Ellie POV
I watch almost in slow motion as the bone snaps and tears through my wrist. I bite hard on my cheek, refusing to give him any satisfaction.
"Tell me what I want to know," Cortez sneers at me as he pours more wolfsbane onto the wound.
"I can't give you what you want," I glare at him, unable to hold back my scream as he jams my wrist back into place.
"I believe you can," Cortez smiles before turning his attention to Rolfe, "Maybe you just need a motivator, huh Rolfe? Why don't we give the Luna a reason to talk?"
Cortez picks up a knife from the side table before slicing across Rolfe's arm. I watch as his face contorts in pain. But like me, he tries not to let it show. That is until Cortez brings in one of his witches.
"I want the cure, Luna. Now you either give me what I want, or you watch as my witch friend here sucks all of the air out of your dear uncle's lungs."
The witch lifts her hands in front of Rolfe's face as his features deform. His cheeks swell in as the air from his lungs is sucked out of his body.
"You know what," Cortez smiles at his witch, "Let's push the pressure higher," Doing another movement with her hands, the witch starts pushing air into his body. Rolfe tries to scream from the pain, but no sound comes out, "Do you know what it's like? To have so much pressure in your body that your brain feels like it's going to explode at any moment," he grabs my face and he forces me to watch as Rolfe screams even louder, "The sheer pain of feeling every one of the cells in your lungs burst, of feeling your entire body push against itself."
Cortez laughs as Rolfe screams again, "I don't think she gets it," the witch speaks.
Cortez glances down at me, "I don't either. Why don't you increase the pressure?
The witch smiles back before moving in front of Rolfe again to start the spell. Rolfe's pain increases as his cry echoes the room.
I can't let him go through this.
"Stop!" The witch freezes at my outburst as tears start to form behind my eyes. But I refuse to shed them, "Stop. I'll do what you want. Just stop torturing him. Please."
Cortez kneels in front of me, "Now that's what I want to hear," he says smiling before telling the witch to leave and turning his attention back to me, "Now, where is the witch who cursed me?"
I sit there, shocked.
How could he know I knew who it was? I have only told one person about Aurora. Axton would not betray that information to Cortez. Would he?
Mate did not tell anyone! Raelynn cries, Someone must have been listening.
But no one else was in the room, Raelynn. So how does Cortez know that Aurora isn't dead?
I don't know, but he doesn't know who she is. It wasn't mate!
A realization goes through me as I think about who, The spy. The spy Michael talked about. He said that there is a spy within the pack and they are the one who wanted me and Axton apart. They are working with Cortez to destroy the Alpha's family.
They must still be there. They had to be in the room when we said that we knew who it was. But who? she asks.
"She's dead, you told me that yourself," I start but I just receive a punch in the face instead.
Cortez pulls back, "Now we both know that the witch who did this to me is somehow still breathing. I want to know where she is."
"I don't know where she is," I lie through my teeth. I will not put my brother's mate and pack in danger.
Cortez just stands there and smiles, "You know, having the witch reverse whatever curse she placed on me is plan B. I can always go back to plan A."
"And what is plan A, huh?" I spits, "Torture me until I heal you myself. I told you before, I can't, and I won't heal you."
"Oh, I'm not going to have you heal me, darling," he places his filthy hand under my chin, "We both know that you have no gifts at all. Now your daughter on the other hand-"
My growl cuts through the room, "If you go anywhere near my child, I will kill you."
Cortez just laughs, "Tell me where the witch is, or I go pay a visit to that sweet little girl of yours. The choice is yours."
He stands up straight, looking between me and Rolfe, "You know what, I will give you a few minutes to think about your decision," he says as he heads for the door, turning around just long enough to say, "I hope you make the right choice."
When the door finally closes, I immediately start tugging on my restraints again. I pull against the silver as hard as I can, but I just can't make it move, "It's no use. I tried to break the chain for hours. They won't budge."
I look up from the chair, still pulling as I take in Rolfe's appearance. Blood splatters his clothes and skin as bruises and cuts cover every inch of him. He looks like he has been tortured for days.
"How were you captured, Rolfe?" I ask him.
He raises his head up, enough for me to barely make out his eyes, "I was on patrol near the northern border. I got hit with some sort of needle and I was out before I could even call for help. They didn't have a scent. There was no cross breeze or movement. It came out of nowhere. I never saw it coming."
"I'm so sorry. You never should have been brought into this mess," I tell him.
"It's not your fault, my dear," Rolfe tells me, "But, you need to decide whether to tell him where the witch is or not."
"I can't tell Cortez where she is. I can't do that to her," I say as I continue to pull on the metal.
"Ellie, I know you want to protect her, but you must also protect Zea. Nothing is more important than your child," his look says it all.
I know Rolfe had lost his mate and child when he was still beta. Rogues had attacked the pack when Axton's father was still alpha. He lost his family and I know he would give anything to have them back.
"I know," I nod as my wolf agrees, "But Axton is coming. He will find us."
"I know he will. He has been searching for seven years, and never gave up. But so has Cortez," Rolfe reminds me, "I don't want anything to happen to Zea or this witch. You need to make your choice."
"If Cortez is looking in the wrong place, then that buys Axton time," I tell him.
"Are you telling me that you are going to give Cortez a false name?" he asks me, doubtful that it will work, "Do you think Cortez will buy it?"
I shake my head slightly as I pull again against my wrist, "Doubtful. I've tried it before, and it didn't work out too well for me."
"When?"
"Around the time when Cortez first captured me. He wanted to know what pack I had come from. I didn't want to lead him back to Axton even though I had believed Axton had rejected me. So I told him I was a rogue and I had been kicked out of the Hollows Pack," I tell him, "He spent every minute for the next week, filling my blood with wolfsbane."
"Then just tell him the truth. I don't want to watch him hurt you."
"I can't. I need to buy more time. The second the wolfsbane is out of my system, I can link Axton," I say.
"You know the witch personally, right. That's why you want to protect her. Do you actually know where she is?" he asks me.
I give up on the restraints as I talk to him, "Yeah, I know her. She never meant to curse him. She's kind and loving and would sacrifice herself if it meant saving my daughter. I always thought of her as sleeping beauty. I cannot send Cortez after her."
A look of shock crosses his face as he nods his head, "I know you want to protect her, but no one would blame you for wanting to save your daughter."
He meets my eyes as the door flies open, "Has the decision been made?"
I nod my head as I decide what to do. I just hope I have the strength to last long enough for Axton to get to me.
"Good then, what will it be? Witch or daughter?" Cortez smiles.
I look him straight in the eyes as I reply, "Neither."
He just stands there. The look that crosses his face isn't shock or anger though, it's disappointment, "Well I was hoping for a different answer, but I expected this from a Luna. Protect all," he shakes his head, "Very well. Did she tell you?"
He turns to the side as he asks Rolfe the question. I watch as a smirk takes over both their features, "Of course she did. She said she was like sleeping beauty. The witch is Luna Aurora of the Moonstone Pack. Her brother's mate."
Cortez moves around Rolfe as he undoes his chains. Rolfe stands up from the chair. His wounds coming into the full light as the magic starts to peel away. There isn't a scratch on him.
He is the spy. The spy that had been in the pack for years. The spy that wanted me dead seven years ago.
It's Rolfe