5. Kezia

“Me?”I couldn’t move my limbs. I couldn’t reach out and grab him and haul his face in front of me and demand he say it again. I couldn’t do anything. Stunned, I lay immobile as Landon shifted on the bed to face me.

“Told you that you wouldn’t like it.”

“You’re lying.”

I heard his snort. “I’ve never lied to you, babe, you know that.”

“Why would you say this? It’s not true.” Finally, my brain connected with my body, and I pushed myself up. “You think I killed him?”

“Not physically.” Landon yawned. “But was it because of you that he died? Yes.” Grief gripped my throat, and I wasn’t able to speak. Landon either didn’t notice or was still playing for his audience. “You made him vulnerable.” He gave a half chuckle as he stretched out on the bed. “It seems the alpha was so busy screwing you he forgot to watch his back.” Landon yawned again. “Dad says thanks for that by the way.”

No, this wasn’t real. He was lying, he had to be lying. My heart was racing too fast in my chest. I couldn’t get breath. I didn’t make Cannon vulnerable. Was this another of Landon’s acts I had to play along with? I tried to focus. “He says thanks by chaining me with silver?”

“Ahh, your good friend sarcasm is back.” Landon reached over and squeezed my hip. “You’re getting better.”

“Stop touching me.”

“For fuck’s sake, Kez, I’m hardly licking you out while you sleep. You’re no virgin, stop acting like one.”

The sound of my fist connecting with his jaw was music to my ears. In seconds, we were full-on fighting, kicking and biting, until Landon was on top of me, straddling my chest, my hands pinned over my head, and I could feel his hot breath on my cheek as I turned my head away. The room was still dark, but wolf sight meant we could see each other better than I would have liked.

“Hey, baby.” Landon grinned down at me. “While I love that your fight has returned, let’s keep the tangling between the sheets to more pleasant things.” Dipping his head, he kissed the corner of my mouth. “Play along,” he whispered.

“I’m grieving!” I snarled.

With an exaggerated sigh, Landon rolled off of me and flopped onto his back. “You hardly knew this guy. He’s dead. Move on already. I’ve been your best friend for years.”

Friend. Not this. Never this.

Landon rolled onto his side, propping his head onto his hand as he loomed over me. “Remember the day we fought in Dad’s training room and they caught us?” he asked with a small smile. “You think you can lie to me that you weren’t checking me out?” Once more, his head dipped, and I felt his lips brush my cheek. “This was always the plan for us, Kez. You know it as well as I do.”

Only I didn’t, and as I stared up at him, I wasn’t sure if this was another part of the act. I remembered Cannon telling Bale in the cells the day I went into heat for the first time, that they had to knock Landon out twice. Before any of this happened, he had tried to get to me on the day of my heat. When I returned to the pack, he was keen to start something with me.

As he leaned over me, that small cocky smile playing about his lips, I suddenly wondered who Landon was acting for.

His father? Or me?

Drawing in a shuddering breath, I moved onto my side, my back to him as I closed my eyes tight. “I’m tired.”

His hand skimmed over my hip with a familiarity I resented. “Me too, we’ll talk more later.” I felt his lips pressed into my hair, and I willed myself to not turn around and punch him again.

You there?

We are.

Is he lying?

We do not know. We don’t trust him.

I caught myself from nodding in agreement.

I don’t trust him either. It hurt to admit it to myself, but Landon was proving a very good actor, and I was no longer sure who the performance was for.

Trust no one.Moonstar agreed with me, and that eased my paranoia a little.

When we leave… I hesitated and then surged on as I thought of Cannon. When we leave, we won’t take him with us.

We never were.

My savage passenger.

For the first time since I had woken up here, I knew I was going to be all right. Moonstar was here, and with her by my side, I would be unstoppable.

Nothing was going to keep me from returning to Cannon.

Nothing.

I fell asleep wrapped in that belief. Although I was only allowed a few hours of sleep, it was undisturbed.

I woke to the sight of Bale staring at me. Pushing myself up into a sitting position, I looked around the room for Landon, but it was just me and the pack leader.

“Pack Leader Bale.” Tugging the sheet over myself, I tried to appear demure. “Can I help you?”

He sat and watched me in silence until it was so drawn out that it was no longer uncomfortable, it was excruciatingly awkward. Gloves that had been on his knee were pulled on slowly. They weren’t latex and he had no need to hide his tracks if he killed me, so why he was pulling on leather gloves was as random as him sitting there.

I eventually snapped. “Bale? Do you want something?”

His slow smile and the way he ran his eyes over my body made me want to hide more of myself, but I willed myself to remain unfazed, even as my heart started racing. Moonstar came forward, and I felt her soothing presence.

He is testing us, child. You must remain calm.

Easy for you to say; he isn’t looking at your body like you’re a piece of prime rib.

Isn’t he?

Now I wasn’t sure who I was scared of most. The unhinged pack leader in front of me, or the spirit who wanted her independence within me. Unsure of them both at that moment, I pushed the sheet off me and got out of bed.

“If you’re here to stare and be creepy, Pack Leader,” I walked towards the bathroom, “you’ve achieved it. I need to pee.” Dragging the chain around the door, I took less care with the door this time as I closed it behind me, conscious that the man who openly hated me sat a few feet away as I forced myself to relax and empty my bladder.

After washing my hands, I stepped back into the bedroom. Bale remained where he had been, and as I had no experience with this kind of thing, I had no idea what to do.

What would Cannon do? Punch him and kick his ass. It was a tempting thought.

“My son is so desperate for a taste of your pussy. I’m surprised he hasn’t fucked you yet.”

Wow.

“Maybe he respects me too much to force me into something I’m not ready for.” I stood across from him, the bed between us, my back to the open door of the bedroom.

Bale’s lips twisted into a sneer. “Respects you?”

I matched his sneer. “I know it may be an alien concept for you, but most men like their partners to be willing.”

Bale leaned forward, his eyes narrowing into slits. “I see you.”

“I’m standing right here.”

“I see you’re as much of a teasing bitch as your whore mother was.” He leaned back. “She spread them for anyone as well.”

“But not you.” I should have stopped myself, but fuck him and fuck that. “Right, Bale? She rejected you each and every time.” Cocking my head, I looked him over with disgust. “Desperate, jilted psycho is not a good look for you.”

I watched his jaw clench before he looked at me with amusement. “So you know about your mother?”

Why lie, there was no point. “I do. I know you ran her and my father from the Anterrio Pack when she rejected you for the final time. When did you realize Kris and I were her children?”

“Kris? The minute I saw him.” He spat on the floor. “You? You took longer.”

“Because you never realized the wolf pup you shot was a shifter, did you?”

He scoffed. “No. I thought you were a pet. A stray. Andrea was always collecting fucking strays.”

Holy Luna, he just admitted that he killed my parents. I felt the tightness in my chest as the realization that the killer Kris had been looking for, for our murdered parents, had been right in front of him the whole time. Moonstar stood ready and waiting, and it took every shred of willpower not to succumb to her right then.

“Why did you accept us into the pack?” My voice sounded hoarse, even though I wanted to be strong.

Bale shrugged. “A moment of guilt? Kindness?” He broke eye contact for a moment, his eyes on the camera. “A weakness.”

“Making up for that now, aren’t you?” I raised my hand with the cuff of silver around my wrist. “Is my brother chained like this?” I took a deep breath. “Is Cass?”

Bale surged to his feet in anger. “She carries his young!” he seethed.

Cass was pregnant? I was both happy and terrified at the same time. “You need to let us go.”

He laughed, walking around the bed until he was in front of me. “Let you go? I don’t have to do jack shit, little girl. I rule these mountains. No one gives a fuck about a white-haired human killer or her mutt brother.”

“They care about Cass though,” I challenged. “The Pack Council cares about me.” It was a risk, and I wasn’t sure what made me say it, but I saw the flash of bitterness in his eyes, and I had the wild hope I was right to guess.

“They’ll see you’re nothing but a whore whose recklessness threatens us all.”

“Yet you’re the one who killed my parents, you’re the one who chains the members of his pack to the wall with silver, and you’re the one who killed an alpha. A true alpha.” Scratching my jaw, I shot a look of loathing towards the pack leader. “Sounds to me like there’s only one threat on these mountains, and that’s you.”

I expected the punch, but it still knocked me off of my feet. As I scrambled to stand, Bale kicked me in the back, and when I was down, I felt his hands on my shoulders and then burning as he wrapped the chain from the wall around my neck.

“Burns, doesn’t it?” he hissed in my ear. “What have you got to say for yourself now?” He squeezed tighter, and my fingers clutched at the chain, ignoring the pain in my hands as the silver burned my flesh. “What? No words? You finally quiet, you little bitch?”

Child?

I grappled with the pack leader, trying to get free, but he held me too tight, and the silver made me weak. Tears ran down my cheeks as the pain increased. I couldn’t breathe. Spots floated in my eyes, and I knew the fucker was going to kill me today.

Child! We don’t have much time!

Screwing my eyes shut, I tried to fight him, because if I gave in to Moonstar, would I ever come back? So many people needed me.

Promise me you’ll find out if he lives. If you can…save Cannon. I felt her hesitate. Moonstar, I will never give you what you want unless you promise me this.

Bale tightened the chain at my neck, and I felt dizzy. Moonstar? Promise me.

If he lives and we can heal him, we will.

“Yeah, you’ve nothing to say now, do you?” I felt his spittle on my cheek as Bale pulled even tighter on the silver links. “I like this look on you. On your knees, ass pressing into me. Maybe your cunt will feel like hers. Hey? What do you think?”

I felt his hand move over my side, his intent as clear as his words, and my eyes snapped open.

Make it hurt, Moonstar!

The male wasnothing for us. He had overpowered the child, but the child was weak. We enjoyed his look of shock when we threw him off us like the annoyance he was. As we rose above him, his look of confusion as it changed to fear also pleased us.

He was right to fear us.

Taking the chain from our neck, we looped it into coils in our hands, watching him as our skin burned from the cursed metal. Crouching, we searched his pocket, our foot on his throat when he tried to move. His strength was not our strength. The key we needed was in his pocket, and when we had it, we unlocked the cuff, the force of our foot grinding his face to the floor.

It was only fitting that the male screamed when we put the chain aroundhis neck, the links squeezing tight as he struggled for breath. We took his gloves off him and tossed them aside. As the male panted and whimpered at our feet, we went over to the camera and ripped it off the wall. A final hard yank on the chain, and the male lay still.

We heard the running footsteps and prepared to fight, no time to check if the male was dead. The first one through the door was her friend. The child did not fully trust him, and we trusted him even less, but still, for her, we let him live. She would mourn him and be difficult if we killed him.

The next three males we did not let live.

Walking down the stairs, we took in the surroundings. It was a large log cabin. We could sense more rooms and more people, but they weren’t coming for us. Not yet. Knowing we had to be quick, we ran down the corridor, sensing fresh air. We met two more of the males that camped here. We dealt with them.

Outside, we turned to the highest peak and longed to be free. We felt the whimper of the child. She was faint, but she was there.

Running along the side of the cabin, we saw the large doors, chained and bolted, that would lead to underground. We hesitated, and when we felt another pulse from the child, we ran to the doors.

Metal bent like tin when we pulled the chains free. Concrete stairs and a bad smell awaited us behind the doors. Once more, we looked to the high mountains. We desired to be there, not here. Not underground. Quickly we ran down the steps, and the smell and the sound of hearts thumping led us to the two who were kept here.

“Come.”

The male was weak, and the woman was almost dead.

“Kezia?” The old male became unnaturally still as he scented the air. “You are Moonstar?”

The woman moaned low on the ground, and we could hear her death rattle.“She will not survive this.”

The child would want the male freed. He moved back when we opened the bars with our magic. “There is not much time.” We could sense them coming. “Shift and run.”

We shifted to the wolfskin. The male did not shift, and we saw the silver band on his wrist. Fluidly we shifted back to the human form, pulling the band free from his arm, ignoring the tearing burn on our flesh.

“It does not bind you?” he asked in wonder.

“Shift.”

We took the wolfskin one more time. The old one shifted to his wolf, and with a nudge to the she on the floor, he looked up at us. We shook our head. The scent of death was already seeping from her. The male hesitated once more, but our low growl made him move.

We ran. There were ones who would chase us, but we fought them, shielding the old one.

The old one was weak, but his Goddess aided his escape as we ran. Soon we saw the packlands of the alpha. We did not trust the alpha; he used his Will on us, but the child asked this of us.

For the child, we would save him.