Chapter 104

Chapter 104
I pulled into the parking lot of The Wayward Tap. It was completely empty, and I figured it would be since it was eight in the morning. However, the usual signs that normally hung in the windows were gone. Using my cane, I walked into the bar, pushing the door slightly with my shoulder. My eyes widened as I took in the bar’s state.

The entire space had been cleared out. There were no tables, no chairs, and even the bar stools were gone. The barrels were gone, and the bottles, glasses, and even the tap handles were missing as well. Everything had been stripped bare, with no lights or posters or pictures on the walls. Finn walked down the steps and seemed slightly surprised to see me standing in the bar. A smirk came onto his face.

“Still struggling to walk, Alpha?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yack it up. Your mate did a number on me.”

“Not enough if you ask me, but today should make up for it.” He smirked.

“I’m pretty sure you won, but this place makes me think you’re not sticking around.”

His eyes narrowed. “We found a new home with a new Alpha. So we are moving to the new territory.”

My eyebrows shot up. “You? The two notorious rogues joined a pack?”

He smirked. “Let’s just say, our Alpha is not only the best, but he also is unconventional. I think it’s needed in this day and age. He intends to change the way a pack runs. That we need to understand that times have changed and we can mix old traditions with new ones.”

I rolled my eyes. “An Alpha like that will only fail. No one will take him seriously, and instead, someone stronger will come along and wipe them out.”

He only smiled. “I hope all Alphas underestimate him as much as you do. Because all he will do is walk all over everyone.”

My mouth opened to retort, but Noah walked down the stairs followed by a woman. She bounded down; her red curly hair bounced with her. She was actually very pretty, but the hair on my arms stood up. Once she spied me, she pushed past Noah and walked around me. 

“Shit. You weren’t kidding. It’s the spitting image of Sol, just in man-form.”

Noah chuckled. “I told you.”

“Looks just like the twins too. Fuck. What kind of strong-ass genes run in your family? You all look the same.”

My brow furrowed. “What do you mean the twins?”

I could hear Eros scoff. ‘Your twins, idiot. Nate’s pups, as you called them.’

“Jesus, you weren’t kidding.”

Noah shrugged, and I felt her hand on my shoulder, which made me jump. She laughed.

“Introductions, I guess, before touching. I’m Lorraine Cyprus. Everyone calls me Lor. One of Sol’s best friends. I created her arm, leg, and eye. I also know all her deepest, darkest secrets.”

My eyes narrowed. “You know she’s dead, right?”

Her eyes flashed blue. “Yeah, I do. All for the sake of you fucking up everything, apparently.”

I grit my teeth. “Me? She kept all those deep, dark secrets without giving a shit about how people could feel.”

“Wow, were you trying to be intimidating? Do you even have a wolf?”

Growling, I spun on her. “Of course, I have a wolf.”

“Weird.”

This woman was already grating on me. “What?”

“Sol didn’t have a wolf. You have the same weird aura that she did. Which is why I asked. It’s like a detachment from your wolf. Though she didn’t have one at all.”

My eyes narrowed. “I have a wolf.”

‘Not that you listen to him. Or care about a single thing he says.’ Eros’ said with a snarky tone.

The witch, Lor, cocked her head to the side as she stared at me. “You know, Sol was amazing. She was strong even without her wolf. You are falling apart, and you have a wolf. The pain she went through, like me being stripped of my magic, yet here you are, choosing that.”

“Lor, now is not the time to be spewing all of Sol’s secrets. She kept it that way for a reason. The rest she wrote in letters.”

The witch bounced around me and smiled. “Yes, yes. Scrambling brains. I got it. I got it.”

I looked at all three of them, worried. Was she actually going to scramble my brain? It would leave me alive, but a vegetable. If anything, that would be exactly what these two wanted.

“You were serious about that? Look, I know you don’t like me…”

Noah scoffed. “Don’t like you? We fucking hate you. But if you’re thinking we are going to incapacitate you indefinitely, you’re wrong. Nate would kill us.”

Finn chuckled. “Plus, it would mean other people could control your life, and they might kill you, thus killing Nate. So that’s out too. Don’t worry, that’s not the plan.”

Lor bounced up the stairs, and Finn followed her. Noah moved to the side to allow me to walk up. Moving forward, I put my hand on the railing.

“What is the plan then?”

Noah chuckled. “To put you in as much pain as Nate went through.”

Suddenly, I wish I hadn’t asked. I swallowed and headed up the stairs. Their sleeping quarters were almost completely bare as well. There were no clothes in the closet. No pictures or rugs. There was still the bed with sheets and a blanket on it. Lor hopped around the room, grabbing a glass of water, a trash can, and a couple of pillows. She shoved the water into my hands.

“Drink this.”

I looked down at it, wondering if it was poisoned.

She giggled. “I need you hydrated. This might take a while.”

Propping up pillows, she flopped on the bed and sat up against the headboard. She adjusted the pillows for her comfort before adding a small round pillow to her lap. Patting the pillow, Lor looked at me expectantly.

“What…?”

“You’re going to lie between my legs and put your head here. On your back. You don’t get to make a pass at me. You aren’t Sol.”

I looked at Noah. “Seriously…I know you won, but…”

“Do it, Silas. Or I submit the documentation that you refused to fulfill the loss. You saw what Nate went through for crimes against your mate. Sol isn’t here to save your ass if we do it.”

Sighing, I handed Finn my cane since he was holding out his hand. Limping over, I sat on the bed before pushing myself up until my head was on the pillow. Looking up, I saw her face looking down at me.

“Honestly, it’s uncanny how similar you are to Solaris. She used to let me do this to her all the time.” Lor chuckled. “I got very good at it despite it not being my main element.”

“Fix his nerves if you can, Lor, while you’re at it.” I looked at Noah, surprised. He shook his head. “Not for your benefit, Alpha. Don’t be so shocked.”

Finn leaned against the wall. “Hopefully, it will work.”

Noah nodded.

Lor laughed again. “Of course it will work. Who do you take me for? Some third-rate magician? Close your eyes, wolf. I’ll be putting my hands on the side of your face, and that’s it.”

I nodded and closed my eyes. Her hands were cool while gripping my head. There was a flash of blue that I could see when my eyes closed, and suddenly I slipped unconscious.

\-

I blinked a few times and took in my surroundings. It was a completely white, blindingly so, room. There were outlines of doors that I could see against the walls, but nothing else. There was a tap, and I spun around to see Lor, skipping around the room.

“What is…?”

“This is your subconscious. Well, something like that. It’s a little more complicated, but your pea brain couldn’t handle it.”

My eyes narrowed. “What are you doing here? What are we doing here?”

“Well, you’re here because I’m here. Something about my being here usually makes the mind try to guard itself by sending its owner in.”

“So then why are you here?”

Lor cackled. “I’m here to cause you pain.”

I shook my head. “So you’re going to torture me? In my mind?”

“No, no. I don’t do torture. Jesus, who do you think I am? Fuck. I thought you were smart. Sol always had good things to say about you.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

She skipped around the room, inspecting the doors along the wall. “Let you torture you, of course.” A door swung open, and she peered inside. “Damn it, I try to get it on the first try. You can join us if you want.”

I realized she wasn’t talking to me, but into the door. A huge black wolf stepped out of the door and shook out its fur.

“Eros?”

“Well, this is an interesting turn of events.” Eros’s voice was a little deeper than normal, but otherwise, it was exactly as he was pictured in my mind.

He turned to Lor. “I’m assuming you’re planning to unlock that room?”

She smirked. “Gonna stop me?”

Eros laughed deeply. “Just tell me if you need help.” He curled up in the center of the room and wrapped his tail around. “I’ve tried to open it for years.”

“You’re supposed to be my wolf. Why would you offer to help her?”

“But my opinions don’t matter, Silas. Remember. I’m just focused on running into the sunset.”

Lor laughed. “Now I see why your aura was like that. Anyway…”

She bounced to the next room and swung open the door. Peering in, she slammed it shut. Then walked to the opposite wall and opened up the door on that side.

“Ah ha! Here it is. Damn. Daaaamn.”

Lor disappeared through the door, and curiosity got the better of me. I followed her and walked through the door. It differed completely from the blank nothingness of the previous area.

This place was cold, dungeon-like, with stone blocks and moss growing between the grey stone. Almost a near replica of the dungeon that used to be under the pack house, before Nate renovated it. Except there was only a single door on the far wall. It was a huge stone door, the stone nearly black. It had chains and locks with no keyholes wrapping around it. One thing I recognized was the rune carved into the stone.

Lor, pulling on some of the chains, humming to herself. She touched the door itself, but a flash of red made me flinch back. She snorted and shook her head.

“Well, this definitely makes things interesting.” Looking back at me, she smirked. “You have been a bad wolf, tampering with forbidden magic.”