Page 9
T homas
I wish I could be anywhere but here. I want to take Lola away from this animal and make sure she never has to breathe the same air as him ever again. He glares at us as we watch him closely, waiting for him to make the first move.
The door to the bunker opens with a creak and Iris walks in with the twins. She looks tired and pale. Instant worry for the woman before me settles over me like a cloak, wrapping around me.
“Breathe,” Lola says softly, squeezing my hand. “Her mates won’t allow anything to happen to her.”
Iris stares at her brother for a moment, sadness coating the air before she shakes her head. Lifting her chin, she straightens her spine before walking right up to him and slapping him. The sound bounces off the bare white walls of the small room.
“I mourned you,” she hisses. “You and Father manipulated me. Lied to me.”
“You stupid bitch!” he roars. He fights against the leather straps that keep him bound to the wooden chair but can’t break his bonds.
“Shifters are not what you said,” Iris hisses back. “They don’t kill people for fun or eat humans. They are just like us, trying to live in peace. They don’t experiment on pregnant woman or babies!”
My skin crawls at the reminder of the only life I have ever known. Iris is right, the shifters are not the bad guys in this situation.
“Not all humans are bad,” I say softly, stepping beside her and offering some of my strength. “But your brother and father certainly are.”
She stares at me with tears swimming in her gaze. “I don’t know what to do.” The words are barely a whisper as they escape her. “He’s my brother.”
“You don’t have to do a damn thing,” Lola says. “Keep him locked up until clearer heads can prevail.”
“Don’t you fucking dare!” he roars from his chair. “Thomas, I will get you for this.”
“I’m not afraid of you anymore,” I say, leaning into his space, allowing my wolf to shimmer beneath my skin. “I have learned that I am not weak. You should be afraid of me.”
I see a flicker of fear in his eyes before he smirks.
“And you, Lola? What would your Alpha have to say about you breaking a deal he has worked so hard to keep?”
I growl loudly, leaning into his space and contemplating letting my wolf have his way with the bastard in front of me. But my mate’s laughter pulls me back from the brink of violence simmering in my veins.
“My Alpha, Caine,” she states slowly and clearly, “probably wants to rip your head off and send it back to your father in a pretty box with a little bow on top. If you are talking about Silas and the Thorn Pack...” she smiles sweetly before continuing. “Well, I don’t give a single flying fuck. I can tell you there will be words about their association with the Hunters and I have a feeling things are going to change.”
“You don’t know shit, little girl,” he says, smiling cruelly.
“I know your agreement excludes all dire wolves.” She shrugs nonchalantly. “I know Silas made it clear he would wipe each and every hunter off the face of the earth if you broke his one single rule. Did you know dire wolves are basically endangered? We are almost extinct to be honest.”
The hunter smirks. “We’ve never touched a single fucking dire wolf.”
“No?” She looks like she is thinking really hard before she smiles at me. “My mate is a dire wolf.”
Terror flashes across his features as he looks at me. “That’s not true...”
“But it is.” My words ring with finality. “Did you really think you built some super wolf shifter with your little experiments? You’re not God. Not even close.”
I watch the color drain from his face and for the first time in my life, I know I am the one in control. I have the upper hand.
****
L ola
Pride is the overwhelming emotion I feel at my mate standing up for himself. As we all walk out of the bunker toward Caine and Peyton’s home, I know we don’t have any solutions for the current situation, but we will. Soon.
My heart hurts for Iris, this woman I barely know. What she has been put through is terrible. I can’t believe her own family manipulated her so badly. But then again, what was my mother trying to do to me? It seems our parents do the most harm to us, even if they may have the best intentions at heart.
One of the twins brings Caine and Peyton up to date when we arrive at their home while the rest of us take a seat on the outside deck.
“Do you really think Silas would care what the hunters have been doing?” Caine asks.
I shrug. “I know he cares about dire wolves and that should be enough. I also know my words put the fear of God in Aaron. He thinks Silas will retaliate and I want to believe that too.”
Before Caine can reply, the earth beneath our feet shakes before we hear the explosion. Screams rend the air as smoke billows from the main entrance.
“Not this shit again!” Peyton yells, already running in that direction.
We all follow suit, chasing after her to see what is happening. At the gate, a large black Hummer with dark tinted windows sits idling. All of us stare, not a single soul moving, as the passenger-side door opens. An older man in a suit slides out, his grey hair slicked back neatly. Steel grey eyes take in every person here. There are at least twenty people waiting with bated breath for him to make a move.
“My name is Mattias,” he says loudly. “I know what you are, and you know who I am. Return my son and we will leave without causing any bloodshed.
“I don’t believe you!” Iris calls out, stepping from the center of the group. “And if your own daughter can’t trust you, why should anyone else?”
A flash of pain crosses his features before he can hide it. Seeing his daughter was not something he expected. Interesting.
“I don’t have a daughter,” he says turning away from her. I hear her soft sob before a comforting murmur follows. Her sounds move further away, and I know that one or both her mates have taken her away from this scene.
“What guarantee do we have that you will leave us in peace?” Caine asks.
“None but my word,” Mattias replies with a glare.
“You cannot attack this compound,” I say loudly. “We fall under the Silas and the Thorn Packs’ protection.” I know I’m lying but desperate times call for desperate measures.
“And why would Silas afford you mutts such a luxury?” he asks with a sneer.
“Because we have dire wolves in this pack,” I announce. “And you know how he feels about dire wolves...” I let my voice trail off.
He draws a cell phone from his inner breast pocket and fiddles with it before pressing it to his ear. After long moments he speaks.
“I have a pack here claiming to be under your protection,” he says into the device.
His listens at who I am assuming to be Silas speaking on the other end before locking his gaze on me.
“What is your name, girl?”
My mate bristles beside me as I answer, “Lola.”
He repeats my name into the phone and waits a second before putting the device back in his pocket.
“Fine. You are protected. Bring my son and we will leave.”
Caine looks at me questioningly. I nod, knowing he is asking if it is safe for him to do this. He has to have the best interests of his pack at heart, and this could very well be a trick. If Mattias was actually talking to Silas, I know we have bought some time. It could still be a ruse, but we will have to take our chances.
Caine nods toward Godrick who quickly leaves to retrieve Aaron. It feels like it takes a lifetime for him to return even though I know it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. He shoves Aaron toward his father where he falls on the ground. His bound hands don’t allow him to break his falls, and he lands with a loud thud.
Another man, burly and intimidating, emerges from the vehicle and lifts Aaron from the ground before placing him in the back seat. Mattias takes in each person standing before him. Assessing some while glaring at others.
“This is far from finished,” he states. “You may have protection now, but I will wipe your entire species from the face of the earth, dire wolves too.”
“We’ll be waiting,” Caine replies.
A moment later, Mattias is back in the vehicle and kicking up dust as they drive away.
“What do we do now?” Thomas asks no one in particular.
“We need to find out if Silas is really our ally.”