Soren
He wasn’t sure how much more he could take listening to them. Their words were like daggers slicing him open, the pain in their voices, the salt poured into the open wounds. He’d give anything to pull Baine into his arms and offer what comfort he could, but he knew he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t give false hope when there was no future. All he could do was listen, and hope that it would be enough to help exercise the demons. At least until he found these fuckers and destroyed them.
“How did the kid save you if you didn’t get away?” Sypher asked in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“They overpowered us, they didn’t know why we interfered, we had that going for us at least. If they’d known what I was and who we worked for, things would have been worse for us then they were for the woman.” Daegan answered. “We were beaten and tortured and then left to die. We didn’t know it at the time, but the kid had escaped at the end. Don’t know how never asked. It didn’t matter.”
“Four days.” Baine announced, “That’s how long they kept us chained to the walls, my Pegacorn fought me to take over and shift so I could heal. It took everything I had, everything Daegan had to keep me in control and awake.”
“I can’t even imagine how you were able to do that,” Soren announced in astonishment. “Our basic desire when hurt is to shift to heal, I’ve never heard of anyone overcoming that before.”
Baine shrugged, “I had my brother there with me to give me the strength. Every time I thought I was going to fail he’d be there to talk me down.”
“You did the same for me,” Daegan whispered, “You wouldn’t let me give in to my injuries, you didn’t let me go either.”
“How did you get away?” Sypher asked again.
“The kid. I don’t know how, but he got help. Our guys came in and rescued us. Ultimately, by having us locked up and the kid’s testimony of his kidnapping and what happened to his mom, they had given us the last ammunition we needed. We shut the whole place down, every single member went to prison, locked away without contact from the outside world.” Baine smiled as he finished the story.
Soren grunted in annoyance, “That’s not the end though, what happened to the kid. What happened to you? No offense, but things aren’t adding up here. You have PTSD from your time in that cage, but I’ve neither heard or seen anything that indicated anything else. How did you both get over what happened that night?”
“Taking them down helped a lot, I won’t lie and say what happened didn’t affect us because it did. I’m sure on some level we both have blocked it off, but we were also given intense therapy. Months of it actually before we were released and allowed to go home.” Baine replied with a shrug.
“I explained to Sypher that we were allowed to go home after we were debriefed, you remember that babe?”
Sypher nodded, “But this isn’t adding up right.”
Daegan smirked, “That’s because I neglected to say that debriefing was months of being under constant supervision with around the clock counseling and treatment. We’d just been released when Baine disappeared.”
Soren stood and moved to stand by the window overlooking up to the night sky hoping to find a slice of the peace it always provided. When they’d asked for information about the DOA, this wasn’t what he had expected. He was glad they’d been taken down and locked away, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted to feel their blood on his hands, but more than that he wanted to wrap his arms around his mate and hold him tight. To reassure himself that he was okay, safe, sound and unharmed. He couldn’t do that, but he could get more information so that there wouldn’t be a next time. “Why do you think this is them and not some other group you took down. I’m not saying it’s not, but what makes you suspect them?”
“Gut reaction.” Daegan answers at the same time Baine says, “It fit’s.”
Why can’t anything ever be easy? “So, you’re sure, both of you?”
Baine waited until Daegan nodded in agreement before he explained, “Yes because they were the ones that believed that humans were the superior race, that shifters were parasites, that it was their divine destiny to eradicate us. We never suspected they were part of a larger group, but it makes sense. There was no way the cell we took down would have been able to wipe the world clean like they wanted too. Multiple cells like that placed all over the world just might be a different story though.”
“So, a war is coming,” Soren said with a huff.
“Yes, I’ll start spreading the word to the various packs, but for now we have time. Their first priority is going to get Sarina back. I’m putting us on lockdown, we’ll make this mountain impenetrable as we can with the help from the other groups. She’ll be safe here and with luck, we can head these bastards off and destroy them before it comes to war,” Sypher announced in a determined tone. “In the meantime, I need to hold my mate and reassure my Phoenix he’s safe. If you’ll excuse us.”
As much as Soren wanted to be pissed, he couldn’t blame Sypher for his reaction. He wanted to do the same thing, his arms ached with the need to pull Baine close and hold him tight.
“Are you going to run again, or can we talk?”
That voice sent chills skittering down his spine, never had he heard that tone from Baine and he’d be damned if he’d let the man know how much it affected him. “I was never running from you.” He hissed out.
“Fine, hiding then. Though not sure that’s much better.”
“I never meant to hurt you. Everything I’ve done, I did to protect you. Why can’t you see that?”
Baine scoffed at his words, “How can I see that? I’ve never spoken to you, never seen you. All I know is that you’re my mate, and you are casting me aside. You have got to know how much that hurts. You had to know how it would destroy me and my animal when we found out.”
“Being with me would be worse. I can’t give you anything. I can’t be what you need. I’d only hurt you, destroy all that is good about you.”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now? You’re actually going to give me that it’s not you, it’s me line. We’re mates you twat waffle, that means you’re it for me, and I’m it for you.”
“What did you call me?” Soren asked incredulously.
“Let me say it slow so you won’t misunderstand this time. I called you a twat waffle.”
Soren gaped, what in the hell was that? He wasn’t sure if he should be insulted or amused.
“Stop staring at me like that.” Baine grumbled, “You’re missing the point.”
Before Soren could reply, Baine closed the distance between the two of them, wrapped his arms around him and kissed him as if his life depended on it. His body tightened involuntarily before his body overrode his mind and he pulled his mate close and returned his kiss.
“Let me in,” Baine whispered against his lips. “Give me a chance, fight for us.”
He wasn’t sure he could do this, already he could feel the cold hand of hatred dragging him back to the past and the lessons he’d learned at the hands of those who should have protected him.