I was at war with my beast, trying to keep him contained.
And watching her be paraded through a crowd of males was not helping me win this internal battle.
“None of our fucking business,” he replied, voice sharp. “We have orders. Let’s go.”
I couldn’t fight him, but I also struggled to tear my gaze from the closed doors.
Handler grabbed me by the arm, his hold firm. Whatever magic he wielded filled the air between us. “Let’s. Go.”
Finally, I looked away from the metal doors, teeth gritted. “Fine.”
Handler didn’t release me; instead, he pulled me away from the mass of soldiers, dragged me towards the prison of shifters, and entered his code into the box by the door. From the corner of my eye, I watched him do it. The sequence was burned intomy brain. I wasn’t allowed a code, and Handler never bothered to cover it like the others normally did.
I doubted he was worried I would steal it. He probably thought I was docile, under his false king’s control.
“Three,” a male nearby whispered to a younger female. “You’re in group seven. You’ll be there, don’t fucking worry.”
The female hissed. “I want to see her go down, Ralph. And I want my man back.”
The male rolled his eyes dramatically. “He’s not yours.”
“He will be.” She slammed her finger into his chest. “Just you wait and see.”
“Go to training and keep your trap shut about the blood moon, okay? Don’t say shit to anyone.” The male turned on his heel, stalking away before she could respond.
Handler tightened his grip on my upper arm as the doors opened. When we entered the prison, he finally released me with a sigh. Handler barely looked at me as he descended into the maze of cages, muttering something under his breath. I followed without a word, locking the rage away—and those ominous words.
I had no idea whoRalphor the female was, but she clearly didn’t like my fated. And there was something happening inthree, though that could be hours, days, weeks.
I blinked hard, trying to refocus, but couldn’t. Down here, I couldn’t concentrate on anything other thanher. Even gone, her scent was imprinted on the prison. It shouldn’t have been so potent, but it was. And somehow, it only made the anger worse.
Handler moved through the cages with an ease I couldn’t replicate. Each step felt heavy, weighed down by the distance growing between me and my fated. I’d failed her by not helping, though I had no idea what I could have done, other than cut down her guards and try to escape with her.
There had been too many soldiers for that, and we still had no way to escape.
My handler came to a stop before nine prisoners. None were shifted, but I could tell they were different. I’dnoticed them the last time I’d been here, but Handler hadn’t told me why they were in a cage.
“King Dante wants the charm mage,” Handler said, reaching for a bar. A light flared on his palm as the door opened. “Let’s go.”
The males shared looks of concern and anger. “Why?” one asked. He smelled different, of smoke and blood, and he had silver-white hair that fell into his eyes.
Handler growled, entering the cage. His hand strayed to the weapon on his side. “Charm mage. Now.”
“No,” one of the others said, his voice deep. The skin of his arms rippled as if he were about to shift, though nothing happened. “You aren’t taking any of us.”
“None of you have a choice,” Handler replied, pulling his weapon free. “I’ve been given permission to use whatever force necessary to get him out. I won’t hesitate to put a bullet in any one of you.”
They were not going to give in, not even with the threat of violence. I could tell that, and I was certain Handler could, too. But I also knew he wouldn’t hesitate. He might not have been under the dark control of the false king, but he still listened to orders, did what he was told. He wanted to be here, wanted to be a soldier, and he wanted to rise in the ranks. It didn’t matter how he did it. He was proud of his stand.
The males before us were nothing to him. But I’d seen them watching my fated the last time I was here. They knew her, not just as their Queen, but as someone else.
“The King has news about your son, charm mage. Don’t you want to know what your little Adrian is up to?” Handler goaded, taking another step into the cell. “Especially after what happened to him in the Old World?”
One of the males tensed, eyes darkening. He looked somewhat familiar, though it wasn’t him that had me turning to my handler.
It was the name.Adrian. I knew who that was, because I’d heard the name used for one of my fated’s other mates. The weak one, I’d thought of him. His magic had been leaking fromhim, and it was partly because he couldn’t protect our mate that she was in a cage in the first place.
I breathed in deeply, releasing it without a word. Why was the weak one’s father here? Who was he, and why did the false king want him?
