Chapter 37
Cody followed the young man back to the kitchen where he filled the cart again, this time with raw steaks.
Curious about who the recipients would be, he tailed him down another hallway to a steel door.
He watched as he loaded up two buckets sitting next to the door with the raw steak.
When he finally unlocked the door, Cody instantly knew who the prisoners were.
The young man switched on a light, revealing a stone staircase.
Then, picking up the meat filled buckets, he descended the steps with Cody close behind him.
At the bottom, the young man flipped another switch, illuminating all the wolves that were chained to the walls, preventing them from shifting.
It wasn’t hard to find Slate; he was the biggest fucking wolf there.
Cody made his way over to him and whispered in his ear.
After getting a response, Cody moved away and headed up the stairs.
He’d be useless if he were locked in with the wolves.
Once he was in the hall, he told Dylon all he’d discovered.
Can you get the keys away from the guy?
I don’t know. I’ll follow him and see what he does after this. Maybe there are more prisoners in different dungeons.
Be careful babe!
Will do, oops, here he comes now. Gotta go.
Cody expected the young man to head back to the kitchen but instead, he parked the cart in an alcove and walked further down the hallway until he reached another door.
Unlocking it, he switched on the light and went down those stairs.
Cody was perplexed as the young man had nothing with him other than the keys in his hand.
Following him, Cody stopped half way to the bottom.
What was he up to? What is he doing here?
The last thing he wanted was to be trapped behind a locked door.
The young man looked around at nothing in particular and then spoke. “I don’t know what or who you are but if you mean me no harm, please flip the lights off and on.”
Cody thought about it and seeing no harm to himself, he moved to the top step, and flicking the switch, waited.
The young man smiled. “My name is Kieran. Are you here to rescue me?”
Cody flipped the switch again.
Kieran nodded as if he knew this, “Okay, but I have some demands that must be met before I go with you. First, everyone must be saved so whatever plans you have, you must change them so everyone you saw today leaves with me including the pups. This place leads to the outside, far from this house. But some of my friends are weak and cannot move quickly. I tried to keep their strength up by sneaking extra food to them but I wasn’t always successful.
If you don’t want to do this, then please leave me here.
I won’t leave my friends here to suffer. Do you agree to my demands?”
Cody smiled at this audacious young man—a prisoner making demands of his rescuer. Here was a shifter worthy of saving. He flipped the switch again indicating his acceptance of Kieran’s demands.
Sighing in relief, Kieran said, “We must hurry. As soon as Arald has what he wants, his men will kill everyone. He knew you were coming and you were supposed to be killed as you landed. I don’t know why he didn’t do it, but I know you’re in terrible danger.
The keys to unlock the wolves and my friends in the other dungeon are hanging on a hook at the bottom of each of the stairs.
I’ll get the pups ready and will be with them waiting for you and your friends.
Now hurry, we don’t have much time.” Kieran jogged up the steps and through the doorway, just missing Cody.
“I’ll leave my key ring on the cart in case you need it but I left all the doors open except for the cells downstairs. Now hurry,” he said as he rushed away.
Cody explained everything to Dylon and they agreed on a plan.
Grabbing the keys on his way to the steel door, he was relieved to see they were invisible.
Opening and shutting the door quickly, Cody ran down the steps and grabbed the keys at the bottom of the steps.
Moving over to Slate, Cody whispered that he was back to free him.
After finding the right key, Cody unlocked Slate’s neck shackle.
Pulling it off, he freed the wolf who immediately shifted.
“Give them to me,” Slate ordered, holding out his hand, and the keys suddenly dropped into it.
Then he said to his enforcers, “As soon as you’re free, shift and head upstairs.
Wait for me in the hallway.” Slate moved quietly and methodically through the wolves, unshackling one after another.
The sounds of shifting filled the air. Soon there was a steady stream of naked men jogging up the stairs until the dungeon was empty.
Cody followed Slate up the stairs, but before stepping through the doorway, said quietly, “I am visible.” Then he walked through the doorway and met Slate who was grinning.
“Am I ever glad to see you…in more ways than one,” Slate said. “What’s your plan?” Then he cocked his head as he heard faint battle sounds coming from the other end of the fortress.
“Ahh, that will be my mate,” Cody said. “There are more shifters we need to free and 12 pups, so follow me,” he directed, before turning and rushing down the hall.
“You heard the man,” Slate barked, “let’s go.”
Cody led the way to the nursery where he met up with Kieran who had half the pups dressed in warm clothes. “Slate, leave some of your men here to help Kieran while we get the rest of the prisoners.”
Assigning several of his men to that duty, the rest followed him and Cody down to the other dungeon.
Grabbing the keys from the hook, Cody quickly explained the situation.
Working in teams of three, the doors were quickly unbolted, with Slate unlocking the shackles as two men helped each prisoner out of the cell.
By the time they were finished, Dylon showed up with his enforcers and together, they helped all the freed prisoners up the steep steps until everyone was on the first floor.
Dylon explained that Arald’s enforcers, who’d been guarding his men in the living room, had been overcome and were dead.
Then he barricaded the door from the inside to buy all of them more time to get away.
After learning where the escape route was, he and Slate agreed they would split up.
Dylon would take his men to get Kieran and the pups while Slate and his men would get the freed prisoners down the stairs to the escape tunnel.
“Come on,” Cody said, “let’s get the pups.” Sprinting down the hallway to the nursery, he slid to a stop in front of the door. A vision had resurfaced and he realized that danger lurked in the room. Mind linking to his mate, he quickly explained the situation before becoming invisible again.
Dylon opened the door to the nursery and stood in the doorway. Arald was holding a gun to Kieran’s head. Slate’s men who’d been helping with the pups were tied up and the pups were howling. What a fucking mess!
“Come in, Dylon,” ordered Arald, “And close the door behind you.”
“Why should I do that?” asked Dylon, buying time for Cody to slip around him and get in the room.
“Surprised to see me?” Dylon didn’t respond but that didn’t stop Arald. “I snuck back in while my enforcers were picking a fight with your men. Now, I want my money since you seem hellbent on taking all my merchandise…even my slave here. Now that I think about it, make it double the amount.”
“My client needs time to arrange for that large a sum.”
“Really? The High Council doesn’t have that kind of money? Well, what do you think your father will pay for his only son?”
“My father?”
“Yes, you know him…Franklin Royd. Or have you forgotten him already? Where’s your mate? Did you leave him home, you fucking queer? Oh yes, I heard about you and your fucking mate.”
“No, my mate is with me.”
Arald’s eyes grew greedy. “Which one is he? Tell me or I will kill this one,” Arald said, shaking Kieran and causing a whimper from the young man.
“Cody is right behind you.”
Glancing quickly over his shoulder, Arald saw nothing. Snarling, he looked back at Dylon, “You fucking ass…” Arald’s voice trailed off as he lost consciousness and slumped to the ground.
“Well done, ma moitié, well done.” Dylon quickly untied Slate’s men and then bound Arald.
Striding to the door, he opened it. Once his men who were waiting outside were inside, he said, “You two, take this piece of shit while the rest of you take a pup and their blankets.” Then turning to Kieran, Dylon said, “Hi Kieran, the name’s Dylon.
I need some food and water I can leave with this asshole until Slate can get back here and take control. ”
“I can do that. Where are you putting him?”
“In the same luxurious quarters that he locked your friends in.”
Grinning, Kieran said, “I’ll be right back.”
“Okay, everyone out,” Dylon said, but his mind link told his mate to stay. After the room was cleared, Dylon said, “Babe, show yourself.”
“Did you want to see me naked?” Cody asked as he appeared, smirking.
Growling, Dylon grabbed his mate’s face and kissed him long and hard, just so freaking happy to see Cody safe. Pulling away, he bit his mate’s lower lip gently before letting go. “Naked, yes, but not here.”
“How did he know who your father was?” Cody asked.
“Probably tapping Slate’s phone calls with Steel or Maximus. I’m sure it came up. What the fuck did you hit him with?”
Cody held up a club. “He must have brought this with him but after he got everyone tied up, he put it down on the floor.”
“Good job. Time to get out of here.” Dylon grasped Cody’s hand and ushered him out of the room just as Kieran was coming back with food and a jug of water. “Thanks, I’ll take that. While I lock up Arald, show the rest of these men where Slate and the others are. We’ll be along shortly.”
“Okay, don’t be too long. I’m not sure what’ll happen since Arald’s army has lost their leader,” said Kieran.
“Understood. We’ll be right behind you,” Dylon said. Then speaking to the two men holding up Arald, “Follow me.”
Cody and Dylon led the way to the dungeon where Arald was shackled in a cell.
Leaving the food within reach, they shut the door and bolted it, taking the keys with them.
Once upstairs, they ran to meet up with Slate, Kieran, the pups, and the freed prisoners in the tunnel leading outside.
By the time they got there, Slate had had already organized the men, pairing each weak shifter with two enforcers to help them get through the tunnel.
“They’ll go first,” Slate said, “followed by the pups—with you, me, Cody and the remaining enforcers bringing up the rear. My men told me what happened to Arald and I assume he’s securely locked up.
Kieran gave us the clothes we left behind when my men and I shifted; I guess Arald didn’t want anyone finding them. ”
“Let’s get everyone moving,” Dylon said. “This is going to take a while.”
Slate gave the signal and the march to freedom began.
Walking beside Cody and Dylon, he said in a low voice, “That’s an amazing gift you got from the Fates, Cody.
Steel told me you would be helpful, but wouldn’t tell me how.
By the way, I don’t want you to worry about my enforcers disclosing your gift to anyone.
Steel is arranging to have Mystia perform a mind wipe on them concerning what they saw you do here. ”
“I appreciate that. It certainly came in useful here,” Cody said, “I knew about the prisoners and the pups, but I was expecting you to greet us when we landed and not the asshole. How did they capture you…in your wolf form, no less?”
Slate snorted. “I wasn’t getting anywhere with negotiating an agreement between the packs, so I gave them the next day off.
To clear my head, I decided to go for a run with my enforcers.
We came upon a trap, so I ordered the men to back up and once we were in the clear, we ran…
right into the real trap. By the time we realized what it was, Arald’s men were shooting us with tranquilizer darts and the next thing we knew, we were waking up where you found us. ”
“Yeah, Zane was the one who discovered Arald and his men were behind all the attacks plaguing the other two packs so we knew you were in danger. Arald had an auction scheduled in a couple of days and he certainly didn’t want you around to see that,” said Cody.
“It seems I owe my life to Zane,” Slate said, “I really have to meet him. Steel has been singing his praises for some time.”
“He’s fuckin’ amazing,” said Dylon, “I don’t think even the High Council had all the information on Arald he dug up.”
“What are you going to do about Arald?” Cody asked.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” said Slate.
“Once I get everyone to safety, I’m heading back with a fucking army to take over Arald’s pack.
I bet Ulfric and Ordovic will want to talk then about what was really going on.
If it’s what I suspect, I’ll gather the evidence and deliver Arald and the proof of his crimes to the High Council so he can stand trial for them.
Maybe some of his victims will get a little justice. ”
Dylon asked, “What about his army?”
“They’ll be held until I hear from the other Alphas and their pack members. If there’s evidence, the accused shifter will stand trial. Those that are innocent will be released with a standing injunction about returning to this area.”
“Won’t this take a lot of time?” asked Cody.
“Yes, but I won’t be here for most of it. Once I have proof of Arald’s crimes, he’ll be tried by the High Council, and Dire Enterprises’ legal division will handle the rest of the cases.”
“Good, because I think your nephew wants to see you along with Jackson, your parents and my brother Carson,” Cody said.
“And what about Colton and Ian? Have they forgotten me so soon?” Slate asked teasingly.
Shoving Slate, Cody said, “Of course not. Hey, did you know Ian is pregnant?”
“What the fuck? Ian pregnant? No, my brother forgot to mention that to me,” said Slate.
“Yeah, but don’t blame him. There was a lot going on and they had just announced it,” Cody said.
“Nope, I get to give my brother hell over it. That’s my right.”
Laughter echoed around them and Slate joined in.