“Shhhh, I’m trying to help you out here.”
“W-why?” She is the last person who I ever thought would help me.
“Because a few weeks ago I was you, when the council and my dad took over the Reeves pack then I was punished. My father enjoys breaking people, let him think he broke you and he will stop. I can hear how slow your pulse is and your heart rate is slowing, you will not survive another round.”
“Why is he doing this?”
“You killed my brother Jess, he wants revenge.” It all clicks into place; Jacob is behind this torture, and this is his way of punishing me for taking his son from him.
“My wolf is gone.”
“No, she isn’t, she is just subdued. They keep injecting you with this drug that subdues your wolf, you have to stop this so they will stop injecting you and then your wolf will come back, and you can heal.” I hear voices in the distance and Kayla curses quietly. “I have to go, trust me Jess.” I hear her move and before I can think twice, I call out to her quietly.
“Kayla?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet, we still have to make it out of here alive once you heal.” Hearing those words from her sends a renewed sense of hope through me. I might not need a prince charming to rescue me after all, giving up goes against everything I was taught, but if that is what it takes to live then so be it!
I don’t know how much time passes but I’m startled awake by the sound of footsteps. A war stirs inside me; my rational side knows that Kayla is right, I don’t think my body can survive another beating. But the other half of me being the alpha side, detests the idea of rolling over and giving up. I feel them surround the cage and know I only have mere minutes before the lights shut off and they come in, I grit my teeth and take deep breaths as I push the words out through clenched teeth.
“You win, I give up.” Saying those words hurts me more than I want to admit, tears of frustration leak from my eyes. I’m battered and bruised and slowly dying inside, but my pride is wounded beyond repair after uttering those words. My head pounds and the base of my skull is throbbing, my eye drifts shut, and sleep claims me. If they decide that another beating is what I need then I would rather be unconscious, so I let the darkness take over.
Chapter
Twenty Eight
Credence
Vince was able to fix the boats the next morning. We made sure to leave men behind on the island; I needed to make sure that my son is protected and safe before I left. My mom decided it was safer for her and Harlem to stay at Davina’s house, Callie offered to remain behind with our mom for extra protection, , Zeke, Cole, Sky, Vince and I are in one boat, we spilt the shifters and vamps into another 2 boats. The trip to the dock where we boarded, lasts two and a half days, then one day’s drive back to Rosewood. By the time we get to the outskirts of town all the shifters are antsy and need to shift, our wolves hate being confined.
“We have to hide the cars and travel on foot, the vamp’s scent will mask ours.” Cole is right, we were damn lucky that the cars we used to get to the dock were still there and started without any trouble. Vince directs his guys to stash the five cars we brought with us in the woods. When they return, we gather to hatch a game plan, none of us can agree on anything. My frustration begins to build the longer we stand here and do nothing!
“We shift, the vamps lead, and we follow their trail. We need to head toward Jacob’s pack lands, he won’t be moving her yet.”
“How can you be so sure?”
I grit my teeth and answer Vince. “Jacob will want to break her before he kills her.” Growls sound out around me, even the vamps look pissed. Since arriving on the mainland, I have tried to reach Jess through the mate link, but I feel nothing, Corbin has been going nuts and thrashing against my ribs to be free so he can chase after his mate.
Shift!
No, we can’t fuck this up Corbin. If any of his pack catch our scent, he won’t hesitate to kill her.
I’ll kill him.
Yes, but we need to get Jess first.
I close the link with Corbin and join the others as we start to undress. Nudity isn’t something shifters worry about; modesty is something only humans care for. Vince and the other vamps take our pants and place them in a bag, I turn to Sky and cock a brow.
“You’re not shifting?”
“No.”
“Why?” Sky doesn’t answer this time, Cairo does.
“Because she needs to stay on two legs to communicate for us.” I don’t buy what he is saying for even a second, but I don’t push it. Instead, I focus on letting Corbin take control, we shift within seconds. Corbin shakes out our duel-colored coat and chuffs a couple times, I see Cairo and Zeke have shifted as well. I can feel the alpha power rolling off Cairo in waves, he may have fled his pack at nine years old and without an alpha, but you wouldn’t think so with the amount of power radiating from him. Cairo taught me a lot about being a wolf, he would have been the best alpha for the Cruz pack. Thanks to Jacob he never got that chance, he fled the night his parents were killed hoping one day he could come back and lead, but Jacob forced him to go rogue thinking that he wouldn’t survive.