Orion
When the four of us arrived back at the castle we headed right down to the basement where the cells were.
I wasn’t sure if Tav wanted to deal with this matter right away or not.
It had been a few weeks since I’d gotten my hands on anyone to interrogate and Okami was pushing to be freed.
Since the battle, and having released all the locks and chains I’d had on him over the years, he has been much harder to box back up.
It might help if you didn’t see him as a second person sharing the same body as you. Much like how we co-exist you need to find a way to bridge the gap between you.
I growled at my wolf, irritated that he would point out something so idiotic.
“Oh really, you think that the two of us can just be one big happy split personality? He likes to kill and enjoys the screams of his victims. I, on the other hand, am the happy-go-lucky one who sometimes sees something useful in my dreams or when I get high.”
I should have known better than to think you would listen to reason when it comes to him.
“I’m over four hundred years old, if we haven’t made nice by now why do you still try?”
Because you need him, the reason you weren’t able to defeat Vadik is because you two are at war. If both of you had worked together, combining your strengths, then that would have been a very different outcome.
“Watch yourself wolf, I can just as easily cut you off too— I’ve done it before.”
I’m shaking in my fur.
Snarling, I headed down the steps, ignoring the looks I was getting from the others.
I knew my wolf wasn’t wrong. Tav was living proof that you could find peace with your darkness.
Of course he might not see it that way, but I did, and I would love to understand how it happened.
Back in the lab, Tav tried to tell Rik off by exposing the ever present darkness that was now in his gaze.
This had Okami shoving me aside to welcome home an old friend who he’d missed, making me let out that silly whimper.
That’s how it’s always been. Okami was the twin brother I never wanted, and instead of fighting over toys, we fought over my body.
Growing up I’d only had my mother to help guide me, having been the one who I inherited the sight from.
My father had found her amid a battle and raped her, telling her that a great honor had been bestowed upon her bearing his child.
Thankfully, my mother did have the sight and saw my purpose in the world and kept me, raised me, and loved me to her dying breath.
When I lost her two hundred years ago, I left Japan and started to explore the world, drifting from country to country, always searching for the woman who I’d seen in my dreams. Viv was the only thing that kept me searching, and through that I made many connections with packs around the world even in America.
Once we found the connection to the US, I reached out to my friends telling them I wanted to visit and was curious about the state of things over there.
I didn’t get a response yet, but we had lots to deal with here before we got on a plane to head anywhere.
“Any advice on how to wake her up?” Tav asked me once Rik placed the woman in the cell that I had all of my persuasion supplies in.
“That depends...do you want her to wake up normal or wake up screaming?” I mused, tapping my chin.
We all looked at her for a moment.
“Let’s try normal, not sure how long she will last if we start off with too rough,” Tav answered.
I nodded my agreement, turning to head down the hall where the fire hose was. “Smart choice, but it might take a little longer depending on how bad her head injury is.”
Dragging the thick woven hose back to the cell, I pulled back the handle and released the torrent of water shooting it right in her face.
It took a few moments, but her body started to jerk with the lack of oxygen.
I moved the flow of water off her and down her body.
Spluttering and coughing, she came round looking like the drowned rat she was.
“Well, hello there sunshine, it’s so nice of you to join us,” I greeted in a bright and cheerful voice, shutting off the water. “Now, I do have to warn you that a few of my mate brothers are not very happy with you at the moment, so when they ask you a question, I suggest you answer it.”
Sofia glared at us until she realized that her hands and feet were bound, then she started swearing and cursing us as she flailed around on the floor.
Pulling the lever back on the hose again, I kept it on her until she started to calm down.
Cutting off the water once more, I paused to see what she was going to do before I spoke again.
“So sorry about that, it just seemed like you needed to rinse that shit out of your mouth,” I offered with a smile.
Koit leaned back to look at me from behind Rik’s back with a cocked eyebrow, to which I answered with a shrug of my shoulders. We needed information out of her, but I hated it when my victims lost sight of what was going on and who was in charge.
“You have no idea what you’ve just done,” she snarled, baring her teeth at us.
The image reminded me of one of those prissy dogs that were all fluff and then looked like a freak show when they got wet. Sofia looked more deranged than intimidating in any way shape or form.
“Maybe you can tell us so we might understand better?” Tav suggested as he squatted in front of the woman.
Thankfully, he’d found some sweatpants to put on, so he didn’t distract the woman with his full naked body. I didn’t swing that way— tried it but just wasn’t for me. Didn’t matter, anyway you cut it that man had the body of a god...I should know.
Sofia huffed at Tav trying to toss her sopping wet hair out of her face. “Well, what do you know— the mate who ran away.”
Tav snarled at her and made to lunge, but Rik grabbed his shoulder giving it a firm squeeze, just as I shot her with another wave of water.
It knocked her flat to the floor and I grinned, pleased that she was so affected by my weapon of choice.
Glancing over, I saw Tav flinch under Rik’s hold then look up at him, after some wordless exchange Rik removed his hand.
“I do believe I said to answer them, didn’t I?” I quipped, heaving a dramatic sigh. “Truly, I would rather not have you killed before giving them the chance to see that you’re more valuable to us alive.”
Something flashed in her gaze, telling me that she took the bait I tossed her way, some people were just so easy to manipulate. This woman was desperate to show that she was worth something to someone and I planned on letting her give it her best shot.
“Fine, if I answer your questions you have to help me out in return,” She bartered. “Vadik has to think I took this castle and that you’re all dead, otherwise he’s going to kill me, or send another attack party to rescue me. What does that tell you about how important I am, hmm?”
Tav’s hand snapped out, grabbing her jaw forcing her to look at him. “That will depend on what you are able to tell us, if what you share is valuable to us then we will see if we can help you.”
To me it was clear that she was off her rocker, but if Vadik sent her here, that proved he still found use for her. Then there was the matter of her Koit obsession. Turning to him I gave him a nod in her direction so that we could jump on the crazy train express and get this over with.
“Sofia, I know you said that you don’t know where she is, but do you have a clue where Vadik might be hiding out?” Koit asked, making a dramatic show in not using Viv’s name.
She pulled herself up into a sitting position once more and taking the time to wiggle back against the wall, making us wait for her answer. That was not the first question I would have asked her, but we all knew it would be faster if she could just tell us.
“I know he isn’t in Europe or this side of the world, so you can kiss that bitch goodbye, there’s no way you’ll find her if he’s gone underground,” Sofia sniffed.
I’m shocked at the fact that within seconds she’d just told us something actually helpful, even if I wanted to cut out her tongue for talking about Viv like that.
Koit edged closer and crouched down to be more eye level. “We both know that Vadik trusted you enough to leave you behind. He must have left a group of men you’re in charge of here on the island. How many did he leave with you to manage?”
Unable to hide my grin I was now seeing why they said he was the best tracker in the Collective. He caught wind of something she said, or he saw before, and was hunting down the answers.
“Of course I was left with soldiers, I’m the brains of this operation, but I can’t do it all myself.
It was my idea to take the men and blend them in with the normal townsfolk when we get sent here.
Then I requested more once the battle was over and there were seven of you bastards to deal with.
Vadik didn’t leave as many as I would have liked, but we have enough and that’s all you’re getting out of me about that,” she snapped, having realized a little too late that this was not in her best interest to share.
“I’m not going to say anything anymore if you don’t guarantee that you’ll help me. ”
“What if we promise to protect you from Vadik?” Rik asked.
Sofia just started laughing to the point where she was actually shedding tears. “You can’t even keep your mate safe in her own castle, why the fuck would I be stupid enough to trust you could do that for me someone who betrayed you and tried to kidnap your brother?”