Chapter 81 Treated like Livestock pt 3
Julian
"The guards had them. No idea where they are now," he said. I could see some warriors in the distance unlocking captives, so I had to assume that was where they were. With so many people bound, we'd be here all day just trying to release them if we didn't find another way. I stepped up to the woman in front of me.
"May I look at your bindings? I will do my best not to hurt you or aggravate any wounds you may have already," I said as softly as I could.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "Who are you? Why are you helping us?"
"My name is Julian, and I'm the Beta from Crescent Moon Pack. We're here to help. No one should be treated as you have been."
"And why should I believe you? You could be just like our Beta. In it for whatever profit you can make for yourself." There was venom in her tone.
"Did you know Kayla? Louise?"
She looked at me suspiciously. "Yes, everyone did. Louise was the head omega."
"Kayla's my mate. Louise is my mother-in-law. We came as soon as we could in order to help you, partially at their request. Mostly because it's the right thing to do. But I promise you'll be safe with us."
She finally relented. "Fine. Do what you must. But the bindings are strong. We've been trying to get out of them for days." I looked at her more closely then and could see the raw wounds around her wrists. Wrists that were more bone than flesh. There was silver wire spun into the rope. I moved closer so that I could get a good look at the collar locked around her neck. It looked like regular leather, but I wanted to make sure it was not leather covering silver. I gently slipped my fingers between the collar and her neck, and it flexed easily. That made things simpler.
"Basic leather, then. It looks like the silver is in the rope, just enough to mute your wolves and keep you weak. We just need something to break these collars keeping you tethered, and then we can work on getting you fully unbound. But I bet you'd all like to sit down for a bit." A couple of them nodded weakly. The leads to the collars were too short to allow any kind of true rest. They would choke themselves if they tried to sit or lie down.
I pulled at my earth element again, searching for just the right stone. I found obsidian buried deep down and called it to me. It came up, erupting in a shower of dirt as it flew to my hand. I slammed it against the stone pillar the captives were linked to. An edge sheared off, leaving a nice sharp plane behind. It would have to do.
Gripping the collar in my hand, keeping my palm between it and the woman's neck, I used my makeshift knife to saw through the leather. Once it broke apart, she breathed a small sigh of relief and fell to her knees. "Thank you, Beta Julian." I signaled to some of my warriors to help her up and out into the fresh air. Then I shared through the link, 'Prioritize getting them untethered. Cut the collars if that's easiest. We can deal with the silver-laced ropes once we get everyone away from these posts.'
I met Lucian's gaze across the room. The suffering of these women was evident in the furrows around his eyes and the grim set of his lips, showing how deeply he felt it. As a Gamma, he was naturally tuned to help calm distressed she-wolves, but this had to be overwhelming. He acknowledged my order, then moved to another pole and started cutting through collars.
'Duncan, how's the fight? We're tied up at the barracks. We'll fill you in later, but we won't be able to support more than we have already.'
'We're finishing up; almost everyone is neutralized at this point. Gideon captured Beta George. We'll be pulling the POW's to the training field shortly for the King's judgment. You need help? I can send a group in about five minutes.'
'Send as many as you can, with knives or something sharp.'
'Done. Stay safe.'
He cut the link, leaving me to go back to working my way through this hellscape I walked into. As I approached the whipped warrior's collar, the fury in his eyes faded, replaced by a weary stillness. The tension in his shoulders lessened, a barely perceptible release.
"There should be equipment in the storage building on the other side of the barracks that can cut through the ropes. Bolt cutters, garden trimmers, shears," he shared.
"Thank you." I finished with his collar and threw it to the side. The post was empty now, just a stone pillar with broken collars dangling on chains. "Go outside, get some air. We'll be through to finish breaking the bindings as soon as we can."
He nodded and then turned to leave. Hesitating just a moment, he turned back to me. "I didn't think there was any kindness left in the world after seeing what the people in this pack could do. You've given me hope that maybe there are still good people out there." At that, he walked through the doors to the barn, bloody back on display for all to see.