Chapter 32

32

I 've spent three nights in this cell, and I'm finally coming to terms with my new reality. Not to say it hasn't been an adjustment, but learning more about what I am has gone a long way in helping to shift my mindset and reverse a decade of indoctrination. I now realize shifters aren't the monsters I thought they were. They're more human than beast, and they're definitely not the mindless murderers The Guild makes them out to be.

Case in point: Avery Kessler. My mate . Now that the tables are turned, she's had every opportunity to be as cruel and cold as I was to her, but she isn't. Instead, she's been answering my questions; helping to guide my understanding of what I am and shifter culture as a whole. In return, I've filled her in on everything I know about The Guild. I've offered to help diffuse the conflict with them, but she keeps shutting me down, insisting the others would never go for it. She still doesn't trust me.

I guess I can't blame her. I wouldn't trust me either, if the roles were reversed. Still, if she'd just give me a chance and let me access a computer, I could cripple The Guild's operations to buy us time to figure things out. My dad's not great with technology, so I'm betting he hasn't made any moves to shut me out of The Guild's systems. And even if he wanted to, he wouldn't have the ability- not anytime soon, and not without overhauling everything. The benefit of being the man behind the curtain who set up our accounts, communications, and security, is that I left a back door to get in just in case something ever happened where I lost access.

I never imagined it'd be something quite like this , but here we are.

If we had more time, then maybe we could negotiate for peace. I'll be the first to admit that Jonathan Knox is a stubborn asshole, but if things were explained to him the way they were to me, then he'd have to see the light. I mean, the man raised me. Deep down, he still has to care about me in some capacity, and if I could just talk to him, then maybe I could help him see things the way I do. This doesn't have to end in violence. There's been enough of that already.

I'm just finishing up a protein bar from the stash Avery left in here when a sudden feeling of warmth blooms in my chest, moments before I hear the sound of the cell door unlocking. I know it's her before she even comes in the room- both because she's the only one who has come down here to see me since I was locked up, and because I've begun to recognize how I can just feel when she's near.

It has to be a wolf thing or some aspect of our mate bond. She's answered all my questions about fated mates, but I still get the feeling she's not giving me the whole story, especially when it comes to her claims that the bond will just go away if we don't bite each other to mark by the next full moon. I've learned a lot about Avery in a very short amount of time, so I've come to recognize her tells when she's being deliberately vague. Maybe this is my opportunity to finally get some straight answers.

I push up from my chair as the door swings open, feeling that odd pulling sensation in my chest as soon as Avery and I lock eyes. She said that's the bond, too, but I'm pretty sure my wolf's instincts aren't the only thing that has me wanting to rip her clothes off the second I see her. My obsession with Luna began the first day I saw her, and despite the circumstances, there's no signs of it letting up any time soon.

I must be some kind of masochist with how much I crave this girl driving me to the brink of my sanity.

Her lips curve in a coy smile as she steps through the doorway, then moves aside to allow a petite brunette to follow her in. Since Avery hasn't ever brought anyone here with her before, I'm immediately on guard. I quickly assess the stranger's appearance, cataloging everything from her dark, wavy hair, swept back in a messy bun, to the scar on the left side of her face, running from her forehead to her temple. Her complexion is a deep bronze, similar to my own, and though her stature is small, I've learned not to underestimate anyone based on their size.

"This is my friend Sloane," Avery says by way of introduction, gesturing beside her.

The girl stops in her tracks the moment her striking green eyes meet mine, freezing just inside the doorway. "You," she breathes, staring at me as if she's just seen a ghost.

Avery wrinkles her nose in confusion, brow furrowing as she swings her gaze between us. "Do you two know each other?" she asks tentatively.

I shake my head, even though something about this girl does seem strangely familiar.

"I've been having dreams about him," Sloane states, her wide eyes still trained on me.

Avery snaps her head around to gape at her friend. "Visions?" she asks eagerly.

Sloane bites her lip, nodding as she turns to face Avery. "Yeah, for a couple weeks now. I guess it finally makes sense why I've been seeing him, since he's your mate… "

"Uh, does someone wanna fill me in?" I interject, thoroughly perplexed by this entire exchange.

Avery turns her gaze back on me, lips tilted in a smirk. "Sloane's a little bit psychic," she provides. "It runs in her family."

"I'm still getting the hang of it, though," Sloane amends. "My gifts only came in a few months ago, and they only really started working right when I bonded with my mate."

I nod slowly as I digest this new nugget of information. A few days ago, I might've found talk of psychic abilities to be alarming, but at this point, what's one more weird, supernatural thing to add to the pile?

"Sloane's one of the IT geniuses I was telling you about," Avery says, completely blowing past any further explanation in favor of getting straight to the point of her visit. "She offered to help you figure out where you came from, if you're still interested."

Shit, am I still interested? I keep going back and forth as to whether I really want to know the truth of my origins, but some part of me needs to know, if only to put the past to rest.

"Yeah," I reply, swallowing thickly.

Avery smiles, sweeping her long hair over a shoulder. "Alright, cool, I'll leave you to it, then," she says, pivoting toward the door. She ducks past Sloane, spinning around in the doorway and pointing a finger at me before exiting. "Behave," she warns, pinning me with a stern stare.

I roll my eyes, waving her off. As if I'd do something stupid to jeopardize my situation here. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more willing captive than me right now, and she damn well knows it.

Avery chuckles to herself as she pulls the door closed behind her, Sloane still peering at me curiously from her position in front of it.

I blow out a breath, raking a hand through my hair as I meet her assessing green eyes again. "Wanna sit?" I ask, gesturing to the pair of chairs in the middle of the cell like I'm hosting her in my home or something. I mean technically, I guess I am. Home sweet cell.

"Sure," she replies, smiling warmly as she steps past me to take a seat. She slides a tote bag off her shoulder, setting it on the ground beside her chair while I move to sink down into the one across from her.

"So how long have you two been friends?" I ask, throwing a thumb toward the door.

"Our whole lives," she replies with a fond smile. "Me and the twins were inseparable as kids. Aves was like a sister to me long before we officially became family."

"Officially?"

"Yeah, her brother Madd's my mate."

I arch a dubious brow. "I thought her brother didn't have a mate?"

"Is that what she told you?" she giggles, shaking her head. "She must've been trying to protect me."

"Sounds like her," I mumble.

Sloane gazes at me thoughtfully, as if she's trying to discern some hidden meaning in my words. "You care about her, don't you?" she asks, tilting her head in consideration.

I just stare back at her, unsure how to respond. Because I do care for Avery, but I don't know this girl nearly well enough to admit aloud to her what I've only recently acknowledged in my own mind.

Thankfully, she seems content to let it go, leaning over to reach into her bag and retrieving a notepad and pen. "Alright, let's start with your mom's name," she chirps, balancing the notepad on her thigh and clicking her pen.

"Emily Knox."

She lowers the tip of the pen to the paper, jotting it down. "Do you know her maiden name?"

"Smith."

Her eyes flicker up to meet mine. "Well, that definitely won't narrow it down," she chuckles, dropping her gaze to continue taking notes. "Any other family?"

I stretch my arms over my head, leaning back with a heavy sigh. "Just an aunt, I think. Never met her, though. I just remember that my mom went to visit her once when I was a kid."

"Do you know where?"

"Tulsa, I think?"

"Is that where you lived?"

"No, and we moved around a lot. I've lived in Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Michigan…"

She nods as she continues writing, the room falling silent but for the sound of her pen scratching across the page.

"This is a needle in a haystack, isn't it?" I mutter wryly, stabbing my fingers into my hair with another sigh.

Sloane stops writing, lifting her head to glance up at me again. "Not at all," she replies, offering me an encouraging smile. "I've got a hunch about where I can start. I just need to check in with my mom…" she abruptly trails off at the exact moment I get a terrible twisting sensation in my gut, so severe that it sends me shooting to my feet, head snapping back and forth in search of danger.

The last time I had a gut feeling like this, it ended with me putting bullets in Griff's and Adams' skulls. I belatedly realize that Sloane's also on her feet, pale and wide-eyed, seemingly reacting the same way I am even though there's no outward signs of anything amiss.

"Do you feel it, too?" I rasp, the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end in warning.

"Are you an intuitive?" she asks with guarded suspicion.

"A what ?"

Her phone suddenly starts blaring with some sort of alarm and she stoops to yank it from her bag, blinking at the screen. "Nevermind, I've gotta go," she mumbles, shoving her phone back inside before hauling the tote up onto her shoulder .

I step in her path as she starts for the door, adrenaline soaring and pulse thundering. "What's happening?" I demand.

"We're under attack," she snaps, brows drawing together in frustration as she tries to duck around me to get to the exit. "Move!" she huffs.

"Let me come with you," I implore.

"What?" she scoffs, flinching back with a scowl. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" I counter, fighting back a wince as I feel the beast inside start pushing harder against my mental barriers. "If it's The Guild, then maybe I can see if they're willing to talk, try to settle this without bloodshed."

She rocks back to stare at me, her expression twisted with indecision.

Fuck, if she doesn't agree, I might have to force my way out of here. If this awful gut feeling has something to do with the mate bond I have with Avery, then she's in danger- and I'm not about to sit here in this cell and do nothing.

"Please," I rasp.

Sloane must see the desperation in my eyes, because she heaves a sigh, finally conceding with a jerky nod. "Fine," she grits out, waving me out of the way so she can open the door. "C'mon."