CHAPTER TEN
Kyle
I watched the still form that had unbelievably taken two alphas and a beta to subdue. Curtis had injected him with a sedative that was strong enough to knock out a full-grown elephant. He had been out of it since the day before, giving me some time to try and catch up on some much needed sleep, although it hadn't come easy.
"Do you think he's one of them?" I directed my question to Uncle Nate, who was standing beside me watching our prisoner with subdued interest.
"He has to be. It's the only explanation that makes sense."
In the time since we had brought him back to the compound, we had been trying to figure out what he was. Uncle Nate had found some information in the old stories of a supernatural creature. Supposedly they looked human but their strength and reflexes were super-human. They also possessed the ability to heal like we did. They were known as Keepers.
It was the stuff bedtime stories were based on. Like saying Superman was real. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I wouldn't have believed it. It was surreal.
"If it's true, then we have a big problem."
From what we had gathered, their responsibility was to keep the werewolves in line. Like almost every creature on earth had their predator, ours were Keepers.
Granted, from the sound of things they didn't just go around killing our kind. No, they usually only took out werewolves who didn't obey the laws that were in place to protect innocent humans—usually rogues.
I crossed my arms before rubbing my chin as I continued to try to figure out why they were here.
Rogues probably had something to do with it. But what I couldn't understand was why now? Rogues had been around for as long as we'd existed. What was different now? There had to be a reason.
There wasn't a lot of information about them other than that. We were scoping out their base to get a better idea of how many there were. I also needed to know if Crystal was there. My gut told me she was, even though there hadn't been any confirmation.
The door opened and Bay walked in, closing the door behind her.
"What are you doing here?" I asked her as she came to stand beside me.
"I've come to see if it's true," she said, peering closer through the bars that kept him caged.
"It's true," I confirmed to her, watching her to see her reaction.
"Wow," she murmured as her eyes drifted over the prisoner.
"I need to go and check something," Uncle Nate said before leaving me alone with her.
Bay and I stood watching like two kids at the zoo watching the gorillas with fascination.
"Good to know I'm not the only freak around here."
"You're not a freak," I said, still watching her. I didn't like knowing that was how she saw herself.
Her eyes hardened. "Tell that to my parents."
"They're not perfect." In fact, they were far from it. Even I could see the mistakes they had made with Bay and the reason why she felt that way. "They love you, they just don't know how to show it."
Even though in their eyes James had been their golden child, I could tell her parents loved her even though at times that love was conditional.
She scoffed at me. "Yeah, right."
I looked back to the bed, shifting my focus away from Bay. I had tried many times to talk to her and tried to get her on the right track. James had tried as well, but nothing seemed to work. No amount of words could penetrate the walls she had set up as a defense.
"One day they'll realize how special you are."
"Aww, you're such a sweetheart," Bay said, giving me a one-handed hug. I smiled as I briefly returned her embrace.
She was a childhood friend whom I cared for like family. Through my childhood she had tagged along with us determined to be included. To make up for the shortcoming of her parents, James and I had ensured she was always a part of what we did.
But the older she got the more strained the relationship with her parents became. It seemed to make her more determined to not fit in any aspect of life in a pack of werewolves. I could only protect her for so long.
When I looked back to the bed, I caught the faintest movement of the prisoner's fingers.
"He's waking up." I watched as he shifted, rolling onto his side, turning to face us. His eyes opened before closing again. His hand lifted and touched his forehead.
I looked to Bay and she had her eyes fixed on him. She was fascinated.
"And the freak awakes," she murmured softly.
'The freak' opened his eyes. They were dark, almost midnight-black. Beside me, Bay stepped back slowly as her eyes locked with his.
The power that rolled off him was off the charts, stronger than anything I'd experienced.
I reached for her hand to take it in mine to reassure her I was with her. It pulled her out of her trance and she looked at me, still looking a little dazed.
Go get Curtis, I instructed her. She nodded.
The drugs Curtis had given him were wearing off and we needed to give him more. I didn't want him to be unconscious but he was too strong to leave him alert. We had no idea what he was capable of. I didn't believe he was strong enough to get past the steel bars but I didn't want to take any chances.
Before she left, she gave the 'freak' one last look. The door closed behind her, leaving us in silence.
I watched as his eyes followed her out. Then he tried to sit up. He swayed slightly but persevered until he had his back propped up against the wall.
"What have you done to me?" he asked, his eyes accusing.
I remained silent. He glared at me. Hatred mixed with power emanated from him. I held his stare, refusing to back down. I was an alpha; I bowed to no one.
"What are you?" I asked, needing him to confirm what we suspected he was.
He refused to answer, so I decided to ask him another question. He looked at the bandage around his wrist where I had bitten him.
"Why are you here?" was my next question.
"You will regret this," he stated.
I needed answers. They had my mate and I wanted her back. He had to give me the answers to my questions. I pressed my lips together as I crossed my arms, trying to figure out if another line of questioning would work.
"Where's the human girl you took?" I asked, keeping the emotions swirling inside of me from appearing on my face. If I allowed him to see my personal interest in the person I was asking about, they could use her against me.
"I didn't take her. I saved her," he merely stated.
"Who did you save her from?" I said, trying to keep the conversation from stalling. The more we spoke, the better chance I had of getting the information I needed from him.
He remained silent for a few moments. I didn't think he was going to answer but he did.
"A rogue was trying to kill her." The disgust was evident in his features.
I hid the pain that sliced through me at his statement. Her blood at the scene had told me she had been injured but hearing him say it out loud hit me again, harder.
"Why are you so interested in a human girl?"
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. "We wanted to make sure she was okay."
He studied me for a moment, assessing whether I was being truthful or not.
"She is."
I felt relief. But I wanted her back, safe within the confines of the compound. And then I would finally find out why she had been trying to run away. I would finally have answers.
You might not like her answers. I couldn't think about that now. Later, when I got her back, there would be time for that. I shut that from my mind.
First I needed to concentrate on how I was going to get my mate out safely from a property filled with supernatural creatures with superior strength. What if I couldn't get her out before the wolfsbane wore off and they realized she was a werewolf? Would they harm her?
I couldn't chance it.
Crystal
The next morning I winced as the needle pierced my skin. I pushed the wolfsbane into me before pulling the syringe out.
That would give me a few hours. With growing panic I eyed the leftover vials I had. There were only two left. I calculated that I only had two days to get myself out of the property and away from the Keepers.
I shoved the stuff back into my backpack and inside the closet.
As I turned, my eyes went to the bandage that hung loose over the headboard. I had washed it the night before in the shower hoping it would buy me more time. If the bandage looked cleaned, then Hayden would assume someone else must have changed it for me.
My arm was fine again. My fingers trailed over my unmarred skin where there should still have been wounds.
I hadn't see Hayden again. He had left to go find Flynn, and I hadn't seen him return.
My thoughts went back to my conversation the previous day with Harrison. His message had been clear. I had to keep them and the werewolves a secret. It assured me they still had no idea what I was. They didn't even seem to suspect a thing, and that was how I wanted to keep it.
Last night I had feigned tiredness, so Harrison had sent up food to my room for dinner. There had been no news about Flynn. He had been taken and that was all the Keepers knew. They were still trying to find him.
Now I was afraid to go downstairs without Flynn but I couldn't spend the whole day in the room. I had to eat and I had to think of a way to get Dean out as well.
He is a rogue. I ignored the warning inside my head. It wasn't possible. Something really bad must have happened for him to be separated from the pack.
How are you going to save him? my inner voice questioned. You don't even have a way out for yourself.
That was true, and since Flynn had disappeared, the Keepers seemed to be on lockdown. I knew they wouldn't just release me now. Not with the new threat against the Keepers. The tension around them had increased. I was scared.
My stomach rumbled. I had to get some breakfast. I nearly opened the door before I realized I had forgotten to put my bandage on again.
Stupid, stupid! I chastised myself for nearly making the deadly mistake. I could just imagine their faces when they saw my healed arm. I wondered how long it would take for them to figure out what I was. I carefully bandaged my arm, trying to make sure I wrapped it similarly to the way it had been before.
Once that was done, I went downstairs. No one looked up or acknowledged me when I walked into the kitchen. It was like I was invisible.
I got some scrambled eggs and toast. Clutching my plate, I hesitated when I looked for a place to sit. One of the Keepers shifted slightly over to make a space for me.
I sat down beside him, putting my plate down. I forced myself to eat. While I chewed my scrambled eggs, I kept my head down, not wanting to catch the attention of anyone in the room.
How on earth was I going to find a way to get Dean out? There had to be a way.
I tried to eat as much as I could before the knots in my stomach made it impossible to take another bite. After I finished my breakfast, I wandered around the house, still trying to figure out where they were keeping Dean. I tried not to make it obvious what I was doing.
Harrison found me in the east side of the house peering into one of the rooms. My heart slammed into my chest, rapidly increasing my heart rate when he had put his hand on my shoulder.
"What are you looking for?" he asked. His eyes were looking for any sign of what I was trying to do.
"You scared me," I said, putting my hand to my chest. I was trying to give myself more time to figure out what to say to him.
He remained silent as he watched me. Did he know I was snooping around, trying to find the rogue they were keeping prisoner?
I swallowed to ease the dryness in my throat.
"I know what you're looking for," he said.
Oh no! How could he know that? I could just be a bored human girl being a little nosey.
"You're looking for the rogue they caught yesterday."
I held my breath slightly. He guessed right. How had he figured that out?
My eyes took in my surroundings as I tried to figure out my next move. I had to get away.
"It's okay," Harrison added. His words were unexpected, distracting me from finding the quickest way out of the hallway. "You want to see him?"
I held his gaze for a moment before I found myself nodding.
"Come," he instructed, turning on his heel and walking down the hallway.
When I didn't immediately follow him, he stopped. With a look back over his shoulder, he said, "Follow me."
My heart pounded in my ears as I stepped forward. One foot in front of the other. Pushing through my fear and the instinct to run, I walked behind Harrison. He stopped outside a door a few doors down.
I halted, not sure what exactly to do or say next. He turned to face me. His smile was gentle.
"There is no need to be scared. He is secure, so he won't be able to hurt you."
I kept my face free from the confusion I was experiencing. I clutched my fingers together to hide the slight shake in my hands.
"You have been through a very traumatic event," he began to say as he produced a key from his pocket. He turned back to the door and inserted it into the lock.
"Seeing him will help you deal with the fear you experienced."
He thought my curiosity to see the rogue stemmed from the stress of my attack. The mark on my necked heated up.
I was speechless, my eyes still on Harrison. He was so unlike the rest of the Keepers. Even Flynn, who had saved my life and shown me some kindness, didn't compare with what Harrison was trying to do for me now.
I nodded, not wanting to reveal the real reason why I had been looking for Dean. He unlocked the door and the sound echoed around us.
"Come," he prompted again as he entered the room.
I took a deep breath to try and prepare myself. The room was empty except for a small bed and Dean's body on it. Unlike the other rooms, this one had no carpets and no pictures to soften the harsh white walls.
Dean lay on his side on the bed. His eyes were closed. Was he sleeping?
Harrison watched me as I stepped closer.
"He has been sedated," he assured me. "And even if he was awake, the stuff we've given him will keep him weak."
I wanted to reach out and give Dean a reassuring touch but that was impossible under Harrison's intense gaze.
"How do you feel?" he asked.
I shrugged, not quite sure what I was supposed to say. It seemed easier to say nothing.
"Seeing the face of the creature who attacked you can help you rationalize what happened to you. It can help you see the softer side, which will help you to overcome your fear."
He was talking like a shrink. Had he had to do this often? Helping innocent humans deal with their fears by facing the supernatural creature that had attacked them? And in my case, when the actual attacker was dead, substitute it for another?
I kept my eyes on Dean. My mind was already leaps away, trying to figure out how—if there was a way—to counter the effects of what they'd given him to sedate him.
"Are you having nightmares about your attack?" he asked.
The answer was no but even I knew that didn't fit in with the scenario of a defenseless human girl who'd been savagely attacked by a supernatural creature that in her eyes shouldn't exist.
I nodded my head.