Chapter 11

Chapter

Eleven

DANYAL

I woke to the sound of screaming. For a moment, I thought it was in my head, because I'd been plagued with nightmares since the night we arrived at the compound, but it wasn't long before I realized whatever it was, it was coming from another wing. I'd been restless since leaving Ivan's room, and I'd hoped to interrogate Mari when I got in, but she was fast asleep, and I wasn't cruel enough to wake her.

I had no idea what Kasher and his humans were doing to her, and I wasn't going to add to the stress. After all, the baby was my responsibility now—both survival and care. I didn't know what would happen when she went into labor, but I knew the time for that was close.

And I didn't want to risk us being here when it all went down.

Another scream dragged me out of my thoughts, and I threw my legs over the side of the bed. Peering out of the door, I was only half-surprised not to find a guard there. But Kasher knew better, of course. I wouldn't run without Mari, and Mari was in no shape to go like this. We wouldn't get far if we tried, and they might not kill her when we were caught, but they would make her sorry.

Taking a breath, I followed the sounds of whimpering through a maze of corridors, and eventually came to a door with a heavy lock. It took nothing at all to break it, and I wondered if it was a test—or maybe Kasher's men were too arrogant to believe one of his feral Wolves was capable of getting out.

The metal snapped under my hands, and I pushed the door open, rearing back at the smell.

It was filth—unwashed skin, vomit, and excrement layered on top of each other. The place was a cell, and in the center was a Wolf on all fours with his hair hanging over his eyes. It was the creature from before, the one at Kasher's command. He gnashed his teeth as I stepped closer, so I let my claws and fangs drop, hoping maybe my Omega scent would affect him.

He wasn't an Alpha, but Betas still felt small pulses of need to protect us.

After a beat, the growls quieted, and I could see blood dripping down his thighs. Rage rushed through me, but I managed to beat it back as I closed the distance and fell to a crouch. The Wolf snarled a little, but he let me push his hair back, let me turn him so I could see the gaping wound in his gut.

Claw marks.

His hands were filthy, so I had no idea if he'd done this himself, or if he'd been tortured by another feral one of us.

Closing my eyes, I breathed out, then I pushed to my feet and left the room. His whimper followed me, but I didn't let it distract me. I found a bathroom not far off, so I soaked a handful of towels in the warm running water, then covered them with liquid soap and dragged them back down the hall.

The Wolf gave a startled huff as I knelt down again, but he didn't protest as I began to clean him off. The layers of filth revealed olive-brown skin, shredded and scarred, but intact. His gaze met mine, and I saw the person beneath the pain and torture begging to come out.

He wasn't lost. Just like Zane wasn't lost.

We could come back from this.

I cupped his cheek as I cleaned it, and he nuzzled into me. "I'm going to kill them," I whispered, not caring if Kasher or his humans could hear me. "I'm going to make them all pay for this."

I had no idea if this Wolf could understand me, but it didn't matter. I continued to clean him and whisper promises. I wasn't sure if I could keep them, but I knew I'd die trying, and so would the others if I could just make contact with them. Running fingers over his emaciated form, feeling out the sharp angles of his bones, the doctor in me wanted to do something. I couldn't extract the chemicals from his body that would allow him to shift into his wolf, but maybe I could give him some reprieve.

As I tossed a towel away, I heard footsteps, and a second later, I braced myself as his door creaked open. I hadn't been able to tell it was Ivan, but the moment I saw his face, I felt my anger fully.

"If you're here to stop me…"

He let out a sigh. "Danyal, what do you hope to accomplish here?"

"Humanity," I spat at him, making him flinch. "This is disgusting. There are no words for this."

His head bowed, and I wanted to hit him because he shouldn't be sorry—he should be stopping it. "I know."

My eyes grazed the room, and the fell on a bowl that I realized was for whatever the fuck Kasher was feeding him. "Go bring me something from the kitchen."

Ivan stared at me a long moment, then he turned on his heel and marched away. I had no idea if Ivan was actually going to do what I asked, but it didn't matter. I just needed him to get the fuck away while I calmed myself down.

When I could no longer hear his footsteps, I returned to the Wolf and knelt down again. He let out a quiet sigh, and when I sat, he laid his cheek against my thigh and rumbled when I put fingers into his hair.

"I'm going to fix it," I said. I didn't know how, and I didn't care what I had to suffer—but I would make it happen.

I sat quiet after that, my fingers drawing lines along the Wolf's scalp, feeling him reach something like calm. It wasn't peace, because how could it be, but maybe a spark of hope that he would get out of this. That one day this would be a nightmare of his past, and in his future, he would never again lose power over himself.

I had also moved past my violent rage, so when Ivan appeared, I was able to take the plate of food for him and break it into small pieces. The Wolf didn't seem entirely interested, so I waited, letting it rest beside my thigh, hoping the smell would entice him.

"Who is he?"

Ivan looked uncomfortable as he shifted his position, leaning against the wall. "I don't know." His heart stuttered.

With a scoff, I turned dark eyes on him. "You're lying. Why?"

"Because it won't do him or you any good to know," Ivan replied. "This isn't going to last forever."

"It shouldn't be happening now. You're a fucking coward, and that's why he's still here," I spat. It was telling that Ivan didn't argue. "What's his name? He's a fucking person with a name. A past, a family, maybe children. I refuse to comfort myself with ignorance."

Ivan dragged his tongue over his lower lip. "Yasin. He was one of the first Wolves my father brought in. He dragged him from the battlefield and had a spy in contact with his spouse. He experimented on him, until he was so feral, his mate bond shattered."

"They think he's dead," I whispered, the thought horrifying. "His mate…"

"She does," Ivan confirmed. "It might be better that way."

"That's what you tell yourself in order to sleep at night?" I demanded. Against me, Yasin rumbled, and I shifted so he could sit up. When I offered the food again, he ate—like an animal, face in the plate. I looked away to allow him some dignity, whether he was aware of it or not. "I want to take him with me."

"You can't," Ivan said, and before I could argue, he took a step closer. "You can't."

I heard what he wasn't saying. There was a plan in place for him. "And you expect me to just sit here and let him suffer until then?"

Ivan met my gaze, then gave a nod. "Yes, Danyal. I do."

I didn't get the chance to speak with Mari in the morning. I left Yasin after I was satisfied that he was fed and resting, and Ivan retreated to his wing as I shuffled back to my room. My sleep after that was broken, and I woke to empty space and the demand to return to the lab.

It was nothing new, except when I set foot inside and saw Kasher at the table that was laden with food. On the floor, a few feet away, was Mari who was gagged and arms bound behind her back. Kasher gave me a sickly sweet smile and gestured at the table.

"Breakfast is waiting," he said.

I didn't move. "What's happening?"

Kasher raised a brow as he tipped his coffee to his lips and took a sip. "You've made your choice, and I want to make sure the breeding bitch understands."

My eyes narrowed, but one of the guards took my arm and marched me over to Kasher's side. I sank down into the chair as a plate was set before me. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"My dog?" he said, lifting a brow. His trembling fingers picked at a few pieces of fruit, and he flung a few of them, landing at Mari's knee. "Just because I didn't stop you doesn't mean I wasn't aware of what you were up to."

I didn't glance down at the woman, though every instinct told me to drop claws and attack him. "What does that have to do with our agreement?"

"Everything. Your cooperation ensures the comfort of a beast. I didn't specify dog or breeding bitch, I suppose. You cooperated, it gets fed."

My face turned white. They were going to starve her for what I'd given to Yasin. "I will kill you."

Kasher let out a wheezing laugh. "Maybe. But not today. Today, I want you to take tissue samples and find out what the hell I'm missing."

I heard a muffled cry, and in my periphery, I saw one of the guards dragging Mari into the other room. "I'm not going to find anything you haven't already."

"Perhaps, but there's no harm in trying. It won't kill the child, you know, or her. A bit of pain is a good reminder of her place."

Bile rose in my throat, but then Ivan caught my eye as he walked in, and he gave a subtle shake of his head. I didn't know what it meant, but I had to trust he wasn't going to let her suffer. Though, perhaps that was foolish of me. It might have made a difference if Mari was human—but Ivan had already confessed she was something else. And I'd seen his comfort with letting these Wolves suffer, so what would he put her through?

I had to make a move soon. I wouldn't last another day like this.

My stomach didn't tolerate the food, so eventually I rose from the table and walked into the lab. Mari was still gagged, strapped down to a bed. There were surgical tools laid out that would allow me to take a tissue sample, but nothing to dull the pain. Nothing to put her out.

I glanced to my left and saw Kasher making his way into the room. "I'm not doing this with her awake."

"She'll survive it," Kasher said again, his voice dry. "She's survived worse."

I bit the inside of my cheek so hard, I tasted blood. "You want to be a monster, that's on your head. You want to force my hand with research, you have the power to do it. But you can't turn me into the same thing you are."

He laughed, the sound wheezing and weak in his chest. "I don't need to. You're already an animal. It would take a simple series of infusions to have you on your hands and knees, ready and willing to do anything I commanded."

It wasn't true. I'd seen the fight in Yasin's eyes. He was under the spell of Kasher's sadistic work, but he was not gone. When given the chance, Yasin would take his revenge—and I meant to do everything in my power to ensure that it happened.

Turning back to Mari, I bowed my head and closed my eyes. "Give me six hours with the research. You're already starving her today. Let that be enough."

"Six hours," Kasher said after too long a silence. "After that, you do as I say—or I make her feel it."

I swallowed back another throat full of bile, then nodded before rising and moving to the other room. He left her strapped to the bed, and the day would be long, but there was every chance I could come up with something to pacify this monster and save her from further pain.

I smelled food before I saw Kasher, and he offered me a twisted smile before I pushed away from the computer desk and stretched my back. I'd declined food and drink for the entire day, and my body was not thanking me, but suffering alongside Mari seemed only fitting.

When I glanced through the lab window, I saw she was gone, and I could only hope Ivan had taken care of her. I ignored the old man's gaze as I walked to the table and helped myself to water, then I turned to him and didn't wait for him to begin the interrogation.

"She's a genetic anomaly," I told him, and he stroked his beard. "It's obvious that it's through her line. From what I can tell, it's maternal."

He scoffed. "You don't think I haven't worked that out on my own?"

I shrugged. "I wasn't sure. It's the reason she can carry a Wolf this close to term, if not give birth to a live baby. There's no guarantee her child will carry on those genes, and there's no guarantee any of her siblings did. Or even that her mother's line had many like her." I stared at the food and debated about filling my stomach, but being this close to Kasher made everything in my body feel sour. "She's a better candidate for your research than your son."

Kasher's eyes glinted. "Brave of you to point that out."

I shrugged. "I know why you don't want to. You want to use her and see if you can replicate the mutation in other humans and create a set of breeders."

He leaned back and stroked his chin again. "Is that so?"

"I don't know if you'll live long enough to see it happen, but I know you're probably closer than any other geneticist in the world," I told him.

He scoffed and shrugged. "You may be right, but it doesn't matter either way."

I tensed, clutching the back of the chair he'd wanted me to sit in. "Is it enough?"

"For what? To feed her?" he asked with a grin.

I clenched my jaw and met his gaze. If I had to choose between tortures, I would allow her hunger for as long as it wasn't dangerous, but I knew it was safer not to answer. He would get more joy out of telling me know, reminding me her condition was my fault.

Kasher let out a sigh. "For now. But tomorrow is another day, dog."

I didn't flinch. Instead, I strode out of the room and to my own. I half-expected to be followed, but Kasher's arrogance would be his downfall. He believed I was losing hope, and he was confident that even if someone came for me, there would be no point.

But I wasn't going to wait. I was going to push Ivan into pulling the trigger, because enough was enough. It would be difficult to escape with Mari, but I would do it. I had no other choice. Kasher was closing in on his research. He believed she was a human—but it wouldn't last forever. Her genetics were close, but not enough, and it was only the fact that his disease was eating away at his brain that he hadn't figured it out.

It turned out, however, that I wouldn't need to. Ivan was ready.

Moving into my room, I came to a halt when I saw Mari standing there, pressed against the wall. Ivan was on his knees, shoving something into a bag, and he looked over his shoulder at me. "The systems are going to go down just before midnight. You have to be prepared to run."

I glanced at Mari who was staring at me with wide eyes. I wasn't sure about the expression on her face, but she remained still, giving nothing away. "How do you know they're not listening?"

"Because I've made it so they're not," Ivan said. "It won't last, but it won't matter after tonight." He zipped up the bag, then shoved it under my bed. "He'll spare a few men to go after you, but not many. And there's a Wolf on his way to intercept you."

"Who is it?" I demanded.

Ivan spread his hands. "They wouldn't give me their name. I wasn't given a lot of information in case my father gets the upper hand."

It made my job difficult, but it also made sense. "I'm not proficient in human weapons," I told him, eyeing the spot where he'd shoved the bag, then I looked up at Mari. "I can't protect you that way."

"I'm not worried about that," she said.

I wondered what she was. She was so…human. She looked fragile and terrified, her stomach showing off her vulnerability. But there was more to her than that. She clenched her jaw, then took a step forward.

"Can I trust you, Omega? To do what needs to be done."

I flinched at that, the slight unexpected from her. She wasn't human, but she clearly held the same misunderstandings and prejudices. "I've survived the First War alongside every Alpha and Beta who fought. And I've survived this far under Kasher's eye. So yes."

She didn't drop her gaze, but she did look over at Ivan, then she nodded. "Unlike him, I'm proficient with human weapons. Make sure I'm armed."

Ivan made a soft noise, his face warring with indecision, then he crossed the space between them and took her face between his hands. "I'm sorry."

I took a step back. I thought for a moment he'd been lying to me about loving her, but then he leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead in a soft kiss. There was love there, but not the kind I imagined. I burned to ask again, but it wasn't the time.

"The Wolves are going to take me tonight, and with any luck, they'll take my father," he said.

My brows lifted. "What will they do with you?"

"Whatever they choose, I deserve it. But I've made sure they know Yasin must be rescued. There's a plan in place for the others my father hid away. The information was released by one of your own."

Orion had done it—exactly as planned—and I could feel in the bond he had also saved my brother. "You can trust me with the rest," I told him, and I saw in his eyes that he believed me. I wasn't trained for this, but I had to believe I was capable of saving both myself and Mari from whatever was coming.

We would have to lie low until the threat from Kasher was neutralized. After that, we'd face the whole world, because Kasher's plan wasn't just to torture Wolves. The first domino had already fallen with Alexei—and we wouldn't see the bigger picture it made until they were all on the ground.

But I wanted to be free for that—to be unrestrained, because I would fight—training or not, Omega or not.

I looked at the pair of them—somehow family, likely to never see each other again. The consequences of this hate, this prejudice, this beastly cruelty—it went so far. And I wasn't sure there was a way to pull any of us out.