Chapter 101 Chapter 101
When Brock had said he could get her in, she hadn’t even paused to ask questions. Now as they were walking in the door, she had hundreds and no way to ask them.
Earl was the guard that let them in, he nodded to Brock without so much as a question. He gave Shae a curious look.
“We’re here to look at options,” Brock said, his tone flat and cool.
Shae had to look around as he spoke, so she wouldn’t stare at him when his voice was so low and emotionless. She preferred the real Brock.
Earl’s eyebrows went up. “Oh. I didn’t realize that was a done deal now.” He stepped further away from Shae.
When things settled down, if things settled down, she needed to find out what the protocol was among shifters—as she was one of them and had no idea. How many people knew she was supposed to be mated to Brock? Probably the entire village knew, it would explain the strange looks she had been getting.
Brock made a small shrug with his shoulder. “Just keeping all options on the table.” He looked down the hall for a moment. “If you could keep it to yourself, I’d appreciate it. I don’t need flocks of women in my face planning a ceremony and shit.”
Earl grinned, “I can do that.” He glanced in the office over his shoulder, “Do you need me?”
Brain finally catching up, Shae shook her head. “We’ll be fine.”
Shrugging, Earl motioned down the hallway. “You know where they are. Give me a shout if you need me.”
Brock didn’t even acknowledge him as he started walking away. Shae caught up to him after she made sure Earl went back in the office. Brock lifted a finger to his lips, telling her not to speak. She didn’t understand why, but did it anyway.
Her stomach was in knots when they stopped at the door where Calum was. Sensing her reluctance, Brock put a hand on her back and gave her a nudge as he opened it.
Standing there, frozen on the spot as he followed her in and closed the door. All she’d wanted to do since she woke up was see Calum, and now she stood here looking at the floor in front of her.
Brock leaned closer and spoke near her ear. “Cat’s hearing, he could have heard everything we said in the hall…” he put his hands on her shoulders, and kneaded them, “are you okay?”
A low, lethal growl filled the room.
Shae jerked her head up and looked at Calum, his eyes were on Brock and he wasn’t happy. A warm feeling flushed through her as quick at the sharp intake of her breath.
Brock lifted his hands off her. “Well, I have a new subject for my fantasies for the rest of my life,” he sighed softly, “sorry Garrett.”
“Calum.” She quickly got the key out of her pocket, “he’s here to help me get you out of here.” His head lifted to look at her, surprise on his face, which turned to furrowed brows quickly.
“What the fuck happened to your mouth?” He demanded.
His voice was low, and until that moment she had no idea that dangerous and menacing appealed to her so much.
“It wasn’t like that last night.” His eyes were focused solely on her face now.
Shae fumbled with the keys in her hands as she went over to him, trying to figure out which one was for the collar. “It was pretty dark in here…” She knelt close to him.
He stopped her movement by cupping her chin gently and turning her face so he could look at it. “My mouth was all over yours, I would have felt this and tasted your blood.” He hissed. “Who did this to you?”
Pulling from his grasp, she jingled the keys, “let me get the collar off.” He turned as much as he could so she could try the first key. It worked. Opening it, she eased it off his neck, her heart pounding when she saw the red marks on his skin.
Calum was on his feet, pulling her to him before she could think. She sucked in a breath when she realized how big he was standing up. He had to be close to six foot five, at least. Grasping her chin lightly, he tipped her face up so she had to look at him.
His green eyes were hard. “Who the fuck hit you?” He lowered his face closer to hers, “they’re dead.”
“Be still my heart,” Brock squeaked, “no, seriously it’s skipping all around inside me…”
“Brock, not now.” Shae hissed.
Calum’s head snapped around to look at him. “This is the Brock?”
Huffing out a breath, she lifted one of his hands to look at the cuffs, “Apparently, Brock is very good with secrets.”
“Heh,” Brock chuckled, “don’t mind me being here, continue with the he-man thing. It’s very stirring…”
She paused to watch Calum look him up and down for a moment before he turned and looked back down at her. With a touch, softer than a feather, he cupped the side of her face and lowered his head to lick over her swollen lip. Never could she have imagined a fat lip could feel so sexy. Lifting his head, he looked at her, his eyes searching her face.
“We’re going to continue this conversation about who…”
It dawned on Shae where they were and why they were here. “Let’s get you out of here first.” She held up his arm, “do you think you can break these? Or mangle them a bit?” She looked nervously over to Brock, then back to him, “so it looks like you broke out?”
He grunted and pulled his arm free from her. Looking down at the collar, he growled quietly. Bending down, he picked up the offensive piece of metal and grasped it in both hands.
Shae stood there, her jaw slack as she watched him twist the collar like it was made out of rubber, not steel. He dropped it with a clank and then held out his arms and clenched his fists. With a low rumble coming from his chest, she saw the muscles in his arms moving, growing. The metal around his wrists protested the pressure, emitting a soft squealing sound, then the one popped open and clattered to the floor, followed by the second one a mere breath later.
“Oh my...” Brock sighed.
Rolling his shoulders, Calum gave him a quick glance then was right in front of Shae again. “What about my clansman?”
She couldn’t think as she looked up into his eyes that were a brighter green now, more cat than man. She cringed when she realized he was waiting for an answer. “One of your clansman are here?”
He nodded, as he gently brushed her hair over her shoulder. “There might be more, I tracked three this way, I saw Dale in the shower.”
“They let you shower together in here?” Brock asked. “I should have faked being a guard and not a second.” he mused.
Shae turned to look at him briefly, he shrugged. “We can’t just run down the hall calling out names and freeing everyone.”
Calum clenched his jaw, then spun to look at Brock. “Why doesn’t someone challenge the alpha and put a stop to this?” he snarled.
Brock’s eyebrows shot up. “Yes, right” he rolled his eyes dramatically, “everyone will follow a gay alpha.” He snorted. “There’s so much male pheromones around here, most days I walk around stoned from it.”
Shae’s nerves were vibrating. “We’ll look for them, but first we need to get you out of here.” She turned to Brock, “how are we getting him out of here?
Brock huffed out a breath, “we’ll get him to the back door, it’s not far. Let him out into the forbidden area…”
“Will anyone be there?” She’d always been warned about going there, the whole village had been, but she never understood why. One more thing to add to the list of things she needed to find out.
He shook his head. “Only one that goes there is Jerome and he’s on a supply run.”
She nodded. “Okay.” Her stomach was bubbling with the idea of getting Calum out, she felt ill thinking she would never see him again, but there was no other option. Turning, she was surprised how close he stood to her, his green eyes moving down over her. She thought she’d seen him inhale subtly a few times. “Let’s go.” She whispered, trying to keep the emotion out of her voice and failing.
He grasped her hand and nodded, then looked at Brock. “Lead the way.”
Brock glanced at their hands and sighed. “Let me check.” He turned and opened the door then stepped out. With a stiff posture, he glanced in both directions, then motioned for them to follow.
It was the longest, tensest, thirty feet in her life as they moved to the door that Brock stood holding open. She was shocked when they stepped through and were outside.
Brock kept half his body in the building and motioned to the right. “Do not go that way. I don’t know how you got up here, but avoid that way.”
Calum nodded, then looked down at Shae. His hand tightened on hers as he pulled her closer. “Come with me.”
Shae shook her head, “I-I can’t…”
His eyes search hers for a moment, “I’ll be back, with help.” He whispered.
She stood there motionless as he gently kissed her cheek and released her hand.
They both stood there in silence and watched as he ran, fast, into the tall overgrown weeds.
Tugging on her arm, Brock pulled her back into the building. He grimaced at her. “We’re going to look for his clansmen?”
She nodded. They hadn’t asked names, but she had said she would. So, they were.
An hour later she sat at Nona’s trying to stomach a cup of tea. Her whole body was shaking, thinking of what they’d done. They did find one more of the captives that knew Calum, his name was Marc and he had been the man she’d stitched up on her first visit inside.
He was gone. Calum was gone. She sat there taking deep breaths and trying not to cry. She didn’t know why she wanted to cry. They’d done a good thing, now Calum could go home. He said he’d come back, but why would he ever risk that?
“Shae, child?”
Nona’s voice brought her back to reality. She looked at her.
Patting her hand, she offered a soft smile. “It will all work out, child.”
Marilyn nodded from where she sat across the table. “I had a vision once,” she said, in a soft hushed voice she rarely used, “in it was Shae, leading our people to freedom and ending the tyranny and cultism our proud clan has been forced to live with.” She didn’t say any more than that.
Brock moved from where he’d been leaning against the wall and bent down to hug Shae tightly into his chest. “It wouldn’t surprise me.” He straightened and started for the door, “I have to get back before the chest-beating-chief returns. Prepare my story in case Earl yaps and says we were there.” He stopped and gave Shae a smile, “He said he’ll be back… and I believe he will be.” He winked, “a big rawr for that one.” With that he left.
“Who will be back?” her mother asked?
Shae stared into the cup she held in between her palms. “Calum. He said he’d be back with help.” She looked up at the women around the table, both hope and fear were in their eyes.