Chapter 24

☆ ☆ Jayce ☆ ☆

The sounds of a woman struggling awoke me; momentarily, I had assumed I was having a nightmare about my mate, but as my eyes adjusted, I could see a man in the cell next to me. He had thrown the woman down like a sack of potatoes before chaining her arms behind her back against the wall. The woman was sobbing uncontrollably as he left her there on the damp, cool concrete floor. 

He looked in my direction as I lifted my head and gazed at him inquisitively. "She's a traitor.", he said nonchalantly as he closed the cell door with a screech and walked away. I could tell that she was in pain, as though she had lost someone dear to her. With that, I could empathize. I couldn't help but ponder what she could have done. This had to be related to the current situation; otherwise, it would have been too much of a coincidence that we would both be here simultaneously. 

Did she help the vampires kidnap Kara? That was genuinely heinous and unforgivable in my book. I shuttered to think about a werewolf turning on their own kind to assist fucking vampires. The Luna would return shortly to check on my paws. They were already getting sensation back in them, but they were still very tender, and the blistered portions oozed. Walking on them at this point would be unbearably painful. I wanted to heal quickly, so I followed Luna's instructions to the T. 

I couldn't stand the thought of my future Luna being withheld against her will by vampires; God only knows what they had done, were doing, to her. She must be so terrified. I couldn't wait to kill them all for their crimes. And now, come to find out, we had a traitor; I glared at her with hate-filled eyes. I hoped my father would return soon so I could ask him some questions. The door to the basement opened only to reveal the Luna in charge of my care.

"I think it's safe to remove your IV at this point; you should be adequately hydrated and can maintain the rest on your own.", she said as she slipped a sizeable silver dog bowl through the bars. She entered shortly after and looked over my paws, delicately separating each toe and meticulously looking them over to ensure no new blisters had formed before applying a salve. I pulled away at the burning sensation from the ointment as she was smearing it on. "Hold still.", she scolded me. It was easier said than done. 

Once she finished, she removed her gloves and proceeded to walk out of the cell. I whined in response. She gazed upon me empathetically and said, "Your dinner will be here in an hour or so." I shook my head and looked at the woman in the cell beside me. "Ah, I'll send you father down; I'm sure you have questions.", she locked the door before heading back up the stairs. The woman's sobs had grown quiet, and I only heard an occasional sniffle coming from her.

I laid my head back down, awaiting my father's return. It felt like an hour had passed, and I wondered what they were discussing that kept him so long. If I could pace back and forth, I would have done it by now; waiting to be with my mate was already torture. In addition to my newly formed questions, I could hardly contain myself. 

The door opened again, and my ears perked up; I immediately directed my attention to the entrance. The Luna had returned to look me over again, but this time, she was followed by the same members who had brought me a deer last night; this time, they were carrying a young black bear, maybe 50 pounds, putting it around three years of age. 

I licked my chops. "You can eat after I'm done.", the Luna stated as she addressed my wounds again. I huffed and allowed her to examine me. The men placed the bear's fresh carcass on the floor near me and left shortly after. "Enjoy your dinner; I'll give your father fresh water when he visits. They should be done strategizing by the time you finish your meal."

She left, and I began to devour the animal lying in front of me. The organs were particularly delicious, so I focused my attention there first. The heart and liver were my favorites. The rich copper-tinged flavoring set my salivary glands off, and my inner wolf became ravenous. I finished the kidneys and spleen before lapping up the water she had left for me. 

My hunger was satiated for a moment, and I eagerly awaited my father's presence. I had almost forgotten about the traitor beside me until I heard the chains rattle as she adjusted to a seemingly more comfortable position. Just then, the door to the basement opened again. As usual, my father was followed by his Beta, but Alpha Kayn was also with him. I saw another familiar face, the man from earlier who dropped off the traitorous woman in the cell next to me. Alpha Kayn directed him to remove her temporarily while we talked. 

I assumed he was another Beta, as he followed the orders without question. Unchaining her, they were both escorted by Evan up the stairs. Once the door had shut, my father turned to me and smiled, "The Luna said that you wanted to speak to us?" I nodded before using my mind link. "What did the traitor do?", I asked, as he translated for me. Alpha Kayn responded, "She disagreed publicly with Ulfric Draven's decision. She may be my Betas wife, but her outburst will not be tolerated. I don't care how close she was with Kara." He paused, "She can't be trusted not to divulge information to Kara and it getting to the vampires. That is the main reason she is in here, and why I removed her before talking to you." 

I nodded, understanding that her intentions were pure, and I could tell from her tears that she cared deeply for Kara. I also understood we couldn't jeopardize this final stand against the vampires. "What is our current plan of action?", I asked. My father didn't translate this time. Instead, he just responded, "We have 578 wolves ready for battle; once the Luna gives you the all-clear, we will travel to North Carolina; you will have to remain caged for that time being. Using our mind link, you'll tell me where the red thread is leading you, and we will send scouts out to find her and bring us intel." My father inhaled deeply, "We'll have a better plan set from there, but that is what we've got so far."

Alpha Kayn chimed in, "Ulfric Draven will be with us on the battlefield, increasing our odds of success." I nodded again, "How many more days until the full moon?" My father responded, "Sixteen, counting tonight's waxing crescent moon, tomorrow night is the new moon." I shivered thinking about the new moon's effect on us. We would be weak and vulnerable to an attack tomorrow.

Worry spread across my face, "Did we bolster our defenses for tomorrow?" My dad translated for Alpha Kayne to provide his input, "To our knowledge, the vampires do not know of our location and are unlikely to attack when they should be prioritizing defending Kara." He paused, thinking about my question more deeply, "It's not a bad idea to increase the number of scouts and tighten our acre coverage for tomorrow night, though; I'll mention it to Alpha Grey." 

I nodded again. "If there's nothing else, son, we're going to head to bed; it's been a long day for everyone.", my father said before standing from his knelt position. He stretched and popped his lower back. I could tell that his age was getting to him. I bowed my head submissively before they walked out of the room.

Footsteps could be heard moments later, and I knew that it would be my neighbor returning. She was gagged and couldn't speak, but it's not like she would be able to understand me in my current form anyway. Regardless, it was nice knowing that I wasn't alone down here. They were much gentler with her this time as they chained her back up. I could still see her tear-stained cheeks and smell the salt they brought. 

Evan and the other Beta left swiftly without uttering a word. I wished that I could talk to her, and ask her what Kara was like, seeing as Alpha Kayn mentioned that they were close. I heard her sniffle again, and I huffed. I would have comforted her if I could, but I also had to keep the plan at the forefront of my mind, and I didn't need to distract myself with her mental well-being at this time. Instead, I just drifted away, imagining my mate and how happy she would be once I rescued her from the vampires.