Risking It

Chapter 9

Javier

Javi, trust me. Camille mindlinked to me.

Do what you have to do. I mindlinked back.

"Ten." Suddenly, Cami sprang towards Maya, fully shifted into her fur. Maya was told to leave the territory, but she obeyed too late and she now had to pay the price. Camille snarled as she brought Maya down like some common deer. The pack watched solemnly as they watched their Luna make an example of the person who dishonored the name of shifters. Camille locked her jaws around Maya's neck.

"We have no ways of permanent imprisonment." I said to the crowd. "Our race was built on the principles of honor, courage and loyalty. This spiteful creature has chosen to live her life by being dishonorable and bringing shame to the pack as well as the race. We only have one sentence to those who deliberately disrespect and turn their back on our traditions." Camille swiftly snapped Maya's neck, letting her drop from her jaws, twitching on the ground before she grew still. I took off my shirt and gave it to Camille, letting her run off and shift back. She quickly returned and went to my side.

"This is the Law of the Moon." She said firmly.

"The Law of the Moon!" The pack echoed.

"Dismissed." I nodded to them, they dispersed. I turned to Cami. "Well someone let someone else get her all worked up." I said softly, steering her up to our room. She growled softly.

"You are mine. She had no right to say those things." She sat on our bed and crossed her arms.

"What you did was just. The pack won't judge you for it. Trust me; it would have happened to her anyway." I kneeled and turned her face to me. "You were the only one willing to let her thoughts be known." Camille looked at me.

"You are not to talk to her anymore." I smirked, amused.

"Why, was someone jealous?" Camille sniffed primly.

"No, it's not just good to speak ill of the dead." I was grinning now. I pushed Cami on her back and started to tickle her.

"Come on! Admit it! You were jealous!" Camille squirmed, turning her face away from me. "Cami...Come on babe..." I nuzzled her neck, making her shiver. She growled softly in response. I kissed her neck. "You know you love me." Camille groaned, giving in.

"More than you know." She chuckled as I kissed her face. "You're affectionate this morning." I squeezed her waist, making her squeal.

"I'm always affectionate! Whatchu talkin' about woman??" Cami shook her head and kissed me.

"It was just a statement." She smiled. Damn I loved seeing that spread across her lips. It didn't last long though, the stress soon returned to her face.

"We'll go searching again soon okay?" she sighed.

"At least we know where to look now." I nodded, finding her hand and lacing our fingers.

"Don't worry love, we'll find her."

After an hour of searching we still had next to nothing. Trent and the others were getting anxious. Camille was fidgeting. All of a sudden, there was a loud growl. We all looked up, seeing a whole pack of rogues coming right for us.

"It's an ambush! That alpha tricked us!" Trent yelled, immediately getting tackled by a rogue. There were twenty or so rogues in that deadly group. We were severely out numbered. Then, a tan one with scars on his muzzle completely blindsided Camille, throwing her down, making her shift into her skin in pain.

Camille!!! I mindlinked to her, running as fast as I could to help her, but then a big brute of a rogue tackled me and held me down. He laughed a cruel wolf laugh, using his paw to turn my head to watch as Camille was taken away. NOOOO!!!!

Camille

I felt numb. I couldn't feel Javier. I didn't sense his presence. The only thing I did feel was the same danger I felt when He took me.

"Oh good, you're waking up." My eyes snapped open, looking around the room. It was completely unfamiliar and fear spread through me. I turned and looked into the eyes of the person I never wanted to see ever again.

"Hello Sweetheart." A low growl rose from my throat. Damon chuckled.

"Let me go." He tsked at me.

"Now now, I told you that you're mine." His face grew soft under his scars. "You're almost just like my Violet. Looked just like you, only her eyes were green."

"Yeah yeah, much prettier than me I'm sure." Damon growled at me.

"My Violet will forever be better than you, little slut. I bet you've been bed-hopping this whole time I've been trying to get you." I flinched a bit, and Damon sighed, looking at me. "She was so gentle, so smart. She was human, so she was very fragile."

"What happened to her?" Damon's voice grew bitter.

"We were making love, and I grew careless and forgot about the full moon that night. When I shifted, she screamed and called me a monster. I tried to tell her." He explained, starting to lose control. "I tried to tell her that I loved her...that it was just me." Damon shuddered. "She just cried and called me a beast...I-I lost it. I hit her...I didn't mean to kill her." He looked at me. "But now I have you." He leaned closer to caress my face. When he moved my hair, his eyes fell on my mark. His eyes grew dark. "You let him mark you...YOU LITTLE BITCH!!" He slapped me across the face. "Who is he? Tell me his name." I spit blood on him.

"Over my dead body." Damon smirked.

"Oh we'll see." He grabbed me by my hair, and dragged me out the door and down several flights of stairs to some basement. He tore away the clothes I was wearing and strapped me on a table, almost like the kind you see prisoners lie on when they are about to get lethal injection. I was laid out almost like a sick offering to a god. The thick straps the only thing that kept my modesty, whatever shred I had left, also holding down my ankles, wrists and head.

"I will never tell you." Damon smirked again, opening cabinets lined with knives of different shapes and sizes.

"I'll get you to talk one way or another Sweetheart." He picked a stiletto blade and ran it down my cheek as if he were just stroking my face. "No matter how long it takes."

"I will tell you nothing." Damon chuckled and sliced a thin line down my waist. I held in a whimper.

"I can do this all day." He said carelessly, carving another line. This time I couldn't stop the small groan that escaped my lips. I had to be strong. To protect Javier. Protect the pack. Damon slashed at my arm. I embraced the pain. It was for them. He cut my thigh and I cried out, almost arching to the pain. The blood running down.

"Filthy rogue." I spat at him. Again and again, he slashed and cut, every time one healed, he was ready to give me a fresh one. I was slowly brought to the point of insanity. I could have been missing for hours, even days. I didn't know anymore. I just continued to spew profanities at him, asking for more. More pain. The longer he stayed with me, the longer my pack was safe, buying Javier more time to prepare the pack for whatever should happen when I was gone.

"Insult me all you want Sweetheart, it's kind of a turn on." I laughed. It sounded borderline hysterical, but I didn't care. My last conscious thought was sending out a mindlink. Focusing it, making it powerful enough for Javier and the guys to hear.

Goodbye Javier, my true mate.

Then everything went black.