10
Line forced his eyes open. Everything hurt.
He was chained by his wrists and his toes barely touched the blood-soaked stone floor of his prison.
He’d been moved, the air smelled different here, less musty. He was in their home.
It made rage burn in his belly.
They were so sure they could break him that they had brought him home.
But they weren’t wrong.
He was close to breaking. Only the warmth in his chest kept his heart beating and there were days he almost cursed it.
Death would be such a sweet release, but his heart wouldn’t stop beating so he suffered on.
He was naked, save for a filthy cloth that was tied at his hip and his torturer stood only a few feet away from him, her golden hair perfectly styled and her dress spotless.
“Is he weakening?” Her voice was sharp.
“No. There has been no change. The dog will not let go.”
Her jaw hardened, and Line forced a grim smile.
“How do you like failing bitch? Pussy can’t beat wolf. Just won’t happen.”
She grabbed a riding crop from the table and hit him.
“It has happened, several times. Do you know how I know? I killed them. I killed the mothers and injected the little babies and watched the wolves die.”
She hit him until it no longer hurt, until he no longer cared.
“Find me that bitch!” She screamed and for the first time Line felt fear, not for himself, but for Harmony.
“We tried my queen, but she escaped. She is protected. The whole damned pack protects her and the coyotes too.”
She turned the whip on her servants and hit them until they whimpered.
“Find her. Find a way.” She screamed.
“She is hidden with that coyote bastard. The caves. We cannot get through.”
“There are monsters in those caves, monsters with Lion blood. Find one. Bring me one. I only need one to get to her. Find. A. Way!”
“Line fought his bonds. He had to get free, but he was weak.”
Harmony! They are coming for you. He screamed in his head, but he didn’t know if she heard him. He was so weak he could barely feel her anymore, barely remember the curves of her face.
I can save her.
The words whispered across his mind like a spider crawling through his brain.
He refused in revulsion. He would never agree to allowing that creature to take his body again. It had betrayed him.
I can save her.
It whispered again. Line screamed and wanted to claw at his brain. It repeated it over and over until he begged his torturer to kill him.
Light streamed through the windows followed by darkness and light again and still he could not fall into blissful darkness. Nothing worked.
The woman came back to him and stood. She held something in her hands, but his vision was to blurry to see it.
“Can you see her?” Her voice was smooth and satisfied.
Fear slammed into him.
Her
Harmony.
He blinked and tried to focus, but the image was blurry. He struggled to see until she came into focus.
She stood on the hill above the caves in a white dress, the wind in her hair and she looked so sad.
His heart broke.
“This was taken last night.” The woman stepped closer. “Just before we took her.”
The woman laughed as Line fought the bonds that held him.
This time darkness did take him, and despair was a companion.
She was gone.
His wolf went silent.
There was nothing left for him.
I am here. Come home to me.
The words caressed his tortured mind. He reached for her and felt his heart warm as she spoke to him.
Come home.
“I can’t.” He wept.
You can. You can. Come home.
He felt a surge of strength and his teeth ached.
“No!” He screamed. He would never submit to that creature.
I can save her.
“Nothing can save her.”
She isn’t gone. I feel her. We can save her. Our mate.
Line gave up. Nothing mattered more than saving Harmony. He felt the pressure on his wrists as they expanded in the cuffs that held him. He felt them give and he fell to the floor, unable to hold himself.
Power surged within him as his massive loin shook himself. He was free.
He threw himself at the doors. Again, and again he threw his massive body against the cell door, but it didn’t give. He heard voices and saw the barrel of the gun in time to avoid the dart that would have knocked him out. If they caught him again he would never be given another chance to escape them.
“Get him under control!” The woman screamed.
Line looked around. The walls were reinforced. The door solid steel, but there were windows. He jumped and pulled himself to the high windows. They were small, but nothing would hold him. He needed out and he needed his mate.
Glass cut into his battered hide, but he forced himself through the window. Lions crowded around him, massive males, and cunning females, all ready to take him down if he made a wrong move.
“Take him, but don’t kill him!” Kirisima screamed.
One male stepped forward and Line fought him. Then another and another until he lost count, lost strength, but he fought. Harmony’s bond burned in his chest as he fought. It was automatic now. He wasn’t thinking, just killing.
He heard a howl...he thought...no... couldn’t be. His wolf was dead, and his pack couldn’t find him.
His legs shook. He swatted another lion, but the force of the attack took him to the ground.
He lay there in the blood-soaked dirt and waited for her to come to him, gloat over her power, but she didn’t come.
He heard a familiar voice, but it was all in his head.
Damn, you are one fucked up son of a bitch. If that fucking lion wags his tail I am giving up.
Line let out a laugh. His head was a screwed-up place if his last thought was of Dice, but it was better than the lions. He loved Dice, his brother, family he had chosen years ago.
Dice was family. Peace. Death was peace.