Chapter 9 9
Chapter 9 – Cells
Haze was a true born Alpha wolf. Between his nagging to take over the pack and his desire to mount his mate, I had to shut him out so I could have some peace with my thoughts. I didn’t even know who she was, but I could see the fear flickering in her eyes as she tried to hide it. It was the same with every other weak little wolf and human.
Fuck my luck, the Moon Goddess must be enjoying turning my life upside down. First Kazimir and now me. If Ninos finds his mate, we’ll really be screwed.
“At least she’s not human,” Haze reminded me.
“It doesn’t matter, she doesn’t want us.” I walked back, following the path that led from the small lake to the pack house.
I considered walking to the pack clinic to visit with my grandfather when her scent drifted in my direction again. I could see her in the distance, swinging under a tree. Her long dress flowed as she gently swayed on the swing. It was cream colored and she reminded me of an apparition or angel.
“A Goddess,” Haze purred. I watched her for a moment longer, wondering who she was. Wondering if she knew who I was. Haze snarled inside my head sensing someone approaching who was about to disrupt our observation.
“There you are,” Alpha Georgios called out when I turned to face him. “I’d like to speak with you in my office. There are some urgent matters to discuss.”
“Of course,” I nodded my head and followed him back into the pack house. Haze was not happy about the missed opportunity to speak with our
mate, but I was relieved. I could never see myself having a mate because I had no desire to live a typical Alpha life. The thought of rejecting her didn’t sit well with Haze and truth be told, I didn’t want to hurt her.
We reached the Alpha office and Georgios moved to his desk but stopped to look out the big window. My eyes followed his gaze, and I could see her still swinging under the tree.
“She’s a beautiful little thing, isn’t she?” He asked without looking at
me.
“She is.” I fought back the urge to knock his lights out.
“She recently turned eighteen. I bet she’s still untouched,” He smirked
and I hated where he was going with this.
“Who is she?” I asked as Haze pushed for control. He wanted to pluck Alpha Georgios’ eyes out for daring to look at our mate.
“Interesting question. You don’t know who she is?” He smiled just as a knock came from his door and four warriors entered with another Alpha. Despite his missing eye, which was covered with an eye patch, the older Alpha exuded a strong aura. Haze registered the unstable madness of his wolf.
“No Georgios, I don’t know who she is,” I said as I looked over the newcomers. “It seems I also don’t know who patchy the pirate is either?”
“That’s no way to speak of your father-in-law.” Georgios smiled. “Excuse me?”
Georgios gave me a snake-like grin before he spoke. “Hades, I’d like you to meet Stefanos Theodorus, father to The Beast of Greece, and your mate, Odessa Theodorus,” he pointed a finger to the window.
Haze was enraged at the threat before us, and I was stunned to learn the girl was a Theodorus. My thoughts swirled and before I could react,
something sharp was shoved into my back and Haze growled. My vision blurred and I felt my body go slack into an abyss of darkness.
I peeled my eyes open and looked around in the dimness. My mouth was as dry as cotton and my head throbbed. I was chained to a wall in silver shackles around my wrists and stripped to my underwear. Like a dog, a silver collar was placed around my neck to keep me from shifting. I didn’t need my wolf, even in my human form, I was strong. All the years of fighting and training had conditioned me to be a killer. This was something most werewolves neglected to realize because they depended on their inner beast.
I had no idea how long I’d been hanging here or what time of day it was. If I had missed the funeral or not. Perhaps my grandparents might notice my absence, but since I was packless, they would have no one to turn to for help. I’d expect Georgios to tell them guilt plagued me, and I decided to leave and skip the funeral. After all, it was my father who killed Leo.
Regret filled me as I recalled Kazimir’s insistence to bring one of them with me. It would probably be a few days before they realize something happened to me. Georgios was nothing like his father. He was weak and cunning, just like my father. I wanted to rip his heart out and let Haze chew on it.
This was exactly why some Alphas needed packs. One on one, they wouldn’t stand a chance. They needed the help of others to try and conquer their enemies, the opportunistic fuckers. They needed wolfsbane, nightshade, and silver to hold back a real Alpha. Some had no moral compass. Abusing their offspring and using mates to weaken others. Had Odessa told them I was her mate?
I quickly started to understand why The Beast of Greece went on a killing spree. Fuck, I wanted to kill all of them too.
Stefanos was alive. I tried to wrap my head around it. He’s been alive these last ten years. I was only thirteen when I heard about his death, but he wasn’t dead. He’s been building his criminal empire among humans. Hiding
in the shadows while my father did his dirty work. Had my father's death forced him out? What was he doing here?
“Mate,” Haze uttered. He was fighting to rouse from his drug-induced sedation.
Our mate was Stefanos’ daughter. Damn. She’d grown up under her brother's rule. I bet she was a spoiled princess. He’d never let her accept a mate without a pack and I wasn’t about to join a pack anytime soon. I don’t know why I cared, it’s not like I even wanted her, despite the urge to fuck her in every way imaginable.
I heard an iron door slowly push open and light footsteps walking in my direction. I dropped my head to feign weakness. My wolf may have been tranquilized but I was still dangerous. The scent of strawberry sorbet hit me, and I shifted my head slowly to look at her.
Even in the darkness her honey colored eyes still shimmered. Wearing nothing but my boxer briefs, I watched as she looked me over. Her eyes moved from my face, down my shoulders and chest. I could practically feel a burning sensation under her scrutinizing eyes that seemed to linger on a few of my most noticeable scars. Her eyes continued down my torso, to my thighs, and down to my feet.
She wore a black blouse with a gray mid-calf skirt, perfect for a funeral. Had I missed it already? There were no windows, and the air was stale. Then I wondered what she was doing here. Had she come to reject me?
I looked at her with my hardened expression, waiting for the worst to come. Waiting for her to utter those words most wolves feared. I wouldn’t allow myself to fear her rejection because it would be my unshackling. She searched my eyes for a moment, trying to find answers. Her lips parted and she stilled. The sound of the iron door being pulled open sounded and she turned her head in that direction.
“Quite the pitiful sight, isn’t he?” I heard Georgios sneer. Have you come to claim your mate, Angel?” He stopped at her side and looked into my cell.
“Why are you doing this?” She asked, holding her head high.
“Because your father claimed the Moon Warriors last night,” he told her, reaching to cup her face. A loud growl reverberated in my chest as Haze stirred.
“Don’t worry, I don’t believe Hades wants the pack or a mate. Now, I need you to go upstairs with me and pretend to be my happy little mate. People are starting to arrive and if you try anything or fail to be convincing, I will come back down here and kill your mate. Understood?”
She looked at me, worry evident in her eyes. Was she worried for me? “Stavros! Give her some inspiration.” He called out.
The man I assumed was Stavros, held a set of keys in his hand. He unlocked the door and stepped inside my cell with two other wolves at his flanks. I was practically wolfless at this moment, and yet I relished the opportunity before me.
Stavros stepped forward, and I looked him in the eyes. Waiting for him to come close enough. He drew his closed fist back and punched me in the jaw. I couldn’t help the cruel smile that formed on my face because my legs had not been shackled. They assumed the silver collar would keep me weak without my wolf, but they knew nothing about me. My human form was just as lethal as my wolf.
I used my knee to sweep Stavros’ legs out from under him and he crashed to the ground. Using the heel of my foot, I stomped down and crushed his windpipe. He let out a gurgle as his companion rushed to me with a silver blade in hand. I delivered a kick to his abdomen that sent him flying back in the cell and the blade clattered to the cement floor.
The third wolf snarled at me, his eyes black as he used his wolf to attack me. Wolf or not, every male with balls, regardless of species, had a vulnerable spot on his body. I delivered a kick between his legs, and he dropped in front of me. Using my knees, I placed his head in a vice-like grip and used my thick thigh muscles to squeeze his head.
The second wolf had recovered from my kick and rushed me. Unfortunately, my legs were occupied with his friend's head as he screamed for release. The second wolf delivered a punch to my side and another to my stomach. Being taller had its advantages and I used it to deliver a headbutt to the side of his head, dropping him beside his friend.
“Enough!” Georgios roared, pressing the silver knife to my mate's throat. “I will kill her right in front of you, you may not want her, but every wolf wants their mate.”
Haze was howling with the urge to rip him apart, limb by limb. The sight of Georgios with his arm wrapped around her as he held the knife to her made him crazy. With a cold and menacing grin on my face, I released the wolf between my knees. His lifeless body fell to my feet with Stavros.
“Get up!” Georgios barked at the only survivor of the three in my cell. “Leave them at his feet so he can enjoy the smell of decay.”
I watched as he led Odessa out, the silver blade still in his hand. Using her against me, against my wolf, made me angry. This was exactly why I never wanted a mate. I didn’t need the Moon Goddess to play matchmaker, I had no problem fucking my way through Europe’s finest. The last thing I needed was a mate.
Haze let out a huff. The mate bond had a stronger pull on him, but he also realized how exposed she made us. I considered what Georgios told her. She had to fake being his mate or he would kill me. She had agreed. Instead of rejecting me and taking the power away from Georgios, she had agreed.
Hours passed when the iron door opened again, this time no one entered the cell. Something moved in the corner and the long barrel of a gun pointed at me before it fired. I looked down at my chest, it was a tranquilizer. The popping sound of another shot sounded, and a second dart hit me in the stomach. Haze growled in my head before my vision went dark.
The sounds of screams echoed from the walls. Someone was screaming. It was a girl. I tried to move, but everything felt so heavy. I wanted to help her, console her, but I couldn’t find the strength to lift my head. Haze was frantically pushing to take control.
“IT BURNS!” She screamed and my eyes shot open.
It was Odessa. Someone was holding her down while another person locked a silver collar around her neck. Her hair was splayed out all over the cement floor and she was squirming in pain.
I was slumped on the floor, my hands and feet were shackled together. The cell was different, and it took me a moment to realize where I was. They had moved me from Alpha Georgios’ pack to my father’s pack. I was back in the Moon Warriors’ cells, where the bars were coated in silver.
Now that I wasn’t constrained to a wall, I was a little more dangerous, even with the shackles and collar on. The shackles had about fifteen inches of thick chain between them, which would allow me enough movement. Odessa was in the cell next to mine, separated only by the bars. One of the men had his back to me and took a few steps back.
“Think he’ll let us come back and fuck her?” He asked the other.
Something snapped inside of me, and I sprang to the bars. I reached my arms through at the same time so I could reach the asshole. Not caring if the silver burned my skin, I yanked him to the silver bars.
“So, you like touching women without permission?” I shifted my hand around the front of his throat and began squeezing. He shook his head and struggled before my hand finally crushed his throat. I dropped his body as far away from her as I could and looked at the other guard.
“You want to sink your cock into her too?” I asked in a deadly tone. I may have been behind bars, but his wolf would cower in fear. He dropped his head and quickly left her cell without a glance back.
Pain surged through my body, and I looked down. I was still in my underwear, covered in bumps and bruises. Those pussies had beaten me while I was sedated because they were afraid of me when I was awake. I couldn’t help the laugh that rang out. Odessa looked at me in shock as she moved to a sitting position. She lifted the neckline of her shirt up and tried to squeeze it between the silver collar and her skin.
Unlike a silver bullet, wearing silver isn’t deadly to werewolves but it did cause burns on the skin. It also suppressed our wolves and kept us from shifting into them. If a wolf was suppressed, it was unable to heal. Another damn weakness, though I was used to the burn of silver thanks to my father's beatings.
Her very presence affected me more than I cared to admit. I tried to remain unreadable but her eyes, her fucking eyes did things to me. I wanted to resist her, but my body had other ideas.
“Move closer to my cell,” I instructed her. “If anyone comes in, I’ll be able to reach them.”
She scooted closer to my cell without question.