin didn’t tell you his plan for kidnapping Anna once the council threw her in prison?”

  Tony shook his head in the negative with wide eyes. “Shit, I didn’t think he would pull something like that.”

  “Having the council execute her would have been okay, but Justin kidnapping her is over the line?” Jason bit out.

  Tony flushed. “No,” he mumbled. “I thought Austin would be arguing with the council long enough to give me time to escape, but I never thought Anna would actually get hurt.”

  I looked at the most pitiful excuse for a wolf I’d ever seen and wondered how I could have ever considered this man to be worthy of our pack. He was despicable.

  I yanked Tony up by his arm as Jason grabbed his other arm. Both of us were spoiling for a fight, but Tony wasn’t going to give it to us. His head drooped down, and he looked utterly defeated. “Why’d you do it?” I growled. “Austin has taken care o
f you and Alex since the moment you stepped foot into Seaside, and Anna has been nothing but kind to both of you.”

  “I know,” Tony whispered as he looked up at me with desperate eyes. “Give me a chance to explain, but I swear that Alex had no part in any of this.”

  I pushed him in front of me with disgust. “Not here, we need privacy for this discussion.”

  Alex looked at his father in disappointment when we dragged Tony back to the car, and I could tell that look hurt Tony more than a fist in the face or a knife in the gut would have. I tossed Jason the keys and let Alex have the front so that Tony and I could have a serious discussion in the back.

  “Text James and let him know we’re on the way back,” I told my brother before I turned to Tony. “I suggest you tell us everything because, believe me, you don’t want James to be the one asking questions.”

  Tony paled and shook his head. “Justin told me he had a cure for Alex,” he said quickly. “Justin said he just wanted help to keep an eye on his little brother, I had no idea that things would go so far.”

  I could see the tears in Tony’s eyes, and I knew he was being truthful.

  “A cure for what?” Jason asked. “Do you have cancer or something, Alex?”

  Alex lowered his eyes in embarrassment. “He’s talking about how I’m defective because I can’t shift.”

  Jase and I both stared at Tony in disbelief. “That’s not something that you can cure. You’re either a wolf or you’re not,” Jason told him as if he were a complete moron.

  My eyes widened in surprise and then disgust. “Is that why the magic was drained from our wolves? You thought that you could pull the ability away from one of us and give it to your son?”

  Tony shook his head adamantly. “No, I would have never gone through with that.”

  “So you had nothing to do with their deaths, dad?” Alex asked hopefully.

  Tony stared down at the floor and a single tear fell from his eye. “I had no idea that’s what he was planning,” he said softly. “It all happened so fast.”

  “Why not come to us?” I asked angrily. “After Blendel’s death, why not tell us everything and ask for help?”

  Tony swallowed. “I was afraid. Things had already gone too far, and I knew I could never be forgiven for my part in what happened.”

  “So, you decided that continuing to murder people was the better option?” Alex asked in frustration. “Dad, that’s fucked up.”

  “I was already going down, I thought I could get something good out of it. Something for you,” Tony said, desperately begging his son to forgive him.

  “I would never accept something like that,” Alex said angrily. “I’d rather die than kill someone else. I fucking hate you.”

  Jason put his hand on Alex’s arm, and he turned to face the front, ignoring his father softly sobbing next to me. Jason started the Jeep and my phone pinged with a text from James. He wanted us to bring Tony back to the bunker, not to the pack house. Austin was going to need to get involved if he wanted Tony to stay alive.

  As of right now, I imagined Austin and Cody were both still dealing with the fallout from the council and looking for clues as to where Anna had been taken. But until Caleb or one of the other guys found a solid lead, Tony was our best source of information. Jase and I might be okay with taking the gentle approach to questioning as long as Tony told us anything and everything we wanted to know, but James wouldn’t. I texted Trevor to get his location and ask him to meet us at the bunker. James respected Trevor as an equal and Jason and I might need backup if we had to stop James from going too far off the edge. Anna was going to need all of us to be in top form, and we couldn’t risk James going to the dark side.

  Chapter 21

  Anna

  I yelped in pain as one of Justin’s cronies tried to bend my arm the wrong way to get my hand through the sleeve of an oversized parka. “Just let me do it,” I said irritably. “Letting go of my arm for three seconds isn’t going to let me get away. Plus, we’re in the middle of nowhere so if I run out the door I’ll just freeze to death.”

  “She’s right, Harlen,” Justin said from behind me. “Unlock the cuffs and let her dress herself.”

  Harlen gave an irritated sigh but did as Justin had asked. Once I was freed from the heavy shackles, I rubbed my sore wrists as Justin watched with a strange look in his eyes. Harlen threw the parka and snow pants in my direction and I hurriedly pulled them on. They were too large and obviously made for a male wolf, but I didn’t mind since that meant I could pull them on over the clothes I was already wearing. I was already at Justin’s mercy here, stripping down in front of him would have made me even more vulnerable, and the thought of his eyes roaming over my bare flesh made me nauseous.

  I had to put on three pairs of socks in order to make my feet fit into the oversized snow boots that I was provided with, but that would probably be to my advantage. Without my magic I was just as vulnerable to the elements as anyone else. I wouldn’t be able to use a barrier to keep me warm and I wouldn’t be able to shift to use my wolf form to survive.

  Justin had covered his entire face and put on a pair of goggles to protect his eyes, but I touched the cold metal at my neck. “Any way you could take this off?” I asked sweetly. “It might freeze to my neck out there.”

  Justin frowned. “It should be the same temperature as your skin or warmer as it absorbs your magic.” He reached a hand towards me and I flinched. “No need to worry yet,” he said with a laugh. “I still need you for what’s yet to come.”

  “And what is that?” I asked with genuine curiosity as he touched the ring around my throat and then withdrew.

  “You’re going to help me usher in a new world,” he said confidently.

  “What’s in it for me?” I asked boldly, my heart pounding. Justin didn’t know me at all, and the females that he did know were vain and selfish. I was betting I could convince him that he could bribe me into switching sides. All I needed was him to remove this collar, and I could take him down.

  A slow smile spread across Justin’s face. “From the way that you flinch at my touch, I’m guessing that a place at my side wouldn’t tempt you?”

  “After you had me chained and collared like an animal?” I said haughtily. “That’s not the way to treat a female.”

  Justin looked amused. “I’ve let you out of the shackles for now, prove you can earn my trust and we’ll talk again about the collar.”

  I glared at him, but he just laughed and walked away to shout orders at his men. I continued to dress as warmly as I could as I frantically tried to figure out how best to ‘earn’ Justin’s trust. He was arrogant, selfish, and greedy. What type of female would inspire him to trust her? I chewed on my lower lip. I didn’t need him to trust me as much as I needed him to think that he was manipulating me. That would appeal to his ego and hopefully he would be arrogant enough to let down his guard.

  Over the next few hours, I didn’t have any opportunity to even speak. I was loaded onto the back of a snowmobile and ordered to hang on tight. I clumsily did as ordered, but it wasn’t easy with the oversized gloves. I pressed my face against Harlen’s back to partially shield me from the freezing cold wind and the airborne snow. This was colder than the coldest day that I had ever experienced when I lived in Buffalo, and I lamented the loss of my magic. I spent the time desperately trying to access the tiniest bit of it, but I found that the more I tried, the warmer the collar around my neck grew. Exhaustion set in and soon it was all I could do to stay on the back of the snowmobile.

  We slowed and came to a stop in front of the mouth of a cave that was mostly hidden by ice, but Justin didn’t hesitate when he ordered two of his guys to attack it with ice axes. Despite my layers of clothing, I still felt the mind-numbing cold seeping into my body. I clumsily tried to keep moving while we waited for the guys to create an opening large enough for us to squeeze through. True to Justin’s word, the collar around my neck hadn’t frozen as I worried it would,
but it had stayed only slightly cooler than my body temperature.

  I knew Justin had told me it was impossible for me to access my magic while wearing the iron collar, but I wasn’t ready to give up just yet. I had somehow reached my mother in the dream world, so maybe there was a way out of this for me. I focused all of my energy, which wasn’t much, to try and create a fissure in the stone using my non-existent magic. Because magic was mostly intent, I tried to visualize the stone weakening and crumbling off of me. The stone warmed slightly, but I couldn’t feel any other changes.

  Shouts of two of Justin’s guys caught my attention and I saw one of them disappear inside of the cave. Harlen gave me a push towards them when Justin decided it was safe for the rest of us to go inside. I struggled with the coordination necessary to get through the opening, so Harlen had to push me through. Once inside, I immediately appreciated the lack of cold wind. I shuffled deeper inside the pitch-black cavern as the guys pulled lanterns out of their packs.

  “Stay close,” Harlen said gruffly. “I don’t want to hear shit about you disappearing.”

  I didn’t respond to him, but I did make an effort to stay in the small pool of light that we had created. The ground was rough and difficult to navigate while bundled up like a marshmallow, so my steps were more like shuffles.

  It was almost imperceptible at first, but after an hour I noticed that the temperature was rising as we descended down the sloped path of the cave. I flexed my fingers with relief as some of the the pain due to the cold receded from my body. I again wondered about the ability of the collar to block all of my magic, did that include my quick healing?

  After what seemed like an eternity, Justin called a halt to the expedition and I tentatively loosened the hood cinched around my face. When bitter cold air didn’t rush in, I slowly pushed it back. It was still cold in the cave, but nothing like the arctic temperatures outside. Just how deep were we?