Pack Secrets

Pain throbs through my skull, and I flinch as I crack open my eyes, squinting to offset the light. An unfamiliar room sways into focus, but something is wrong with my vision, because it tilts from side to side, leaving me seasick.

The bars of a cage surround me, and my cheek rests on cold steel. It takes my scrambled brain far too long to process through the pain and realize the room isn't swaying. I am.

With a groan, I roll onto my back, and my foot strikes against the narrow confines of my prison. A thick chain rises from the top of the cage and loops around a heavy wooden beam overhead, suspending me in the air.

My breathing quickens, and I struggle to fight down the rising panic brought on by confinement. The last time I woke up trapped and stripped of control, Bryant had stood over me. To distract myself, I take stock of my surroundings, hoping to find something—anything—that will provide an escape route, or at least give me an idea of where the hell I am.

Past the confines of my cage, I see a dimly lit, concrete room, with sheet-draped squares that remind me of Owen's cage in my basement. A werewolf holding cell, which means I'm still in the pack compound. A staircase on the right side of the room leads up to a closed door.

I spot the hinges in the bars and crawl over, my shift in weight increasing the swaying of my prison. Cold steel freezes my fingers as I rattle the door, but it doesn't budge an inch. Panic surges through me, my self-restraint breaking, and I shake the cage harder, sending it spinning.

Losing my balance, I sprawl onto the solid floor.

A chuckle fills the air. "Did you really think you could break through a prison designed to hold a werewolf?"

I push upright and spot Jacob standing in the shadows.

Anger shoots through me, pushing back the panic, and I reach for my wand, but my nails scrape my empty sheath.

"Looking for this?" Jacob twirls my wand between his fingers like he's auditioning for some twisted magician act. "Isn't magic just infuriating? Witches need these little sticks to cast spells, and without them, you're powerless."

"Speak for yourself." I clutch the bars. "At least I don't have to wait for the full moon to turn into a wolf."

"Touché." Jacob leans against the damp wall. "But that won't be an issue for long."

I look around once more, but there's nothing within reach that can help me. "Why did you lock me up like this?"

"You witches should be more aware of your surroundings in a town of werewolves. Conversations travel much farther than you think." He smirks. "You need to be able to touch the ground or be up in the air, right? That's how you connect to your magic?"

My fingers tighten on the bars. "I'm not an elemental witch, Jacob. And wands are only support tools. They're not what makes magic happen."

"Oh, yeah?" He arches an eyebrow. "Prove it."

When I glare, he laughs. "You witches are all alike. Liars, every one of you, trying to make yourself appear more powerful than you are."

"If you wanted me dead, you'd have already done it." Fear creeps into my voice. "So, why are you doing this?"

"Silver Hollow is a gift and a prison." He twirls my wand between his fingers. "I can't leave without going moon mad, but it doesn't have to be that way."

"You did a good job misdirecting us." I sit on the bottom of my cage and dangle my legs through the bars, my toes inches from the ground. "We thought we were looking for a human."

Jacob snorts. "Well, I did hire someone, but the idiot turned out to be useless. He let you make it all the way here."

"He tried to stab me," I say.

"And he failed." Jacob tsks under his breath. "He should have killed you after he ran you off the road, but he left me to clean up his mistake."

"Charming," I mutter. "I can't believe Kaela fell for your nice guy act."

"Everyone fell for it." He steps closer, though remains out of kicking range. "Or don't you remember inviting me into the Alpha's house, because you thought I was a safe little wolf who couldn't shift without the full moon?"

My head throbs with the reminder of how much I failed to assess his true colors.

"Tell me, Rowe." Jacob cocks his head to the side. "Do you like being a witch?"

Likeisn't the word I'd use. Sure, there are perks, but it's also been a giant pain in my ass. "Honestly, the movies make it look cooler than it is in real life."

"See, I knew you'd understand!" Jacob points my wand at me. "Neither of us asked for this. We were born to it. And we're supposed to be the lucky ones. But sometimes, you've gotta break a few rules to find your own freedom."

"By destroying the town and hurting innocent people?" I challenge, my heart pounding.

He shrugs. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"And what made you desperate?" I clasp my hands. "Tell me your origin story. Why does Jacob want to destroy Silver Hollow?"

His face twists with anger. "You're mocking me."

"I like a good story." I rest my throbbing head against the bars. "You didn't wake up one day and want to blow down your home. What brought us to this point? Was it love?"

His expression softens, and for a moment, he looks almost vulnerable. "There was a girl. We were together throughout all of high school, but she always struggled. Her mom was human, and her dad was one of the werewolves here, but the curse skipped her. She should have had a normal life, but instead, she didn't fit in anywhere. Not at the pack house and not among the humans in town."

I nod in understanding. "What was her name?"

"Hailey." A smile curls his lips. "We were in love, but she couldn't take the isolation anymore, and she knew that if we got married and had kids, they'd have the same risk of not being werewolves. She didn't want our children to grow up like she did, so she left Silver Hollow."

The anger returns, and coals burn to life in his pupils. "I went after her, of course, but by then, she'd forgotten me! We were together for six years, and she couldn't remember who I was! She thought I was a dangerous stalker!"

"She didn't mean to forget you," I whisper, my heart aching for what happened to the young lovers.

His hands curl into fists, and I fear he might break my wand in his anguish. "I begged her to come back with me, told her it would fix things, but she wouldn't listen to me, and I couldn't remain outside Silver Hollow. At the first full moon, I would've killed her."

He grits his teeth in frustration. "Everyone knows there's a way around the curse. We've all seen the Alpha and his bond mates shift without the full moon. But they're selfish and keep the secret for themselves. If the barrier is gone, though, he'll have to share with the rest of us, or risk losing everything."

"Would Hailey want you to do all this?" I ask, keeping my tone gentle. "Would she want you to hurt people?"

"She doesn't know what she'd want," he snarls at me. "She doesn't remember who she was."

"Love doesn't justify destroying an entire town and hurting innocent people!" I snap, my patience wearing out.

"I'm not doing this for love. What Hailey and I had can never be fixed. Even if I dragged her back here, she would leave again." Jacob takes a step closer. "But I can stop what happened to us from happening to anyone else."

"You're trying to destroy the only safe place that exists for werewolves." I grip the bars so tightly that my knuckles hurt. "If you don't like it, just leave, but don't ruin it for the other people who live here."

"I'm not ruining it." He lifts his chin. "I'm saving them."

"You're going to get everyone killed." I shake my head in disgust. "You don't know what life is like for werewolves outside of Silver Hollow. The world is bigger and more cruel than you realize."

"I'm only doing this to force the Alpha's hand." He paces in front of me. "Backed into a corner, he'll have no choice but to share his secret with the rest of the pack."

"You are vastly overestimating Griffen's ability to save you." I kick out at him, but too much distance separates us. "Why am I still alive, huh? If you're so bent on taking down the barrier, why not kill me and be done with it?"

Jacob stops and turns to face me, his eyes narrowing. "I don't really want you dead. I'm not that cruel."

"Aspen might disagree," I snort. "It was you who put the hemlock in our drinks, wasn't it? That's why you cozied up to Kaela that night? And why you've been so worried that we'd clear the witches of the poisoning?"

"I don't want you dead, but that doesn't mean I won't do it." He shrugs. "It's unfortunate that Levi dragged you and your friends here and turned you into collateral damage in this whole mess."

"So why did you hold back instead of bashing my head in?" I ask again.

"Because, right now, everyone is so panicked and looking for you that no one cares about the failing barrier." He peers up at the ceiling as if he can see the people searching for me. "The full moon is coming soon, so all I have to do is keep you here until the barrier finishes collapsing. When that happens, the Alpha will have no choice but to share those precious charms of his or risk releasing death on Silver Hollow."

"Except that he only has five," I say, trying to reason with him. "That's not enough to go around."

"Liar!" Jacob roars, stepping closer, his eyes blazing. "I know Elana has more. You're just protecting her."

"For a giant eavesdropper, you've missed critical data," I tell him. "The charms Elana has don't work. They're broken."

"You expect me to believe that?" he scoffs and pulls a necklace out from under his shirt with a small charm dangling from it. "A few months ago, Elana dropped this in town, and when I picked it up, I knew instantly what it could do. I used it the night you guys arrived and chased you through the woods after the guy I hired took off."

My head jerks up. "That was you?"

"Surprised, right? Because they couldn't track my scent and figure out it was me." He flicks the charm. "This masks my presence, too. It gives me complete control over my curse."

"That's not a moon madness charm, Jacob." My eyes narrow on the cute little wolf head that Aris made. "When you use it, there's no wolf, only darkness. It won't save you when the full moon rises if the barrier is gone."

"Liar!" he shouts again, his face reddening with anger. "You're trying to trick me, the same as everyone else! The council hates werewolves, and they want to keep us locked up in Silver Hollow!"

"The barrier is to give werewolves a safe space with control of your curse," I say, shaking my head. "It's not a prison."

"Enough!" Jacob roars, shoving the charm back under his shirt. "When the barrier falls and the full moon comes, the Alpha will be forced to share his charms, and everyone will see the truth!"

As Jacob continues to rant, movement behind him catches my attention, and I spot Haut sneaking down the steps. His moss-green eyes meet mine, and my pulse quickens, hope surging through me.

Something in my reaction must alert Jacob, though, and he snarls as he spins to face Haut. He reaches for the charm around his neck, and darkness sweeps over his body as he leaps at my mate, knocking him off balance and sending both of them tumbling down the stairs.