The Game

LORELAI

I tried my shadows again, but they got to the edges of my skin, filling it out, pushing until it felt like I was going to break. I tried my magic, but it was the same thing. They filled me to the point of bursting, then had to stop because the damn cuffs wouldn’t let it out.

It was infuriating. I hated being helpless. I hated being stuck. But I had been stuck, helpless, and in pain for days.

I knew without my magic, the pack was going to be a mess to go back to. I knew the humans and wolves could very well be at war just as easily as the vamps now because one kill was all it would take. The wrong turn at the wrong moment, and everything I had pushed for, worked for, was going to crumble. I just had to hope that the foundation and alliance I had built could withstand it better than I expected.

And I craved my family. Like some demon inside me, clawing at the wall in my heart. I could feel them on the edge of my mind. Brax and Derik were begging to feel me, to get in, but I couldn’t let them. There was nothing they could do without sacrificing themselves and, in turn, the pack.

Even Zale and Enzi’s shadows kept digging into me, trying to pierce the other side of my consciousness. Mine were on one side, recoiling so they didn’t get hurt while they pushed, begging to help, but I couldn’t let them. Not when I was in so much pain. And I was.

Silas was an expert at inflicting it, and he made sure every carve, cut, bruise, and ache came with as much pain as possible. But I didn’t care about the hurt in myself; it was when he went for Kai. That’s when it took the most to resist biting back.

It took everything inside me not to give him the reaction he was baiting me into. I wanted to cry, to scream, to curse him out, but it all made the smirk on his face grow wider.

Sometimes I had to give in, beg him to stop, terrified that one more cut would have Kai bleed out. But Kai kept his jaw clenched, his eyes hooded, going numb and still until Silas stopped, and eventually, he did. Before he moved onto me.

Every day was another test, to see if we could survive, if we could play the game as well as him, and every day I wondered whether it was the day we failed. Because the day we failed was the day we accepted his offer. The one where the pack became his and I became his.

I wasn’t going to let that happen, but it was hard not to think I was making the right choice when he said he would let us live. He wanted subjects to kneel, not kill them, or he had no one to rule over.

It was disgusting and twisted, but it had given me hope that he would let us live. Until he came in the day before, spouting his bullshit about only one of us surviving and that being the only thing it would take to get to us. I think he was right.

Derik and Brax would be going crazy by now, and I didn’t envy their position. I would have lost my shit after the first night without them, knowing what was happening. I would rather be the one having it happen to me, but it didn’t mean Silas wasn’t going to use that because he would.

I had to get us out before he did.

Silas had just left the room after he’d delivered another afternoon of torture and pain with demands we didn’t concede to, but he left early, and I was grateful because Kai looked like he was hanging on by a thread.

He was bleeding, hanging, his hair falling over his closed eyes. He had passed out earlier than yesterday, and I knew it was because we were getting weaker. We barely slept, barely got fed.

Sometimes they cut us for blood, drank it to taunt us. The guards were just as twisted as Silas, but Kai had said that was the hive mind at work. Silas’s feelings and will would pollute the hive mind until another took over and refreshed it.

I would work toward that as soon as the damn cuffs were off me. But I had no idea how to make that happen.

I pushed my shadows up my arms, pushing against the cuffs until my arms burned so bad I cried out and sagged against the wall. They couldn’t get out, and they were restless within me. So was the magic. It was getting angry, turning inside me, begging me to let it out as if I were the one holding it in, but I wasn’t, and I had no idea how to tell it that.

“We have to get out of here,” I whispered, looking through a swollen eye as I peered around the room. Silas had taken to leaving his tools, but we had tried and failed to reach them. The blade he had thrown in the wall was still there, and since it was the closest, I looked for a way to get it.

I had no leeway in my chains, my shackles tight to the wall, my ankle was cuffed, but there was a lot of chain excess there, leading to the other side of the room. The same ring that Kai was attached to by his ankles.

I tugged on it, trying to gather some strength to pull, but it was no use. I was weaker than I was at the start, and I hadn’t been able to break out then, so I knew I wasn’t going to have a chance in hell now.

I looked at the star and moon on my shackles, the same pretty design that had locked Adrenna in. They kept the magic in, they stopped Kai from turning, me from using, and were a damn nuisance, but I knew they only worked from the inside.

They locked the magic inside me, but outside magic could work on them as long as it wasn’t mine. Just like I could manipulate Adrenna’s.

As I was thinking through every possible option on how to get that blade and how to get out, the door opened.

“Break time, winter born,” one of the vamps said, coming in. His tall, lithe body appeared in front of me as he unlocked my cuffs from the wall, keeping them on my wrists. Then he stepped back and let me drop to the ground with a smirk.

They always found it amusing that I was weak after standing for so long. My legs shook as I held the wall and stood, refusing to let him see me wince. My arms ached, and my chest was so fucking sore as it tried to sit in the right place after being spread for so long. But I clenched my jaw and handled it, heading over to the bucket to do my business. They only gave us one break a day and one at night for it. Last time I had refused, Silas had played on it.

He said I must not need as many breaks and took one away, laughing when I had pissed myself because of it. Then he'd poured water over me, boiling hot then iced cold, until I had passed out and my skin had peeled. So I learned to just use the bucket.

And eat the food. I didn't care how disgusting it was; I needed the strength.

The guard vamp dumped food in front of me, and I scoffed it down, not letting the mush touch my tongue so I didn't have to taste it. I couldn't afford to vomit.

He grimaced at my lack of finesse, so I grinned at him, letting the mush pour through my teeth, giving him a reason to be disgusted. Then I laughed like a crazy fucker and ate my food. I sculled the water he gave, then stood up.

He was much taller than me, with a frail frame and translucent skin. He had dark eyes, dark hair, and his nails were long on thin fingers. It was creepy, and even just his aura was cold, exactly like every other vamp that came to us.

They were never the same because Silas was an expert and knew we could bribe, threaten, or possibly turn one of his pretty vampires if we got the chance. He never gave that to us.

“Bed, winter born. You've got one hour,” he said, and I nodded, climbing onto the cot that was metal with some hay and blankets that actually felt amazing after being against the wall for so long. But I never slept.

I lay there, thinking of a way out. I had a plan, a half-assed one that could make things worse, but I had to try. I couldn’t win by strength anymore—I was too weak.

The pain in my broken body made it harder to move than I’d ever admit to the vampires, but I had to try and talk my way out or at least get this guard out of the way.

I gripped a piece of metal from the cot, one of the legs, and urged it to bend more. I’d been manipulating it for days and kept doing it until it finally did what I wanted. It snapped.

I cursed as the bed went down, one corner crashing to the floor as I leaned on it and tumbled from the bed. The vamp came over, frowning as he took a second to look at what had happened. I only needed a second.

I jumped up, shoving the metal into his neck.

It went through his flesh as his mouth fell open, blood pouring down his front, soaking his fancy shirts as he stared wide-eyed at me. I watched before ripping the metal from his neck and shoved him back to Kai, who I had seen twitch.

He was fast, and I had no doubt he would catch on quickly. He did.

Kai wrapped his legs around the vamp as he tried to heal the neck wound, then I hobbled to the wall, ripped the blade out of it, and slipped it across the screeching vamp’s neck. I sliced right through, a second before Kai ripped his head clean off.

The vamp’s body crumbled to the ground, turning to dust as I grinned. Kai did too, blood dripping down his chin as his eyes flashed, the fight feeding the need in him.

“That felt good,” I breathed, not even guilty for what I had done. Instead, I was empowered.

“Get me out of these, Little Luna,” Kai said then, and I rushed forward with the blade, using it to pry the stupid shackles from the wall. We were still bound in them, but at least we weren’t on the wall and had access to the weapons.

I grabbed them and handed some back to Kai before we got our ankles free.

“Let’s get out of here,” Kai said, and I nodded, rushing for the door.

Just as I reached it, a searing pain blew through my head, and I screamed, the entire room melting away, the freedom disappearing before me. I cried out as Kai dissolved into nothing, the weapons melted into pools on the concrete floor.

And then I was back in the cell, still shackled to the wall.

Still in pain, much harsher than I remembered, and Kai was still passed out.

Tears streaked my cheeks as my eyes adjusted in the dim light of the torch on the wall, the cell quiet as Silas stood there, spinning a dagger in his hand, a grin on his face.

I realized I had never actually gotten out, killed his guard, or done anything but pass out and make up a reality far better than the one Silas gave me.

“And you’re back. Thought we lost you there for a second. Poor Nikolai here about had a heart attack. Then he passed out,” Silas taunted. I gritted my jaw, refusing to let another tear fall.

“I was just imagining beating you.”

“You’ll never beat me, winter born. I’m too strong for you.” He chuckled, but I grinned darkly.

“I don’t need to be strong, Silas. I’m not going to beat you by killing you; I’m going to beat you by always being the one you could never get, the one you could never tame, the one thing you always wanted but could never have. Whether you kill me or whether I get out, I will never give you what you want.” I smirked, and his eyes turned just as dark.

His teeth descended from his gums, but it wasn’t scary. It had been the first time; now, it was just an empty threat.

“We’ll see, winter born. But you have a lot of weaknesses, and maybe your mate here isn’t enough to get you changing your mind. But I’ll find the right pressure point eventually, and you’ll give me everything I want. I bet even your mates will if I give them the right motivation.” Silas grinned, stepping forward with his long talon going down the front of my body.

I only had the protection of what used to be the white underwear I had worn, but it wasn’t enough to stop the shiver that racked through me at his cold touch. I glared at him, but I wasn’t scared.

“You think I am scared of your touch? I’m not. If that’s what you want to do, then go ahead, but I will still not give you what you want.”

“Oh? And you think your mates can handle my scent all over you? Taste it on you when I give you back? How do you think they’ll react when they know I have been inside you?”

“It’s just a body. Sex. It means nothing, and they are not with me because I am untouched by others; they are with me because our souls are linked. So you destroy me, so you touch and taste what isn’t yours, it will only make them more determined to kill you. And I’ll be right there with them because our mating bond will survive you,” I spat.

He snarled, spinning away, feeling the vehemence in my voice. I made sure it was there so he knew exactly how serious I was.

We both knew he had no interest in me like he was implying, and doing anything about it just to get a reaction from the alphas was a dumb move. It would make them feral, not amicable. He wouldn’t get anywhere near the area of what he wanted if he did; there would be no going back, and he wanted his power over them more.

“Then I guess we really are at an impasse. And that means it is time for phase three.” He grinned, and I narrowed my eyes on him.

“Phase three? You let us go, give up on your power-hungry dreams, and let us all live in peace?”

He laughed, then glared at me, going to the door.

“No. Phase three is where I go find your mother, use her as leverage, or kill her for your insubordination. Either way, I think you will understand the severity of your situation once I return. Enjoy your night, winter born.”

“Wait!” I screamed, my mind breaking at the idea he would attack my mom. I trusted my alphas to keep her safe, but I couldn’t guarantee her survival if I wasn’t there, and I needed that.

He turned to me before he left.

“Something to add, winter born?” he asked smugly, and I snarled at him.

“Don’t hurt her.”

“Unless you have an agreeable statement in there, I don’t believe I have a choice.”

I screamed out as he slammed the door shut. I yanked on the chains, desperate to get out as I called for him, but he never came back in.

“He won’t kill her, Little Luna,” Kai breathed, groaning as he stood up from where he had been hanging, passed out. He leaned against the wall, his body bruised again.

“Not if I can get out of here,” I bit, and forced my magic and shadows against my skin again.

I pushed and pushed until the pain was all I could feel, my skin about to burst as I tried and tried to get the power out of me. But instead, I screamed. My head exploded in searing, blinding pain that had me collapsing, jarring my already aching bones in the shackles.

I tried again anyway.

“Stop. You’ll make it worse,” Kai snapped, breaking through my desperation, and I almost cried. I was almost broken, almost at that point that Silas wanted me at. Desperate enough to say something dumb like Yes.

“I can’t lose her, Kai.”

“I know, Little Luna, and you won’t. Brax and Derik won’t let her go, and neither will Galen. Trust me, if she is with him, she is safe. He has something inside him, some adaptation of the wolf that makes him different. It’s like he has alpha blood in him, but it’s impossible. But I do know Silas won’t get near her. Be sure of that, trust the pack,” Kai breathed, his eyes fluttering closed.

“Kai?” I asked, feeling him through the link, letting him in before gritting my teeth against the pain it let in. “Your heart is racing.”

“I’m good,” he said, but I didn’t believe him.

“Your heart is too.” He smirked, and I took a minute. It was.

“Because my shadows and magic tried to get out. Why is yours?” I demanded, his chest aching in mine.

“Because I am trying to keep my shit together, Little Luna, and am close to doing a terrible job at it. My wolf is angry, desperate, and wants to get you out of here, but we are trapped, and I can’t. It doesn’t feel good, especially when I can feel how much pain you’re in,” he said through gritted teeth, trying to slow his breathing.

I swallowed and quickly yanked myself back from the link, refusing to let him in so he couldn’t feel me anymore.

“How did you get out last time?” I asked, and he grimaced.

“Not something we should talk about right now.”

“Kind of seems like the perfect time, Kai, since we could use it again. I don’t care what you had to do to get out. I know you did what you had to, but maybe we could get out doing the same—”

“I fucked a vamp,” he interrupted, his voice sour, as I sucked in a breath. The cold stone of that truth sunk inside me, and I held my tongue. I didn’t want to be jealous or to change my mind about caring, but the mating bond went crazy and turned my intentions to mush. There was no way we were using that again. He wasn’t touching one of them unless it was to rip their heads off.

“I—I don’t know what to say,” I admitted through a tight voice.

“I seduced her. She came in every day to give me my food, and I got to her. Made her want me. It took a while, and I had to wear her down every day from the hatred of the hive mind. But once she made the decision to fuck me, I knew it, and I exploited that. I promised her the pleasure a vamp could never give, and then I gave it to her. She fucked me but kept me chained. She did that every day for a week before I finally convinced her to let me out of a single cuff. Then I broke her neck and left. I saw them haul her ass out once she had healed, and they killed her for it. I wasn’t even sorry. I got out, and that’s all I wanted from her,” he admitted, as if he were trying to get me to be angry and repulsed.

But I wasn’t. Just jealous. And intrigued.

“What was it like? Sleeping with a vampire?”

He shrugged.

“It’s sex; it was enjoyable. But it was a means to an end. I fucked her to get out, not because I wanted to.”

“But you didn’t hate it?”

He shook his head.

“No. But not because I liked it. I just didn’t feel anything at that point. I was empty of anything but rage, so all she got from me was the mask, the facade I made her see to get what I wanted,” he explained.

Logically, I understood that, and I was glad he had gotten out. But it was hard to swallow that he had been with one of them. Because they were who they were, and Silas getting anything from my alphas pissed me off.

“I’m glad you got out,” I said, and I felt his eyes on me, but I didn’t meet his gaze. I didn’t want him to see the pity that was there. I knew he wouldn’t want it, and I couldn’t school it from my expression yet.

“You’re not pissed?” he asked, but I heard the disbelief in his voice and shook my head.

“No. At least I don’t think so. I know you did what you had to do; I know it was logically the only way out. But I can’t help being jealous of anyone that got to touch you before. The mating bond is kind of deprived right now and is reminding me of that,” I replied, leaning against the wall, my body aching from being hung up for so damn long.

My legs were throbbing from not being able to rest, and my eyes were heavy. But it was just another day in paradise at that point.

“I don’t remember them, Little Luna. They were just moments in time, but you? You’re every moment for the rest of our lives. However short that may be,” he sighed and leaned back too, his eyes slowly closing.

“Do you think we’ll get out of here then? Because we’re useless here.”

“Nah, we’re keeping Silas busy.” Kai smirked, and I had to agree with that. He was a little obsessive, and having us both there to play with seemed to be keeping him occupied enough to leave the pack alone. Until he had announced phase three. That made me uneasy.

“I had a dream.”

“Same. You were beneath me, screaming my name as I fucked you. The warmth of the sun was coming through the suite, winter was over, and you looked all flushed and stunning in the glow.” He grinned, his eyes still closed as he remembered.

His dream was much better than mine.

“I like that dream.”

“Oh, you loved it,” he said, and I laughed, wincing as it radiated against my bruised ribs.

“I didn’t love mine.” I sobered, and he did too.

“We escaped. But then I woke up back here.”

“How’d we escape?” he demanded, and I told him about the bed leg and the guard. He raised a brow and looked over to the cot bed in the corner.

“You’ve had visions before,” he whispered, and I shrugged.

“Yeah, but I knew when it was a vision.”

“Maybe this time it was given to you a different way because it can’t get through the cuffs?”

I shrugged, too tired to think about it yet. I couldn’t handle getting my hopes up before I had prepared my brain for the failure. Because in my dream, I had woken up, and we had not gotten out at all. If it was a vision, that could mean anything, like we got caught, killed, or never made it out of the castle.

“I would rather your dream be the vision.” I grinned, and he laughed breathily.

“Me too, Little Luna. Now sleep; it’s going to get colder, and we won’t be able to sleep,” he warned, and I frowned. I wasn’t cold at all. I was warm, almost hot. I eyed him with my furrowed brow, and he met my confused look.

“You’re cold?” I asked, and he nodded.

“It’s freezing in here,” he said, and that’s when I noticed the blue lips and skin that was much paler than normal. I didn’t feel it, which had my heart racing harder.

His chest aching, his heart rate, the cold he felt but I didn’t, all things that did not go well in a human, which he essentially was thanks to the cuffs that kept his wolf from heating him up or healing him.

“Fuck,” I whispered, and he shook his head.

“Don’t let it get in your head. I’ve been through worse, Little Luna. Just get some rest,” he said, then started bringing his knees up, keeping himself moving to warm up.

I grimaced and wanted to fight him, fear trickling into my soul, but my brain heard sleep and was already trying to switch off. It took all of a few seconds before I lost the fight with it and fell asleep.