43. Panic

One of the men tosses a beer bottle aside and opens the cell door. Within minutes they have gripped Felix and Dario and brought them under their control. My ears start ringing like they always do when my nose starts bleeding.

Can't my fucking vampire powers just appear so that I can slice their throats open!?

I blink at my own violent thoughts. They are so foreign to me, yet also feel like part of myself. Fuck, I wish I were already sixteen!

More guards sweep into our cell, surrounding the three of us. I have nowhere to go or hide while the drunk men are sneering and tossing their disgusting comments at us.

"I bet you are a virgin, sweetheart." One of them grins at me. "How about you put on a show for us."

"What?" I ask, my mind completely blank.

"Don't do it," Dario mutters, just to get kicked in the stomach.

The man who started the game, as he called it, takes out a knife, moving it over Dario's face. "He has a beautiful face, doesn't he?" he asks, drawing a thin line of blood from his cheek to his neck.

"No!" I beg. "Please don't hurt him!"

"This is a silver knife. Wouldn't it be sad if his face would forever be ruined?" he asks sweetly. So sweet it makes me feel sick.

I want to lunge at him and hurt him, but I have no powers. I feel so freaking useless and powerless. Felix and Dario are in this because of me. If I hadn't bumped into them, they wouldn't be here. They wouldn't get hurt!

"So?" the guard sneers, squeezing Dario's throat. Dario struggles against his grip, struggling for air.

"Stop it!" I yell.

When the man draws another thin line of blood before tightening his grip around Dario's neck once more, I start to tug off my shirt. "I'm going to do it! I'm doing it."

He releases the grip around Dario's throat, making him gasp for air. The knife is still dangerously close to his neck. I'm not going to take the risk. So what? I'll strip! It's just skin and bones, completely natural.

Just that I'm standing there, surrounded by a bunch of creepy men who smirk at me now, their eyes glinting like they are about to hunt their prey. I feel tears of anger and desperation burning in my eyes. Why am I so helpless?

"Tell her to be faster," one of the guards says, slurring his voice slightly. He opens another bottle of beer, spraying it towards me.

The others soon follow, laughing while I try to shield my body from them.

"Do it now," the main guard huffs. "Before I forget myself and kill your two cute little bodyguards."

Like a bandaid…

Rip it off like a bandaid…

The faster the better.

I tug my shirt off my body, noticing how the men have turned quiet, their eyes boring into my skin. Fortunately, I'm still wearing a bra, but they clearly want it gone. Tears blur my vision, yet I can see how Felix has turned his head away to not look at me while Dario seems to focus on a point behind me. At least these two try to give me some privacy and dignity.

I open my bra, about to let it drop when the door to the basement opens with a loud bang. Heavy footsteps can be heard, and the alpha appears. He pauses. "What is going on here?" he yells. "Did you drink while on duty?"

The guards scramble away from me, finally letting go of Felix and Dario too. I swear I can see a shiny item in Felix's hands, but I might have imagined things. The boys make sure to stand in front of me, and I swiftly dress again.

"Alpha." The main guard bares his neck to the alpha. "We apologize. We thought we were allowed to have some fun."

"Some fun," the alpha hisses. "But not all the fun. They are my prisoners! And it just so happens that we have a bidder now." He turns to the man who accompanied him, a tall, serious-looking guy who isn't as bulked up as the alpha but looks strong despite that. "Prepare the cargo, Dylan. We have a delivery date to meet!" He turns to the guard. "You guys are on double duty for the next week!"

The moment of relief is over, and my heart starts thumping against my chest again. The creepy guys are gone, and Felix and Dario are still alive. But for how long?

What do they mean by bidder?

I can feel hands grabbing me, my eyes being covered again, and my hands tied. Soon I find myself in the back of the truck again, this time with Felix and Dario both next to me.

"It will be alright," Felix mutters. His voice is low and anxious, but there is an awful lot of determination in it.

We have split up, driving in two cars, just in case something is going to happen. Julianus is with us, together with two of our best warriors. I've entrusted my necklace to Elden and Liam, who are in the other car with Silas. They want to call Flora on the way and fill her in on everything.

Both of them carry a grim expression; the content of my necklace is going to stir up quite some trouble. And it seems like both Liam and Elden are ready to strike and have those who are responsible for it pay.

"I can't believe it," I mutter.

"It's no surprise they want the necklace so badly," Julianus comments. "After all these years it will be their downfall."

"But how did they know?" I ask. "As you said, it's been years."

"They probably were looking for it all along. They must have known that your parents had this as a backup," Dante says. "And when they died, and they couldn't find the necklace, they probably thought Marcus, your old alpha, had it."

"And then I found it in my parents' belongings," I say. "And someone probably saw me with it… I wore it almost daily after all."

"And that's why they took Charlie," Dante says. "They knew she was important to you and that you would give them anything for her safety."

"Sucks for them that we found out," I say grimly.

"Yes," Dante says. "We are getting back our niece and then rid the planet of whoever laid hands on her."

I nod, ready for some bloodshed. I'm not the only one. Judging by Liam's expression, he is ready to break havoc, not to mention Elden. He has held it together until now for the sake of keeping a cool head and being able to think straight, but now that we know what's going on and who is behind it, all his suppressed fury seems to want to come to the surface.

Felix and Dario are still minors. It's not like back in the day when Liam was kept imprisoned. Liam had his lycan already, and Elden knew he had the strength to break free. But the twins are different. They are only children.

Just like Charlie.

I believe she will grow up with incredible talents and powers, but as for now, she isn't even sixteen yet.

Someone hurt my family, my niece, and I'm not going to let them off for it!

"You give off some scary vibes, Beta," Julianus mutters.

"Of course I do," I huff.

"And you are alright with joining?" Dante asks. "What about your old vampire lord?"

Julianus sighs. "Silas made sure to spread the word I'm under his protection."

"But you aren't," Dante says.

"I can't," Julianus admits. "I… Silas moved on, and he is happy. I think he has found someone much more worthy to become his beloved than I have ever been. And the fact he hasn't officially asked him yet is my fault too. Because I betrayed him to an extent, he can't trust easily anymore."

"I think the same goes for the person he is considering his beloved," I say shortly. I don't want to rub salt into Julianus's wound, but I think both Marcellus and Silas come from a place of great pain and betrayal, and they found solace in each other.

Julianus is right. There is no place for him in Silas's life, at least not like it was before.

"I will help you with your niece," Julianus says. "To pay you back for your kindness and help, Beta Ella. And then I will try to make amends and find a place I belong to."

"Alpha Liam would be willing to let you stay in the pack," Dante says. "Because of your help."

Julianus stays quiet for a while. "That's an offer I will need to properly think about," he admits.

"Fair enough," Dante mutters.

He is tense. I can feel it through our bond. The fact that Charlie means so much to him, that he embraced her and me as his family means so much to me.

"Remember," Dante says. "You and Ella will wait for them at the meeting point. The rest of us will hide." He tosses me a glance. "The makeup makes you really look—"

"Hideous?" I offer.

"I was going to go for beat up, but in a way that's hideous too," he says. "Dave really is an artist."

"He has a friend who is a dancer and works for a theater; apparently, he knows quite a bit about theater makeup," I explain. Dante is right. I look freaking amazing in the worst way possible. Dave and Annie made me look like I got the beating of my life. The fact I look like I haven't healed will make them believe I was pumped with wolfsbane.

But I'm so ready to strike.

"Silence now," Dante says while he parks the car in a small side road, hiding it from prying eyes. We will walk the last part of the way. Everyone aside from me and Julianus have their scents suppressed.

The fresh air helps me regain my senses. The basement, the darkness there, the sticky air, the lack of water and food… it all made me feel numb, but now my senses seem more on alert again. I can feel my hearing sharpening, taking up any noise surrounding us.

"There is no one back here aside from us," I mutter into the silence, still keeping my voice low in case the men have the car windows open.

"Are you sure?" Dario asks silently.

"Yes, my senses are enhanced thanks to the vampire genes," I explain.

I feel something cold against my hands, making me wince in shock first before I realize my ties are loosening. Felix moves the blindfold off my head before proceeding to do the same for Dario. "You got a knife?" I whisper.

"Yes, when they held me and Dario, I managed to snatch it from that one drunk guard that threatened Dario," he mutters.

He and Dario exchange a short glance. "When we tell you to," Felix whispers. "Run. And get help."

"Are you nuts? You are going to do something dangerous, aren't you?" I mutter.

"Yes, but we need one of us to get away, and you are our best bet," he says quietly.

Impossible! I want to tell him that it's a crazy plan! When we chased towards the river, they were so fast, but then I remember how the guards dragged them out of the cell occasionally and roughed them up. I don't know what they did to them, but I know they hide it so as not to upset me.

"You can see quite well through the night, can't you?" Dario asks.

I nod.

"Felix is right. You are our best bet," Dario says, showing me a small smile that doesn't quite reach his eyes. "We will distract them."

But what will they do to them when I run? What will happen to these two?

If I were an owl, I could just fly. I would fly directly to Ella and get help and save everyone.

The truck slows down, and we hurry to wrap the ties around our hands, pretending they never were gone, and put our blindfolds back on. Before my world turns black again, I can see how Felix has grasped his knife, hiding it in the waistband of his jeans.

The truck halts, doors open and close again, and the voices of the men transporting us become much clearer. They are coming closer. Next to me I can hear Felix's breath going faster. I want to tell him not to do it, but I'm so nervous no sound leaves my lips.

The back of the truck gets opened again. One of them pulls Dario down first, then grabs me. There is rustling. Then I can suddenly feel Felix's body move. Screams and yells echo throughout the area. I push myself up and tug the blindfolds off, noticing how Felix is struggling with one of the guards, a knife in his hand, while Dario is trying to tackle the man.

Our eyes meet. Run! He forms with his lips.

One part of me wants to stay and help, but the other knows I'm more useful in getting help at this point. I jump off the truck, kicking the guard holding Felix in his groin before dashing away. My heart races so fast, and I feel my body burning slightly. My senses seem to take over, the world around me getting sharper and more distinctive.

Behind me, I can hear footsteps, and further away someone screams in pain. That's one of the boys! I pick up my pace. If I fail now, it will all be in vain. I won't save anyone.

I can pick up a scent far ahead of me, one I know well. My instincts push forward, making me chase after it.