51. Chapter 51

Chapter 51

L ayla didn't fight when the Hunters wheeled back to the warehouse. She'd spat a few times, but the metallic taste and scent of blood still overwhelmed her senses. It made her nauseous. And she could still hear the Hunters' applause when they finally forced her teeth away from their guinea pig's flesh.

Everything else inside her was numb.

Everyone has told her since discovering she was a red wolf that she was special and she would protect the pack. But now, she was just a weapon the Hunters would use against her people.

They wheeled past the restricted door, but she didn't feel the pull she felt when she'd gone past it before. That was because Rebecca was still in the room beside hers, unconscious. Vulnerable.

There were no moves to make while the people she loved were at risk. Her hands were tied.

The stench in the warehouse pulled her out of her thoughts as they wheeled through the door. The unit in the ceiling that gassed the room crossed her vision, reminding her again that there was no escape from her prison. The numbness in her body turned to pain. An ache she could not heal.

Her eyes closed, and tears slid down her face. She'd fucked up. She had hoped Jax wouldn't come to save her so he wouldn't get caught, but everything in her screamed for her mate. She was no hero. She made things worse for everyone.

"Don't worry, Miss Layla. The Commander will keep his word."

Her eyes snapped open to look up at the Hunter pushing her towards the aisle where her cage was. All she could see was his chin, but she could tell there was a smirk on his lips. A sinking feeling in her stomach forced her to look up at the cages. The wolves who weren't unconscious raised their heads to look at her as she passed them.

She caught a few gazes. Felt their uneasiness.

"This will only be until tonight," the Hunter continued. "We'll bring you a nice meal while we prepare your new room. Just to show our appreciation for your help."

She sucked in a breath.

Her help?!

They were making her out to be a traitor! It was true. She betrayed them, but it wasn't because she wanted to.

The faces peering down at her changed. She sensed the anger. The hatred. It was almost as if she was transported back in time to when her pack wanted her dead. Her eyes closed again as all their emotions crashed into her.

"You'll have a nice, comfortable bed to sleep in, and I hear they're installing a TV," the Hunter continued.

More hatred. Some whispers. The Commander already got her to do what he wanted. Why was he doing this, too?

The sound of her cage door swinging open forced her to open her eyes again. The Hunter walked to her side and pulled some keys out of his pocket. Unlike the other times, only one Hunter came into the warehouse with her. Another point made to the wolves. Another sign of her treachery.

She didn't understand what he was doing until the weight of her chains fell off, finally relieving some of the pain from her wrists and torso. The metal clattered as it fell to the floor, and then the Hunter stepped back with a satisfied smile.

"You won't need those anymore," he said, reaching for the cage door.

It swung uselessly on its hinges, the bars bent out of shape from her escape attempt.

"We didn't get time to fix it," he said, "but I'm sure you won't do anything to fuck up the deal you made."

Shit.

More hatred pressed down on her shoulders.

Her eyes closed as the guard pulled her into a sitting position. Her hair fell over her face, hiding her shame.

She would never forgive the Commander for this. No matter what happened, she would kill him before she died. She had to. Her heart broke with all the emotions her people felt towards her. Even in death, she would always be the traitor. Brit would be the traitor's sister.

And Hope would be the traitor's child.

She forced her legs to move, rising to her feet by herself. The Hunter didn't show any emotions—not that she expected any— not even fear after how she killed his peers. They were confident they had broken her.

She entered her broken cage under her own steam and watched the Hunter's smile widen as he pushed the broken door back in place. He didn't bother locking it. He picked up all the chains and laughed before he walked away.

She didn't dare lift her head. She crawled to the back of the cage and sat with her knees up, hoping to make herself as small as possible. The unlocked cage door mocked her and reminded her of what she would lose if she tried to break out again.

The whispers got louder when the warehouse doors closed. Loud enough for her ears to pick up but too quiet for the Hunters' ears.

"Isn't she..."

"Yes."

"And she's working with them?"

"Traitor."

"What did we expect from someone like her?"

"I heard she's a half-blood. They should have fucking killed her."

Every word was like a knife through her chest.

‘Miss Layla.'

She didn't dare look up at Faith, either.

'I'm okay,' Faith said.

How could she even say that after what almost happened to her?

Her head lowered even more. If they even managed to escape their prison, she didn't know if she could hold her head up again.

The doors slid open again, and the scent of a feast reached her nose. Meat. Something juicy and hot. She hadn't thought about her hunger until that smell made her stomach grumble. It had been days since she ate anything, but now just the thought of putting the food in her mouth made her nauseous.

It was a reward from the Commander. Another clear sign to everyone of how she earned that meal.

But she couldn't stop her mouth from watering as her ears picked up the sound of the trolley rolling up and down the aisles. The food would taste like sand in her mouth. How was she meant to enjoy it when it felt like the Last Supper?

The trolley finally made it to her aisle. She watched them from behind the curtain of her hair as they opened cage after cage until they finally stopped in front of her. Someone pulled the broken door open and slid a huge platter full of meat, potatoes, and vegetables into her cramped space. Her stomach growled louder than any of the others.

She moved without thinking, grabbing the biggest steak off the platter and taking a bite. It melted in her mouth as if a top chef prepared it.

Her eyes closed, and a small groan escaped her lips. It didn't taste like sand. It tasted like a slice of heaven that found its way into the hellhole she was stuck in, even if every mouthful went down her throat with a coating of guilt.

When she reached for the second one, she heard a whimper. Her hand froze as she looked in the direction the sound came from.

It was the little girl across the aisle from her. Her little face peaked at her between the bars of her cage, and her teary gaze was on the platter in front of her.

And in her hand was a small piece of bread.

The stale bread they were all fed like animals in their cages.

She released the steak and shuffled back before she finally looked around her. All eyes were on her. She could see them—feel them staring at her from behind their silver prisons.

And they all had bread for their meal.

The steak felt like a lump of coal in her stomach, and shame brought it back up her throat. She almost didn't reach the bucket in the corner as it came out as quickly as it had gone in.

She was still heaving when the doors opened again. When the sound of heavy boots started to echo in the warehouse.

'My Queen...'

Gavin's weak voice in the mindlink forced her to look up at the cage above hers just as the Hunters started walking down her aisle.

'My Queen... Be strong. Please,' Gavin continued.

She completely forgot about him! How could she call herself a queen when she could easily put him aside when they probably only caught him because of her?

She reached through the bars to touch him again, willing him to get stronger. She could smell dried blood, which brought some relief to her troubled mind. He'd stopped bleeding since they brought him in. He'd started to heal.

'How did you get caught?' she asked as a Hunter opened the broken door.

She hadn't even tried to walk out of the cage. She hadn't thought of anything but the feast they brought her.

Her shame returned in full force.

"Have you finished eating? Your room is ready," the Hunter said, standing aside.

And the hatred in the warehouse increased.

This was the Commander's doing. Turning her people against her. Using her in his sick plan.

Her first clenched.

If he wanted to play this game, then so be it. She was done. Whether her wolf was meant to save anyone or not, whether Diedre was right or not, she was done.

The Commander would die by her hand.

"Yes, I'm finished," she answered calmly. "I'm ready."

She looked up, met Gavin's gaze through the bars, and finally looked at Faith. Her cuts and bruises would not heal as long as the Hunters kept her caged.

'Don't worry about me,' she said. 'Be strong just a little while longer.'

Faith's eyes widened.

'What will you do?'

'What I must.'

She slid out of her cage on her own. Once again, there was only one Hunter to escort her. The Commander presumed that was all he needed to do to break her. That was fine. She would let him.

Until the last moment.

Until the light died in his eyes as he lay at her feet.

There was no other way out of this for either of them. Fate would decide how everyone would tell her story.

"The Commander wants you to rest well. You'll be busy in the morning," the Hunter said as the door to the warehouse was opened from the outside.

There were armed Hunters lined up along the wall. The bigger ones, like the one she bit. Like the ones that guarded the restricted area. The Commander just put on a show for the wolves, but the message he sent with the force of his guards was clear.

If she made one wrong move, it would be over.

But it was over anyway. The Commander just didn't know it yet.