9. DARIUS

9

DARIUS

My lids feel like sandpaper as they slowly slide open, revealing a dark room that seems like it materialized out of medieval times. Rough stone surrounds me, cold seeping into my limbs as I struggle against restraints that weren't there before. Metal encases my wrists and ankles, the jingling of chains bouncing off the walls as pain shoots through my torso. Sweat plasters my unruly waves to my face and shoulders, the stench of death settling on my skin.

Whatever Silas' plan was, it won't work.

Not when his mother is the one who captured me and is the one actively trying to drag out information. They're supposed to be working the same plan but the past hour has shown me that Calista and her son are on very different wavelengths. She disappeared a few moments ago but she'll be back, no doubt with other members of her council. I'm pretty sure none of this is sanctioned by the pack Alpha that found me but I couldn't find my voice to explain my presence.

Not that it would have helped.

Silas put me here to tear apart his brother's pack so I could deliver the Nightshades' Luna to the pack of the Forbidden. What awaits me is Silas as my Alpha and the Luna as my Omega. To some that is a dream come true. For me, I can't help but swallow the bile sitting at the back of my throat threatening to spew all over the stone floor. Silas' hands on me is the last thing I want. His scent that constantly coats my skin disgusts me and the idea of taking an Omega I've never met and forcing her into submission makes me hate everything my existence stands for.

"Oh, the little Beta is finally awake," Calista drawls. I know her from pictures that Silas has shared but she's nothing like what I imagined. She's a terrifying presence and her aura is dark and twisted. The two Alpha wolves that accompany her are just as terrifying although the large one on the right holds the same power that Silas does. He's taken the serum.

A grunt tears from my throat when Calista's foot connects with my chest, irritating the gashes along my body. They've healed a little and aren't nearly as deep as I originally thought. That doesn't make it hurt any less. I bite my tongue to keep from crying out or showing them any pain. Silas mentioned that his mother and the council would be on his side, that they would be helping further the plan but it seems like everything has gone rogue.

As if Calista has her own agenda.

"It's about time for the council meeting, Calista. We just need to figure out what he knows before Mateo gets here." The wolf who has taken the serum says. He nods toward me, a snarl curling his upper lip. His eyes glow a demonic yellow before retreating to an unimpressive brown. "What's Silas playing at sending one of his bitches here, Beta?" He steps forward and kicks at my foot, the chains rattling.

I can't help myself in this situation. The pack of the Forbidden's seal is etched into my chest, slashed through by Silas' claws. If I mention that I am a trap to rip apart the pack Alpha's family, they won't release me to Mateo. If I mention that I'm having second thoughts, they might very well drag out a round of torture before killing me. So, I stay quiet.

A fist meets my left cheek and then my jaw as my head snaps backward. Awful, chilling laughter fills the small room as the world spins around me. Calista steps closer before crouching in front of me. Her perusal of my heavily bloodied and naked form sends shivers down my spine, especially when her gaze lingers on my cock for a few moments too long. "You are a gorgeous specimen, no doubt about that but why would my son leave you dead on our lands?"

Still, I don't answer. I search her dead eyes, realizing that she has been fighting against Mother Nature much longer than anyone must know. Silas has kept me as his trusted Beta, sharing stories that no one else in the pack knows.

Unfortunately, that gives me an insight into the Alpha he truly is and the havoc he has caused since he was exiled from his own pack. Mateo has every right to hate my pack Alpha. Knowing that Silas also caused the death of Mateo's Luna's family hurts me. He has been a thorn in the side of every wolf and human he has met. He is known for his destruction and rabid thinking, never for his leadership or his smart choices.

The serum Silas got his hands on will rip apart the wolves and any magic Mother Nature is so gracious to bring back. There is so much hatred and death in the pack I grew up in. It was never perfect but I no longer see a future there. I'm terrified that it is all I have to return to, a world of despair and darkness with wolves that don't even know how to love.

And for what?

At what cost?

I mentioned before that nothing Silas does will stop fate, that Mateo now has one of the most powerful magical beings on his side. I will not step in the way of what is meant to be, including becoming Calista's pawn for whatever agenda she has within this pack.

Straightening my shoulders, I hold my head up as best I can, weathering the pain so that my face remains emotionless. "My Alpha left me for dead on pack lands I've never been to. I don't know what his plans are because I've been discarded. Something he does regularly." Silas doesn't discard those who he deems unnecessary. He rips them apart and leaves them in the heart of our own packlands to send a message.

Calista chuckles as she places a hand on my leg, slowly traveling up until I shake her off with what little space the chains give me. "Then Silas is a fool for dumping his trash here. I am not his maid. I am his mother and he would do well to remember that."

I manage a small, timid smile, trying to play into the persona of a terrified Beta wolf. The problem is that I'm not really scared of Calista or the other two Alpha wolves. One of them must be an elder but the other—the one on the serum—won't react unless provoked. My mind drifts back to the moment Silas dragged me out to the clearing and then gutted me. That's when I remember something that gives me a glimmer of hope.

When that Alpha found me, his scent and aura wrapped around me like the sweetest drug. He is my Alpha, not Silas. My entire body and my wolf responded to him. I need that Alpha like I need to breathe but it was the added scent that brought my body to life, that made me want to fight a little harder.

It's sweet and soft but not one that should be possible. The scent reminds me of Bambi but I can't ever remember meeting someone like that. She has to be a figment of my imagination because no one in our pack smells like this. There's not even many women in our pack to begin with. A faint image of a young girl laughing flits through my head but disappears just as quickly.

Mates? I've never thought about a relationship outside of the one with Silas. Even then, when I told myself I would get away, it was never with someone. My tongue darts out to coat my chapped lips, thoughts reeling between being captured and finding wolves that are mine. It shouldn't be possible and I know that Silas had no idea but maybe this is my way out.

Calista stands and kicks at my foot, jostling my entire body. "My son doesn't do anything lightly. Discarded or not, you serve a purpose. A spy? A warning? What is it? He mentioned everything was fine."

I may be digging my grave but my alliances have never been with Silas. He's just all I've known. I want the soft touches and caresses that the Alpha in the woods offered me. I want to experience a pack and the freedom to live. I won't get that by sitting here and playing Silas' game or giving into Calista's desires. So, I say the words that have been sitting on my tongue. "Everything is not fine, Calista. The magic has returned to the pack lands and whatever Silas has up his sleeves will destroy the wolves." If Silas succeeds. If he doesn't, I have seen what happens when he suffers a meltdown. Everyone will be in his warpath but those he believed stood in his way will suffer worse.

So many think that death is the worst punishment.

It isn't.

Calista growls at my declaration before allowing the wolf with the serum to step around her and swing at my face. She definitely believes I may be a trap for her and not for Mateo. I just hope that someone rescues me from this situation before it takes a turn for the worse.

Steeling myself against the pain, I focus on that Alpha's hand from the forest and the scents he brought as they wrap me in a cocoon of comfort and warmth.