Hypothesis

DERRICK

“Derrick, wait!” Lucy calls to me. “You can’t do this on your own!”

I push the guards stationed at the gate to the side. My nostrils flare as Drax willingly emerges. I can hear my clothes ripping, but that’s the last thing on my mind to care about.

“Brother, please, at least make a plan before rushing out like this!” Drax peers back at Lucy, our little sister. Her black eyes stare up at us with urgency. I can tell she wants to cry.

Drax walks back to her and nuzzles his sister’s neck. She grasps my wolf’s fur with desperation.

She knows our mind is made up, and there’s no stopping us. Lucy looks into Drax’s eyes. His red eyes reflect her love and feelings of our bond.

~I’ll come back~, I want to say. But Drax and I both know this may be the last time we see Lucy. We’ve always been together, so leaving her for a second time is heart-wrenching.

“If you come back, expect the beating of a lifetime,” Lucy laughs as tears form in her eyes. Drax bows to her as a symbol of respect, then turns and kicks into a sprint.

It’s nearly half a day’s run to Dark Shadow territory. Nothing will get in the way of us and our Firefly.

LAKE

I lick the dryness of my lips and glance at the barred window above my cell. The screams of my fellow rogues bounce off the walls.

The concrete flooring is uneven and cold. The walls are old stone and brick, an amateur job. I trace my finger in the dust I sit in.

“Are you ready to come out and be nice?” Lucas sniffs. I simply turn my back to him and lean against the wall. I haven’t had access to food or water since I was thrown into this cell.

“I don’t know why you’re being like this!” Lucas scoffs. “You could have everything with me! Just abandon that filthy—”

My hand slides through the bars and around Lucas’s throat. I barely put enough pressure to even block his airway, but I can see the fear in his eyes.

“This is your last warning.” My voice is dark and borderline animalistic. “Speak about my mate again, and once I’m free from these bars, your throat will be my dinner.”

Lucas pushes me away. I stay against the bars and ignore the fact of my skin sizzling against the silver.

“That filthy rogue is nothing compared to me, love.” Lucas gathers himself and shakes off his anxiety. “You’ll see as I do when we mate.”

“You just signed your death certificate, Alpha.” I smirk and push off the bars. As I sit, the burns on my arms begin to heal. I watch closely as the wounds close and become white scars.

“Alpha?” I hear Morana call seductively. “She’s here to see you about tonight.”

I growl as Morana approaches and eyes me closely. She smirks.

“I guess someone is jealous of the night you and I had last night, Alpha?” Morana licks Lucas’s ear lightly, her hand over his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, pet.” Lucas takes Morana’s hand and kisses it. “You’ll still get all you want of me after tonight.”

“Henry died so you could screw the alpha?” I laugh.

“I’ll take care of this, Alpha,” Morana says sweetly. “You must go prepare.”

Lucas’s eyes linger on my body before he nods and walks away. Morana brushes her hair to the side and sits on the floor just out of reach.

“Why don’t you just give in and let Lucas have his way? He’s one of the best lovers I’ve had in a while.”

I raise an eyebrow and think. No she-wolf would willingly have more than one partner other than her mate. That leads to one conclusion.

“Let me guess,” I breathe out. I’m just itching for Morana to inch just a bit closer. “Your mother was a pack’s whore? Do you even know your father?”

“If you want me to get mad, it won’t work.” Morana leans back on her hands.

“My father was some sick bastard who used every female in the pack that Derrick and I are from. My mother had no choice, as her mate rejected her after finding out about her unlawful pregnancy with me.”

“Well, like mother, like daughter, right?” I ask. “Was Derrick even Henry’s father?”

Morana’s calm demeanor changes to one of annoyance, and I see her eye twitch.

“Derrick’s scent was mixed with Henry’s.” I shrug. “That’s easily remedied by, say, a doctor injecting Derrick’s wolf genes into your son as a favor for your…services.”

“Lake, you don’t know anything about me or my life,” Morana scoffs. “I suggest you save your little hypothesis for someone who actually cares.”

I watch as Morana gets off the floor and dusts herself off. She blows me a kiss and recedes into the dimly lit stairway.