She’s gone she’s gone she’s gone.
One minute, I’m gripping the bedding. The next, I’m hovering over the queen-sized mattress I’ve tipped over and torn to shreds. Feathers and tufts of cotton blanket the entire room, as if I unleashed a blizzard.
“Oh, Axe.” Nell covers her mouth, assessing the damage from the doorway.
I sink to my knees. My wolf rattles against its bony cage, roaring.
Nell lowers beside me, her hand finding my shoulder. “We will find her. I promise. There’s simply no other option.”
All around me, the world is caving in. The silence is excruciating. “I can’t feel her.”
She inhales sharply. “It’s late. She’s probably asleep. Don’t assume?—”
“I may as well have left her for dead the moment I walked out of that cabin.”
Nell shushes me, gathering me into an embrace. My throat squeezes.
“Youcannotlet yourself think like that,” she chastises. “Vessa is the bravest human I’ve ever met. Don’t you dare give up on her.” Softening her voice, she adds, “Believe me, if she were dead, you would know. You would feel it in your bones.”
Chapter 39
AXE
In the vaults of Lupine Manor, my prisoner waits, refusing to break.
This guy smells like shit. Looks like it, too. For twelve hours, Jabir has flayed the male with silver while Dom tries to pry his way into his mind. Tiring of the stench of singeing flesh, Jabir resorted to cutting off his nipples to conclude the first round of questioning. The lack of a tongue, while inconvenient, just means we must get a little more creative if we want answers. It will grow back in a week or so, but Vessa doesn’t have that kind of time.
Dismissing Dom for the moment, I unhook the rogue from the hanging chains, unclasp his wrists, and promptly seat him at the desk. He meets my eyes for a moment, then slumps backwards. I set the tone by fisting his hair and slamming his head against the table, face down.
Moans of agony fill the dark chamber as Jabir reenters with a notepad and pen.
“You are going to write down the name of the person who sent you here as well as your accomplices,” I grunt. “The longer you refuse, the closer I will bring you to death, only to deny you. Understood?”
He snatches the pen and scribbles furiously.
Go to hell.
The glowering prisoner looks away and I redirect his attention by slamming down my fist, shattering the knuckles of his spare hand. “Good thing you’re not a leftie.”
I’ve endured nearly a month of torture as a former captive of Marsdan insurgents. Survived weeks at a time in the shriveling heat without food, water, or sleep. But the thought of facing another day without her . . . I’d rather have a blade wedged in the gut.
Go to hell?Motherfucker, I’m already there. And if I have to drag this rogue down with me to get the answers I need, then that’s what I’ll do.
I swipe the pen, ramming it into the man’s lower abdomen. On my left, Jabir flinches as if he is remembering the experience he once shared alongside me.
“WHO TOOK HER?”
“Em-ma,” the tongueless male screams.
“Gemma’s nailed to the other side of this wall. We found her dead across the border this morning. Try again, dickhead.”
Panic flares in his eyes, growling and heaving as it sinks in. Jabir tenses, unsheathing his knife. The last time they pushed him this hard, the male sprouted fur, nearly shifting. Trembling before us, bloodshot eyes sharpen, glowing teal. Canines drop in place with a snarl. Only my wolf is equally ready to play.
Those teeth are ripped out of his head before he can escalate any further. Blood spurts on my hands, all over the desk. The male screams until his voice dulls to static moans.
“Names.Now. Or else the next thing I do is put your eyes out with your teeth.”
With a depleted sob, he yanks the pen out. Soiling himself right there, the rogue male lifts his trembling hand and jots onto the paper.
