Chapter 32
Chapter 32
Reid turned to focus on me, studying my face, and my treacherous racing heart was giving me away. Luckily, he decided not to approach me and went to his walk-in closet; eager rustling noises were coming from the other side of the stained wood door.
Dane had taken a couple of steps into the room, staying close-by to the threshold but was still able to keep a watch of me. I had stayed on the floor but was now sitting on my knees, staring right back at him as his eyes glazed over in a mindlink. I assumed it was to give Reid more details whilst he changed, but them being secretive made me even more desperate to know how everything had gone down.
Within a minute or two, Reid had emerged fully dressed in loose tracksuit bottoms and a simple plain black vest, accompanied by some sliders just to keep his feet off the cold and grimy floors. He beelined straight for me, grabbed me around my bicep, dragged me up from the floor to my feet and started to tinker with my bindings.
As soon as the collar came away from my neck, I instant felt the weight lift, and the cool fresh air suddenly massaging the bare skin. My hand automatically went to my neck, rubbing at the tenderised area.
Reid did not give me much time to adjust to my new extra bit of freedom, as temporary as it was going to be. He roughly grabbed me around my wrist and immediately started to drag me out of the room, down the stairs, straight for the door and outside into the dark brisk night, scarcely illuminated by lights sitting high up on the edges of the Packhouse.
We reached a patch of roughly kept dewy grass with many figures dotted around a line of eight crouching, black masses that I could not see clearly. When I realised what was happening, my stomach dropped, and I began shaking. My hand was released, and I slowed, too anxious to go any further and see who had been captured.
As I trudged closer, features of each person became easier to make out; but the first thing that I tried to look for was a woman with blonde hair. I promptly noticed Pops third from the left and her eyes were already on me, staring. As soon as I made eye-contact with her, she mouthed the word ‘sorry’ to me. Tears sprang from my eyes, mercilessly falling down my face as though I was already in mourning for my friend.
I finally halted my movements some distance from the miserable group that had resigned themselves to their fates, they were just simply observing all that was unfolding around them.
Reid paced in front of the unsuccessful escapee’s, inspecting the cowering herd of bodies one by one in pure silence, increasing the fear that had already been spiraling from them. The smell radiating around in the nippy air agitated my already sensitive stomach.
“Do any of you remember what had been said to you when you arrived here yesterday?” Reid spoke the question in general as he eventually addressed the women, not directing it towards one person in particular, yet silence remained. Everyone including the surrounding bitter men were too apprehensive to answer, but he continued speaking anyway, as though he was not actually expecting anything in return in the first place. “You were all told that any bad behaviour would be punishable, and that we have a place in town where we do any public retributions. Tomorrow, you will all be brought there to face your comeuppance for trying to escape. Now, who was the ringleader of this brainless rabble?”
Again, not one person from the faction of women replied to him, substantially increasing his frustration with them.
“Someone needs to answer me, right now!” His short fuse was gone as he roared, commanding in his Alpha voice and forcing the power to rush over every person out here, buckling each one to the ground. As everyone bent to his will, I was still standing but trembled violently as I tried to fight the command in the background of the oppressive scene. I did not know who had suggested the break-out as Pops had never mentioned it, but fuck I was uneasy at the possibility of it being her.
Low and behold, she was the instigating pillock as it was her that shuffled forward on her knees through the filth of the ground.
The look on Reid’s face was intense as he glared at Poppy, seemingly considering what he would say next.
“You will be first to face the consequences of your actions in the morning, and it will also be more severe in comparison to the others. It is all your own doing, and I do expect you to behave for the final moments leading up to your judgement.” His words were final, and with no room for argument he turned around and started to walk away from the straggle of defeated wolves, not stopping in front of me but did indicate for me to follow.
With one last longing look at Pops’ crouching figure, I started to follow after Reid; back to the bedroom in an uncomfortable peace, dread settling deep within me over what was going to happen when the rose. I was content knowing that I would not be present to see the beating that Pops was going to receive, I would not cope seeing the pain that Reid was planning on inflicting on her. It must be the only time that I have appreciated the confines of the bedroom with my collar, chains and pitiful duties.
When he held the door open for me to enter the room behind him, Reid’s chosen company was still in bed when we returned, and I was assuming that her lightly snoring form meant that she was fast asleep, completely ignorant of what had unfolded tonight. I moped on over to my blanket and stood with my head bowed, crying mutely as Reid returned my restraints to their original place around my throat.
“I hope that you weren’t aware of their plans?” His face was emotionless, the only sign of him being livid were the creases on his forehead and his two eyebrows pulled together to make one bushy monobrow.
My heart skipped a few beats, ultimately giving away the fact that I had known, but I still refused to verbally answer him.
“I see. You did, but you chose not to say anything. I guess you will have to be punished too.”
“If I had said something, I would have been punished anyway. Besides, I chose to hope that my friend would listen to me when I tried to get her to stay.” I struggled to say anything at all through the emotions pouring out of me. I choked on the words that I was trying to form as I fought to hold myself in-check long enough to speak to the domineering, pompous prat.
“And how in the name of the Goddess did you speak to her in the first place?”
“She snuck in here when you were on the field doing training.” I mumbled, barely able to pronounce the words separately, so it all came out as one long mushed-up mess, as my tears fell from my jaw to the floor unrelenting.
He hummed in response, considering something silently by himself.
“From now on, there will be a guard stationed outside the door. Think of him as someone to ensure your safety, your survival in this pack.”
“There’s no need, I have no-one else that would be willing to risk it all for me.” It was the truth, because he certainly was not even willing to risk getting a papercut for me, yet alone his neck or even his life, and yet, he was my fucking Goddess-given mate.
“Whatever, it’s still going to happen whether you say anything or not.” That was all he had to say, before going over to the bed, stripping back down to his birth suit and climbing in with his tart that he had brought back for the night, leaving his clothes heaped on the floor for his personal maid to clear in the morning, aka me.