Chapter 42 CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
CAIUS
“I’ve heard tales of how cold you can be but seeing it in person is different.”
My refusal to respond doesn’t discourage her from continuing.
“The other cage you put her in was pretty, comfortable and private. I didn’t think you would ever put your mate in a dirty, dark cage with pack defaulters.”
“In case my silence isn’t clue enough, I’m not discussing my mate with you.”
She pouts and waves me off. “You’re no fun. You’re trying to be different from all the werewolves that have come before you and I don’t like it.”
“Was it the one you were sleeping with that turned you into a werewolf hater?” I ask.
Her face darkens and she clenches her jaw. Good, now we can be done with this conversation.
“What do you need me to do?”
“Clayton and I are going to drag some of the bodies to your old cell and you’re going to get intimate with them for the next few days. Unfortunately they’ve not unlocked speech yet so we couldn’t ask any of them why they want to take you but hopefully, you’ll find out.”
She nods in response and I almost smile. So that’s the key to shutting her up.
“You know how to find the place don’t you?” I ask and she nods again.
“Don’t touch anything, and don’t go into any of the locked rooms. Just stay in the cell until I come there.”
She nods again and I leave. Whatever it is that happened with her and the werewolf must be hard for her but unfortunately for her, it is a card I will be pulling every time she gets on my nerves.
I meet with Clayton and other pack warriors. Clayton doesn’t want rogue blood on any of the pack cars so we have to carry the rogues ourselves. I already told the council and my pack members about the witch’s hopefully short stay in our pack to help us figure out what the deal with these rogues are.
The seven of us lift the rogues up and start carrying them to my mother’s house. Emotions clog my throat at the thought of all the people that will be entering the house today. It’s off limits to the pack members but I can’t carry the bodies alone, I have to involve the pack.
“Remind me again why we’re carrying all these bodies there. What are you going to do when the bodies start decomposing?”
“Easy. I won’t be there.”
“What about the witch?”
“She’s a witch. She lives for foul smells and odors.”
We dump and arrange the bodies on the floor of the cell and the pack warriors leave after.
“That’s a lot.” The witch says, her face looking better.
Surprisingly, she stood quietly by the side, almost out of eye range while we dropped the bodies. She didn’t make jokes or say something offensive.
“I want your findings to be as consistent as possible. We would have brought in more but the room can only comfortably hold seven.”
She looks at the dead rogues on the floor, lying side by side with enough space to move around them and she nods in approval.
“Am I to sleep with the dead rogues?” she asks.
“No. you’ll sleep in Maeva’s old cell.”
It kills me to keep her in somewhere that once held my mother but it is either here or the bedrooms upstairs and I won’t do that.
“I’ll give your Beta a list of everything I will need. You can go now.”
“Before we go, we need to make a blood pact.”
“Why?” she asks, lifting her brows.
“I don’t trust witches and I trust you less.”
She takes a deep breath then shrugs. “Fine. What will the pact be about?”
“You will report everything you find to me first before you report it to your coven.”
“That’s not possible.” She huffs.
“That’s the only way I’ll let you start.”
“You do realize you need witches right? And no which will agree to that term.”
“I also realize that this is important to you witches too and you will agree because if I refuse, we will all drown. I’m willing to let the rogues keep coming. Is your coven willing to wait for whatever will follow the rogue attacks?”
“I was wrong. You’re just like every insufferable werewolf that came before you.”
“Will you agree to my terms or not?”
“You have more than one?”
“You will report everything to me first. Everything. You cannot keep anything you find from me. That is what I want.”
She glares silently, probably seeing into my brain and thinking of all the spells she can pop my head with.
“Also, you are not allowed to tell Maeva anything about the rogues.”
She smiles then. “So I’m allowed to see her?”
Is she allowed to see her? I shake my head and put my hand forward. I extend my claws to cut my writ but the witch flicks her wrist and my cuts my wrist. She tries to cut hers but I grab her wrist.
“It’s only fair.” I say and cut her wrist with my claws.
We clasp our hands together and let the blood mix. The witch says the spell in old tongue but I’m not worried. The spell won’t bind if she’s adding something that I didn’t specifically mention. After the spell is done, I walk away with Clayton following behind.
“It’s a wonder how you’re not afraid of the witch.” He says.
I turn back to him in shock. “You’re afraid of a witch.”
“She has magic.”
MAEVA
My cell door opening makes me open my eyes. The witch walks in and blows a kiss to the guard who locks the door. This humiliation from Caius is the worst I have ever faced in my life. I called his bluff at his house and I woke up in a cell with pack defaulters. I will never forgive him for this.
“You look depressed.” She says.
“Anybody in my position would look depressed.”
“Don’t be sad. I’m here to cheer you up.”
“I don’t need it. Tell me what you found out about the rogues.”
She sighs dramatically. “Unfortunately I cannot tell you that. One, because I have not started finding out anything – I wanted to see you first – and two, because your mate had me make a blood pact that I won’t say anything to you about the rogues.”
I try to stand but the chains I’m caged with hold me back. I growl loudly and the witch backs away.
“That bastard!”
“You’ll find no arguments here. He really can be mean. Who would have thought that it’s the same wolf who was slowly wooing you the last time?”
“He’ll pay for everything. I swear it.”
“Maybe you should calm down and actually do what he says? No one is coming to save you.”
The words feel like betrayal. How could she say that?
“On a lighter note, you almost took my head off for being in the same room as your naked mate and he didn’t even notice. That’s good right?”
Don’t remind me.