Chapter 25
Twenty-Five
Blake
As the fog in my mind slowly recedes and my senses return, I find myself in a terrifyingly familiar situation. Once again, I’m trapped in fur with the heavy weight of a collar around my neck and thick metal bars surrounding me.
Nothing makes sense at first, my mind struggling to recall any details, but the memories of how I ended up here gradually filter in, a devastating slideshow of all the ways I’ve failed my mate.
I walked Neil into this, insisted on coming to Rockcastle, and now…
Now, I’m almost right back where I started, and Neil is in danger. There’s nothing I’m more sure of, because even though I’m currently alone, and I didn’t recognize the two shifters who took me, there’s no doubt in my mind exactly who arranged all this.
Doyle.
I have no idea how he found us or why he bothered at all, but neither of those things is particularly important. Not when he’s already got me in a collar and a cage.
The only bright spot, a tiny flicker of hope in my chest, is that Neil isn’t here. That unlike Ollie, Neil might have escaped, and the best thing I can do is try to do the same so I can get back to him.
But that’s not going to be easy. Far from it.
The cage isn’t large enough for me to fully stand, my back and shoulders pressing against the top before my legs are more than halfway extended.
I shove upward anyway, ramming my body into the top of the cage in the hopes that it might not be as sturdy as it appears.
Something creaks, but the bars hold steady, not giving even half an inch.
Maybe I can unbalance it? Get it to fall over?
I shift my weight from side to side, but the cage barely moves, the bottom too heavy and my movements too restricted to give me enough leverage.
The quiet snick of the lock is the only warning I have before the door swings open and the two shifters from earlier file in, Doyle following only a couple seconds later. I didn’t get a good look before the darts knocked me out, but now I can tell Doyle’s two goons are wearing triumvirate uniforms.
Acid fills my throat, breath freezing in my chest. If Doyle has his claws in the triumvirate deep enough that he has a couple of praetorians doing his dirty work…
I shake away the thought. I can’t lose hope. I have to get back to Neil.
Somehow.
The light shining through the doorway illuminates details in the dim room I hadn’t bothered to notice before, and my stomach drops. It drops even further when one of the new arrivals hits the switch, lighting up the entire room.
We’re in a hotel room. And not just any hotel room.
The ugly decor is too similar to the hotel we dropped Raquel off earlier for it to be a coincidence. This is the same hotel, and if I’m not mistaken, the same damn room.
But then, where’s Raquel?
A quick sniff of the air doesn’t pull up the scent of blood and it doesn’t look like there’s been any sort of struggle in here.
The bed is still made and nothing’s been knocked over or seems out of place.
The bathroom door is closed, but I’m pretty sure the remnants of Raquel’s scent are too faint for her to be in there.
Which means she either got away or… I don’t know.
I shove my worries about Raquel aside as Doyle approaches the cage, his lips curled in a self-satisfied smile and a malicious glint in his eyes. “You didn’t really think you’d get away from me that easily, did you?”
Rage flares in my chest at his mocking tone and my lips pull away from my teeth. I let out a low, rumbling growl, my gaze fixed on the Vegas Alpha’s face. If there was a way to kill someone with the power of a glare, Doyle would be keeling over about now.
Doyle chuckles and shakes his head. “You did, didn’t you?
” He smirks. “It was a valiant effort, but a lost cause all the same when you’re nothing but a dumb animal, a brute who isn’t good for anything but fighting.
” He pauses, cocking his head to the side.
“I’m curious though, what did you do with the human? ”
I force myself not to react, giving him nothing but a blank stare. If he doesn’t already know where Raquel is, then that means she managed to escape somehow, and I don’t want to give Doyle any excuse to look for her.
After a few seconds of studying my lupine features, Doyle glances back at his two triumvirate henchmen. “Where’s the human?”
The taller, brown-haired shifter shrugs. “We didn’t see a human during the retrieval, boss. Only this one and the other.”
Doyle frowns, his gaze returning to me. “That’s fine,” he says.
“She’ll be back, and if she isn’t, I’m sure she can be drawn out when she realizes we have her friend.
” He stares at me for a beat, then grins.
“Granted, I might not have him at this precise moment, but it’s only a matter of time before my other praetorians catch up with him, and then even the triumvirate officers I’m not paying will be happy to hand him over. ”
He must pick up on my skepticism because he lets out a laugh and crouches, leaning closer to the cage.
“I’m not particularly fond of the triumvirate, too many procedures and restrictions, but they were easily convinced to do my dirty work when I told them there’s a feral shifter on the loose.
” His expression morphs into one of exaggerated worry and concern.
“One of my pack members was kidnapped by a feral, and I have reason to believe they’re heading your way.
Please notify me if they show up so I can come retrieve my pack member. ”
Neil isn’t yours. I snarl and lunge at the bars.
Doyle doesn’t even twitch. “They didn’t even bother to question the circumstances or why I thought you’d be heading here.
That’s what’s so great about the fact the humans were the middleman.
The triumvirate may have taken down Wanda’s little side business and the humans she was selling to, but there’s absolutely no connection back to me. ”
He pushes to his feet and turns to face the other shifters. “Make sure everything is ready for transport,” he says. “As soon as we’ve got the omega, we’ll be heading out.”
I can’t hold back my sharp inhale at the word “omega.” How does he know?
“Didn’t think I’d catch that?” Doyle chuckles. “He was quite talkative with his little friend at the casino, and I have cameras everywhere.” Again, he crouches and leans closer. “But don’t you worry, I won’t be using him for fighting, not after what I’ve learned about male omegas.”
What he’s learned…?
My body goes cold. The secrets of male omegas aren’t widely known, not even among shifters. How the hell did Doyle find out about any of it when he had no clue how truly special male omegas were only a few months ago?
Maybe he didn’t. Maybe he only thinks he knows something. Maybe—
“I won’t have to purchase any more alpha fighters when I have a male omega who can breed them.
” He smirks. “Of course, that’s a time-consuming process, so in the meantime, I’ll expect you to put on a good show.
Who knows, perhaps if you survive long enough, you’ll get to meet one of your mate’s children in the ring. ”
I lunge at the bars again, a protective rage swirling in my chest as I snarl and bite at the metal. One paw slips between the bars and I swipe at him, but my claws meet only open air, Doyle just millimeters outside of my reach.
He throws his head back and laughs, the sound harsh and mocking. He pulls himself together after a couple seconds, swiping at his eyes, and slips a small rectangle made of black plastic from his pocket.
A remote. For the collar.
“You really need to learn how to behave,” he says as he meets my eyes and presses the button on the remote with his thumb.
The zap of electricity from the collar is uncomfortable, but nothing at all like it used to be. I do little more than twitch in place. He frowns and presses the button again, getting the exact same reaction from me. And obviously not the one he wanted or expected.
He glances at the other shifters, narrowing his eyes. “Are you sure you got the right kind of collar?”
“We grabbed one of the ones hanging on the wall in the building where we picked him up,” says the fair-haired shifter. “They all looked the same.”
Doyle scowls and his nostrils flare. “Well, that damn woman better have stored at least one of the heavy-duty ones somewhere else. When we go back, you’ll need to find one.”
The two shifters share a look and the dark-haired one says, “Sure thing, Alpha.” He pauses. “Any idea where we might find one?”
Doyle jumps to his feet, spinning on the dark-haired shifter with a snarl, hand raised. The shifter covers his head with his arms and cowers backward.
“We’ll handle it,” he blurts out frantically.
Doyle lowers his hand. “You’d better or you might make a good bait dog while I wait for the first batch of fighters to be ready.”
A cheery ringtone plays, and Doyle smiles. He fishes his cell phone from his pocket, barely glancing at the screen before answering it. The conversation is short and the person on the other end speaks too low for me to hear, but I get the gist of it.
They have Neil.
Doyle nods along, then says, “I can be there in an hour or so. You’re okay holding him until then, right?
” A pause. “Great. I’ll see you then.” He hangs up the phone and slides it back into his pocket, glancing at me.
“Well, that was quick. I guess we’ll be heading home sooner than I expected. ” He heads toward the door. “Let’s go.”
“Do you want one of us to stay behind and keep an eye on him?” asks the shorter praetorian.
“No. Just hit him with another dart so he doesn’t make too much noise. We shouldn’t be long, and he’s not going anywhere.”
I growl and lunge at the bars of the cage as the praetorian approaches, a small silver pistol in his hand.
Doyle presses the button the remote again, holding it down with his thumb as my muscles twitch uncomfortably. The sensation is enough to distract me while the guy with the dart gun draws closer and shoots me point blank in the shoulder.
Doyle presses the button once more, then turns to leave, motioning for the other two to join him. As the door closes behind them, I helplessly throw myself against the cage bars, growing slower and weaker each second as the drug starts to take effect.
The world goes foggy, blackness slowly creeping in at the edges of my vision. My last thought before my legs give out and I slip into unconsciousness is of Neil. And how I promised Raquel I’d die before letting anything happen to him.