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Kaylee

Walking through the first floor of the dungeon brought back unwelcome memories. Memories that made me want to become a stronger she-wolf and a stronger beta. I’m glad that, unlike those cells Lucas, Simon, and I had been held in as pups, these ones were kept clean. Even if someone is a prisoner, they deserve some standard of basic cleanliness.

Now, staring at the man cuffed to the interrogation chair, I feel my anger and hatred replace the discomfort I felt. This wolf came to us as a rogue from the Council. He came to our pack pretending to be excited to join and turned out to be a spy for Ramos, giving that vile man information about Goddess knows what about Ivory Fangs.

For all we knew, Ramos and Marilyn could be on their way here right now, ready to take us out.

[So why do you need the ice?] I link David, getting a deep chuckle from him, the only sound in the room. There’s a silent agreement between the five of us that we won’t talk until it’s time to interrogate our captive. No matter how benign the information is, anything we say could be relayed to Ramos through Devon.

[For interrogation purposes,] he answers, piquing my curiosity further. [It’s a tactic your father used. He would put our captive’s feet into ice water, inject wolfsbane into them, and wait for an hour. If the captive were willing to talk, we would remove their feet from the water and allow them to say their piece. If they refused to talk, well, let’s just say some ended up having their toes amputated from the frostbite,] he continues, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

Marco’s face scrunches in disgust at this information, making David and Amelia chuckle. Devon’s head snaps up, his eyes darting to each one of us in turn before Lucas growls again. Devon lowers his head, only for it to pop back up when the door opens.

“Lucas, I brought the—” Ash begins to say. His nostrils flare as he looks around the room, and the ice buckets fall to the ground with a loud bang. Shocked, I move to help my friend when he lets out a feral growl, his body shaking as his eyes zero in on Devon.

“Kaylee,” he says through gritted teeth, his eyes never leaving Devon. “Who is that?” His skin ripples as if he is fighting his body to stay put, and for a moment, I wonder if my friend is okay.

“I’m Devon,” Devon responds. His voice is low, and his eyes fill with grief and confusion as he takes in Ash. Before anyone can do anything, Ash turns on his heels and rushes out the door. Shocked, I move to run after my friend and see what’s wrong, but a deep chuckle from the man cuffed to the chair stops me mid-step.

“To think I would find my mate here. Not only that, but my mate is male,” Devon says.

Whirling on my heels to stare at Devon, my mind feels like it’s lagging from this new information.

“You’re lying,” Marco scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest while glaring at Devon.

“I’m not. His scent is delectable to me,” Devon says with a shiver, his confusion turning into a longing look. No one says anything, too stunned to interrogate Devon now, knowing that he may be the mate of our friend. Deciding I need to ask Ash for the truth, I open the link between him and me.

[Ash?] I call out tentatively.

[I’m upstairs. I just need a moment,] Ash replies quickly with a shaky voice.

[It’s true, then.] I sigh, feeling Lucas pull me closer while I focus on linking my friend.

[If that rogue told you we are mates, then yes, it’s true,] Ash confirms, his voice wavering. I sense the sadness and uncertainty inside him. Ash just found his mate, and he’s our prisoner.

[Do you want to come talk to him? I’m sure he’ll tell us the truth with you here,] I question, allowing Ash to decide on his own.

[I...I can’t, Kaylee. I may end up rejecting him.]

I sigh, feeling all eyes on me as I tell Ash it’s okay before closing our link. This revelation has complicated the situation, and I know that interrogating Devon will be much harder now.

“He isn’t coming back, is he?” Devon asks sadly, closing his eyes.

“No,” I confirm. Devon nods, sadness rippling off him.

“You know, I thought I would find my mate once I completed the requirements to dissolve the Blood Pact Ramos forced onto me,” Devon chuckles out, a lone tear slipping down his face. “I didn’t think I would meet them this way.”

Looking at Devon’s hopelessness, I wonder if he had any choice in spying on us. He was sent here by Ramos, a man we all know is cruel and ruthless. Maybe, like all of us, he had no choice in the matter.

“Ramos forced a Blood Pact onto you?” Kurt asks, stepping closer to Devon and giving him a sympathetic smile.

“He did. It was a few weeks ago,” Devon answers, eyes still closed. “He originally sent me to find out who the alpha and beta of Ivory Fangs are. There had never been a female alpha ruling a pack, let alone a female being the main beta.”

No one speaks as Devon takes a shaky breath. He knows there are two options left for him—be tortured and reveal the truth, or reveal the truth now and have a chance not to be rejected by Ash.

“Not only that, but he wanted to know if Lucas and Kaylee had taken refuge in Ivory Fangs after the attack on Shadow Moon.”

“So you told him what he needed to know then?” This time, I ask the question, all the hatred and anger I had for this man gone. Yes, he spied on us, but he’s also a victim of Ramos.

“Yes. I had to give Ramos the right information and not hold anything back, or the Blood Pact would cause me immense pain. After telling him who the alpha and beta were and that you and Lucas were here, the Blood Pact dissolved, and I was set free.”

I scent the air, searching for any type of lie, but come up empty. Devon is telling the truth.

“I was leaving today when Lucas and the redhead here caught me,” Devon continues. “You can check my bag if you’d like—it has a cell phone Ramos gave me.”

Trying not to laugh at the way he calls Marco ‘redhead’ with disdain in his voice, I look to David, who has already walked towards a small table with a backpack on top. After digging through it, David returns to our small group with a cell phone in hand and a smirk on his face.

“Since you’ve told the truth, we won’t execute you. But we’ll keep you locked up until we decide what to do with you,” David states, his eyes still glaring distrustfully at Devon.

“All I ask is that you tell my mate I am sorry. I understand if he wants to reject me,” Devon says quietly, nodding his head respectfully towards David.

[Marco, have a few wolves take him into one of the cells. He’ll be drugged with wolfsbane to keep him from shifting,] Amelia says through the link as she motions for us to leave. Lucas and I are the first to exit the room, him not letting go of me.

[Already on it. I think we need to speak with Ash before deciding what to do,] Marco grumbles.

[I can do that, redhead,] I tease my friend, and he growls at me. David chuckles, pointing out that Devon not knowing his name is a good thing, to which Marco reluctantly agrees.

[I’ll take the phone to our tech whiz and see if they can hack into Ramos’ phone with it. Maybe we can fish out any plans of war before it comes our way,] David says through our link as our group of now six climbs the stairs.

Once inside the stone cottage again, we find Ash leaning against the wall, his eyes red and puffy. He’s obviously been crying. Amelia orders everyone to their own duties, Lucas being dragged off by David as I slowly make my way towards Ash.

“Want to go for a drive?” I ask my friend, and he nods in response. He hands me the keys to my truck, and we leave the stone cottage behind. I know Ash is in pain and needs a shoulder to cry on and an ear to listen.