0103
Damien
Every day I got a little closer and he would do something to completely throw me off my tracks.
He shifted regularly, swapping between Lycan and human, leading me further away from Black Shadow and my mate. But I won't stop, not until he is dead, even if it means going to the ends of the Earth.
A handful of times we had come face to face. Not up close, but we could see each other across fields, a train station, and bridges.
As each day passed, the angrier I became. I just wanted to be with my mate, yet if I didn't stop Salem. He would find a way to torment that pack and my mate forever.
Tracking his scent into a bar, my eyes quickly adjust to the dimly lit space. The smell of dried booze, piss and blood filling the air. It had been a few hours since he was here. Before I even entered, I knew why he had chosen this place.
He had always liked a challenge, long before he turned into a Lycan. Teasing and tormenting people. There was so much Raven didn't know about the man she was once mated too. She had a lucky escape there.
Bodies littered the floor as the jukebox played.
Half a dozen had their throats ripped out before they even had a chance to acknowledge what was happening.
The other dozen had tried to put up a fight, losing against the beast that had attacked them.
Since being on the run, he had eaten every few days.
Though this time, I was certain he hadn't eaten in a week. He knew there was a risk I would catch him. He must have been starving to target a place like this.
I make my way through the bodies, just to check that all of them are dead.
"Fucker!"
I turn to leave and hear a whimper that stops me in my tracks. There is a kid somewhere in here. Between the stench of booze, piss and blood, I had missed the scent of a child.
"It's okay, you can come out. I won't hurt you."
I wait for a few moments but nothing moves and the kid is quiet. Why had Salem left a kid alive? He had killed Eric's kids without a second thought.
"Pinky swear." The small voice calls out.
It had been a long time since I had heard that. A smile creeps across my lips. "Pinky swear."
A small girl crawls out from behind a curtain. Blood smeared across her face. Remnants of bruises littered her chubby cheeks along with trails of dried tears. A floral dress that was once yellow or even white had seen better days. It barely fitted her, a sign that she had been here for a long time.
She steps towards me, her body trembling. Tears in her bright green eyes as she tries not to look at the carnage surrounding us. She stops a few metres from me. A chain attached at her ankle, preventing her from moving any further.
Not only was she locked up, she was a Wolf pup. Either Salem had been too busy to notice there was a child here, or he had left her for me, knowing it would buy him some time.
"What's your name?"
She closes her eyes tight, screwing up her face as she chews on her bottom lip. "Dorothy."
"How old are you, Dorothy?" Big black circles hovered under her eyes.
"Six"
"Do you know how long you have been here?"
She shakes her head at me. Her mousey brown, matted hair falls around her face. "You smell funny."
"So do you."
She smiles at me and opens her bright green eyes. "Are you like me?"
"No, but I know lots of people who are." She was aware that she was a Wolf, which was a good sign.
I had two options. One, take her to the police station, but that would raise questions that I didn't have time to answer. Or two, turn around and take her back to Black Shadow, letting my brother get away.
"Let's get you out of that, shall we." I smile as I squat, inspecting the chain.
She freezes as my hand touches her leg and it sickens me to think what the bastards here might have done to her. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea for Salem to have chosen this bar.
The cuff around her ankle was easy enough to break through. It was clearly designed with Dorothy's strength in mind as it snapped in my hands.
"Are you after the bad man?" She asks as she lets me pick her up to step over the dead bodies.
"I am."
"He smelled funny too." She coils her arms around my neck, understanding that I was someone safe.
Kids this age were resilient compared to adults.
They only see things in black and white and it's also why it is so easy to lure them away. There are a set of keys on the bar. Grabbing them, I carried Dorothy out and hit the key fob, waiting for a set of lights to alert me of which car they belonged to.
Settling her into the blue BMW, I notice a blanket on the back seat and drape it over her. She's quiet as I strap her in and when I tell her I'm taking her somewhere safe, she smiles and relaxes into the seat.
Dorothy was asleep by the time I pulled up outside the police station. Her head dropped to one side and rested on the belt as her long eyelashes fluttered against her cheeks.
I look out at the busy police station. She would be safer here than at Black Shadow. They could find her a good home, granted it would probably be with humans but she would still be safe. If I take her to Black Shadow, Salem could still come back, but she would be with her own kind.
"Fuck it!" My foot hits the pedal and I pull away, hoping that I was making the right decision for the kid.
It takes almost a week to get back to Black Shadow. Each night I stopped in a hotel to make sure we both got a decent night's sleep and to feed us both. Not once did she ever ask for food and my guess is that they starved her or only fed her on their terms. So she had
learned to wait, to ignore the hunger growls in her empty belly.
The first day, she ate like a dog, lapping up the food with her mouth.
She didn't know how to hold a cup without spilling and she definitely didn't know how to use a knife and fork.
She had been their pet, and from the age tag in her dress that said 2-3yrs, she had most likely been the bar's pet for years.
Dorothy was so excited when I picked her up some clothes, but didn't seem to understand what I was saying when I said she could change every day. She kept insisting that a pink dress was her favourite and that she would wear it all the time. So I just bought more, so she could wear a fresh one every day.
She was even more excited by a teddy bear that one of the hotel staff gave her and carried it around everywhere with her.
How could people be such assholes? To have the desire to lock up a kid was sick.
Driving up towards Black Shadow, I'm stopped by a couple of Wolves. Smiles etched on their faces as they see that it's me. "Is he dead?" One asks
"Not yet." I glance at a sleeping Dorothy and the guy nods in understanding, waving me through.
Parking in front of the pack house, I could already hear Raven shouting at the top of her voice about something before I even got out of the car.
She was pissed about something.
And probably just as angry with me as I hadn't spoken to her since I left. Walking around the car. I lift a sleepy Dorothy from the passenger seat. She peers at me with one eye. "Are we there yet?"
It had been her favourite question to ask, multiple times a day.
"We are."
She straightens her spin, widening her bright green eyes as she looks at the massive house.
"Home?" she mumbles
"Home." Technically, it wasn't for me to decide, but I knew Neah wouldn't kick her out. Especially when she learns where Dorothy came from.
Pushing the door open, I'm met with Eric, Raven and Dane, all glaring at one another.
Danes' crimson eyes settle on me first as Raven slowly turns around to look at me. Her emotions flood through her as she stares at me. "Your....you're....you are here." She mutters breathlessly, her hands clasped to her chest.
Her dark eyes move to Dorothy and she frowns for a second before her face softens. Most likely when she realised that Dorothy is a wolf.
"This is Raven." I tell the kid, "The one I told you about."
"Your girlfriend?" Dorothy smiles as she stares back at my mate.
"Yes. And this is Dane. He is the one in charge."
"The Al...pha?"
She had caught on pretty quickly with the terms when I was trying to teach her.
"And that man is Eric, he is Danes...."
"Beta." She finishes the sentence for me. I was like a proud father. She had to learn a lot in a short space of time. "I'm Dorothy." She mutters shyly
Raven is just staring at me. I expected her to say more, but she stepped forward with a limp.
"Hey Dorothy, why don't you come with me and we will let the men talk." She holds her arms out to the kid I'm carrying.
Dorothy looks at me first. "She's good." I tell her. "She's a doctor."
I put her down and she grabs Raven's hand. As they walk away. I hear her telling my mate about her pink dress and the teddy bear.
"I take it he is dead." Dane mutters when the office door closes.
"No, I ran into a bit of a problem."
"So you brought her here?"
"She's a Wolf."
"Why didn't you take her to her pack?"
"She was being held hostage and likely for several years. She doesn't know what her parents are called, the only thing she is aware of is that she is different to the men who were keeping her as a pet."
I see the acknowledgement in his eyes. "He killed the people that were keeping Dorothy?"
"Yes. Either because he was caught up in a frenzied attack to notice she was hiding, or because he knew I would help her and he used her to get away."
I look over to Eric, he still had a face like thunder and hadn't spoken a word. But I could smell the booze on his clothes. Now it made sense why Raven was shouting.
"You take responsibility for her." Dane mutters, his strange eyes are darkening. "You brought her here, you look after her."
"Of course."
"That means you don't go running off again. We work together, not alone."