“He’s going to be okay right?
“He’ll be out for ten minutes, twenty tops.”
I hesitantly stepped closer when David bend slightly and tugged Devon’s unconscious body over his shoulder. He straightened and turned towards me.
“Why don’t you open the door for Wrin, doll?”
I nodded and hurried to the door. Pulling it open, I stood aside for him to enter. Wrin clutched a black bag in one hand and a roll of tape in the other. I quickly closed the door once he had entered and followed them down the hall.
David was lowering Devon to the bed when I entered the room. My eyes widened when I saw the thick chains Wrin was pulling out of the bag he carried. He dropped the bag, placed the chains aside, and reached for the tape again.
“Go change Val,” David ordered softly. “Remember to wear something baggy and spray on the perfume Wrin gave you with the letter.”
I nodded but still hesitated in the doorway. Wrin tore off some tape and covered Devon’s mouth. Pain washed through me. I hated having to do this to him, but it was the only way for us to go through with our plan.
After returning to the packhouse, David had pulled me aside. He told me everything—including what was written on the notes that had been delivered to them. He came up with a plan—one to stop a war from breaking out. We could save so many lives by setting up this trap. If we could capture the man all our questions could be answered.
“Go Val. We don’t have much time left.”
With one last glance at Devon, I hurried out of the room and down the hall. Entering the bedroom, I pushed the door closed and made my way over to the bed. I quickly stripped out of my clothes and reached for the sweatpants. Next were the ankle boots and then Devon’s t-shirt. I hesitated as I pulled off the cap of the perfume.
“Time is running out Val. Remember why you’re doing this,” I muttered to myself.
I pulled a face as I sprayed perfume over my body. Placing the cap back on, I threw the bottle onto the bed. The bedroom door opened as I turned away from the bed. David entered the room and sneezed. My lips pulled up into a smile when I saw the look on his face.
“I didn’t mean you need to spray so much.”
“You said it confuses your sense of smell.”
“It does, but it also makes my nose burn.” He walked over to me and dropped something onto the bed. “Raise your shirt for me, doll.”
I gripped the hem of the shirt and tugged it up. He stepped closer before holding up a long strap.
“This is for the knives,” he explained as he wrapped it around my hips and fastened it. “You have two. Please be careful, these knives are sharp and meant to cut through bone.”
My heartbeat increased as he picked up the knives. He held it up for me to see before he slipped it into place. David turned the strap until I had one knife strapped to my back and the other to my stomach. He suddenly dropped to his knees in front of me.
“Do you know how to use a gun?” I licked my lips as I shook my head. “You aim and then you pull the trigger.”
He pulled a small silver gun from his boot and then held it up towards me with the barrel pointed towards the door. The gun was small enough to cover only the palm of his hand.
“This is the safety.” He pointed to the small button near the back of the gun. “The moment you pull the gun out, you flip the safety. These bullets won’t kill us, but it would inflict enough pain to slow one of us down and allow you to go in for the kill.”
David reached down and tugged on the pants. He pushed it up and then slipped the gun into the side of my boot. After covering it again, he straightened. David hesitated, and then reached up to cup my cheeks. He leaned down and pressed his forehead against mine.
Fear was the only emotion I could see in his eyes. “I’m scared,” I whispered.
He gave me a small smile. “Me too, doll. I’m so fucking scared that this will go wrong and I’d lose you. Devon would never forgive me.” He paused. “I’d never forgive myself.”
“I know that you will be there for me. I hate having to tie Devon up but I know why we have to do that.” Reaching up, I covered his hands with mine. “I don’t want anyone else to die and I don’t want to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life.”
“We should get going.”
I nodded. “Someone needs to stay with Devon.”
“One of Devon’s men will stay with him.”
I was shaking my head even before he had finished his sentence. My eyes dropped to his chest for a second before darting up to meet his.
“I want Wrin to stay here with him.”
“Val—” he breathed. “Wrin needs to come with us.”
“He doesn’t,” I whispered. “I trust you to be there for me if I’m in danger. You need to trust and believe in yourself David.”
“I can’t,” he whispered.
I pressed my palm against his cheek and stood on tiptoes to press a kiss against his lips. “I know you. I know that you will be there if I need you.”
David stepped back. “We need to leave.”
***
It was dark and eerily.
If it wasn’t for the fact that I knew David was following close by, I would’ve been scared shitless. Every movement made the leather holsters of the knives brush against my skin. If those failed and the gun, I at least had my claws and teeth to use.
This was all part of our plan.
David had helped me sneak out the back door while Wrin distracted the men. I had hidden in the trees while he made the ‘shocking’ announcement to the pack that I had run away. We were hoping that whoever the traitor was had already informed the man sending the threatening notes and making the threatening phone calls. Everything was planned and I just hoped that it all worked out.
I paused near a tree and leaned against it. There was no way to tell how much time had passed. A twig snapped. My eyes darted around, searching for the imposter. I slowly straightened and carefully moved away from the tree.
“That’s far enough,” a voice called out.
I froze because that voice was familiar. Something cold pressed against the side of my head making me tense. I tried to look at her from the corner of my eyes but she stood out of sight.
“I was told that you ran away,” she said softly. “You were always a weakling. I told him all we needed to do was wait.”
“W-what do you want?” My voice shook and I hated it.
I wanted to prove her wrong so badly. She knew nothing about me. It was because of her constant taunts that I believed myself to be weak. Since arriving here I had learned just how strong I was. I was part human, but I wasn’t weak.
She stepped in front of me but kept the gun trained on me. It was too dark to make out her facial expression. The hood she had pulled over her head wasn’t helping. I sucked in a deep breath and forced my body to relax. David was close by.
“I made a deal with the devil,” she said softly. “He didn’t hold up his end of the bargain so I made other plans which backfired when he suddenly appeared again. I was tired of waiting.”
“I don’t understand.”
She laughed. “Of course you don’t, darling. You never understood anything.”
She lowered the gun and turned. I knew that if I made one move she wouldn’t hesitate to kill me. I needed to get her talking. That way we could all get answers. I pursed my lips when a thought hit.
“You were the one that declared war.”
She spun around, causing the hood to slip off her head. “No. I only wanted one thing and that was you. I needed to make. . .friends to get what I wanted. I knew someone who knew someone. Of course, they are dead now because they couldn’t keep their mouths shut.” A scoff fell from her lips. “I was actually hoping. . .” she abruptly broke off.
“Why do you want me?”
“Stupid girl! I just told you!”
“Not in so many details,” I muttered. “Who’s the man?”
She stayed silent. I thought that she was going to keep avoiding the subject, but to my surprise, she moved closer and answered my question.
“We used to be friends. My brother and I were some of the unfortunate children that were born in the facility. When we were around five they removed us from our parents and placed us in the basement.” She made a gesture with her hand. “It was where other experiments were being handled. Carl and I were placed in the same room.”
Carl Woods? So that explained why I always saw him around when I was little. But his visits stopped when I turned eleven. That was also when she became bitter.
“I agreed to hand you over when you turn eighteen. He had a son and he wanted you to be his son’s mate. I haven’t heard from him in years so I thought he was dead. That was why I send you to all those packs. I was hoping one of them would think you weak enough and kill you.”
“Why do you hate me so much?”
“Because you and your mother ruined everything!” she yelled.
I shifted from foot to foot. It was a small movement but enough to make her raise the gun and aim it at my chest. I instantly froze again. She hated me; I could feel the strong emotion coming from her.
“I—”
“Shut up!” she screamed, making my body jerk. “I gave everything up to raise you because that bastard ordered me to. He fucking threatened me! If it wasn’t for you and your mother I would’ve had the life I’ve always wanted.”
“My mother is dead. How could you talk like that about her?”
Aunt Geraldine scoffed. She took a step closer. Pain shot through the side of my head when she hit me with the bud of the gun. I stumbled backward as I sucked in a sharp breath. For a moment dizziness hit but it quickly cleared. Before I could straighten, a kick to my side had me falling backward.
“Your mother was really pathetic,” she muttered as she kicked me again. “He took one look at her and fell to his knees. I tried to break it up before it got too serious but she got knocked up. I hated every moment she lived in that house with us. I hate you.” Another kick had me fighting to catch my breath. “He wants you alive and I want you dead.”
I glanced at her from underneath my bent arm. The gun was pointed at my head. One shot and I’d be dead. Leaves rustled, something cracked and then a big black wolf appeared. It was the same wolf I had seen on the first day I arrived here.
Aunt Geraldine’s attention went to him. The gun flew up and a shot rang out. The wolf darted away and disappeared. Panic hit me. Was he shot? Had she missed him? Where was he? I glanced up when she turned back to me.
“Pathetic,” she spat. “Just like your—”
A scream fell from my lips. I charged at her and tackled her to the ground. The air was knocked from her lungs when we hit the ground.
“Don’t allow her to shift.” David’s voice drifted through my mind. “Once she manages to shift your chances of killing her becomes less.”
Another scream fell from my lips when sharp nails scrapped my arms. I allowed my claws to slide out from the tips of my fingertips. My lips parted and a low growl fell from them. She froze. Satisfaction filled me when she gasped. Yeah bitch, I can shift too!
“No,” she whispered. “It’s impossible.”
I smiled. “You thought I’m weak, but I’m not. I’ve never been weak.” I dug my claws into her shoulders to keep her pinned to the ground. “I’m thankful for you that you forced me to come here. If you hadn’t then I would never have met my mates.”
“M-mates?” She shook her head. “No. They said one of the Alphas mated you.”
My smile widened. “Your informant was wrong aunt. I mated both Alphas. I have two mates.”
I was reveling in the satisfaction of having her speechless beneath me, that I wasn’t focusing on her like I should’ve been doing. I was thrown away from her and right against the tree. She shifted before I could tackle her to the ground again. I stared at a wolf a little smaller than David. She threw her head back and howled. In the next second, she was storming right at me.
I jumped out of the way at the last minute and spun around to watch her as she slammed into the tree. A whine fell from her lips as she stumbled away shaking her head. I swallowed when she turned her head to look at me. It was now or never. Show her how wrong she was about me, or prove her words right.
Straightening, I squared my shoulders and raised my chin. I took a few steps back until I stood on even ground. She pulled her upper lips back and growled. I blew out a breath and prepared myself as she charged. Her big body slammed into mine and knocked me backward. I pressed my forearms against her neck when she landed on top of me to keep her sharp teeth from ripping my throat out.
I wrapped my legs around her torso and squeezed. Bones snapped. A loud whine fell from her lips. Slipping my hands to her chest, I gave a push. She rolled away from me and slumped onto her side breathing heavily.
Bones cracked as she shifted back to human form. After a few minutes, I slowly pushed myself up and crawled towards her. Her eyes were closed and her body unmoving but she was still breathing. When I reached her, she opened her eyes and blinked up at me.
Her lips parted. “You can’t save them,” she croaked.
“What do you mean?”
“Your mates will die and you’ll live the hell I have.”
I wrapped my hands around her neck and squeezed. She deserved to die after everything she had done to my mother and me. She needed to die otherwise I would never be free. But I didn’t want to be the one to kill her. Despite all the hate, there was a small part in my heart that loved her. She was the only family I’ve ever known.
My hold on her loosened. I sat back and stared down at her. She was the reason I had met David and Devon. My eyes snapped back up to hers when she laughed.
“You’re all going to die.”