Chapter 16 - Alanis
The warehouse was exactly what Venn had claimed it would be—an old textile mill on the east side of town, so close to the river that the screams of anyone would be drowned out by the rushing water.
Its structure was dark and ominous, towering over the night sky, with broken windows and rusted metal siding.
Alanis stood behind a dumpster on the opposite side of the street, watching the lone guard at the front door. He was bored, smoking, and clearly not expecting trouble.
“One guard in sight,” she said to Rael, who stood pressed up against the wall beside her. “Probably more inside.”
“Two more,” his wolf senses detected what she was unable to. One was on the perimeter, while the other one was inside, where they were holding the women.
“Three guards for ten women?” Alanis frowned. “That’s sloppy.”
“Venn is overconfident. He believes that his operation is too advanced to be found out.” Rael let his eyes roam over the building. “Have you seen the weakest part of this structure?”
Alanis had intensely reviewed the satellite photos and the maps of the building that August had obtained at the city office before they came.
“There,” she nodded in the direction. “The north wall, just over where the loading docks were. The foundation is not solid. There was a little flood three years ago that wrecked the support structure. The wall itself is solid, but the door frame is bent. If we push in the right way…”
“It will look like the girls had forced it open inside,” Rael finished. “Smart.”
They waited until the perimeter guard had gone through his round, and then they moved. Rael’s shifter speed enabled him to cross the open street within seconds, taking Alanis along.
The north wall was just as the plans showed; it was a warped metal door with rusty hinges and a frame that had shifted just enough to create a gap. Alanis pulled out the small pry bar she’d brought and wedged it into the gap.
“When I pop this,” she whispered, “it’s going to make noise. You need to create a distraction.”
Rael nodded. “On three.”
She started to count, then pressed down on the pry bar. The door creaked, metal rubbing against metal. At that moment, Rael hurled a rock at the other side of the building. It fell with a bang on the metal siding, reverberating into the silent night.
“The fuck was that?!” She heard one of the guards shout.
“Most likely a cat,” another replied. “Go check it out.”
They heard some footsteps fade away. Alanis tried the door a second time, and this time it yielded, swinging inward with a screech that made her wince.
They quickly crept in and closed the door behind them. It was dark inside, and there were a few bare bulbs on the ceiling. The smell of rust, piss, and fear hit her all at once.
Rael walked through old machines and storage bins, with the silent grace of a predator. Alanis followed quietly as well.
They found the women in what seemed like it used to be a storage room.
The bolt cutters quickly sliced through the heavy padlock, revealing ten women inside.
Some were lying or sitting on bare mattresses, while others sat on the concrete floor.
Their eyes looked glazed, and their movements were slow. They were drugged. Just like Venn said.
Smoldering rage bubbled within Alanis. These were daughters, sisters, and friends of someone. Here, they were inventory, merchandise to be sold.
She crouched beside the nearest woman, with dark, curly hair, green eyes and pale skin. “I’m here to help,” she said softly. “We’re going to get you out of here.”
The woman stared at her blankly. Alanis examined her pupils. They were dilated and reactive. Whatever they had been administered was strong but not life-threatening.
“Can you walk?” Alanis asked.
The lady nodded at her, and Alanis assisted her to stand up. Rael was already walking through the room, examining each woman and helping those who were able to stand.
“Three of them are not able to walk,” he turned to Alanis, shaking his head. “Too heavily drugged.”
“Then we carry them.” Alanis took a quick glance around. She walked to the door they’d entered through, examining the frame. “Help me with this.”
Together, they worked the door from the inside, creating scratches and dents that would suggest someone had forced it open from within. Alanis scattered a few personal items from the women near the door—a shoe, a hair tie—making it look like the women had fled in a rush
“The guards?”
“Still outside, but they will do a check soon.” Rael glanced at his watch. “We have probably ten minutes until they know something is wrong.”
“Let’s go.”
Alanis arranged them in pairs—the more lucid women led the other ones outside, with the help of Rael.
Together, they all walked to the north door, with Alanis leading to clear the way.
The guard on the perimeter was at the back of the building.
The second one would come back and find the warehouse empty, but they would be long gone.
The van that August had set up was parked two blocks away.
The women were loaded very quickly, and Alanis gave each a quick medical examination as they climbed in.
“No life-threatening injuries,” she said quietly.
“But they should receive good medical treatment. IV fluids at least, blood work to determine the type of drugs they received, and trauma counseling.”
“The Shadowridge medical facility is on call,” Rael had his eyes on his phone. “They’re expecting us.”
It was a twenty-minute drive to Shadowridge territory. The hospital was small, but well-prepared and equipped. They took the women away, without question, simply offering assistance.
Alanis remained with them, helping the medical staff with skills she had learned at the Lumen. She knew how to communicate with trauma victims, how to make them feel safe, and how to collect information in a way that would not retraumatize them.
“You’ve done this before,” one of the Shadowridge nurses remarked. “You have medical training?”
“Trauma response training.”
The nurse looked at her with a hint of respect. “Where did you learn it?”
Alanis was about to respond when Rael appeared at the doorway. “Alanis. We need to talk.”
“Oh, okay.”
Alanis followed him to an empty office, her stomach tightening with anxiety.
As soon as the door closed behind them, Rael was in her face. “Who trained you?”
“What?”
“The seduction, techniques of extraction, trauma response guidelines—these are things you do not just learn on the job. You have been trained, and a lot apparently. So, I am demanding to know. Who trained you, Alanis?”
Alanis’s mind raced. She could lie and continue to keep the Lumen a secret, as she had been trained to do.
However, the sight of those women in that warehouse all alone and helpless, she realized that lying was no longer an option. And quite frankly, she was sick of all the lies.
“There is an organization,” she started in a calm voice. “They are called The Lumen. They rescue people who get out of trafficking networks or abuse from packs. They have
safe houses, medical centers, and legal help. All kinds of things to help victims rebuild their lives.”
Rael’s face remained blank. “And you work for them?”
“They trained me. When I ran away from my pack, I was picked up by one of their recruiters, and they gave me a place to live, taught me how to do things, so I could help other people.”
“Taught you how to do what sort of things?”
“Infiltration. Intelligence gathering. Extraction. Trauma response.” She looked him in the eye. “What they taught me, everything you saw tonight—how to approach targets and how to free captives and how to take care of those who survived afterward.”
“So, you were not a victim at that auction. You were there on a mission.”
“Yes.” No point in lying now. “The Lumen had been following that trafficking network for months. I went undercover to provide evidence from the inside.”
“So, me saving you ruined that.”
“Not exactly. You did save my life and seven other women. I can live with that.”
Rael scoffed, shaking his head. “I can’t believe this. You lied to me. For weeks. You made me think that you were a victim of some unlucky circumstance, when in reality, you were working for an organization that I have never heard about.”
“I did not lie. I just did not tell you everything.”
“That is the same thing, Alanis!” He inhaled deeply. “I told you everything from the start. Who I was and what I was doing, why I was at that auction. I was honest with you about my pack, my mission, my life. And you…you have been keeping secrets from me all this time.”
“I was just protecting my organization!” Alanis shot back.
“You really thought that I would spill the beans to some stranger I met at a trafficking auction? Someone who purchased me and forced me into a bond after acting like an asshole after the first night we spent together, mind you! You brought me to your pack and got us bonded and married. So, excuse me if I did not confide in you or tell you information which might compromise an organization devoted to helping people like myself!”
The ensuing silence was heavy and filled with anger and hurt on both sides.
“I-I thought you were starting to trust me, Alanis,” he whispered roughly. “I thought—I thought we were getting somewhere.”
“I do trust you,” Alanis said quietly. “That’s why I am telling you the truth now.”
“Are you? Being honest?” He took a step closer. “Or do you have more secrets?”
Alanis reflected back on her childhood—the pieces she had left out when telling him about Caldwell Pack. The worst parts. The parts that continued to give her nightmares.
“I told you my pack sold shiftless girls,” she swallowed. “That I ran away before they could sell me. But I did not tell you everything.”
Rael waited patiently.