Pull My Heartstrings

Chapter 8

"Okay," I said with reluctance. "I'll put myself through emotional hell, for you."

The man laughed bitterly. "I put myself through hell every night, dreaming of my mate. That bastard Evans tore us apart and forced me to live away from her... The separation probably killed her. And then he made me use my seeing skills and I watched people die and crumble in my mind's eye while that bastard smiled."

I nodded, knowing how he felt. I knew the pain of using a skill. While skills granted great power, they had a heavy toll on the body. I felt the familiar pangs of pain throughout my joints from using my power too much, the heaviness of my eyelids and the aching behind my eyeballs. Evans used to push me to use my power more and more until I couldn't stand and I couldn't see anything besides mental images of broken red strings. The things he made me do... He made me a monster.

Without a goodbye or another word, the man left. Before he turned to leave, he gave me a loaded look. He looked hopeful, for some reason, as his tired blue eyes urged me to do his bidding. Call Finn.

I sighed. I would've had to call him soon anyways. My body was far more tired than it should have been after seeing only ten people. At this rate, I would only be able to see five or so people before I wore myself out completely. Besides, I had just recovered from a sickness. I needed to reserve my energy.

..........................

"Hello," a timid woman walked into the apartment with a small wave, the last person I would be seeing today. She had auburn hair twisted into a messy bun on her head and large glasses on her upturned nose. The glasses looked to be more of a stylistic choice than a necessity though. "I'm Audrey. You can find my mate, right?"

"Yes," I said wearily, "Let's get to it. Don't make any sudden movements while I'm finding your mate, okay?"

She nodded and I gently touched the string coming from her chest. The red strings were always fragile, more so with mates who hadn't completed the bond. If I wasn't careful, I could... I shook the thought from my head and concentrated.

A man walked down a dark hallway, one that seemed eerily familiar. The air was dank and reeked of sweat around each doorway. He pushed a cart with trays of food on it, it was lasagne and an apple today. His broad shoulders slumped and his hair was limp. He was not a happy wolf. At each door he passed, he rang a bell and set one of the trays on a special window sill. After a brief pause, usually a set of bony hands would drag the tray under the bars covering the majority of the window into a room. 

"Dustin," someone called. The man turned and looked dully at the man striding down the corridor. It was Alpha Evans. "Keep up the good work."

Evans patted the man on the shoulder as he passed but the man found no solace in the praise. He was sick of himself, sick of his job. He wanted out.

I gasped as the vision faded away. A cold sweat coated the back of my neck and my hand shook. I quickly yanked it back from the red string before something happened. Audrey's mate was the boy that used to bring meals to all of Evans' trainees all those years ago. He never talked to me even though I tried to start a conversation with him several times -- I think he was under orders not to talk to anyone -- but he always looked at us with soulful eyes that pitied us all, including himself. I had never known his name until now.

"Y-Your mate," I choked out to Audrey, who looked at me anxiously. "You'll have to ask High Alpha Evans if you can be with him. Tell him I sent you and that your mate's name is Dustin. I can't guarantee anything."

"Is he a prisoner? Why wouldn't the High Alpha let me be with him?" Audrey asked, confused. I only shook my head. I couldn't give her answers without signing a warrant for my own death.