Beta (complete)

21

I never liked the cells. They were modern- the walls were coated in silver to prevent wolves from escaping- but they were depressing. Of course, they weren't meant to be a happy place but it was so bleak. If one was spending time there, said prisoner would know something awful was going to happen to them. Claire was getting off easy, in my opinion. She would be sent to a heavily guarded, pack owned island off the coast of Alaska. She would be given a place to live though it would be far from what she was accustomed to and she would work twelve hour days of manual labor for the rest of her life to earn her food. There would be no electricity, no way to communicate with the outside world but she would live. She would be denied any contact with other inhabitants and live her days out in solitude. It was a rough life but a life nonetheless.

"Are you sure you're okay to do this?" Titus asked before we walked inside.

I half smiled at him, "I'm positive. I want this done."

"Okay," he said reluctantly.

Zac met us outside of the building with a small, apologetic, smile. I knew he felt bad for me but he didn't need to. I didn't want anyone's pity, especially not his but Zac was close to Titus so that made Titus's problems into Zac's problems. The two were thick as thieves; I mean, Zac was the best man in our wedding and he's Christian's godfather. I wanted Zac to just worry about himself for once. I wanted him to focus on whatever this was with Rachel and hopefully let it grow. I knew he was still hurt from the loss of his mate and Rachel could never make him feel the way Eva made him feel but he could care about Rachel and even love her. Mates are a one time thing and when someone finds theirs, things move quickly because just like humans, we die. It's better to have a short time knowing one's mate rather than not knowing them at all. Even though Zac's situation was sad, he was making the most of it.

"Hey," Titus said casually.

Zac nodded at us and opened the door for me to walk through. I glanced around the sterile front room. Not even my practice looked this barren.

We followed Zac down a hallway lined with heavy doors to the end and made a right. I counted three more thick doors and we stopped. Zac entered his code into the keypad and the metal clicked open.

Inside, Claire sat on the thin cot, glaring at me. She clearly blamed me for this situation even though she did it to herself. She should have never come back. Once she realized Christian and Titus were happy, she should have left but she decided to sell me out to the worst man on the face of the planet.

"We have decided your punishment," Titus said confidently.

Her eyes fell on him and her glare dropped. I couldn't tell if she was genuinely in love with him or if she just wanted him. I did feel bad for her but he was my mate and I wasn't going to give him or Christian up.

"Please, Titus, stop her," she begged.

I was confused by her statement, "Stop me from what?"

"Stealing my son! I was supposed to marry him!" She screamed as she pointed at Titus.

"I'm not going to argue with you," I said calmly, "You signed away your rights and left your son in the hospital. The only reason you are pretending to care about Christian is because you want Titus back."

She scoffed as if that was the most preposterous thing anyone had ever said.

"If you were a real mother, you would understand the pain and shame I went through everyday knowing I left them. But you didn't carry Christian for nine months. You didn't go through the sickness, the fear, any of it!"

"You're right. I didn't. I picked up the pieces of the mess you left behind. I raised a child that wasn't biologically mine. I stayed with my mate despite the fact he was engaged to you before and had a child with you. I accepted everything and dealt with it because I am a stronger woman."

"You're not better than me! Christian will never look at you as his mother now. He will find out that you had me killed and he will hate you for it."

"Oh we're not killing you. You are banished and exiled."

Surprise colored her face. She really thought I would condemn her to death? Did she really think I was that type of person?

"Exiled? Titus," she begged.

"The decision is final. You will be held here until transportation can be arranged," Titus said apathetically.

Her glare set on me. I swear I felt her hate radiating, like she was throwing it at me. She knew she lost and she wouldn't accept it.

"He will come for you again," she said darkly as she practically pierced my soul with her chocolate eyes.

"He is dead," I responded, "I killed him."

She laughed, "I bet you didn't drain him. Have to drain them," she scolded.

I didn't drain him but I practically beheaded him. There was no way he survived that...right? I looked to Titus for confirmation that Andre was dead but he looked less than sure.

"That's what I thought," she said triumphantly.

"He would be stupid to come for her again," Titus defended.

"Doesn't matter. He will come for her and he will take her. This time, you won't get her back."

"Come on," Titus said, trying to get me to leave.

"So you know his plan?" I asked.

"Of course."

"Don't listen to her," Titus said.

"Hold on," I held up my hand to Titus, "What do you know?"

"Everything. Didn't you find it strange that you were able to 'kill' him so easily?"

I hadn't thought about it but she was right. In the moment, I just assumed I was so filled with rage, I was able to overpower him but maybe I was wrong. Maybe he had a bigger plan that I wasn't seeing. What if he was still alive?

"She doesn't know anything," Titus tried to assure me.

"Don't try to fool her, Titus. I'll tell you everything," she offered to him.

"At what cost," he scoffed.

She shrugged, "Divorce her and marry me."

"Never going to happen."

"You would rather her be taken somewhere you can never find her and raped until she can't produce any more children? You know a vampire's lust is insatiable. He will take her ten times a day without the mercy of death."

Titus couldn't have been more tense. A deep growl rippled through his chest at the image she put in our minds. I couldn't deny, the thought was terrifying.

Titus wrapped his arm around me possessively and forced me out of the building. Once outside, we went straight to the car but didn't get inside just yet. I could tell he was worked up and afraid though he would never admit it.

I stood in front of him, molding my body to his as I cupped his face with both of my small hands.

"Nothing will happen to me. If he comes, we will deal with it."

"We are moving into the pack house until we can confirm he is dead," Titus said with finality.

"Titus-"

"Don't argue. It's not safe for you or Christian in our house right now. Besides, I'll be spending a lot of time there anyway so we might as well live there for now."

I sighed but knew I wasn't winning this fight, "Okay."

It wasn't that I didn't want to live in the pack house; I just didn't want to leave home. I was pregnant and I wanted to be in the comfort of my own home. This was going to be an interesting time.

Zac walked up to us with his hands in his pockets. He was contemplative but angry at the same time.

"We won't let anything happen to you, Liz," he assured.

I half smiled, "Thanks, Zac."

"We're moving into the pack house today," Titus grumbled.

Zac nodded, "I figured. I had the west wing prepared."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Hey, Liz, do you think I could run something by you?"

"Of course. What's going on?"

He ran a hand through his onyx hair as he looked anywhere except me.

"It's about Rachel," he trailed.

"Is she doing alright?"

"Yeah, she's fine," he assured, "It's just...she's illiterate and I want to help her but I don't think I'm doing it right."

I half smiled, "Zac, do you have a crush on her?" I teased.

"No," he instantly denied, "I mean, she's pretty and she's nice and funny," he said as if he was considering her best qualities.

Even though he denied it, I knew he liked her. I also knew it would be hard for him to admit that he liked her. I would imagine he would feel like he was betraying Eva by being happy with someone else.

"Okay, maybe I like her but it wouldn't work out."

"Why not?"

"She has a mate out there and I can't take her from that."

"She knows her mate?" I asked.

"Yeah but she won't talk about it. I don't know what his deal is."

I shrugged, "Maybe I could talk to her and find out a little more."

He looked interested, "You would do that?"

"Of course. I'll see what I can dig up."

VOTE. COMMENT. FOLLOW