Chapter 24 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
MAEVA
“More people are starting to look for you. Grant is telling everyone that will listen that you ran away and left everyone to their fate.” Taron says over the phone.
I release a heavy sigh. Grant will answer for his insubordination when I return to the pack. Maybe I’ll finally banish him and he can go join the packs he wants us to merge with so badly.
“Don’t engage. I’m sure that is what he wants. Just keep everybody too busy to cause problems. This will be over soon.”
“You’re locked up and you refuse to do what you must to regain your freedom, I don’t think this thing is ending anytime soon. Maybe you should talk to him and come to an understanding. Your delayed presence in the pack is bringing up rifts.”
He’s right, but I’m not going to tell him that. I reviewed all my options and even tried to escape but I couldn’t. The only way out of here is if Caius lets me out.
“I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay, but talk to …”
I end the call before he reminds me one last time. It pains me that I will have to pretend to accept Caius so he can allow me go home. My fists clench at the word ‘Allow’. Has it come to this?
Footsteps approach and I stand up from the bed. Caius is here. His scent fills the room before he even stands at the door. My wolf stirs at the scent of her mate and I push her down. This isn’t the time to feel anything, I want to regain control of my life.
He stops at the door but doesn’t knock or open the slot. Whatever game he’s playing, I don’t want any part of it. I walk to the door and unlock it from my end. He wants to talk? Fine, let’s talk.
He unlocks the door from his end and pushes it open. He smells so good. I try my hardest not to take a very deep breath as I meet his gaze head on. That’s a mistake but I’m not backing down. Caius has the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen. Brown pools that sparkle every time he smiles at me.
I clear my throat and take a step back. “You wanted to talk, let’s talk.”
I walk backwards towards the bed and he strolls into the room slowly. His eyes move around the room before settling on me.
“I thought this place would have been destroyed by now.”
“I don’t like to live in dirt.” I say, not taking my eyes off him.
“I heard about yesterday.” He says dragging a seat from the other end of the room and putting it in front of the bed.
He takes a seat and crosses his legs. My eyes move from him to the open door. He’s fast but maybe if I keep him distracted…
“Don’t even think about it. You might make it out of that door but there is no escape.”
Damn it, he knew I was thinking about it.
“What do I have to do to regain my freedom? Don’t even say accept your mark because I would rather die than do that.”
He frowns before he replies. “You don’t have to accept my mark or let me ease the pain of your heat. All you have to do, is give this a fair chance. That’s all I ask of.”
“What does a fair chance mean?”
“Don’t ignore me when I talk to you, get to know me. I know your fears about this, let me show you that it won’t be like that.”
“Kidnapping me is a great way to start.”
His jaw clenches and some of the frustration he’s trying to hide, shows on his face.
“I had no choice.”
“What if I want to fight you for my freedom? If I win, then I walk away and you accept that nothing will happen between us.”
“You won’t win.” He says, the smug look back on his face.
“Why? Because you think I’m weak?”
He shakes his head. “Because I want you too much to lose.”
Nice save but we both know he’s stronger than me. If he had agreed I fully planned to cheat my way to victory.
“You won’t let me go and you won’t let me fight for my freedom, what happens now?”
“Maybe we can have a conversation. My beta said you both talked and I will admit that I wanted to punch his face in.”
I scoff and finally sit down.
“Don’t I get breakfast today? Are you starving me now?”
“I’m sorry. A fight happened in the pack kitchen this morning so breakfast will be delayed.”
“You don’t have a restaurant in town?”
“We do but pack food is better.”
How is that possible?
“So how does your pack make money?” I ask
“Clayton and I run a farm. It’s big and it’s where the pack gets most of its food supplies from. Other pack members run businesses in town. Every few months, we takes some of our supplies to other shifter towns.”
“What? You interact with other shifters?” I ask, confused.
“Yes, it’s not illegal. The only ones who can’t come into werewolf territory are vampires and witches.”
No wonder he’s so powerful. All the alphas surrounding me do not interact with other shifters, I didn’t know it was possible. Fascination grows within me but I push it down.
“Whose fancy cage was this?” I ask.
“My mothers’.” He says quietly and I freeze.
Everyone has heard what happened to his mother. His father dragged her out in front of the whole pack and killed her. His face is emotionless and the glint in his eyes is gone.
“I’m sorry that happened to you.”
Seeing your father kill your mother couldn’t have been easy. And he had her locked up too. His father was a monster, I wonder if that trait transferred. Could he do that to me too?
“He killed her for everybody’s good.” He says not looking at me. “She was poisoned and went mad. Her condition worsened with each new day. He built her this beautiful house to show her how much he loved her and in the end, she lived here because it was the only place to keep her from hurting others.”
That’s not the version of the story we heard. The need to comfort him and the need to stay very far away from him fights within me.
“She became too strong for this place to hold and she escaped. She killed two pack members as she ran. That was when my father knew it was better for everybody for her to die and rest.”
“Why does nobody know this?”
He laughs. “My mother was proud. We knew she wouldn’t want to be remembered for being mad. Her death was never supposed to leave the pack.”
“What happened to the wolf who leaked it?
He looks up at me and his answer is clear. He paid with his life.