Chapter 48
~Lucie’s POV~
“I see you still have your talent for getting into people’s head’s Z,”
“Why of course, Sweetheart. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I had lost my touch… I would be dead. We both know my fate has already been written.” His words startled me. Fate. Why must everything come back to fate?
“I didn’t peg you as the type of person to believe in fate,”
“Fate, sweetheart. I believe in all things tangible. How does the saying go? Seeing is believing?”
“You can’t honestly expect me to believe that you’ve seen your fate.” His eyes crinkled around the edges for a moment before he diverted himself of all outward displays of emotion.
“In normal circumstances I would use one of my charismatic lines here… but sadly I mustn’t. With a past, present and future as twisted as mine it’s no wonder I stumbled across something I shouldn’t have. Why do you think I’m so successful at what I do?”
“You’re one of a kind,” I said, the words lacking luster as the fell slightly flat from my lips. The answer was instinctual, rehearsed even. I had asked myself those exact questions night after night after my capture, after my escape. He picked up on my mood shift, but ignored it, carrying on as if the words I had spoken had been said under a different light entirely.
“One of a kind. I like that. Sadly, that’s not the case. I belong to a triage. Each one of us more twisted the one before. Some less in actions than in thoughts. Say, how’s Lexi doing these days?” The blood ran cold in my veins as I stared at Z unblinking. What did he know about Lexa?
“What does Lexa have to do with this?”
“I bet she’s feeling it right now, huh? The discomfort? The pain? I assume she can’t even think coherent thoughts as of now… and to think, her partner left her at a time like this. Pity he had to get captured at a time she needed him the most.”
“Beau…,” my breath caught, my breath catching in my throat. Thoughts and feelings pasted through me faster than it seemed possible as wave upon wave of emotion soared through me. I reached my feelers out to Casey, peaking his interest enough to stop what he was doing. I felt his presence begin to draw nearer, indicating that I needed to gather as much information as I could before Casey reached the compound.
“You ex-lover isn’t doin’ to hot right now sweaty. Ran into the wrong crowd back in China last I heard. And just think, this happened after I had been detained by your little lackeys here. If my triage isn’t filling me… who do you think is?”
“What have you done to Beau?” His eyes widened slightly and then narrowed as his eyes once again ranked my frame.
“Your wit never ceases to amaze me, sweetheart,”
“Sweetheart ends now. Tell me what you’ve done to my partner.”
“You’re partner? I could have sworn that Lexa had replaced you-,”
“No one replaced me. No one can replace me. I’m one of a kind Zoric and you best not forget it. Lexa is a good fill in for the position I once had, but she can never fully fill my shoes.” I could feel Casey’s confusion through our bond as he tried to patch himself through to me. He was picking up bits and pieces of my conversation with Z despite my travails at keeping him at bay.
“How could she? Beauregard isn’t in love with her. Just think, where would we be without Bowen’s love? Oh right, you wouldn’t be here. He wouldn’t have come back for you if he hadn’t already been in love with you.”
“We’d only been working together for two months. There is no way that he would have already been in love with me.” I blocked out Casey completely and then turned my full attention to Zoric, letting his words slowly sink in.
“Do you really think he would have risked him life for anyone less? Do you think he would have risked the worst torture he had ever experienced for just some partner? Sorry Sweetheart, but he was head over heels for you from the get-go. How naïve are you?” I pushed off the memories that threatened to overtake me. It nearly sickened me how much power one man had over me.
“Let it happen Sweetheart. Gosh, I love watching you relieve the torture you experienced back home… it’s almost as satisfying as the actual acts themselves.” If I had heard his words alone they would have sickened me. But one look into his eyes told me the truth. He didn’t mean a word he said. There was no emotion in his eyes, his eyes staring nearly emptily back at my own.
“You’ve changed.” I watched transfixed as Zoric shifted before me. Emotion swirled in his eyes, his jaw locking in anger. His fists clenched where they were cuffed, and I knew if he were standing know they would be balled at his sides. This was a side of Zoric I was also unaccustomed to. He was raw, completely unfiltered without his usual sense of security backing up his haunting words.
“I’m drawling close to the end of my line. Of course I’ve changed. Like I said, I know my fate.”
“Then why don’t you help me? Tell me about Beau, about Lexi, about Frey Caulfield. Make the change worth it.”
“Only Freya could make it worth it,”
“Freya, don’t you mean Frey?” The shuffling of feet announced the arrival of another guest outside the room. Casey. I words had been rushed, something that Z had picked up on. He followed the trail of my eyes to the door, recognition flashing in his eyes.
“I guess that’s what you get when you where the disguise of a man for so long.” He was playing with me now, knowing that time was of the essence. Restraining myself from lashing out, I continued, gathering what little facts I could before we we’re interrupted by whoever was waiting on the other side of the door.
“No one else said Frey was a she. How do you even know that this Freya is the same person?”
“There’s a reason why my associate sent me to you, other than revenge against me that is.”
“You know her. You know Freya Caulfield.”
“Of course I do. She’s the one that killed my wolf.”
~☾~
~Caven’s POV~
By now I had dulled out the pain of the cuffs around my wrist. For my choice words back in the prison, Alpha Whitney had fastened specially designed handcuffs on my wrist. Bits of fresh and dried blood decorated the gleaming metal as it constantly reopened the wounds that had just freshly healed.
“Oh come on lad, ‘e’s ‘ad enoug’.” Gordon had been vehemently adamant the entire way to the pack house. He was one of the few people I even remotely trusted with my life. Sadly he took that honor a little too far.
“The pain’s nothing, Burgie. Relax.”
“Even torn down and bleedin’ you’re still stickin’ with the nicknames I see. Will I ever escape this?” Some color had returned to Gordon’s face at my words, picking up on my strangely elevated mood.
“Not to my last breath, Gordy old pal,” Gordon’s relief was obvious, and with Gordon appeased, I turned my full attention to the Alpha staring me down.
“I don’t see what all the ruckus is about. What is it about you that would have an Alpha on the brink of war, abandon his duties to help solve a cold case from his past? How could an Alpha put the safety of his pack in jeopardy… for this?” Whitney gestured at my battered figure. I wasn’t much to behold in the state I was in, my dirty blonde hair was grimy, patches of blood and filth clinging to it, along with the rest of my body. Beneath that I was still much more. Underneath the surface I was much more. I was the last Huxley; thus, the last surviving member of one of the most respected Pack’s in America. Most didn’t see my father’s transgressions as anything more than petty whispers spoken in the night. However, there were packs out there who, like me, knew the true happenings in the Harzeltin Pack. Even after adding that into consideration, the facts didn’t quite add up. What was Casey’s ulterior motive? What was forcing him to abandon his duties for someone he hadn’t considered a friend in years?
“I have no idea,” the Alpha gaged my response, looking for any sign of deceit. When he found none, he waved his hand, signaling his men for something. Seconds later, Beau and Aimeri were ushered into the room. I averted my eyes at the sight.
“What is this?”
“You’re friends of course,”
“What have you done to them?” Both Aimeri and Beau didn’t seem to be in their right minds, their bodies beaten and bruised, strange cufflinks I didn’t even begin to understand adorning their wrists.
“I need answers. As self-satisfying as it would be to torture your one and only true friend, I decided hold off on playing that card just yet. Why not kill your boss and your savor instead?” Kill. Not torture. Kill. The residual effects of the handcuffs evaporating. I watched amazed as the cuffs fell from my wrist, hitting the ground with a startling thud.
“Looks like I’m finally getting some answers. Tell me, Cavan what is it like having a guardian angel on your shoulder?”
“Angel?”
“The metaphorical kind of course. Seems you have more than one friend after all.” I watched in horror as Whitney’s men began to fall to their knees around him. At first he played it off, locking his gaze on me. But as the number of his men left standing dwindled, a panic began to set in. Soon, only one man remained on either side of Whitney. I could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he surveyed the casualties around him. Even I didn’t dare to look. The sound of two more chucks of metal hitting the ground sounded, forcing my eyes drift over to Beau and Aimeri. They quickly fell to the ground as well, but in another manner as they tried to catch their breath, seemingly broken from their earlier state of mind.
A crackle of thunder sounded in the air, followed by the flash of light moments later. Alpha Whitney’s last two remaining men had fallen, their bodies unmoving at Whitney’s feet. The wind started picking up around his, lifting the some of the foliage from the garden we were standing in. As debris began to swirl, Whitney backed up.
“What do you want from me?” Whitney screamed into the sky, the wind seemingly carrying the words away into the now stormy night. I backed up Gordon with my arm as the ground beneath my feet cracked and split, leading straight to Whitney. He fell to the ground and with a frighten look on his face began to crawl backwards, staring at the crack that even yet continued to follow him.
“Stop!” I don’t know what possessed me to scream the word. I didn’t know what made me think the word would stop the chaos around me. That doesn’t the word had any less power. Almost against our will we all we watched as the newly fractured ground crumbled and then blew away, leaving a message engraved in the ground beneath. I continued staring long after hands had grabbed me. My eyes continued to take in the words until Aimeri’s magic flowed within me. Until the world seemed to swallow me up and transport me back to the place I was currently calling home.
Let this be a warning to all those who still wish to poke at whom they do not understand. Followers will not fall victim, but the leaders if the path now traveled is not abandoned. Choose your road carefully. Shadowswood be warned, many may die on your path to knowledge. But if you achieve the goal you seek, you will be rewarded justly.
~FC
What did Casey know?
~☾~
~Lucie’s POV~
Casey had only been in the room alone with Zoric for ten minutes when the feeling came. The feeling, so engraved into my memory that, without a second thought, I was off in the direction the pull was taking me. I smelled them before I saw them. Blood, filth, other things I didn’t even want to begin to identify. Mournblade was unsheathed before I had even fully processed the thought.
I forced myself to slow my pace, settling on a trot instead. I let my surroundings overwhelm me, taking in every sensation at once. I absorbed everything, letting no detail escape my perception. Something was off. Aimeri wouldn’t have summoned me otherwise. I stopped behind a tree, taking in the scene before I stepped into it.
“Is everyone okay?” Aimeri asked. Grunts and murmurs sounded within the group, no one choosing to respond in actual words. Seeing no threats, I sheathed my blade, stepping out from behind the tree. Beau raised his head weakly, his eyes opening slightly at the sight of me. I kneeled at his side and as carefully as I could, lifted him up into sitting position.
“Who the hell did this to you?” All eyes turned to me. My voice had been colder than it had been in a long time, shocking not only the others but myself as well. Warmth spread through me as Beau interlaced our fingers together, quelling some of the anger that had, unbeknownst to me, clawed its way to the surface.
“I’m fine cookie. Just give me a little elbow grease and maybe some duct tape and I’ll be back to my day job in no time.”
“Duct tape doesn’t fix everything, Beau,”
“I beg to differ,” I cracked a small smile, his words bringing back memories that I’d long since forgotten. Aimeri made his entrance by sticking his hand out, effectively entering the conversation. Once Beau was on his feet, Aimeri offered me the same gesture. Not two seconds after I was standing, I enveloped myself in Beau’s arms, startling not only Beau but nearly everyone else as well. Beau was the first to come through, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I nuzzled my head deeper into his chest as he bent his head down, elevating some of the height difference between us.
“I had thought they’d got you again. I thought it was my fault. I-,” Beau cut me off, hushing me softly like he used to during the nights where nightmares still plagued me of my time in captivity. I could feel the eyes on me, but I couldn’t hold the tears back, letting myself cry into his shirt for the thousandth time.
“It’s fine Cookie, we’re both fine. The ZKL are locked away, where they can’t hurt us ever again.” His words had a calming effect on me, causing my heartbeat to slow and the tears to finally dry up. Noticing my change, he tightened his arms around me, knowing that the time after I was done crying was when the real trouble set in. Thoughts once again flooded my brain, along with the realization that everyone, including Casey, was now staring at us.
Trouble just couldn’t escape me could it?
~
___________________________________
I hinted at the possibility of a second chapter coming out this week... guess who came through for you? ME! I hope you all enjoy the chapter! Make sure to leave your comments below if you have any questions (or perhaps praise?). Votes, fans and adding my story to your reading lists is a great way to show your support and encourage me to post more often!
Peace and Chocolate,
~Kali