Chapter Twelve
Neith
What happened last night has been playing on my mind, for the obvious emotional reasons, but also because I’m sure that even though he may not have tripped anything when he left, it’s pretty fucking likely that something like the security cameras or the guards noticed that he had disappeared.
Before the thought has even finished processing, I’m reaching out to him, “Dimi?”
“Love. I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon,” he replies immediately.
“I wanted to check in on you,” I reply honestly. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he replies.
A spear of pain runs through my side, making me grunt. It’s gone as quickly as it came, and my instinct screams at me.
“He’s hurt,” the Voices whisper.
Well, that confirms that my instincts are right.
“Neith?” Dimitri asks with a heavy dose of concern in his voice, “What happened then? Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I’m not hurt, but you are,” I reply bluntly, with a heavy frown.
“What?” Dimitri asks, sounding shocked. “How could you possibly know that?”
“Because I felt it, Dimitri. What the hell is going on? Why are you hurt?”
“You did?” He asks, completely disregarding my question.
There’s something in his voice, something that almost sounds like hope, which is strange but isn’t my top concern right now.
“Dimitri,” I reply, my tone leaving no room to argue.
Dimitri sighs heavily, “It’s nothing, I’m fine. It’s nothing I can’t handle, Love.”
“Which means that there is something going on,” I retort. “Dimitri, I swear you’d better tell me what the fuck is going on or . . .” I trail off, I’m not really sure what my threat is going to be.
Something in the way I phrase it must tell him I’m being deadly serious or something because he doesn’t even try to argue anymore.
“One of the guards enjoys the fact that I can’t fight back,” he replies.
I read between the lines, “So one of the guards is beating the shit out of you regularly because he thinks you can’t fight back.” Dimitri grunts in reply. I frown as I add, “But you can fight back.”
“I don’t want to hurt them. I’ve caused too much pain,” he admits quietly.
Rage rushes through me. Yep, there is no fucking way that I’m letting that stand.
“Right,” I reply simply, although the anger is evident in my voice.
Dimitri starts to say something else, but I shut the connection down.
I don’t even think twice about what I’m going to do. I get up and jog downstairs, trying to keep a handle on my anger so I don’t start a massive storm.
“Are you okay?” Coen asks me with his eyebrow raised slightly as I walk into the front room.
“Yep,” I reply. My eyes zero in on Doc, “Can you take me to the prison? Some fucker thinks that just because Dimitri won’t fight back, he can do whatever the hell he wants to him.”
“What the fuck!” River exclaims angrily.
His anger is echoed in the expressions of the others who are here.
Doc nods, “Of course.”
“Take a couple of the others too,” Van orders.
I’m just glad that he’s not trying to stop me because that wouldn’t have gone well for anyone involved.
“I’ll come,” Griff says.
Doc nods, looks at me, and then comes to some kind of decision as he grips Griff’s shoulder and disappears.
“That’s smart,” Coen mutters. When I look at him questioningly, he adds with a knowing smile, “If he had taken you first, there’s no way that you would have waited for anyone else.”
“True,” I agree, honestly.
“Coen, I know that you probably want to be the other person who goes, but I think that it might be a good opportunity for Baz to observe us and how we work. What do you think?”
Coen nods, “Yeah, I think that’s probably a good idea. Especially, since I want to eat the fucker who hurt Dimitri.”
His eyes switch to his dragon ones, and I grin. I thought that he was being a little too calm about the situation, but clearly I was wrong. He was just controlling it better than I am.
Van nods and doesn’t look at all surprised by the admission, “Baz, are you good with that?”
“Absolutely, I’d like to meet Dimitri properly anyway,” Baz replies with an easy smile.
Doc reappears and takes my hand, “You’re next.”
It only takes a few moments before I’m standing outside the prison and next to furious-looking Griff.
“You need to go back and get Baz,” I tell him.
Doc nods and is back within moments.
I don’t waste any time. Doc was quick, but it still took longer than I would have liked it to.
The guys are hot on my heels as I push through the doors and straight past the receptionist, who just looks at us curiously, but thankfully doesn’t try to stop us. As we approach the first security door leading to Dimitri, I groan.
“I didn’t bring my security card, and I doubt you guys have them on you either.”
Baz pulls a pile of cards out of his pocket and hands them out, “Van gave me these, and lent me his since I don’t have one yet. He said he will sort it all out with Ty while we’re gone.”
I grin and take my card, swiping it, and then we continue through the levels and the hallways through various security checks. Van has clearly managed to get through to Ty quickly because although some of the guards at the security checks look at Baz with suspicion, none of them question him.
I have calmed down a bit, and there is a small chance that I’m going to be able to handle this in the protocol way.
Maybe.
“You can’t go through there,” a guard says at the last door that leads to Dimitri’s hallway. He’s the only prisoner down here.
“We have clearance,” Doc says gruffly.
The guard shakes his head and pulls his shoulders back, “I still can’t let you through.” His gaze shifts to the side, and I narrow my eyes.
Something is happening back there, and I would bet that I know what it fucking is, as I open my mouth to demand that we’re let back there, Griff gets there first.
He steps forward, his gaze meeting the guards as the guard takes a cautious step backward.
“I suggest that you let us through immediately, because the consequences of getting through that door by force are something that we are all willing to accept,” he threatens.
The guard pauses for only a second, but Doc and Baz step forward as Baz lets out a low rumble of a warning growl that has the hair on the back of my neck standing up on end.
Not with fear, though, and that’s something I should probably see a therapist for.
The guard pales and reaches a shaky hand out, pressing a button and letting us through the door.
As soon as we’re through, I hear Dimitri’s grunt of pain, and any thoughts I had of handling this professionally go out the window.
Anger burns through my veins as I practically fly down the hallway to Dimitri’s cell.
My eyes shift, my claws lengthen, and my teeth snap down in anger at the sight before me. Dimitri is on the floor, bloodied and battered, as a guard stands over him, taunting him and beating him.
Flying across the room, I position myself over the top of Dimitri, guarding him as his eyes widen.
My hand catches the fist coming toward my face as my other hand grips the guard's throat, my claws digging into the sides of his neck.
I grin as panic crosses the guard's expression and the blood begins to drip down his neck.
Baz
“She’s fucking fantastic,” I mutter unintentionally out loud.
Griff smirks, not seeming to be bothered by my words as he replies, “She is.”
We watch as she shifts the guard away from Dimitri, who is no longer lying on the floor but is watching her with such adoration that it’s clear that he would move mountains for her.
There’s an edge to his gaze though, and I know that if the guard lays a single finger on Neith, Dimitri will make sure that his life is forfeit.
He may not be willing to fight for himself, but he sure as hell will fight for her.
That thought cements it in my mind. I like him.
I didn’t tell the others that when they were all having a conversation with Dimitri, when we were still out in the elements on the moor, that I could hear him too.
I know that they didn’t realize that I could hear them, but I’m pretty certain that Dimitri was aware that I was there because I felt his surprise.
I haven’t told them because I’m not entirely sure what to do with the information.
Everything happened so quickly, and while I know that I’m in the right place, and I knew that before the angry raccoon confirmed it, I’m still cautious.
The fact that my mind is behaving in ways that it hasn’t before is concerning me.
My memory is pushing forward, but clearly, there are consequences if I reach for it too hard.
I will tell them, but not right now.
Doc, Griff, and I all head over to Dimitri just in case the guard is stupid enough to try something else, even though he’s now been caught. Desperate people are stupid people.
All of our attention remains on Neith.
When she speaks, her voice is rougher, deeper, and makes things stir within me that really shouldn’t be fucking stirring in this situation.
“If you lay a finger on him again, I will end your worthless life,” she growls. “Understood?”
The guard tries to nod, and Neith’s grip on his neck tightens.
I realize with surprise that she really will kill him.
I watch as she struggles with her instincts and what she knows she probably shouldn’t do, and since I know that the consequences of her killing him would be pretty fucking catastrophic, I move toward her, hoping like hell I’m doing the right fucking thing.
I’m following my instincts right now.
Neith
“Kill him,” the Voices mutter. “Judge his soul.”
The bars of the temporary cage where I have put the magic that destroyed the camp leader's soul in my dream begin to rattle, asking to be let out.
The magic asking to be able to do its job.
I want to let it out, I really fucking want to, but I also know that we’re being watched in here, and I really don’t want that part of me on film for everyone to see, not until I’ve figured it out at least. Not until I understand it.
Fortunately, the Voices agree with me and go back to muttering grumpily.
Apparently, I’m not the only one who is protective of Dimitri.
I still can’t quite bring myself to let go of the guard though.
It’s like I’ve set my instincts on him, and they aren’t going to be satisfied until I punish him properly for what he’s done to Dimitri.
I feel someone approaching me from behind, but I don’t react. I know that it’s one of my men and not a threat that I have to be concerned about.
Hands hesitantly come to rest on my shoulders, and I feel momentarily confused until I hear him speak.
“You can let him go, he has been punished,” Baz mutters quietly.
How he knows that’s what my issue is, I have no fucking idea, but I am grateful that he gets it without me having to try to explain it. I’m not even sure how I would begin to adequately explain this feeling.
“I can’t,” I reply simply, and my hand flexes on the guard's neck.
Baz cautiously steps closer, and I lean back into him gratefully. There’s a hint of surprise in his tone as he replies, “Yes, you can. You have punished him enough physically.” He hesitates, and I feel tension go through his body before he relaxes. “Let me finish his punishment.”
My curiosity is piqued, and I glance over my shoulder at him, “How?”
He smirks, “I’ve got certain abilities that will allow him to feel and truly experience everything he did to Dimitri.”
“Do it,” I grin, and his eyes light with a fire that has nothing to do with violence.
“You have to let go first. It’s been a while since I’ve used it, and I don’t want my magic to transfer over to you because you’re holding onto him,” Baz explains.