Chapter 157 157. The mindlink
Chapter 157 157. The mindlink
Tabitha’s POV
The room is swallowed in darkness when I step inside, the air stale as if it has not been disturbed in a long time. I close the door behind me and take out my phone, my fingers trembling as I switch on the flashlight and lift it slowly. The beam sweeps across the floor and climbs the far wall, and my breath locks in my throat when shapes begin to form in the light. Four figures are chained upright against the stone, their wrists and ankles bound in thick silver that glints under the pale glow.
“What the—”
The brothers are bound to the wall in silver chains. Their wrists and ankles are locked in place, their bodies held upright by restraints that gleam under the light. The metal has burned into their skin where it touches, and even from here I can see the damage it has done.
“Oh my God…!” I whisper.
Reed’s head snaps up at the sound of my voice. His golden eyes lock onto mine, but there is no warmth in them—only something feral that makes skin shiver in fear. A snarl rips from his throat as he lunges toward me, and the chain around his neck jerks tight and stops him mid stride.
“AHH!!” I gasp and stumble back.
The movement rouses the others. Evren lifts his head and his eyes gleam in the dim light. Luca strains against his bonds, his jaw clenched. Jace bares his teeth as a growl vibrates in his chest. They are not shifted, but their wolves are at the surface, pressing against skin that can barely contain them.
“W-What… Why are you chained here?” My hands shake, but I force myself to step closer.
Reed lunges again and his teeth snap inches from my fingers. I yank my hand back with a scream. My heart is pounding so hard it hurts. They glare at me like predators cornered in a cage.
“Leave! You shouldn’t be here.”
The voice slips into my head, faint but clear enough that I know it is Reed.
My breath stutters. He’s speaking to me through the mindlink!
“Get out of here. We can’t control ourselves.” Evren’s strained voice follows as if he is fighting through a wall just to reach me.
Their bodies are here, but their voices sound trapped inside them.
“I-I don’t understand…” I choke. “Why did they chain you here? What’s happening?”
I’m just about to take another wary step towards them when a sudden explosion tears through the mansion and the floor shudders beneath my feet.
The blast is so loud that my ears ring, and dust falls from the ceiling as another rumble follows. The brothers erupt into snarls at the sound and throw themselves against their chains, but the silver digs deeper into their skin and smoke rises from the burns. They hiss in pain and the scent of scorched flesh fills the room.
Jace hisses when the silver shackles dig around his neck.
“Stop moving, you’re hurting yourself!” I cry.
But they don’t listen. They look like rabid dogs who are blindly trying to escape.
My chest aches at the sight of them. I hate that I don’t understand what’s happening. Before I can think, heavy footsteps thunder down the hallway outside, too many to be guards on routine patrol. Screams echo from somewhere deeper in the mansion.
“We’re being attacked!” someone shouts.
My pulse spikes. The Aldair estate is being attacked?!
Growls answer the screams, and they are not coming from the men chained in front of me.
The door slams open and a tall figure steps inside, flanked by two massive wolves whose eyes glow under the weak light of my phone. One look at their stance tells me they are not Crystal Ridge guards.
“W-Who are you?!” I try to sound brave but the shake in my voice reveals my fears.
I lift my phone higher and the light falls across the man’s face.
“Mario?” I choke out. “W-What are you doing here?”
He smiles as his gaze shifts past me to the brothers.
“Doing what we should’ve done years ago,” he mutters.
He tilts his head toward the wolves at his sides.
“Get them,” he orders.
“No!” I scream as one of the wolves lunges toward Luca.
I rush forward and shove at its shoulder, but it swings a heavy paw in response. The impact slams me against the wall and pain explodes at the back of my head.
“Aghh—!”
My vision swims, but I see Reed’s restraint snap as he breaks free in a surge of fury and launches himself at the wolf that struck me.
He doesn’t get far.
A sharp hiss cuts through the air and a silver dart buries itself in his neck. Reed drops mid stride and collapses onto the floor, unmoving.
I scream his name.
Through my blurred vision, I see Mario lowering a strange gun from his hand. He glances at Reed’s fallen body and then at the other three who are still straining against their chains.
He shakes his head and fires again. One by one, the darts strike Evren, Luca, and Jace, and their bodies go slack as the drug takes hold.
“Why are you doing this?” I shout at him, fury burning through the haze. “They’re defenseless for fuck’s sake!”
Mario’s eyes harden as he looks at me.
“Defenseless?” he says with a scoff. “Don’t make me laugh. They’re a disease on this island, Tabitha. After tonight, you’ll finally understand why.”
Rage blinds me and I lunge at him, but he backhands me across the face with enough force to send me crashing into the wall again. Pain bursts behind my eyes and I feel blood trickle down the side of my head as the room tilts.
Just before everything fades to black, I hear Mom’s voice cut through the chaos as she rushes into the room.
“What have you done to my daughter? I told you to leave her out of this!”
That’s the last thing I hear before everything melts into darkness.