Page 25 of Bond To The Alpha (Fated Bond #1)

LIANA

I still haven’t gotten used to this suffocating darkness. It's been days since they threw me in here and it feels like time has lost all its meaning. Here, day fades to night and night fades to a new day in a continuous stretch of nothingness. I've lost count of the hours and the minutes ticking by in this silence.

My rough calculations tell me I’ve been for more than a week. I’m aware of this because of the irregular pattern of food shoved under my door at times. At first, I never ate the food they brought, but after more days, the hunger became unbearable and it occurred to me that they weren’t trying to kill me, at least not yet, and so I ate whatever I was given, knowing I need to stay alive if I’m going to get out of here.

Lina is out somewhere on the other side of these suffocating walls. My sweet girl. Is she safe? I can’t even begin to imagine how scared she must feel that I’m not with her. She must have cried a lot and asked when mama is going to come back.

My mind is thinking of the worst.

There has to be a way out of here.

Every prison has a weakness, they said. Or was that a mere lie?

The room is small, maybe ten feet by ten feet. The floor is dirt, packed hard from years of use. The walls are stone, rough, and uneven. There's a tiny slot near the bottom of the door where they push the food through.

The door. That's my best chance. But how? I've already tried prying it open and I’ve searched for loose hinges or weak spots to no end.

Hearing footsteps outside my door makes me raise my head quickly and I stare at the small crack under the door, watching how a pair of legs pause outside.

It’s the rattling on the latch that makes me stand slowly, my heart already picking up its pace.

Have they finally come to finish me off?

I watch the door warily as fear and anticipation mix in my gut. The sound of a key turning in the lock echoes loudly in the silent room. I brace myself, muscles tensing, ready to fight if I have to.

The door opens, and a figure steps inside. In the stark darkness, I can barely make out their features, but something about the silhouette is familiar.

Jimmy?

We stare at each other in silence.

I can't read his expression in the darkness and can't tell if he's here as an executioner or something else entirely.

Jimmy slowly closes the door behind him, and even the soft click of the latch feels deafening in the quiet room. He comes towards me with careful, measured steps, and I feel my muscles coiling tighter with each one.

I want to tear him apart for what he's done.

But I know I'm weak, not just from days of captivity, but generally in terms of strength for a prolonged fight.

But I can manage a punch.

And as soon as this thought crosses my mind I lash out at his jaw as hard as I can. And I don't stop there, my left fist follows to catch him on his other cheek. I expect him to retaliate, to call for guards, but he just stands there, taking the hits.

As I wind up for a third punch, he grabs my wrist.

“I'll take as many punches as I deserve, but not right here, not now,” he whispers.

I glare at him; my eyes have adjusted enough to the darkness that I can make out the outline of his face. Our eyes meeting seems to be the only points of light.

“You’re getting out of here,” Jimmy says, and for a moment, I think I must have misheard him.

It sounds like an answered prayer, but coming from the last person I'd expect or want to hear it from.

“Why? Time to have me killed somewhere more convenient?” My voice is hoarse from days of disuse.

“Keep your voice down,” he hisses, glancing nervously at the door.

Then he drops my hand, which I had almost forgotten he's been holding this whole time.

“I'm sorry,” he adds quickly as if he's afraid he'll lose his nerve if he doesn't say them now. “I regret everything I've done.”

This has to be another trick of his.

“Why should I believe you?” I ask bitterly.

“Because I've made a terrible mistake,” he says, and the raw pain in his voice catches me off guard.

“I thought I knew what I was doing. I thought I could control things, but I was wrong. So wrong.”

“I never meant for any of this to happen. The cult promised me power and respect. Everything my father never thought I could have. But the price..." He trails off and shakes his head.

Just look at the damage that’s been done. The loss of a precious soul like Sam, and other innocent people and children out there.

He cries, “I didn't know. I swear, I didn't know they were going to do that. But it's my fault. All of this is my fault.”

Of course, he’s to blame for everything.

“So what now?” I ask.

“You've had a change of heart and decided to let me go out of the goodness of your soul?”

“I know you have no reason to trust me," he says. “But I'm trying to make things right. The cult is planning something big. Something that'll destroy everything, not just our pack.”

“You need to go find Kane. He’s our best hope of stopping this before it's too late,” he adds urgently

“Stay close,” Jimmy says as he opens the door to peer into the corridor.

The first few corridors are empty. But I can hear my heart pounding in my ears and am expecting some kind of alarm to sound at any moment.

We reach a steep staircase leading upwards.

Freedom is so close, but so is the possibility of getting caught. We reach a moonlit field, and I have to blink against the sudden brightness after days in darkness.

Jimmy pulls me down suddenly.

“Guards,” he hisses. I follow his gaze and see two figures patrolling the perimeter.

We drop to our bellies and begin to crawl through the damp grass. Every rustling sound is deafening to my ears. I continue to hold my breath as we inch past the guards and pray they don't look our way.

Once past the immediate danger, Jimmy whispers, “When I say go, run for those trees.”

He points to a copse about fifty yards away.

I nod.

“Go!”

We burst from our hiding spot, feet pounding against the earth. I push myself harder than I ever have before.

We're halfway to the trees when a shout rings out.

“Hey! Stop right there!”

Jimmy swears under his breath.

“Keep running!” he yells.

I hear footsteps behind us; they are gaining quickly.

When we reach the treeline, I hear a scuffle behind me, causing me to glance back.

I see Jimmy grappling with a guard.

He manages to overpower the guard, clamping a hand over his mouth as he plunges a silver knife into the guard's chest.

The man's eyes go wide, then blank.

“Here, take this instead,” he hands me the knife when he reaches me.

My hands shiver as I take the unfamiliar weapon from him, and we begin running away. The terrain becomes rougher with roots and underbrush threatening to trip us.

We break through the treeline, now facing a wide expanse of open ground. At the far end, I can see a wire fence—our ticket to freedom.

“Almost there,” Jimmy pants.

“They're escaping! Get them!”

I've never run this hard in my life.

Jimmy is right behind me, occasionally reaching out to steady me when I stumble. The crack of gunfire splits the air, and bullets start to whistle past us, kicking up dirt at our feet. My heart is pounding so hard I think it might burst.

We're almost at the fence when I hear Jimmy grunt in pain. I glance back to see him stumble, blood blossoming on his shirt.

"Keep running!" he yells and pushes me forward.

“My bedroom….” He grunts again as he falls to the ground. “Evidence….floor…floorboard….”

I hesitate for a split second because I can’t decide where to help him or save myself.

“Go!” he screams.

Gritting my teeth, I force myself to keep running. I can hear the sound of more bullets tearing into Jimmy's flesh and it brings tears to my eyes.

I reach the fence and start to climb.

A searing pain explodes in my shoulder, nearly causing me to lose my grip.

Another bullet grazes my leg and I yelp in pain

I haul myself over the top of the fence and drop to the other side, stumbling as I hit the ground. But I'm up again in an instant, running for the cover of the woods beyond. Bullets continue to fly around me as I zigzag between the trees. My shoulder throbs and my leg threatens to give out. But I keep going and pushing through the pain.

I run until the sounds of pursuit fade away and until my legs can't carry me any further.

I collapse on the forest floor as pain radiates through my body. The adrenaline is fading, leaving me aware of every injury. Tears stream down my face as I force myself to focus on the bullet wounds.

I probe the wound in my shoulder with trembling fingers. The pain is excruciating, but I grit my teeth and dig deeper with a scream until I’m able to pull out the bullet with a squelch.

Then I toss it aside, panting heavily.

The one in my leg is next. This time, I can't hold back the cry of agony as I extract the bullet, and collapse back on the grass, chest heaving. Every part of me wants to just lie here and rest, but I know I can't. I have to keep moving. Lina needs me. The thought of my daughter gives me the strength to push myself up despite my body's protests.

It takes another rustling in the nearby bushes to get me forcing my battered body into motion, and I start to run again, for hours, until the trees begin to thin, and I see a lake that makes me recognize that I’m back in Moonlight. Sam's sister's house isn't far now. I'd left Lina there before starting my investigation into Jimmy. It seems like a lifetime ago.

I'm not leaving my daughter behind again. Never again.

I can already see Sam's sister coming out of the front door, and even from a distance, I can tell something's wrong. She's hunched over, her shoulders shaking.

A cold dread settles in the pit of my stomach.

I reach the porch just as she looks up, and the devastation on her tear-streaked face confirms my worst fears before she even opens her mouth.

“Lina's gone,” she chokes out, and it feels like the ground has dropped out from under me.

“What do you mean, she's gone?!” I grab her shoulders.

“Where is she?!”

Sam's sister flinches at my touch, fresh tears spilling down her cheeks.

“I'm so sorry, Liana. She was playing with the other kids at the playground when they took her.

“Who?” I scream. “Who took her?”

“The strangers that have begun infiltrating our pack….” she says sadly.

My legs give out, and I collapse to my knees. I press my forehead against the wood of the porch as a keening wail starts rising from deep inside me. My wolf whimpers weakly.

Not my precious Lina.

I don't know how long I stay there, lost in my grief. I've failed her. I promised to protect her, to keep her safe, and I've failed.

There comes a gentle touch on my shoulder. At first, I think its Sam's sister trying to comfort me.

But the hand is larger, stronger and so familiar my wolf reacts. I raise my head slowly and see a face I know as well as my own. He's kneeling beside me, his blue eyes filled with concern.

I continue to stare at him because I’m unable to tell if this is real, if I have lost my mind to grief and exhaustion. The doubt, however, only lasts for a moment before I collapse into Kane's arms and hold him as tightly as my injured body will allow.

“They took Lina…they took her…”

“We’ll bring her back,” his voice rumbles against my ear.

“Everything's going to be fine.”

I want to believe him so badly. After everything that's happened, the idea that things could be “fine” seems impossible.

“You did well escaping those monsters,” he continues as his hand rubs soothing circles on my back.

“We’re going to win this fight. We’re not alone, we’ve got allies now. I've been gathering support from other packs and we’re building a coalition to fight against the cult."

“I know where we can start Jimmy...before he died, he told me where he hid evidence about the cult's activities.”

“Jimmy helped you escape?”

I nod against his chest.

When night falls, we gather discreetly in the heart of Moonlight territory. Word has spread quickly, and it seems like every member of the pack has turned out. A lot of people know something is wrong, but they don't understand what.

I stand beside Kane with Sam and Jimmy’s files in my hands.

“…you're confused and scared. Strange things have been happening in your territory. Rogues, unfamiliar faces have appeared in your midst, your new alpha is dead. Moonlight has been infiltrated by a dangerous cult known as the Crimson Moon Society. They've been the ones manipulating events from the shadows and sowing chaos.”

Gasps and angry mutters erupt from the crowd. I can see disbelief on many faces, but also dawning horror on others as pieces start to fall into place.

Kane gestures to me, and I step forward. My voice shakes as I begin to speak, but it grows stronger as I continue.

“Before Sam died, he discovered the truth. Sam gathered evidence, which he hid to protect it from those who would destroy it. Jimmy, in his final moments, told me where to find it."

I hold up the files and then begin to read from them. From Sam's notes detailing the cult's activities and plans, to the way they'd manipulated Jimmy's ambition to gain a foothold in the pack.

When I finish, Kane steps forward again.

“We've uncovered additional evidence that supports everything in Sam's files,” he says, nodding to Dan, who begins distributing copies of their findings to the crowd.

“The Crimson Moon Society thinks they can divide and weaken us. But we are only stronger together. We will figure this out and we will win,” I say boldly.

“This is our home.”