“My people didn’t go in with the intention to kill or hurt anyone. Their mission was to break their kindred free and only fight as necessary. The aim was to sneak as far inside as we could without alerting the humans,” I said further. “We do not want war, only to free our people.”
She nodded, processing my words as the moments passed by. When she was finished, she turned back toward me and Rebecca tended to the skewers of meat cooking over the fire.
“So, what’s next?” she asked.
“We free the rest of my betas and you’re going to help us do it.”
Chapter Seven
Dawn
I hadn’t expected any of this. Yesterday I’d been just a scientist researching how stem cells worked and today I was completely bare in a massive group of naked wolf shifters. I swallowed in disbelief as I considered my foreseeable future. Was this my life now?
It was nice to have a familiar face here with me in Rebecca. As Kiba spoke, she’d brushed her fingers along my shoulder in kinship and I’d smiled at her kindness. She understood how very difficult this was for me because she’d met me before Kiba had taken me as his mate. She’d been the one to warn me he was coming, and she’d been the reason I’d known exactly who he was the moment that I’d set eyes on him.
Sitting next to the fire with her, I appraised her, and she smiled in my direction. I had a feeling that she and I would be good friends. She handed me a skewer of grilled venison and I took it. I was starving and I blushed thinking about the fact that I’d worked up quite the appetite in the woods earlier this morning.
A group of betas gathered around the fire and watched as Kiba took the largest skewer. After he began to eat, the others followed in kind, sharing skewers of meat between them. I blew on the warm venison and when it was cool enough, plucked a piece off with my fingers and popped it into my mouth. It tasted incredibly fresh and juicy. It was so good that I polished off the entire skewer of meat before I smacked my lips together with pleasure.
“Compliments to the chef,” I exclaimed and the betas nearest to me laughed.
“Glad you liked it,” Rebecca said with a wink. “It’s not a burger though. What I wouldn’t give for one from that little diner on Main Street in Helena.” Her eyes had a sad sort of look to them. It was as if she was somewhere else entirely.
“When was the last time you were free?” I asked her.
“It’s been at least fifty years. It’s a gift to finally feel the sun and the light of the moon on my face again instead of that awful fluorescent lighting they used in our cells,” she replied.
“You were prisoner for that long?”
She simply nodded. I knew how old she was, that betas were essentially ageless as soon as they reached a certain age. Still, that was a really long time to remain in that small cell. I couldn’t imagine being kept from the sun like that. When work overwhelmed me and the stress from another deadline felt like too much, I’d go for a walk alone and gather my thoughts. The concept of having that taken away for so very long was both saddening and horrifying at the same time. My trepidation over these strange new people faded as the night when on, when I saw the brilliant smiles on the faces of those that I’d seen held prisoner only yesterday. I began to see them all very differently for what each one of them had gone through.
Sure, I might feel sad that I no longer have my science to fill my day, but at least I was free. These betas didn’t always have that. Now they did. They’d earned their freedom and there were more like them out there, unfairly held captive because the government thought they were dangerous, the ultimate predator. Maybe they were. Maybe they weren’t, but either way, they didn’t deserve to remain behind bars when they were innocent of any wrongdoing.
Some of the betas were singing and others were dancing. A big male beta was throwing more wood on the fire and another was whittling something with a knife.
It was peaceful. An innocent demonstration of the enjoyment of life.
I pulled my shoulders back and met Kiba’s eyes. In that moment, I decided that my career was no longer important. As much as I wanted to fight my fate as his mate, the members of his pack were my people now. Hopefully one day, I’d consider them family.
I was going to fight for what was right. I was going to fight for their freedom.
“I will help you free the rest of the betas,” I said softly, and he smiled softly and beckoned me over to him. I went willingly and he held out a hand before he helped me to climb back into his lap. I felt so small when I sat with him like this. I breathed in his scent once more and my heart fluttered with desire.
Was this happiness? Was Kiba my destiny?
“Rebecca over there was a teacher. She taught science and math before she was taken as she was leaving her job in Helena late one night. She’d been alone and lived mostly in solitude. She’s never hurt anyone, and they held her captive for fifty years because of it,” he explained softly, and I pressed my face into his shoulder.
“It isn’t right,” I whispered.
“I know, sweet mate. Her story isn’t unique either. Some of the prisoners held with her were there for even longer, some shorter. None of them had done anything wrong but your government held them captive because of the potential danger they could bring to the world,” he answered.
“Because your kind is stronger than us,” I added.
“Perhaps,” Kiba answered.
“I’ve seen the betas fight. I’ve seen their fur deflect the bullets. The security guards were unprepared. They didn’t even have knives,” I said.
“In our wolf forms, we are nearly immortal. Bullets are unable to penetrate through our thick fur and skin. Knives will hardly leave a scratch. In our human forms, we are weak to both weapons and that has been the downfall of many betas over the years. We can die from a fall or a car crash or an unforeseeable accident just as humans can. But we do have one particular weakness that’s as deadly to our wolf forms as it is to our human ones,” he continued.