Page 29

29

Lucas

I feel anxious watching Kaylee walk into the stone cottage that houses the dungeon entrance. Only a handful of people know about her pregnancy, and the thought of Devon finding out while interrogating him brings a sour taste to my mouth. If we aren’t careful, Devon might be able to hand this information to Ramos and place my mate and unborn pup in even more danger than we’re already in.

[Ash, Kurt,] I call out through our mind link, feeling it buzz slightly in annoyance.

[Let me guess, Devon did something stupid?] Kurt immediately asks. I sigh, turning to face the two men who lean against Kaylee’s truck, watching on from a distance.

[Yep. Uncle David wants you to grab a few buckets of ice and join us for the interrogation. You can use Kaylee’s truck,] I answer back, feeling Ash’s confusion through the mind link.

[Who is Devon?] he asks.

This time Kurt sighs, confirming that he and Ash will be back with ice before telling Ash that he’ll explain everything on the way back to the packhouse. Thankful for Kurt’s help, I enter the stone cottage housing the dungeon entrance.

Kaylee is waiting for me inside, watching me silently while I move to the side room, shifting to my human form and changing into the clean clothes put aside for me. Re-emerging into the main room, I hold my hand out to Kaylee, who takes it silently. The two of us descend the staircase in the far-right corner. I can feel the tingle caused by the mate bond calming me down while the thought of needing to protect my pregnant Kaylee from Devon bounces around my mind.

“So, what did this Devon person try to do?” Kaylee asks as we reach the first floor of the dungeons.

“He tried to flee our pack. The spies we placed said he was very fidgety last night, and this morning, he took off while everyone went to breakfast or their assigned jobs for the day,” I answer.

Kaylee hums, her brows furrowed in a frown. We continue walking down the halls in silence, Kaylee moving closer to me as her eyes dart about the empty cells. For a moment, I wonder if Kaylee is okay, and then it hits me.

It was the first year of Marilyn coming to stay in Oak Fur. Kaylee, Simon, and I were running around the pack like we used to do while I avoided that bitch at all costs when a group of wolves suddenly captured us. Since we were pups who hadn’t shifted yet, we couldn’t fight back and were carried away towards the pack borders. We were held captive in a dungeon similar to this one by rogues who demanded that my father give them a portion of land so they could start their own pack.

Simon and I were made to do manual labor while Kaylee was forced to cook and clean for the rogues. At night, she was locked away in a cell across from the one Simon and I were thrown into. She was all alone in that cell, the first to be taken out in the morning and the last to return. Simon and I were searched every night to make sure we never hid any weapons, but Kaylee was just thrown into the cell and never searched.

During what we assumed to be our tenth night there, something slid across the floor and hit my cell door with a small clang. She’d managed to steal a few knives and hide them. We used the knives to pick the locks, fight off our captors, and escape. It just so happens that Kaylee’s parents were leading a rescue party, narrowing down the search to where we were being held, and we’d luckily run into them.

“The cells here are cleaner than I thought they would be,” she mumbles, her voice holding a slight tremor. I let go of her hand to wrap my arm around her and pull her close. I can feel her relax against me and smile slightly. I’m glad she trusts me enough to relax into my touch.

“Marco has a group of warriors come down here once a week to clean the cells,” I explain, catching the hint of surprise flash across Kaylee’s face. “He says no omega should be allowed here and that warriors need to know the layout of the dungeons they guard.”

Kaylee chuckles at this. She muses about how she should start coming down here more to get over her wariness of dungeons, and I firmly state that she won’t be down here alone while pregnant. Thankfully, she agrees, one of her hands moving to rest on her stomach.

Our conversation ends as we reach the interrogation room, the door already slightly ajar, and I catch sight of my aunt, uncle, and Marco standing just inside. We nod to them as we enter the room, Devon staring at each one of us and landing on Kaylee. I snarl in warning, and Devon flinches back in his seat, his head lowering in submission.

“Kurt and Ash are grabbing the things you asked for,” I inform Uncle David, and he nods in acknowledgment.

The room grows silent, everyone waiting for Aunt Amelia to take command. Kaylee stays beside me, studying Devon. I rub small circles on her arm to keep her calm as I feel her rising anger through the bond.

Maybe my uncle shouldn’t have invited my mate down here.