Chapter 28: Blood comes first

Chapter 28

“This has gone too far Victoria. That child isn’t that much older than our own.” I told her as soon as I walked into the room. It took me a second to realize she wasn’t alone and I clenched my teeth to prevent myself from letting out the string of profanity I had bottled up when I saw Jessop.

The guy had the ability to get on my every nerve without even opening his mouth.

“Get out I need to talk to my mate.” I told him and when he didn’t budge, but instead had to nerve to stand there smirking at me I looked at Victoria; annoyed.

She sighed dramatically as expected before turning to Jessop. He promptly exited when she tilted her head towards to door.

“I can’t keep that little girl in there. We don’t even know what the guy’s capable of.” I started. “I get that you want to get back at Carson for what he did to Victor but kidnapping an innocent child was never a part of the plan.” I said firmly.

I’d felt like the worst kind of monster dragging that child into the cage with the Corsetti twin. Victoria’s drive for vengeance was getting out of hand and now I wasn’t so sure I wanted to be a part of it anymore.

“You worry too much Neil. We needed another hostage. They might not come for Corsetti and kidnapping a member of Carson’s pack is a sure way to get him here. It’s unfortunate they nabbed a kid but that’s just how it is in war. There are always casualties.” She explained as she applied her makeup in the large mirror.

Gone was the gentle spirited girl I’d fallen in love with.This twisted creature standing before me was someone I didn’t know and if I hadn’t been bound to her completely I’d have left with our child before it got to this point.

“You don’t know Carson like I do Vicky…he’ll tear this place up to get to us. Nobody messes with his pack.” I warned.

Victoria walked over to me, hips swaying with each step and a sweet smile plastered onto her beautiful face.

“I’m not afraid of Carson. Jessop told us everything we need to know about him. I know how he thinks, what he’s most afraid of and what he’ll do next. We’ll be fine.”

“Jessop betrayed his own pack, what makes you so sure he won’t do the same with us?” my voice had risen and the smile fell from her face.

“You may be my mate but you’re talking to your Alpha. Don’t you dare raise your voice at me!” She shrieked and I could just imagine the smirk on Jessop’s face as he stood outside the door.

I made quick with my apology even if I did so grudgingly and she was immediately appeased.

“Go separate the girl then if you want to…maybe it’s better not to have both prisoners in the same cage anyway.”

I was just beginning to think she actually cared for the little girl’s safety when she said, “Separating them will make it harder for Carson to find if by some miracle they manage to make it this far.”

I turned to go right then, refusing to offer a comment. When I passed Jessop out in the hall he looked me up and down insolently before heading back to Victoria’s study.

I slowly made my way down to the cell holdings, my mind racing with thoughts I shouldn’t be having and unmade decisions that would be risky to make.

The way I saw it; I had two choices; take my little girl and run; taking her away from the life her mother was about to ruin or stay and allow Victoria to make the biggest mistake of her life.

It was a tough one and when I finally made up my mind I could only hope it would turn out to be a good decision. For some stupid reason I’d housed the thought that maybe we really could beat Carson’s pack and maybe Vicky would finally relax and turn back into the woman I’d fallen in love with but as the hours passed that small niggle of doubt I’d housed over her victory grew to the point where I was no longer confident in her scheme.

Carson was ruthless when it came to his pack. From the brief amount of time I’d spent living among them I’d learned just how ruthless and I was suddenly afraid of what that would mean for my mate.

I loved her more than I could explain; I was bound to her; mind, body and spirit but the bond I had with my daughter far surpassed that and if I had to choose between the two. I’d choose my own blood every time.

I drew in a sorrowful breath at what I had to do and tried desperately to blink back tears. It wasn’t fair that it all would end this way. I pushed open the door leading to the cell holdings and stepped inside.

I wasn’t exactly sure why I hadn’t just barged in and separated the child from Corsetti but something held me back and I stood silently watching the two trapped in the cage.

Neither of them had realized I was there and so they continued their play uninterrupted.

“How many are these?” the child was asking, staring intently at Corsetti with her hands held high.

“Six?” He replied incorrectly and I tilted my head to the side entranced.

“No, ten silly!” the little girl giggled, jumping up and down on her tiny legs in excitement.

“Wow you’re a smart one aren’t you?” Corsetti practically cooed and I found myself smiling at his actions.

The best way to give praise to a child was to make them think they were smarter than you were. I did the same thing with my little one.

I stood there in silence watching the two laugh as if they were father and daughter and I decided to leave them be. If they had to be imprisoned because of Vicky’s schemes then they might as well be together.

I pulled back into the darkness, closing the door behind me when I exited the holdings and quickly made my way up to my daughter’s room.

She slept soundly in her crib, looking like a delicate princess surrounded my white lace and soft cotton and I took a moment to appreciate the beauty I’d created; then before I lost my nerve I packed a small bag and when it was safely slung over my shoulder I picked up my sleeping princess; cradling her in my arms as I made my way down the stairs and out the door.

Vicky would have to do this without us. I only hoped that one day she’d find it in her heart to forgive me…if she didn’t hunt me down and kill me first.

……………………………………….

~Marcus’ POV~

Thomas wasn’t as pale as he had been before but he still looked like he was about to fall over at any minute and that worried me. We needed to take control of the enemy pack soon so we could get him the care he needed. I just wished he’d go back to camp; the damned stubborn fool. He reminded me so much of Adrian’s own stubbornness.

“You wanna take a break?” I asked, knowing the question was pointless and as expected he shook his head and pushed pass me as if to prove a point.

“You don’t need to push them so hard, I don’t plan on dying today.” Thomas muttered up ahead and I shook my head.

“It’s not just you dying I have to worry about.” I replied and he turned to give me a sympathetic look before ducking behind the tree closest to me.

Shots were still being fired in our general direction but it didn’t really feel as though the enemy knew what they were doing.

“Adrian seems to me like a man who can take care of himself.” He commented through pants and I nodded, dropping my now empty weapon on the ground beside me.

“It’s not Adrian I’m worried about.” I told him and he looked confused.

“Who then?”

“You ever noticed that you’ve never seen Adrian shift, even when you saw me and Scottie do it?” I asked, wiping the sweat off my brow with the back of my hand.

Men called out in excitement when they took another of the enemy’s men down while Thomas seemed to think on my words.

“Yeah…so?”

“Well there’s a reason he doesn’t shift, he-” I ducked when a blaze of bullets came my way.

“Shit...this isn’t working...we’re gonna need to take them out as wolves!” I shouted back to the men.

“Wait, what happens when he shifts?” Thomas shouted over the noise but I had no time to answer. I pulled my knife from my shoe and threw it to the ground before shifting with the others. We couldn’t win this battle with man-made artillery. It was time our beasts came out to play.

…………………………………………

~Adrian’s POV~

In the hours that I spent entertaining her I learned that she wasn’t two years old after all but a four year old child. She was a little thing; very pleasant and extremely giddy. She’d awakened from her nap with an energy I never knew a child could muster but I figured dealing with a happy child was better than dealing with a crying one.

She seemed to be like any other four year old out there I suppose, but then I really didn’t know that many but I could understand most of what she said when she wasn’t talking a million miles a second and she seemed pretty smart for her age…unless all four year olds could count to fifty…I really had no clue.

I winced a little when she pulled roughly on my hair but refrained from uttering a word as she sang her little song while doing something with my hair. I figured it was a good thing I’d let it grow out; at least she had something to do.

I looked around the cell again; still trying to figure out a way to get us both out without any harm coming to her but so far I had drawn a blank. There was only one way of escape I knew and that was out of the question.

“Where’s your mom and dad Stephie?” I finally asked. She’d given me her name earlier and I assumed it was short for Stephanie but who needed to get technical.

“In heaven.” She said simply then went back to singing and I remained silent for a second, surprised by the ease with which she’d said it.

“You want to tell me what happened to them?” I asked as pleasantly as I could muster. I’d read somewhere that children responded better to cheerful voices and all that crap.

“Sissy says they’re in heaven.” I’d learned earlier that ‘sissy’ was a lady in her pack who ‘stayed’ with her sometimes. I decided not to push for more when the singing broke off and she remained silent, fidgeting with the strands of my hair.

I tried to hold back a sigh of frustration. Lucas would have been better at this. Not counting his baby sister, I had zero experience with kids. You just never knew what to say to the little things.

“You okay sweetheart?” I asked when the silence continued and she dropped her tiny hands from my head completely and came around to sit in my lap. Her trust in me both touched and scared me. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the number of people out there who would take advantage of such innocence and I felt the strange need to put my arms around her and shelter her from all the bad in the world.

Funny how I wanted to protect a child when I was trapped in a cell; a fucking sitting duck.

“Can we go home now?” she finally said, not surprising me in the least.

It would have been strange if she hadn’t asked, this was no place for a child.

“We just have to stay here a little while longer…but I promise I’ll get you home okay?” it wasn’t a promise I made lightly and I wasn’t sure if she sensed that  but she relaxed and leaned back onto my chest, starting up her song again.

I still had no idea what she was singing about.

………………………….

~Scottie’s POV~

Thomas and his group arrived in the courtyard a few minutes after we did; looking just as confused as we did. After the crazy time we’d had getting here; shots being fired, wolves shifting, men howling and the like, we’d expected to have much much more coming to us when we stepped into the enemy pack’s camp but what we came up on was nothing.

Nothing being; no one walking about, complete silence; just… nothing the eye could see but what while nothing was visible we still had a heightened  sense of presence and that’s how we knew we’d run right into a trap. I could feel the company of the enemy all around me; hidden but there none the less.

I’d hope that Thomas’ group would have been able to sense that something was wrong before they burst down here, guns blazing; which was why I was more than just a little disheartened when they fell into the same shit we’d gotten ourselves into. It didn’t take long for the enemy to show themselves after that and when I laid eyes on their numbers I decided it would be futile to run.

AUTHOR'S NOTES

I APOLOGIZE FOR THE DELAY..MY INSPIRATION HAS BEEN ON THE FRITZ FOR THE PAST WEEK AND A HALF BUT IT'S ALL COMING BACK TO ME NOW AND I'M PUMPED AND READY TO PUT IN MY ALL.

I APOLOGIZE IF THIS CHAPTER WASN'T UP TO ITS USUAL STANDARD BUT LIKE I SAID... I HAD NO INSPIRATION.

THANKS FOR HANGING ON AS LONG AS YOU HAVE.

I'VE BEEN READING YOUR COMMENTS AND MESSAGES AND I JUST WANNA SAY THANKS TO YOU ALL WHO HAVE BEEN SO KIND! WISH I COULD REPLY TO YOU ALL INDIVIDUALLY BUT THERE ARE JUST SO MANY OF YOU :)

THANKS AGAIN GUYS AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY!

-DoUbLe.A

-unedited (even more so than usual)