~ Chapter Fourteen ~
Red stared into the fire.
Valdemar stood behind him, as quiet and cunning as ever. His eyes were firmly kept on his visitor's fists, pulsating with tension by his thighs. Something was the matter, and he suspected it had to do with his sudden appearance in his territory after five years of silence. It had been too long, indeed. Although he'd grown into a respectful man, and a fierce warrior judging by the state of Valdemar's younglings, he didn't know whether he could trust him anymore.
After all, he'd become an alpha. And alphas would betray in a heartbeat to further their packs — Valdemar would know, he'd done it before.
"Say, Red, you're very quiet. I thought you'd have much to tell... My pups say that you travel with a human in tow."
"Your pups are unpredictable, and disrespectful," he responded short.
Valdemar let out a hoarse chuckle. "They're young. And they've been dealt with — although I must ask you to forgive them. Remember how we were? Half the forest had us banned from their lands!"
"I was young. You were older. You should've stopped me."
"And why would I do that? You were always destined for great things. I knew that the first time I met you — you still hold the fiercest survival instincts I've ever seen." He quieted then let out a disapproving hum and sat down in one of the chairs overlooking the fire. He leant his chin against his hand with a mind gone in memories. "Now that brother of yours. He never had it in him. If you hadn't insisted on taking care of him then he would've never made it."
"Stop." Red cocked his head to the side. "Do not speak of him. He's in the past."
"Oh, please. You've always had a soft spot for him." Valdemar knew he was pushing buttons but also couldn't stop himself as he delivered the final blow. "It's a bad habit from your childhood. You always take care of weak creatures better left to their own devices."
His mind went to the poster on Liz's wall. "Like runts," he murmured.
Valdemar frowned. "Well, yes — your brother was a runt, after all. They rarely make it."
"That's the point."
"What?"
Red spun around, pinned the old wolf with intense eyes. "That's the point!"
"What does that mean?"
"I have no idea. But I have to go."
"And do what—"
"Sleep."
"Sleep... Have you gone mad? Red!"
He slammed the door behind him with such force that three stories below him, in a basement encapsulated by iron, a pair of twitchy eyes shot to the ceiling.
Liz froze for a few seconds, wondering if it was a gunshot she'd heard, but then adamantly returned to scraping rust off the metal bars using her nails. It was tedious work, but it was all she could do in the cell containing only a bucket and a mattres stained with something red.
She was crammed with a dozen others — some hung on the bars, some were curled up against the walls of their cells, all in bad condition — but the only thing she heard from them were occasional coughs and wails. They all kept to their own cells.
Except the old man in the one next to hers.
"You're human," he marveled, flashing a smile telling he'd probably been there for a while. He'd wrapped his fingers around the bars and stuck his face between one of the gaps.
Liz shrugged. "Yeah."
"I've never seen a human this far into the forest." He coughed up something, spat it onto the ground behind him, and then returned his face to the bars.
"And I've never had hepatitis B."
"I don't know what that is."
She shuffled a little farther back, repositioned her jacket that she'd been using as a blanket. "Clearly... Just keep it on your side, old man. I'd like to survive the night. Then I'm outta here."
He erupted in a maniacal laugh, shaking the bars. "One night — one night, she says! Naive little girl."
"I'm not naive."
"You are, you are!"
"Look, asshole—"
"Nobody leaves here."
She scoffed, looked back to the bars, but secretly enjoyed having someone to talk to. "Oh yeah? How long have you been here?"
"Not too long. A year or two. I went in 1983."
Liz stopped her scratching. She slowly returned her attention towards the man, noticed how his hair was patchy and the place where his nails were supposed to be were just bloody hollows. It felt like a stone was caught in her throat, one impossible to swallow. "Well..." she muttered and looked down to her own nails. "I'm getting out. Red said he's gonna come for me. He is."
"Red?" A crazed look entered his eyes. "The alpha?"
"Yeah, I guess. Why?"
"What's he doing with a human girl?"
"He's—" Liz paused, remembered that she couldn't tell anyone the truth, and bit her tongue. But now she'd caught his interest; she had to say something. "He's bringing me to Akra," she settled on.
"Akra... The land of waste and chaos. Why will he bring you there?"
Liz pressed her palms against her forehead as she realized what she was about to say. "I... stole his candlesticks. So now I'm becoming a human slave. You know, the usual order of things."
"That was stupid."
"You weren't there — but yeah it was."
The man hummed thoughtfully, then pointed at her. "I like you, human girl. You're funny."
"Thanks — it's a coping mechanism."
"Because of that, I'll help you out. Come closer."
Liz gave him a once-over, then leant her head back against the wall. "Pass."
"Smart, too. But I'll tell you anyway." He grinned coyly and lowered his voice to a wheezing hiss. "Your fate might not be set quite yet. I've been to Akra a few times — they hate the bloodthirsty alpha. He abandoned them, his own blood, and never returned."
She cocked her head to the side and furrowed her brows. "Who's the bloodthirsty alpha?"
"Alpha Red. That's how he got his name. He's not quite like the other alphas, all born into their roles. But then again he's also said to be more brutal than all of them combined; he's had to be to defend his position."
"What? That's ridiculous! He's not bloodthirsty — he's like the nicest guy ever," Liz scoffed. Then froze. Her eyes shot back to the man. "Wait, did you say he's from Akra?"
"Yes. And, lucky for you, they want him dead. All of them. He won't last a day in there."
"Why would—"
Somewhere at the end of the hall, the door slammed open with so much force it made the old man scurry away from the bars. With terrified cries he crawled back into the dark and fell to the floor, hugging himself.
Liz realized he'd fallen into some psychotic episode and that she was alone. It would probably be best to hide. But just as the thought registered, a pair of feet stopped by her cell.
Liz lowered her head to hide her face and made her voice scratchy and low. "Who's there?"
The person bent down. She could feel their breath on her cheek. They loaded to say something and Liz expected it would be the last words she'd ever hear.
"What's wrong with your voice?" a worried voice inquired.
She frowned. "Red?"
"Who else would it be?"
Liz let out a relieved breath and threw the jacket off. Meanwhile Red sat down on the opposite side of the cell wall. His arm pressed against hers through the bars.
"Did they fall for it?"
He nodded. "Yes. Most definitely."
"Good." She gave him a look. His face was only illuminated by the weak lightbulb dangling from the ceiling. "Then why're you here?"
"I abandoned my brother."
Liz opened her mouth, then caught his look and closed it again. She got comfortable against the wall, in lack of anything else to do. "Alright. Tell me."
"We grew up in Akra, just the two of us. We stole and lied and... I'm not proud of all of it but we didn't have a choice. He was my little brother, I couldn't let him starve."
"You were orphans."
He nodded. "Until my fifteenth summer. An alpha traveling through saw me fighting a street vender over food."
"Alpha Valdemar?"
"No. I met him later, while I was still a warrior. Her name was alpha Grytbo. She said I fought like a savage." His eyes were trained on the lightbulb and a muscle ticked in his jaw. "She needed a savage. And she picked me — I became her trainee; I had a way out of Akra. Out of a sure death. You have to understand, there was nothing for me there."
She gulped. "You took the shot."
"Yes. I took the shot. But my brother, he— he was a runt. Alpha Grytbo had no place for him. I tried to convince her to let him come but she wouldn't budge and I had to... I left him. Just like that. A runt of thirteen summers in Akra, completely alone. Do you know what happens to pups like that?"
Liz shook her head.
Red drew a shaky breath. "They become disturbed wolves."
"Red."
"Mhm?"
"Why are you telling me this?" she murmured softly. The story was hard to hear and she could almost feel the pain radiating off him.
"I'm sorry," he got out, sounding like the words were a weight off his chest. "I'm sorry I put you down here. I shouldn't have. I've fought everyone, everyone, to get to where I am, to have inherited Grytbo's pack. I've worked my way up from nothing." He shook his head. "And for what? To throw my own mate down the dungeons? Valdemar must be right, I'm still a street pup from Akra."
"I don't—"
"I won't make the same mistake twice. I'm not going to... leave you to your own devices. You can't hate me for this later. Not you, too. No — I won't allow it."
He suddenly got up and turned towards the bars, reaching for the metal.
"What're you doing?" Liz hissed and got up as well, trying to catch his gaze while also keeping an eye on the neighboring cells. They were causing a scene.
"I'm letting you out. I'm not going to force you to stay in here."
"Red, you gotta be quiet."
He managed to get a good hold on two of the bars and Liz stood back, disbelieving, as he began pulling. She shook her head. "Do you seriously think you can pull apart the bars?" Three seconds later, her eyes widened. "Holy shit, you can pull apart the bars!"
Panicked, she dove for his hands and scooped them into hers. They turned to jelly in her hold and she used his surprise to quickly tug him towards her cell until he was inches from the bars. She stuck her face into the space he'd created. "Hey! Look at me."
"What are you doing?"
Her glare was deadly as she got up in his face. "I do not hate you. Now you need to pull yourself together, alright? Stop worrying. I can totally survive a night down here because, like you said, it's the best option... Besides, I'm doing a lot better than you are. I've befriended the next guy over."
Red threw a look over her shoulder. "The man banging his head against the wall?"
"Err, yes."
He grimaced. "And you want to spend the night here?"
"Hell no." Liz forced a smile and pulled back. "But I will. And tomorrow we'll get back on the road and end this whole thing."
"Alright." He followed her move, backing away. "But I'm staying."
Surprisingly, Liz didn't argue as he sat back down, leaning against the bars. Although she tried to hide it with an eye-roll, Red could sense how relieved his words made her. She threw on her jacket and pulled up her zipper before resuming her position by the bars too.
"We're gonna need a plan B before we get to Akra," Liz whispered, the back of her hand finding his between the bars and relaxing slightly. "While you've been wining and dining, I've gotten some stuff from my neighbor over there."
Red hesitated. "You mean... a disease of some kind?"
"Jeez, now I won't be able to sleep. I meant info!"
The lightbulb flickered and then died, leaving the dank basement in total darkness. Liz's breathing immediately picked up and she involuntarily pushed herself against the bars as if trying to slither between them and get closer to Red.
A warm hand enveloped hers. Squeezed.
"Sleep."
"No, it's important — life and death, actually. And, besides, my neighbor might chop my head off in my sleep." She laughed but it was high pitched and forced, and he didn't miss her eyes flickering to the old man's cell.
"It can wait." Red sat up straighter. "I'll keep watch. All night. Nothing will get in, trust me."
"But you can't—"
"Elizabeth." His voice was suddenly very close and, despite them both often talking past each other, held an overwhelming understanding, as if he could feel her fear himself. "I'll keep watch all night," he repeated.
And he kept his word.
And throughout the entire night her hand remained in his.
Don't forget to vote & share <345 (leaving for London in an hour)