Page 42 of Deadly Reckoning (Broken Ashes #7)

Neith

O ut of the corner of my eye, I see Doc’s eyebrows rise in surprise.

I scoff, and Dimitri sighs, already knowing what my answer is going to be.

“If he really has been controlling you this whole time, and made you do the things that you have, do you really think that I’m going to allow anyone to take him down other than me? I want to make him suffer. I want to be the one who makes his heart stop.”

Doc chuckles quietly, his eyes gold as Dimitri watches me closely, a small smile on his lips.

“On that note,” Doc starts. “Would you be willing to give us some of your blood? I want to study it and see if I can extract the serum that is used to control you. Ransom should then be able to reverse engineer it and potentially create an antidote.”

Dimitri stays silent, his eyes narrowed slightly.

“Your blood wouldn’t leave my person and would be studied in our at-home lab. No one else apart from us will know the results,” Doc adds.

Dimitri’s eyebrows rise as he realizes what Doc’s hinting at.

“Well, that’s interesting,” he mutters.

Confusion and a good dose of fear briefly cross his expression before it disappears completely and leaves me wondering if I really saw what I think I did.

“It would allow us to see the effects of the serum as well,” I say. “Is the serum still in your system?”

Dimitri nods, “Yes, a small amount. Not enough to have an effect on my actions, I have been burning through it as quickly as I can to get rid of it. It’s probably not enough, but if it can prove to you that it wasn’t me, then I’d be foolish not to.”

Without any sort of warning, he lifts his wrist to his mouth and bites down.

“For fuck sake, man, let me get the vial first,” Doc curses as he quickly grabs one from his pocket, and Dimitri watches as he holds it under his wrist, and the vial fills.

Doc then pulls out several antibacterial wipes and makes sure that there is absolutely no sign of Dimitri’s blood anywhere but in the vial. While he’s doing that, I’m watching Dimitri, and it becomes clear that Doc has just passed some sort of test, although I have no fucking idea what that was.

“Thank you,” I tell Dimitri.

“Make no mistake, Love, it’s for you. I want you to know that I was not in control, I know that it won’t fix anything, and I caused you too much pain for you to ever forgive me, but I need you to know that it wasn’t me,” he says.

“We need to go,” Doc says. “We’ve been here for longer than we should have already, and the guards are going to start getting twitchy.”

I nod and get up.

This isn’t the last time that I’m going to see him. Of course, it isn’t. We’re going to come back, but I hate fucking leaving him in here even though I know that this is technically the best place for him. He’s safe here, Casimir can’t get to him, which means he is in control.

I still hate it.

As I get to the door, my hand wrapped around the handle, I pause and look back at Dimitri, who is watching me with so much longing I almost crumble.

It solidifies my decision though.

“I believe you, and I do forgive you, Dimi,” I say quietly as I quickly leave the room. Doc close behind me.

Dimitri

S he what?

How?

How could she forgive me for everything that I’ve put her through? It’s not just the disgusting things that I’ve said to her, it’s the jobs that I was forced to send her on with people that I would have never usually let breathe the same fucking air as her.

Seeing her was like seeing the light after living in the darkest of abysses for a millennium. Taking a breath for the first time after losing all air, or only being able to take half breaths.

Her scent shocked me, and it took all of my control not to break the pathetic chains that they have me in and pull her into my lap.

Fortunately, my brain kicked back online, and I didn’t.

That would have meant that she would have left me sooner because the idiot guards would have come in here and tried to restrain me.

That would have ended really badly because my hellhound and I don’t like it if something is between Neith and me.

I get murdery, as Neith calls it.

She forgives me?

She shouldn’t. I don’t deserve it under any circumstances.

I like Doc, he meant what he said, and it makes me feel better that Neith is very well protected. At least well enough to convince myself not to break out of here so I can make sure that she’s safe. To break out of here would mean going full hellhound, and I can’t do that.

If she needs me, I will do it, with absolutely no hesitation, but that always needs to be a last resort. I’ve shown more of that side of me in the few moments that she was in here than I have for the years that I’ve been controlled.

Honestly, that is a huge concern, the cameras in here are always rolling and always recording. There is absolutely no way that they wouldn’t have picked up at the very least the rumbling of the room.

The door clicks open, and the cuffs unlatch from the table but stay tightly wrapped around my wrists and ankles as I stand and head toward the door, a smirk playing on my lips.

The fuckers here are so fucking scared of me that they don’t even walk me from my cell to the interrogation room, or the exercise hall, which I always use alone. No, instead they use magic to open the doors all the way to my cell, closing them behind me as I move to the next section.

For the moment, I have no desire to deviate from the path that they’ve set out for me, or let them know that I could if I wanted to.

As I walk into my cell and lean back on my bed, the door slamming closed as a buzz of magic locks it tightly, my mind moves to the Choosing.

I am aware that the majority of people forget about it after it’s happened, I’m also aware that people being able to watch the Choosing is a new development and not how it used to be. Which is why I’m surprised that I remember that Neith and the others were a part of it, it’s certainly curious.

I feel Coen’s mind reach for mine, and I allow him access immediately.

“What’s wrong?” I ask sharply, while I remain completely relaxed on the outside.

“Nothing,” Coen replies immediately. “We wanted to let you know that the guys were watching the whole exchange from the van.”

I interrupt, “How? It’s a closed network. They shouldn’t have been able to.”

“Ransom,” Coen says as if that’s an explanation.

I know who they all are, one because of the Choosing, but also because Coen told me about them years ago. I know he trusts them, and honestly, that’s enough for me.

“Okay. What about it?” I ask because he doesn’t continue to explain.

“Sorry. I’m a bit shocked. Ransom has wiped the footage of you telling Neith she smells like Hellfire, since that’s something that no one should know.”

“Understood,” I reply, feeling relieved. The fewer people who know about how special Neith is, the better.

“He’s also altered the footage of when your eyes switched to your hellhound ones and when you freaked out when Neith told you Casimir had already come for her,” he explains.

“I’m sorry, what?” I ask because he can’t have said what I think he just did.

He repeats what he told me.

“You’ve had the same reactions and everything, but you look normal, and he took out the bit where Neith told you to calm down, mainly because everyone would have had a coronary if they’d seen how she handles you,” Coen tells me.

I smirk, “She’s the only one who can.”

“I know,” Coen agrees. “You don’t sound as surprised as I thought you would that Ransom protected your secret.”

Before I can tell him why I’m not and what I have realized, I’m shocked to feel another knock on my mind. Weirdly enough, I know who it is even though I have never spoken to him before.

“River,” I say somewhat curiously.

“River?” Coen asks, sounding justifiably confused.

River’s excited voice comes through next, “Oh my fuck it worked, hey guys, so what are we talking about?”

“River, how the fuck did you do that?” Coen asks.

I grin.

“I don’t know, I just thought of talking to Dimitri like you are and then knocked,” River explains nonchalantly with absolutely no idea just how big a deal it is and what it means.

Although Coen doesn’t realize that either.

My eyebrows rise as I realize something.

“You’re extremely strong even for an alpha, you outrank all of the current known alphas,” I say.

“What?” River asks somewhat cautiously. “How do you know that?”

“It’s just one of the things that I know,” I say vaguely.

“Awesomely vague as always, Dimitri,” Coen says drily.

“You’re welcome,” I retort, making River chuckle. “So, Ransom has hidden the fact that I am not what they think I am from the cameras.”

“He’s not just hidden it, he’s changed it entirely,” River tells me, sounding impressed, and rightly so.

“That would take an immense amount of power,” I point out.

“Yes, it would,” Coen agrees.

“We just wanted you to know so you didn’t panic,” River adds, which surprises me.

Why do they care?

I know why, but it shouldn’t be possible, and I need to know more, way fucking more, before I bring it up.

“Thank you,” I say sincerely. “I know it’s asking a lot, but if you can, would you keep me updated on what’s happening with Casimir? He’s so fucking dangerous, and he’s constantly underestimated. I underestimated him and ended up being under his control.”

“Yeah, I’m mad as fuck at that, and trust me, at some point we will be having fucking words about how you, the one who constantly lectured Neith, Kar, and me about being careful of who we trust, ended up in this fucking situation,” Coen growls.

I know he means it, but I can’t help but smile. I have fucking missed him.

“Understood,” I reply, making sure that none of my happiness leaks into my voice, since I want him to know that I do take it seriously, and I absolutely regret the way that things turned out.

“We need to go,” River says, sounding slightly distracted.

“We’ll fill you in if we can,” Coen adds.

I nod, even though they can’t see me, “Appreciated.”

Before they go, River surprises me even more.

“Dimitri,” he says, his voice firm and filled with warning. “Stay where you are. Don’t escape, we won’t be able to help you if you do. I promise we’ve got her.”

My eyes narrow, “What do you know?”

I can hear the smile in his voice as he replies, “I know that you are there by choice, and that if you decided you wanted out, you wouldn’t even break a sweat getting out.”

Coen chuckles at my shocked silence.

“Fine, but if you don’t, if there’s even a glimmer of uncertainty about a situation you’re heading into, say the word and I’ll fucking be there,” I reply after I’ve gotten over the shock of what he knows. I’m not going to ask how, he won’t answer me, just like I didn’t answer him.

“Dimitri, that’s not a . . .” Coen starts.

River interrupts him , “Deal.”

He understands, and I feel like if we were given the opportunity, we would get on great.

“Fine, I promise as well,” Coen agrees with a smile in his voice.

With that, they both leave, and I’m once again left alone in my mind.

Well, that’s a turn of events that I didn’t expect. I didn’t think it was even possible.

A pack.

Neith

“I told him,” Coen says as we continue driving. He glances at River, who seems to be even more hyped up than normal. “Apparently, River is capable of contacting Dimitri.”

My mouth drops open in shock, “No fucking way. How?”

River shrugs, “I don’t know. I just wanted to do it and reached for him.”

“I wonder if we can all do it?” Raiden asks.

“I’m up for trying,” Griff says. He looks at River, “How do we do it?”

“Think of connecting your mind to Dimitri’s and then knock,” River explains really simply.

The van falls silent as everyone except for Evander, who is driving, tries to do what River has described. When all of their expressions fill with surprise, I feel my eyebrows hit my hairline.

“No fucking way,” I exclaim. “You all managed it?”

They all nod, still looking shocked.

“You shouldn’t be able to,” Coen says. “Kar can’t even do it.”

“What? Seriously?” River asks.

I nod and then explain further, “Kar can’t reach for Dimitri, he can only hear Dimitri if Dimitri reaches for him.”

“He’s had to go,” Reed says. “He sounded as surprised as we were.”

“If not more so,” Griff adds.

“I wonder what it means?” Raiden unsurprisingly asks.

Before anyone can answer, my phone buzzes with more than one text alert all at once.

“What the hell?” I ask as I pull it out of my pocket, and I frown. “I’ve got messages from Sully and Kar.”

“That’s interesting. What do they say?” Evander asks.

Clicking on Sully’s message, my eyebrows rise, “Murray is in Ireland. Sully’s not quite sure where in Ireland, but he knows with absolute certainty that she’s there.” I quickly click on the other message, “Well, I’ll be damned, I’ll give you three guesses where Pete is.”

“Kar has found him already?” Raiden asks, sounding shocked.

I nod, “Yeah, guess where.”

“Ireland,” River replies.

“Bingo,” I reply.

“No fucking way,” Coen exclaims. “Surely that can’t be a coincidence.”

Doc shakes his head, “I highly doubt it. One of them would have been suspicious enough, but both of them, that’s just weird.”

“Do you think Pete is with Murray?” Evander asks.

“I hope not. If he is, then there is a good possibility that he’s in danger,” Reed frowns.

“With what we now know about Murray, I think it’s not too much of a reach to assume that he may be in danger if they are together,” Doc replies.

“Agreed. She clearly doesn’t hold any loyalty to him or Trieneliea anymore,” Coen adds.

“I guess we’re going to Ireland,” Ransom says with a smile. “I’m good with that.”

I nod, “I did tell House and Ethel that we would be back soon. I don’t mind at all to be honest. I love Ireland, House, and Ethel.”

“Neither do I. House is awesome, and we know that it’s secure,” Griff says.

“Maybe it’s a good thing that we’re going to be getting away from here and all of our usual places.

Casimir shouldn’t know that we’re in Ireland.

Not unless someone tells him, and hopefully whoever tells him won’t know for a while. ”