Redeem Me (Crimson Pack Trilogy Book 2)

by A Lonergan

  Chapter 43

  Jade

  When I had thought Damian had gotten worse, I had no idea just how much. Or maybe he hadn’t gotten worse at all. Maybe this was who he had been hiding.

  I lifted my chin and stared him down. If he was going to kill me, then I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. I wasn’t going to let him take my dignity too. He had already taken so much from me. “What did I do now?”

  He didn’t acknowledge me. Instead, he whispered like a madman to himself. I could hardly distinguish what he was saying until I heard, “They will come for her next. They got the kids out. This is their next stop. I can’t let them take her.”

  My heart leapt into my throat. Had Micah managed to help my pack get the kids out? While he was focused on his muttering. I took a look at my surroundings. The barred door was wide open. He dragged his fingers through his hair and made it stand up. I took a deep breath before I took off running. If the kids had made it out then I didn’t need to worry about the witches. We could get out. They could band together. All I needed to do was tell them. But as soon as my foot passed over the threshold, he had his hand wrapped around my hair. My entire body jerked backward as lightning lit up the back of my skull.

  Pain blossomed in my tailbone as it connected with the damp brick flooring. I wheezed as he yanked harder on my hair. I had no doubts that he had taken chunks of it out of the back of my head. I scrambled backwards on the cobblestones but it was no use. He only continued to pull harder.

  “If you thought you could escape, the jokes are on you.” His voice didn’t sound as crazed. It sounded almost clear. I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and tried to get some kind of relief but his grip was too firm.

  A cry escaped my lips as he threw me down onto the ground. Damian leaned over me and smiled. His eyes were clear and that’s what scared me the most.

  “What do you want from me?” Pride swelled within my chest at my steady voice. I honestly didn’t know how I managed it. My head ached and there was a warm trickle down the back of my neck that worried me.

  “What I have always wanted from you, I have wanted Rafe Crimson but you have yet to deliver him to me.” He tilted his head before he smiled. “Except I don’t want him anymore. I want you. I have wanted you since I wrapped my fingers around your neck. I had thought I wanted to take you so Rafe would come to me. But now I want what’s his. I will not let him come in here and get you.”

  “I belong to no man,” I snarled.

  “I will break you of that, like I broke all the others. Do you smell their blood down here? Can you hear the phantom echoes of their screams?”

  I sat up straighter on the floor. “You will have to kill me. Do you understand me? You will never own me. You will never have any piece of me. Not now, not ever.”

  Pain bloomed on the side of my face and darkness kissed my eyes.

  When I came to, there was a small fluorescent bulb hanging above me. There wasn’t anyone in the room and I was spread out on a metal table. Every single horror movie I had seen growing up didn’t make this situation any better. I squeezed my eyes closed as I tried to think of anything that would help me get out. Horror movies had been my jam growing up. There had to have been something in them that would have prepared me to escape from this moment. But the longer I thought about it, the more I started to panic.

  Leather restraints kept my wrists pinned to the table on either side of me. Thankfully I was still wearing the nightgown but it didn’t cover much. My legs were also strapped down to the table and from what I could see, my feet were raw.

  The back of my head still ached but the front of my head ached worse. Why hadn’t I fought harder?

  “I’m glad you’re awake,” Damian said from the shadows of the doorway. “Now we can talk.”

  I yanked on the bindings but they were too secure. Even all of my training wasn’t enough to fight this. The wolfsbane definitely didn’t help. Why hadn’t I starved myself? Why had I been so compliant?

  “Many years ago, I was born of a wolf and a witch. Much like your friend Lucas. My mother was killed in a war that my father started. He was foolish and didn’t care about what would happen to those in his pack. After the war, he found his true mate. The one that his soul called to. My mother was forgotten and in turn, so was I. He sent me to live with witches. Living with wolves wasn’t good for a son that never got one. I was a disgrace to him. After all, his firstborn would eventually take up the mantle of Alpha. But I couldn’t do that. After I went to live with the witches, he never spoke to me again. I wrote him letters weekly. Sometimes daily. All I wanted was my father’s approval. The letters were all returned. I thought it was because I was a witch. I began experimenting on myself. But it didn’t matter, a wolf never chose me. A wolf chose every single witch and mortal I put it in, but never me.”

  “And that’s why you’re doing this?” I coughed.

  Damian took a step farther into the room. “No, I do this because I want revenge for everything I ever wanted and will never get. But I’ll have to break you first. I’ll have to rip your wolf from you and then mate her to me.”

  Horror clouded my vision. No.

  He took a step closer to me and ran the tip of a blade down my arm. Blood immediately bubbled up from the wound. I couldn’t feel the pain as I fought the restraints. All that mattered was getting out. I would feel it later, but now, it didn’t matter.

  There was a slight stinging pain as he did the same to the other arm. I watched with rage as the blood spilled from my arms. He was still shirtless with his scars on display.

  “What happened to you?” Maybe I could stall.

  He stopped with the knife and looked down at himself. “This is what it takes to merge with a wolf that doesn’t want you. Over fifteen different venoms from different packs. This is what I was left with. I was shredded from the inside out as the wolves wouldn’t choose me. Do you know how painful that is?”

  I could imagine. My first transformation hadn’t been sunshine and daisies.

  His pupils widened as he twirled the knife between his fingers. “Do you think I can cut your wolf out?”

  He ran the knife up my thigh. This time and instead of fighting him, I rolled my head to the side and threw up again. It splattered his chest with a sickening sound as he tried to leap away from it. But he couldn’t escape how sick he made me feel.

  His retaliation was quick as his hand shot out and darkness took me over once again.

  Chapter 44

  Rafe

  Ford was helping me put down flooring in the master bathroom when I got the call. I hated cellphones and their insistent ringing but I had to keep one for appearances and sometimes if the pack couldn’t get in touch through our link.

  “Yes?” My shoulder kept the phone up against my ear as I helped guide my brother with the tiles.

  “She’s gone,” Micah’s voice was flat.

  “Who?” I frowned as I stood up to walk away from my brother.

  “Jade. Someone got a text to me a few minutes ago.”

  “Can we trust it?” I didn’t want to trust it but there was a feeling in my gut that I never ignored. The feeling was telling me that she was gone. But I didn’t want to accept it. If I did, that meant I was back at the drawing board.

  “I’m not sure, but we will need to go in regardless. We have to at least notify them that the children are safe.”

  I ran my hand down the back of my neck. “Do you think they’ll believe us?”

  “I don’t know,” he sighed.

  “We’re going to figure it out, it just changes things slightly. We will do a recon and find her.” I hope.

  Ford’s eyes were sad as he looked up from the tiles. “She’s going to be okay?”

  I shrugged as I hung up. “I don’t know, but I will bring her back here. I promised everyone that and I promise you that now. I will do whatever it takes.”

  Ford set his jaw. “Show them no mercy.”

  Chapter 45


  Jade

  The pain in my limbs was overwhelming. Shifting to and from my wolf the first few times wasn’t this bad. The scent of copper was heavy in the air. I knew it was because he had been carving me up while I had been unconscious. I could feel the blood caked over my skin.

  I didn’t understand the man. Didn’t someone torture someone because they wanted them to react? All this time, I hadn’t been able to. Was he waiting to see how I would take what he had done to me? Curiosity got the best of me as I promised myself I wouldn’t react to what he had done. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. I knew he was watching me from the shadows, waiting to see how I would scream or cry. But truth be told, all I wanted to do was throw up on him again. The pain in my head had been worth that.

  Right in the middle of my stomach was a massive D carved into the creamy skin. Except now, it wasn’t creamy or even white. It was bright red with my blood. It looked like the wound was still bleeding and I wondered if I would die here. If I would bleed out. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I didn’t bother with looking at the rest of the damage he had done. He had marked me and that was the worst he could do.

  Right on cue, he stepped from the darkness. “No stitches on hand, but I have something just as effective.”

  He held up a longer thicker blade than the others. After a few seconds, it started to glow. Whether it was from all the trauma to my head or all the blood loss, it had taken me entirely too long to grasp that he was heating the metal with his magic. He leaned forward with a grin before he pressed the hot metal to my flesh. My back shot off the table as I bucked through the pain. A scream tore through my lips as the fiery heat only got worse on my middle. My chest heaved as saliva spilled from my lips and tears tumbled down my cheeks.

  What felt like hours later, he pulled the smoking blade from my stomach and smiled. “That wasn’t too bad, was it?”

  My mouth had pooled with saliva, as well as rolling down my neck. I leaned to the side as much as I could with my stomach screaming in protest as I spat what was left in my mouth at the man. His nostrils flared as he took a step back. My throat ached as I laid my head back down on the table and waited for him to hit me again. I hoped this time it killed me. Except the blow never came. He didn’t bother with wiping the spit from his face either. He merely disappeared while I came to terms with my new branding.

  Rafe

  My chest heaved as I shot up in bed and ripped my shirt from my back. I was sleeping in Jade’s cottage. It was the only place that was complete enough for me. I felt odd sleeping in her bed that she hadn’t even seen yet but I had nowhere else to go.

  I rubbed the sensitive skin on my belly before I leaned over to turn the bedside table on. Right there in the middle of my stomach was a fading D. It looked like someone had scratched into my skin, but it was fading too quickly.

  Thankfully I kept the stupid cellphone close by. I took a picture of it just before it disappeared completely.

  Come to Jade’s cottage immediately.

  There was only one thing that could do this to me and I hoped I wasn’t right about it. The inside of my stomach still ached, even as the mark was gone. I didn’t bother with trying to pull a shirt back on, the pain was still too bad.

  Mav was the first one at the door. I held onto the frame to keep myself steady. Mav took one look at me before his hands transformed into claws and he crouched low in a defensive stance. I shook my head.

  “No, the threat isn’t here.”

  Knox, Archer, and Gabriel were next. They took one look at me before they did the same as Mav. Mav still hadn’t relaxed.

  I showed them the picture as I held my aching stomach. Knox’s eyes grew dark as his wolf rose to the surface. “What does this mean? Is magic involved?”

  “Yes and no,” Granny said from the doorway. “There is magic but it is ancient mate magic. You are feeling what Jade is going through. There aren’t many bonds strong enough that allow the other person to feel like this. You haven’t claimed her and you’re feeling this.” Granny shook her head. She was wearing a robe with rubber boots. She took a step inside then got comfortable on Jade’s couch. “Because you two haven’t claimed each other yet, this leaves me to believe that a powerful witch is involved.”

  “How did you know to be here?” Knox leaned forward as he narrowed his eyes.

  She swatted at him. “I could feel the magic going over the wards. The witch is using your mate bond to let you know that your mate is being tortured.”

  Rage like no other filled my mind. I stood up and my wolf rose to the surface. “I will tear the witch limb from limb.”

  Knox smacked my face. It only managed to get me out of the rage haze for a second. “We will get her, but you can’t go in there like this. You can’t go in there at all. Let us bring her home.”

  The rage faded to something else and before I knew it, I was choking back a sob. He had carved a D into her stomach. My guardians grouped around me as they each put their hands on my shoulders. They were offering me their strength, their loyalty, and their compassion. The anger and revenge that had been so prevalent before, slowed down to a simmer. My shoulders collapsed under the weight of my own emotions at war.

  Knox was the first to pull me into a hug. He patted my back affectionately before Archer came in for one. Before I knew it, I was in the biggest hug pile of my life.

  “We will fight this war beside you. We will bring your mate home. Trust us to bring justice to you and Jade.” I didn’t know who said it but I swore I felt a few tears escape my eyes before we all pulled away.

  Granny stood up from the couch. She tucked her hand inside of mine. “I will do my best to track the magic that is at work here, but I have no promises. I will do my best.”

  She kissed my cheek before she departed. My men were on her heels. Mav turned around at the last second. “Do you need me to stay?”

  My entire life emotions hadn’t been something I let many people see. My guardians had seen it all. They had seen my grief, rage, uncertainty, and lust. I couldn’t say that they had seen me love because I didn’t know what that felt like. But I knew they would see it eventually. I nodded my head. He grinned before he launched himself at the couch.

  The poor piece of furniture groaned before a loud crack split the room and the couch collapsed on the floor. I didn’t think it was possible but his bronze skin drained of all color.

  “Don’t tell Tracey,” he whispered.

  A laugh escaped my lips and it sounded so weird in the moment. My mate was going through unimaginable pain and I was able to laugh. It felt wrong. Guilt slammed into me as my face fell.

  Mav winced. “I’ll buy a new one.”

  Tracey would hold him to it too. I nodded my head and walked down the hall. The worst part of all of this wasn’t the pain I had felt. It was the pain knowing there was absolutely nothing I could do to protect my mate. The pain in knowing there was no way I could soothe her.

  Chapter 46

  Jade

  Magic coated my tongue when I woke up the next day, or what I imagined to be the next day. I didn’t have any windows or doors to tell me how much time had passed. My throat was thick as I tried to swallow. All of the screaming and crying I did had left me with an aching throat and a throbbing head. But those things didn’t ache anywhere near the amount that the rest of my body did. It felt like I had been burned alive. There wasn’t an inch of skin that didn’t throb. My wrists were probably some of the worst of the damage too, based on how much I had thrashed against the bindings. The leather was too hard and unforgiving for my skin.

  My stomach growled and I squeezed my eyes closed harder. Damian was anything but predictable but I knew that he wasn’t going to let me eat. I hated that I hadn’t been starving myself. I hated that I hadn’t been more careful. I should have seen all of this coming. He wasn’t going to leave me alone, he wasn’t going to leave me be. As I sunk back into the oblivion of my mind, I wondered if maybe it was better if I just died
down here.

  Chapter 47

  Rafe

  My anger was getting the best of me. A rumbled rattled the room as I slammed my hands down on the table. “I will not leave her there any longer! Do you understand me?”

  Micah winced at the octave of my voice and probably my Alpha order washing over the rest of the room. “Yes, but I don’t think this is the right time. If he has linked magic to draw you out, then we are playing right into his hands.”

  A sense of urgency slammed into my chest. I couldn’t control it anymore. My eyes closed on their own accord.

  Tracey rubbed my back for a moment before she spoke up. Ever since that night in the forest, she was different. She didn’t speak immediately but instead, observed the room. She wasn’t the bright, fun light we had all been used to either. Her enthusiasm was sucked away the night Jade was taken. The rest of her light was stolen when she was gifted her magic or it was awakened. We weren’t exactly sure what had happened that night in the woods.

  Granny assumed the magic was always inside of her but it laid dormant. It was the poison spells that had awakened the magic to protect her. Either way, she wasn’t the same girl she was before. A part of me was sad about it, but I knew she had an interesting journey ahead of her and that was why she hadn’t been my second yet. I didn’t push for it because I knew she needed time. She needed to discover herself, and now, her magic.

  “Rafe is right, regardless of his personal feelings clouding his judgment. We can’t allow her to go through unnecessary pain there. The children are free, we simply need to get in then get out. We can even tell the witches while we are there that the kids are free, I don’t know.” Tracey sighed. “But we have to do something. We have to at least try.”