Chapter 8
Rooms similar to the one we were kept in, lined the cold damp passageway. Lizzy pushed each door open as we walked by.
I felt her pull on my arm to bring me to a stop when the last door in this corridor wouldn’t open. Heaving a sigh, I raised my foot and kicked the door. Iron only seemed to coat the inside of the door, so I was not weakened by touching it. Leaving me free to keep the beast inside locked up tight.
The frame splinted as the door fell inwards. Muffled screams and clanking chains broke the silent air. The room was no bigger than the one we had been in yet it easily held around fifty naked women and younger girls. The youngest looked to be around fourteen. Chains were clamped to one of their ankles with no give, pinning to the spot.
Stepping through the door way, I watched as they curled into their own bodies. Shaking visibly, some had even wet themselves as I looked over each and every one.
I was going to kill each and every one of those parasitic monsters. I was going to bath in the blood I would release from their bodies. My wolf and I could finally agree on something. Not one of those creatures would escape tonight alive.
My own monster, relented all control he ever fought me for. The women in this room could have easily been my wife, or my beautiful little girls. The wolf had never known them, he came after my family was gone. But now he had found his mate inside Lizzy, he understood what I went though.
‘Mate?’ I asked my wolf.
‘Yes, her wolf is my other half. I was not whole until I saw her. She calms my thirst for blood. She tranquilizes my anger. With out her to restrain the urges, we would have eventually gone made and ended up just like those we hate.’
This was the first time it had ever spoken to me, he was always just feelings and urges, pushing my mind to lose control. Now it was as if we were one, connected and serene.
I closed my eyes, allowing the wolf to come forward. My muscles shifted, my skin flexed, bones readjusted and the itch of fur pushed through my pores. The transformation was almost instant as I landed on my front paws.
More whimpering came from the females as I made my way to the closes one. The young girl, though reeking of fear, held my gaze never once looking away. A low growl rolled in my chest as my sharp teeth pulled at the chain in the ground. One quick tug was all it needed to free the girl. Picking up the chain in one hand, she moved herself along the floor until she was out of my way.
Over and over I repeated the action, knowing this was wasting the time I would need to stop the Pack Leader. I didn’t stop until every one of the females had been free.
I looked to Lizzy who was helping one of the hurt ladies stand. ‘Lizzy’ my wolf thought.
Her head snapped in our direction, blinking a few times. A small smile flashed her teeth at me before she spoke. “Yes, Mitchel?”
‘Wait. Did she hear you call her name?’ I asked the wolf.
The sweet sound of her laugh filled my ears. It was the sound of hope. “Yes, I did hear you call my name, you silly man.”
I didn’t know what to do, so I just stared at her for a moment before talking. ‘How?’
“It is said amongst werewolves, that once a wolf has found it’s mate, she will not only be able to calm the raging beast but be able to talk to him in any form.” She had made her way over to me and stroked her hand through my coat. “If you like it or not, we are mates. If one dies so does the other. Where one goes, the other must follow. I am the other half to complete your soul. My mate.”
Her lips kissed the end of my snout, sending a pulse of need though my limbs. My body began to shift, my wolf wanted to take her right here on the floor in front of all these frightened women. If I was completely honest, so did I.
The shift back took no time and even though my body ached with the need to touch her, I stayed crouched on the floor. I lone tear dragging down my face as my heart ripped in two.
I knew it was a matter of when I took her and not if I would take her, but the betrayal I felt against myself for wanting this other woman when she wasn’t my wife, kept me from touching her.
In a voice that sounded more like a growl than actual words, I said “Get out of here.” I felt her flinch beside me but I had to make her move. “Get them out. Find a way to get them to safety and once you have done that, go to my cabin in the woods and wait for me to return.”
I never planned on returning, but if I didn’t make her leave now then I don’t think I would have the strength later to let her go.
I watched silently as she walked to the doorway, pausing to look back at me for a split second before disappearing. The crowd of woman followed as quietly as they could, which wasn’t that quietly, leaving me alone in the cell.
‘You’re stupid, human. What if mate never returns? We will both die slowly. We must get her back. We cannot go on without her.’ My wolf growled at me.
‘Enough.’ I barked back. ‘If she had stayed, then we both would be dead. I know it will be hard on us, and her I guess, but in the end at least she will be safe.’
With that, I willed the change from man to wolf to spread over my flesh. I had a werewolf pack to eliminate, a pack leader to destroy and revenge to take.