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| Damon |
The silence grew heavier with despair and grief as the hours passed. Kane's pack had left the arena, the monster was returned to its cage, and no one said a word since Sebastien's outburst. The sun rose, snow was falling, and some of Damon's packmates had let sleep take them.
But not Damon. He sat there...staring from the back of the cage at the bloody ground where Bly had been torn apart. It was his fault. He should have known that Kane would do something like that—like turn up after his hunting party to capture him and his pack. He should have been ready for it, and because he wasn't, Bly was dead, and the rest of his pack was soon to follow.
There was no way out, was there? Jackson couldn't find the inimă, nor could he break the silver without it. His pack couldn't overpower the guards—there were too many of them. And even if they did get out of the cage, there was an Amarok a hundred meters across from them. They couldn't deal with that monster, wolf forms or not.
"Dad?" Remus asked sleepily.
He looked down at his son, who lay on the ground beside him.
"What are we gonna do?"
Damon exhaled deeply and rested his head against the wall behind him. "I don't know, son."
The Alpha then looked over at Jackson, who was sitting close to Wilson with a look of despair on his face. He was blaming himself, wasn't he?
He looked at Remus. "I'll just be over there with Jackson."
Remus nodded.
Damon got up and went over to his mate. He sat beside him, moved his arm around his shoulders, and pulled him into his embrace. "It's not your fault, Jackson," he told him quietly. "I don't blame you, and nor does anyone else."
Jackson moved his arms around him and held him tightly. "I couldn't do it," he mumbled sadly, burying his face in Damon's shirt. "I should've tried harder."
The Alpha sighed and nuzzled Jackson's head. He didn't have enough emotional energy to try and convince Jackson that it wasn't his fault; he felt exhausted and overwhelmed with guilt and dismay. He'd spent hours trying to figure out how to his pack out of Kane's territory, but there was nothing anyone could do.
But sitting around and waiting to die wasn't an option, either—it couldn't be. If he gave in, his ancestors would be ashamed of him, and he wouldn't soil his bloodline's name with a defeat so humiliating. This wasn't the first time he'd been captured by hunters—or people using silver was a better way to put it. However, that was when his pack was much larger, and they weren't all in the same cage as him.
He huffed in frustration and leaned his head against the wall.
Jackson lifted his head and looked at him. "What?"
Damon slowly shook his head. "I can't let my pack die here. I can't let you die here," he said as he stared sullenly into his mate's eyes. "But I can't come up with a way to get everyone out safely."
"But you'll figure something out, right?" Jackson asked him.
"I don't know," he admitted shamefully as he looked down at the ground.
Jackson slipped his hand into Damon's, and when Damon looked at him, his mate's despondent frown grew thicker. "I can try to connect to the inimă again. Maybe—"
He shook his head. "Julian said Kane has a whole lot of hunter equipment, and these bars and collars is evidence enough of that. Wherever they have the inimă, it's likely that they've stored it someplace they know you can't access it."
"But they don't know...what I am, do they?"
"I don't know. They saw you in your demon form, not your wolf one. But you're my mate, and you do smell like a wolf walker. They found the amulet on you, and I'm sure it took Kane no time at all to piece everything together."
Jackson sighed hopelessly. "So...we're all just...gonna sit around and wait for them to do to the rest of us what they did to Bly?" he asked sadly, and the anxiety in his voice was as clear as it was in his eyes.
Damon huffed and looked away again. He wasn't just going to lie down and die. There had to be something. He needed to weigh all of his options...not just those which got all his pack out alive. He hated that he had to consider it, but it was his job as their Alpha to save as many of them as he could in a situation like this. But knowing that more of his already tiny pack would be lost made him feel dreadful—it once again made him feel like he wasn't worthy of leading them.
But he couldn't let his leadership anxieties consume him, either. He had to be strong...for Jackson, for his son, and for his pack. It was time to start thinking about sacrifice.
He looked around at his grieving pack, but as his eyes shifted between them, his despair grew heavier. He didn't know that Wesley had fae blood, and if it weren't for the silver collars, then the pack might just have another incredible asset. And it frustrated him that there were demons and fae who were resistant to silver, but evidently, nobody here was such a species.
Damon set his eyes back on Jackson. "I don't know what to do," he admitted quietly. "All I can think is just...charging at the guards and fighting as much as we can, but I don't want to sacrifice anyone."
"I have an idea," Wilson suddenly said.
Anger slithered through Damon's dismay-ensnared body and formed a scowl on his face as he turned his head to look at Jackson's brown-haired friend. "What did—"
"Wait, please," Jackson insisted quietly. "What is it?" he asked, looking at Wilson.
Wilson shuffled closer. "There's no way we can take this pack on by ourselves, especially not with that Amarok out there. We need help, and there's only one way we're gonna get it."
Damon waited, glaring at him.
"If we can get Jackson out—and only Jackson—then he can go and get help. We can all create a distraction, take out the guards, cover Jackson. The second he gets the amulet, he gets the fuck out of here—you know what, no. He doesn't even need the amulet." He looked at Jackson. "You can just get the hell out of this place and go back to Silverlake. Get Lucian or Caedis or anyone."
The pack started moving nearer.
"That could work," Sebastien said, appearing beside Damon. He crouched and looked at him, Jackson, and Wilson. "Jackson gets back to the Venaticus, and they'll send a whole damn army out here to kill all these fuckers."
"I thought wolf walkers were endangered," Wilson scoffed.
"I-it doesn't matter what the Venaticus do; what matters is that they get us out here, right?" Wesley said.
Damon hated to admit that this muto had a point...but he was right. And it was very close to what he was pondering. His pack were going to be putting their lives at risk to get Jackson out; however, it was the only plan which might work. And he trusted his mate to get back to the Venaticus swiftly.
But he was reluctant to let his mate go. He loved Jackson so much, and the thought of him being alone out there terrified him. What if something happened? What if he never made it to Silverlake?
He scowled in confliction and tightened his grip on Jackson's hand. His possessive, protective instincts urged him to hold him close and never let him out of his sight; he wanted to protect him, but maybe...the best way to protect him was to get him the hell out of here. Damon knew too well how Alphas treated another Alpha's mate...and he didn't want to see that happen to Jackson. It would haunt him forever.
Getting Jackson out of this place was the only way to save him from that.
The Alpha let out a deep, heavy sigh. "All right," he grunted. "This is the only option we have at this point. I'll do everything in my power to get you all out of here alive, but there's a chance some of you might not make it. If any of you object, I won't hold it against you. But getting Jackson out of here to go and get help is the only plan which might work."
Nobody objected; they all looked afraid, but Damon trusted them all to do what was necessary.
"We're with you, chief," Tokala said firmly.
Damon looked at his mate. "Jackson?"
Although he had a nervous look on his face, he nodded. "So...you guys distract Kane's wolves, and I just...run?"
"Yeah," Wilson said before Damon could. "You just fucking leg it. Get as far away from here as you can and get to the Venaticus."
He nodded again and went a little pale.
"You should feed first," Sebastien said. "Lord Caedis' species of demon can drink blood not only to regenerate ethos but to also increase their strength. I'd assume the same applies to you."
Jackson anxiously replied, "O-okay."
"When do we do it?" Rachel asked.
Damon glanced at Julian, who was huddled up in the corner. "When they next come to take one of us. Julian said they throw someone in the arena every evening, so that's when it happens."
Wesley nodded. "We'll be ready."
All they had to do now was wait. Damon was anxious—of course he was. He didn't want to lose another member of his pack, but this was the only option they had. He'd do everything in his power to ensure not one of his wolves was killed, though. He'd protect them with his life, and he'd ensure that Jackson got out...because if he didn't, this place might very well be where they all died.
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| Jackson |
The hours raced by faster than Jackson could comprehend. As the sun slowly set, his heart raced quicker. He was anxious, terrified, and worried that he might fuck up. One wrong move would blow the entire plan, and everyone would die because of him.
He took a deep, shaky breath and glanced at Damon, who turned his head to look at him.
"Are you doing okay?" the Alpha asked quietly.
Jackson nodded. "I'm just nervous."
"Don't be," Damon assured him as he placed his hand on the side of his face. "You'll do just fine." Then he kissed his lips. "I love you."
His words calmed his racing heart a little. "I love you, too." But he knew Damon was saying that because he was just as aware as everyone else that he might die doing this. Everyone might die...and Jackson's escape would be for nothing.
He frowned despondently and looked around at everyone. They were all going to get hurt at the very least...for him. Was he really the best choice? Why not Damon or Wesley or Sebastien?
"Damon?" he asked quietly.
"Mm-hmm."
"Why...why me?"
Damon exhaled deeply and ran his fingers through Jackson's hair. "Several reasons, Jackson. I can't lose you, and neither can wolf walkers as a whole. You could be the answer—the way the Nosferatu find a cure. And because you're the only one who can make it out there with those new cadejo variants. That infected fae ignored you; if I go and come across one, I'll be totally helpless."
Jackson looked down at his lap as his anxiety grew heavier once again. "What if I mess up?"
"You won't mess up, Jackson," Damon said softly. "We all believe in you. You're going to get out of here, you're going to make it to Silverlake, and you're going to come back here and help the rest of us. None of that works without you."
He tried his best to accept Damon's words, but he couldn't fight off the worry that something might go wrong. What if he got caught? What if he came across some sort of new cadejo variant that he couldn't fight? Or what if there was some other pack out there and they caught him?
"Hey, don't overthink," Damon told him. "You've got this."
With a deep sigh, Jackson attempted to dismiss as much of his nervousness as he could and then smiled weakly at the Alpha.
"It'll be dark soon. Do you want blood now?" Damon asked him.
As both fluster and angst raced through him, Jackson did his best to nod.
Damon pulled his shirt collar away from his neck, revealing the faint, healing wound where Jackson had bitten him the other night. Half of it was hidden beneath the silver collar; Damon's skin beneath it was sore, and it made Jackson feel both guilty and hesitant. He didn't want to cause him any more pain.
"Go on," Damon said. "It's okay."
Jackson shuffled a little closer to him. He moved his left hand over Damon's right shoulder and then edged his face nearer to the Alpha's neck. His anxiety started fading when the sound of Damon's beating heart filled his ears. The scent of his blood quickly enticed him, and his fangs begged him to bite.
But he still felt hesitant. "I don't wanna hurt you," he said sullenly.
"It's all right," Damon said softly as he placed his hand on the back of Jackson's head and pulled his face closer to his skin. "Take what you need."
Jackson exhaled deeply...and the longer he waited, the louder the hungry demon inside him became. He wanted to bite; he wanted to taste Damon's sweet, tantalizing blood again. And he gave in. He widened his jaw but kept himself from being savage; he bit down on Damon's neck slowly, and when he heard Damon groan pleasurably in response to his venom, anticipation spiralled through Jackson's tensing body.
However, now wasn't the time to become aroused. He needed to drink the blood, and then he needed to prepare himself for what he was about to do. It terrified him, but he had to be strong. He had to keep his composure. Everyone was relying on him, and he wasn't going to let them down.
He took a few gulps of Damon's blood—he didn't want to take too much. As he swallowed it, he hummed in delight and tightened his grip on the Alpha's shoulder. And once he was done, he pulled his fangs from his neck and dragged his tongue over the wound.
Damon let out a long exhale and looked at him. "How do you feel?"
"I'm okay," he said confidently.
"Do you feel any stronger?"
Jackson frowned and pondered. He did feel something. Before, the silver collar made it hard for him to connect with his ethos, but now...he could feel it. It might only be a slither, but it was there. He nodded and replied, "I think so. I feel...my ethos—just a little."
"Do you need more blood?" he asked with a frown.
But that was when Jackson noticed the feeling growing. With each passing second, he felt more and more of his ethos reconnect with him as if it was waking from a slumber. It was working.
He shook his head. "It's getting...bigger."
For the first time since they arrived, Jackson saw hope flicker through Damon's honey-brown eyes. Then, the Alpha kissed his lips and quietly said, "You're going to be fine, okay? I believe in you."
Jackson smiled at him, and when the Alpha kissed his lips again, he guided his hand to the back of his head and gripped a fistful of his hair. He didn't want to leave him and the pack behind; why couldn't Damon come with him?
His fear and anxiety were quickly replaced by dismay. What if this was the last time he saw Damon? What if he didn't get to Silverlake in time? What if by the time he got back...everyone was dead?
"Damon, I—"
"Don't overthink, Jackson," the Alpha said firmly. "Just focus on what you have to do, and I'll take care of the rest, okay?"
He was hesitant. There was a part of him that wanted to beg Damon to go with him...but he knew that it wasn't possible. So, he sighed sadly and nodded. "I'll come back with help...I'll get back here before Kane can hurt anyone else," he said as his voice started breaking.
Damon caressed the side of his face. "I know you will." He then wrapped his arms around Jackson and pulled him into a tight hug. "Just...please come back to me."
Jackson scowled despondently as he held Damon. "I will," he uttered sadly.
No matter what it took, he was going to get out of Kane's arena, he'd find his way back to Silverlake, and he'd bring help. Everyone was relying on him, and he wouldn't let them down.
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