Chapter 18 ~ He Will Pay
Perseus’s POV ~
We cleaned up, as best we could, and headed to my office. The six of us are trying to understand what happened. I am angry.. and anxious. Those fifty wolves rolled up on our town, with little to no warning. We have two prisoners and ten of their dead. The majority fled when they realized there was no winning.
Dad said “We got caught with our pants down! How the fuck did they get to us, in such a massive group!?” I glared at him.. “From what I can ascertain, they had camped on the human side of the town.. to the south. Waited until everyone was ensconced in their places of study, or employment.. then split up.. coming in.. in groups of two or three.”
Brandon said “As soon as the techies are finished sifting through our videos.. we will have a better idea. Then we can plan our retaliation. The only building that is a total loss is Luna’s diner.”
Her breath caught on a sob, and I lifted her in my lap.. she whispered “I want.. no.. I need it rebuilt, as soon as possible. That was Sadie’s legacy! She entrusted it to me! I let her down!”
Roman rubbed her back “No, baby! No! You did not let her down! The assholes targeted the diner.. they targeted you. My best bet.. the three that attacked the diner before.. alerted the other five that were with them that you had been found.. and the attack was pivoted around getting to you!”
Renata looked at me “Let’s go, Pers! We are talking to the land! I want answers.. and the earth knows. Roman, take care of our girl! Her heart is hurting!”
Dad looked at Brandon “As soon as your father arrives, the three of us are going to play with our new toys! At this point.. I don’t even give a fuck if they talk.. I just want them to hurt!” Mom said “Don’t kill them, yet! I want some fun, too!”
We all went our separate ways.. Mom and I ran to the south side of town.. healing the earth as we went. When we arrived at the location of the camp, we both sat cross-legged facing each other. Closing our eyes, we dug our fingers into the soil, and listened to the earth.
Mom whispered “Do you hear that?” I nodded and said “They were on a scouting mission.. testing our defenses. I am not going to sit and wait for another attack, Mom. I am taking the fight to them! I have to say goodbye to seven of our people tonight.. peaceful people.. not warriors! It’s one thing to die in battle.. doing what you’re trained to do.. quite another to expect to be safe. I failed them!” She slapped me in the head! She. Slapped. Me! in the head! “Young man! How dare you allow your guilt to detract from their sacrifice! They died defending their homes! Their businesses! They are wolves. With full understanding they could die.. but chose to protect our way of life, anyway! You did not fail them! Allow them to know their deaths are not in vain!” I am humbled by her words.
I got back and Dad called us to the office.. Abraham was sitting in the office and said “I have found a few interesting things we need to discuss with all of you.. and I sat.. pulling Paulina into my lap, kissing her forehead. Roman sat on my right.
He looks at Paulina, and asks “Has Macie released all your memories, yet?” She nodded and told him she believed so.. Grandpa asked her to tell him what has been shown to her. She whispers to Roman and me “Please.. stay calm. This will upset you.”
She looks at everyone in the office and begins “After I climbed out of my hammock, I walked into our house. It was a mess. Blood everywhere. I went to my parents room.. and laid in their bed. I was crying. The wind was howling.. it was pouring rain. I don’t know how long I laid there.. Hours, I think. Just before dark, thundering footsteps ran up the stairs..
The bedroom door slammed open and Brennan stood there. He roared “There you are, you little bitch!” Grabbing me by my hair, he yanked me down the stairs and through me in the back of a truck.
We reached his pack house, and he ordered me locked in the cells. I was there for days.. maybe a month.. No food. No water. The guards would sometimes come by to spit on me.. urinate on me once or twice. Eventually, I was dragged out and taken to the Alpha’s office. He told me that the day was considered my birthday, since he wasn’t going to kill me. He told me I was a slave. That my parents owed him, and I was to be a slave until their debt was paid.
Then, I was locked in a closet. With only my blanket.. every morning, I was dragged out to scrub floors.. do laundry.. I was made to sit on the floor, at Brennan’s feet, at meal time. They would throw scraps of food at me.. sometimes, just bones.. from whatever meat they had eaten.
I was beaten.. for whatever reason.. stealing a slice of bread.. drinking water from a faucet in the laundry room. Always being told he would beat the Goddess out of me. For eight years, that was my daily routine. On my twelfth birthday.. I shifted into Macie.. in my little closet. After that, my resolve strengthened.. my determination was born.
It was also the last day I was beaten so badly.. After that, it was almost like Brennan was frightened of me. Oh, he would still slap me, from time to time.. but mostly he just belittled me.. called me names. Macie taught me what I could do.. and I trained.. I watched the warriors and would mimic their moves. I took books from the library and learned. I taught myself.. on my sixteenth birthday, I was cooking dinner and Brennan came in to tell me he was selling me. And that night, I ran away.
That’s how I ended up here and Sadie found me. She put me in school. Showed me what it felt like to be loved. Macie taught me how to hide my scent.. and told me I had to go through what we went through, to prepare me for my purpose.”
I held her close to me.. and Ace was growling low in my chest. Our poor angel. Our mate has gone through more in her short life than most people have ever endured in the entirety of theirs. Roman linked me 🐺 That piece of shit is going to die a very slow, painful death and I nodded!
Grandpa said “Your parents owed Brennan nothing.. they barely knew him. He had gone to your parents, asking for an alliance and a loan to build his pack. The money was used to pay rogues to attack your pack.”
Abraham told us “Jack Black was born a rogue. Brennan had hired him to help him take over smaller packs, in which they would kill the Alpha families and force the packs to submit or die. Brennan is gamma born.. Black isn’t even delta rank.. which is why his Alpha command doesn’t work. He rules by fear. He surrounds himself with ruthless killers, as his body guards. They are paid to kill anyone who disobeys him. Essentially, Brennan and Black are like minded individuals who are incapable of ruling without using torture and death as a means to have followers.”
Dad says “We don’t have an exact location of Black’s pack yet.. But, we know where Brennan is. Tomorrow.. we take him down!” Paulina said “I am going with you! It is my right to kill him! I just want it to be slow!” I whispered “He will pay, baby girl!”