I knew what I had to do, and I knew what it was going to cost me.
Chapter 25
AGELIUS
“Don’t move!”
The bag tied around my neck sailed forward, reached the end of its cord, then thumped back solidly against my chest.
I’d smelled them long before they’d seen me. Stupid arrogant idiots. I snorted, the warm air tickling the fine hairs of my nostrils. Zarbius’ poor pack discipline even extended to guard duty… and combined with their arrogance, they’d either ignored or forgotten the most basic of rules.Don’t stand upwind if you’re trying to surprise someone, particularly a wolf. And dammit, don’t smoke!
Talius had told me to return to Zarbius with a downpayment on the ransom, with instructions to come back with Irian and the remainder would get paid. I doubted he’d told me his full plan, and I didn’t want to know it. For the time being, I wanted to maintain an appearance of loyalty to Zarbius, in case the element of surprise became important. I’d made the journey back to Zarbius’ pack in double-quick time, loping non-stop through the forest, terrified of what was happening to Tosca back here, and knowing I was powerless to stop it. I didn’tknow if Sharkey was bluffing or not, and by the time I reached the pack, whatever was going to happen to Tosca, would have already happened. All I could hope for, was that he’d let me comfort him.
I shifted to my human form.
The bushes rustled and shook, as two betas whose names I didn’t know stepped out from behind them. One of the men held a cigarette between his fingers, the burning end scattering a shower of ash that made me cringe.
“Don’t you fucking know not to smoke in the bush?” I demanded, drawing myself up stiffly, eyes narrowing. “Put the fucking thing out now and do it properly! It’s a wonder you fuckers haven’t burnt the camp to the ground already.”
I waited to see if anything had changed while I’d been away on this errand. Would they accept my authority, which had been tenuous at best, or would they challenge me?
One heartbeat, two beats…
He took a long slow drag of his cigarette, the smoke curling from his nose as he exhaled, eyes never leaving mine, a lazy, insolent sneer on his face. The cigarette was little more than a stub between his fingers.
Three beats, four…
Very slowly, the beta reached down, flicked away the dried leaves and scratched a hole in the dirt with two fingers. Dust swirled. He stubbed the burning end of the cigarette in the hole, mashing it around several times. When it was properly extinguished, he kicked dirt over the hole, stamping down on it with his heel. He straightened up.
Eyebrows raised, he cocked his head. “Good enough for ya?”
I snorted. “Let’s go,” I said, and headed towards the camp.
“Hey! Where’s Sharkey?” demanded the other guy, looking around as if he expected the beta to suddenly appear.
“He’s not coming,” I threw over my shoulder as I walked off. “I have to talk to Zarbius.”
I led the way at a good pace, not even looking over my shoulder. The twigs snapping and leaves shushing behind me told me they weren’t far behind. Close enough that I couldn’t have run off, even if I’d wanted to. Yeah, they were grudgingly accepting my authority for now, but they didn’t trust me. The sooner I extricated myself and the omegas from this situation, the better.
Zarbius was already waiting as I emerged from the trees. Clearly someone had alerted him to my approach, which likely meant he had other men posted around the mountain top. I hoped Talius was being cautious, whatever his plan.
Zarbius’ sharp eyes tracked my progress as the dry grass scratched and caught at my toes, crackling beneath my feet as if laughing at my foolishness in coming back here. He wasn’t alone, of course. Cowards never are. Two of the betas stood behind him. I was glad Sharkey was still locked up in the shed at home. The numbers could have been worse.
“Well?” Zarbius demanded, twisting his head to peer behind me. “Where’s my mate? And where’s that fucker Sharkey?”
“Sharkey’s not coming. They locked us up. Let me come back with a downpayment on the ransom. Said to tell you he’ll get you the rest once he has his mate back. He’ll send it back with Sharkey and whoever else you send Irian down with. Something about wanting insurance you’d keep to your side of the bargain.”
Zarbius cleared his throat noisily, shaking his head, then his lips settled into a thin line.
“Right. Like I believe that’s going to happen,” he muttered to himself. His fingers tapped against his thigh as he frowned.
“And my mate?”
“He… didn’t say,” I replied, cautiously, remembering I’d virtually guaranteed that Talius wouldn’t be interested in keeping Isca. I scratched around in my brain for something to say. “Becausehedoesn’t value him, he probably wouldn’t think the omega was that important to you either. I guess he assumed you were more interested in the money.”
“I want both!” roared Zarbius. He took up an aggressive stance, legs set firmly apart, his nostrils flaring. He pointed an accusatory finger at me. “What the fuck wereyoudoing then? You were supposed to be tellinghimwhat to do, not letting him run the show!”
I kept my voice even, turning my face so he could see the bruising. There wasn’t much left of it now, but I’d done enough of a job on it, that the traces were still evident. “They caught us by surprise, Zarbius. Like they knew we were coming. Are you sure no-one gave them a heads-up?”
