Chapter 75 75
Damien POV
“I’d rather have you checked over.”
Dominique had been stuck in damp, cold places for days. Dehydration alone could be a problem, and I wasn’t taking chances.
“The first car’s ready!” Théo calls from the bus shelter.
I lift Dominique into my arms.
My son.
The thought hits harder than I expect. The weight of him against my chest brings a strange calm, something steady settling inside me.
I walk them both to the car and carefully place Dominique into the back seat.
“Get him to the pack hospital,” I order Théo. “I’ll deal with the mess here.”
“The police” Aurélie starts, standing between the open door and the seat.
“I’ll handle it,” I cut in firmly. “I’ll meet you back at my pack. Don’t stop. I’ll be right behind you.”
In the human world, I have contingencies. Contacts. An alias. When situations like this explode, they can be smoothed over quickly.
One call to a senior police contact is enough to calm local nerves.
The body in the pub takes longer, but a drug-raid cover story usually does the trick.
Maurice retrieves the second car and joins Lucas and me. We drive the bastard out into the countryside, far from anything living. I want answers names and I’m prepared to be creative about how I get them.
“What are you going to do with me?” he whimpers from the back seat.
Lucas pulls up at a derelict farm. Nothing for miles. No witnesses. No packs nearby.
“It’s simple,” I tell him calmly. “You tell me why you took the kid and why you shot at the female alpha.”
“I was aiming for the kid.”
“No, you weren’t,” I growl. “You didn’t adjust your aim. And you’re not that bad a shot.”
My anger coils tighter with every word.
“Who ordered you to shoot the female alpha?”
“I—I don’t know,” he sobs. “Everything came through email or text. No names. Never names.”
He’s sitting beside Maurice, crushed beneath my unleashed aura. I’m not restraining it. He needs to feel every ounce of my fury.
“The Alpha King wants to know,” Maurice adds coldly, reinforcing my dominance, “why you kidnapped a child and then tried to kill his mother. You owe him an explanation.”
The air inside the car turns unbearable.
I’m already worrying about Aurélie whether she made it back to Bloodnight safely. With Lucas here, my mind-link is useless. The distance is too great.
“Take us back to the pack,” I decide. “The cells will loosen his tongue. If not… I have other ways.”
I smirk as Lucas pulls away from the farm, tyres biting into the dirt before we hit the country road.
“Last chance,” I say, turning fully toward him.
“I—I—”
“Spit it out!” I roar, rage and frustration crashing together.
Our eyes lock. I can see the internal strugglef man against wolf.
His mouth parts.
Then he flicks his tongue against a back tooth and crunches down hard.
What the actual fuck
His eyes blow wide as foam spills from his mouth. His body convulses violently.
“Shit Lucas, stop the car!” I bellow.
The brakes scream as Lucas slams them on. I’m out in seconds, ripping open the back door and hauling him onto the road.
“You stupid prick!” I shout, forcing his mouth open as his body seizes.
My fingers brush something burning wolfsbane eating through flesh and thought alike.
“What is it?” Maurice demands beside me.
“A hidden wolfsbane capsule,” I snap. “Failsafe in case of capture.”
Fuck.
He knew he wouldn’t survive long enough to talk.
And now I’m back to square fucking one.