A Very Special Honor
A Very Special Honor
MAX
After escorting Yvette to her very own cell, complete with silver bars, I stand watching her from the other side, searching for any sign of remorse, any inkling of the guilt that I hope she is feeling for my Shiftless little slaven, but I find nothing.
Releasing a heavy breath, I tell her, “You know, Yvette, all my mother ever made me promise was to provide you a place to live. So, here you are. This is your place. Let me just tell you now…it is more than likely that you will be imprisoned for the remainder of your shallow little life.”
Her face cracks apart as I walk away, angry sobs echoing off the walls as she curses me and my mother over and over again.
A cold sort of dread washes over me as I realize for the first time that this incident with Blanca was not even Yvette's first offense, no. Because it is obvious she and Corlys had been connected for much longer than I have taken into account and if I am remembering correctly…Blanca said her sister was poisoned. That Drake poisoned her. And if he did…then there’s only one person who could have provided such a weapon for him.
Corlys.
And while I already presumed as much, I still find it hard to believe that Drake would have killed the Shiftless female that way. In cold blood.
What reason did he have for it?
Why her and no one else?
Did Corlys order him to do it?
I may never find out.
Finn stands waiting for me in the main hall of the prison, an angry frown marring his features as I approach.
Something else has happened. I know it.
“What?” I ask. “What is it, Finn?”
Finn shakes his head. “Open the Shadow Wolf Bulletin website. Check out the new video that was uploaded just a few hours ago. It should be at the top, because it has the most views.”
I do as he bids as we stalk past the guards that are duty to get to the lobby where the remainder of our small party waits. What I find at the top of the news website is an assortment of clips taken by civilian pack members. Moments caught on camera that the news website calls the voice of the community. The one on the very left has already accumulated over a thousand plus views and as our pack is made up of roughly five thousand members, maybe half that indulge in this website, that view count is abnormally high for one that was just uploaded today.
The thumbnail catches my eye and my blood freezes in my veins. The image appears to be one of the field behind the graveyard. The very same that now sits drenched in Gamma Corlys’ blood.
“No…” I whisper, stopping dead in my tracks as I hit play and the clip commences with Blanca tied to the vehicle and chasing after the SUV. She is unbruised and unharmed at this point and the cameraman is practically hanging out of a back window while he records, but soon, after only a minute or so of running, Blanca has her first tumble, hitting the dirt and rocks before she is dragged by the still moving vehicle.
A fire erupts inside of me and I snarl, “I thought we confiscated their phones.”
“We did,” Finn says, “but obviously not before one of them uploaded this footage.”
“Get Alfred. Meet me on the third floor where the juveniles are being held.”
“Yes sir,” Finn agrees, taking off.
I watch him jog down the corridor and turn the corner before I snarl at the guard on watch to allow me upstairs.
As I pass him, he calls to me, “Alpha Max?”
I stop dead, releasing my breath in an irritated huff, my eyes still on my phone screen where Blanca has managed to stand only to begin running again. Her face appears fierce and relentless. Brave. And for that I am proud.
“What is it, Gamma?” I don’t know his name, so I do not use it.
“I heard about the body they found in the lake. Gamma Frank’s body. I was just wondering if you are any closer to finding out who did it.”
Oddly enough, I’m able to smile when he asks this and when I spin on him he bristles. I pause the recording. “No. We’re not. However, I’ve been meaning to ask a few questions of my own.” I eye him carefully. “Were you aware that Frank and Talbot had been regularly assaulting the Shiftless prisoner that was once housed down below?”
The guard’s eyes go wide as saucers, the dark chocolate of his skin lightening a shade or two as he pales. “No sir. I wasn’t. W-were they?”
I step closer, glare down at him. “They were.”
The guard frowns for a moment before schooling his features and fixing his gaze on something straight ahead of him. “In that case…maybe justice has been served.”
Deciding that I like that answer, I pat him on the shoulder. “Indeed,” I agree and then continue up the stairwell.
Stepping toward the end of the corridor so that I might watch each of their faces at the very same time, I make my announcement, “One of you may have just earned himself more time here in this hell. All depending on the answers I receive in the next few minutes.”
The eleven youngsters, once so brazen and disrespectful, now appear miserable and anxious. Each of them looks on with a good amount of fear in their eyes and I smile with satisfaction, knowing their parents still have yet to learn of their fates. I had Jared call them and arrange meetings with each, but as these eleven normally reside within the dorms of the packhouse, the parents are unaware that anything has changed and those appointments aren’t until tomorrow morning. Of course, it’s more than likely that at least one or two sets of them will happen upon the video and know their son is in a heap of trouble, but I’ll tackle those issues as they come.
The driver of the SUV is the only one obviously innocent and so I place myself directly in front of his cell, towering over the half-yoked bastard while I say my next words. “One of you has earned a very special honor. One that is usually reserved for men with a little more hair on their balls.” I gaze at them sharply, just as Alfred and Finn stalk into the room. Brandishing my phone for all to see, I ask my question. “Which of you recorded this?”