Chapter 404

Nix and Megan pressed against my side. "What are you saying? It’s poisoned… poisoned how?" Nix leaned in, trying to see it closer, but we were stuck where we were.

"The power that their traps were pulling from me, it was transferred to this rune. The Quickening. It says it right in the name. It converts your power into physical strength and speed. Like I was doing with our power, but this is for a person who doesn’t have magic."

"Okay… I still don’t know what’s wrong." Megan leaned against the barrier, and I laughed.

"Do you see the line that cuts through the rune?" Both of my wolves focused on the rune that was bobbing in and out of our line of sight as he ran.

"Yeah," Nix finally said. "The part that looks infected?"

"Yes. That’s exactly what it is. A poisoning. It breaks the limits on the rune and pushes power into the person. Normally, the person will hit a wall. The wall being that their physical body can’t go any faster or it will hurt them, it will break down their bodies. Like poison."

"So you’re saying that because they removed the safety features of the rune, that Rick is being slowly poisoned?"

"I’m saying it’s not only his daughter that’s going to die." I stared down at the rune.

"Do you think he knows?" Nix stood and paced away. "I mean, does it matter? He did this to his kid…"

I turned to look at my wolf. "We don’t know all the answers. We can’t make that decision. All we know is what we heard today."

"Isn’t that enough?" Megan paced away. "He did this for his own benefit."

I sat back, watching where we were headed, with a growing pit in my stomach. The growing horror of where we were going was building. Once I was sure, I turned away and focused on my bickering wolves. "I know it seems like he is a villain, and he might be. But I feel like there is more to his story."

"What else could there be? Some explanation that is going to make us overlook everything he has done? Unlikely."

I shrugged. "All we can do is watch."

Rick came to a stop, and Vince clutched my body closer to his chest, and I heard a soft inhale. "She’s still asleep. Let’s get her into a cell, and then we can bring the kid home." Vince moved towards the door, and I was transported back to my first life. A cell.

"Brandon, please, I didn’t do anything. Our pup—"

Brandon’s enraged growl stopped my voice. "Stop fucking lying." He dragged me by the arm into the building on the edge of our pack lands. I could just make out the field where we held our mating ceremony years earlier.

"Baby, please," I begged him, but he continued to drag me, and the door slammed behind us with a heavy clang. There was a wolf there, bored and tired, watching the door with keys.

"Open it." Brandon kicked the cell, and the wolf hustled over. He unlocked the cage, and Brandon tossed me in. I covered my stomach, trying to protect my pup as I rolled into the tiny room. My back touched the back bars, and I hissed, "Silver." The bars were silver.

"Brandon, goddess, please don’t leave me here. I’m pregnant with our pup. This place will kill me," I shrieked as I ran towards the open door, but he slammed it shut, locking me in.

"Good. I fucking hope you and that fucking abomination die in here. What the fuck am I supposed to do with a pup that isn’t mine? He will do nothing for me!" He screamed as he turned to face the guard. "No food, no water. Do not speak with her."

"Yes, Alpha." He looked at me and then opened his mouth.

"What?" Brandon snapped.

"She is my luna…"

He snorted. "She was injected with wolfsbane. She won’t be commanding anything from you. Just do as you’re told."

The guard nodded, and Brandon walked out, slamming the door behind him. Leaving me in this hellhole.

I was back in the present as Vince laid me down on the bed. I felt a sharp jab in my neck, and the telltale burn of wolfsbane entered my system.

Nix and Megan both snorted. "This is going to be fucking fun." Nix turned. "We will be out of here in minutes."

Megan nodded. "This won’t keep us here."

"No, it won’t," I agreed. But I still hesitated. "But I think I’m going to wait a little."

Both wolves turned on me. "Why?"

I looked at them. "The guards here are loose-lipped, remember. They knew way more than what they were letting on, too."

Megan stared at me for a minute. "You are going to pump them for information."

"Yeah, and I’m going to do it so they don’t remember. There aren’t any cameras in here. Foolish, really. I think I’m going to make Vince regret that particular choice."