Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
LAUREL
It had taken a while to compose myself, but now I held my head high as I walked confidently into the corridor beneath Ringside.
It was absolutely freezing down here, and I’d stopped upstairs for scent dampener but forgot my hoodie.
My feet were sore from the uncomfortable shoes, but the alternative was walking barefoot on the concrete floors and likely getting frostbite.
My heart was beating wildly in my chest, as I expected to run into someone at any moment and be questioned about why I was here. But it was late, and all the patrons who used these tunnels had left for the night. I only saw one other person, who didn’t even spare me a glance as we passed.
I forced myself to remain calm, my steps steady. I came to the securement wing and pulled open one of the heavy metal doors. When the doors opened, my stomach turned with nausea as the sounds hit me.
The feral alphas were stripped of all humanity, responding to nothing but their instincts.
They ate, slept, fucked, and fought. I could make out snarls and growls, scuffling and sniffing.
One time, my father had stuck me in one of the cells down here as punishment, right in the middle of all the ferals.
A lot of them had been driven right into a rut.
Sometimes, in my nightmares, I was still in that cage, eyes squeezed shut and ears covered as I tried to pretend I couldn’t hear them trying to get at me.
I steadied myself and looked at the security booth.
Lars had gone home for the night, so it was one of his guards on duty, sitting behind the glass at the guard station.
I studied the exhausted-looking beta, his body looking comically large hunched over the counter.
His security uniform stretched tight over his round belly as he looked up at me with big, brown eyes.
He had a round, button-like nose, which scrunched as he took me in.
I watched as he scrubbed at his chin, looking nervous.
He was cute, in a giant teddy bear kind of way.
Soft, perhaps. Lars was likely eating him alive.
“Good evening,” I said, walking up to the booth. He jumped up, big eyes widening in alarm.
“M-Miss Fairchild,” he stammered, taking off his hat to expose his shaved head, “I didn’t know you’d be coming by.”
My heart warmed a bit. People usually just called me duchess. I offered him a smile.
“What can I help you with?” he asked, his eyes still wide. I wondered if that was just his default setting.
“Well.” I peered at his name tag. “Casey. I wanted to check on an alpha that just came down here. See how he’s settling in.”
“Oh,” he said, fiddling with the keys on his belt. “I’m not really supposed to let anyone in after hours.”
My heart sank, but I tried again, looking up at him pleadingly. “Please? I just want to see him for a moment.”
He scrunched his thick lips together and then sighed. “Okay, I guess I can let you in. Just for a moment, though,” he said, and I smiled up at him again.
He came out of the booth and headed to the security door that led to the pens, turning the key and opening the first heavy door.
“Miss? Are you okay?” asked Casey.
I steadied myself as I stood there, taking a deep breath. “Yes, just needed a moment. A lot of memories in this place.”
That made Casey frown again, his smooth forehead crinkling with concern.
I stepped forward quietly, and he closed the first door and turned to start cranking open the portcullis. We could see more of the cages now. They were dirty, with cold concrete floors and walls covered with blood and sweat and cum.
I searched the rows until I found him, sitting against the wall. His hands were bound, and a blindfold was covering his eyes. He was still in the same clothes he was wearing when they took him.
“Casey?” I asked as we entered the pens. “Would you give me a few minutes? Please?”
“It’s not safe,” Casey said nervously.
“I’ve been here before. I know the rules. Please, just for a little bit?”
Casey frowned but nodded, stepping back through the portcullis to wait.
I walked until I was opposite Ocean’s cell, wrapping my arms around myself as I sank against the wall to the ground. His scent hit me, and it overwhelmed the armour I usually wore.
I started to cry, my body shaking with the powerful sobs that spilled out.
What had I done?
If I hadn’t got distracted, if I hadn’t angered Madison, he wouldn’t have grabbed me. And Ocean wouldn’t have stepped in.
I could still picture it in my mind.
His shimmering blue eyes holding mine, and his black curls brushing my face. With his arms caged around me, I felt safe for the first time since Jule was taken.
But the strangeness of the feeling had alarms going off in my brain and brought me back to the present. To where this precious alpha had just pushed Madison off me.
My mind went blank with terror, and I couldn’t breathe as he was thrown to the floor. As they beat him. As my father came over.
I was thrown back into memories of another time with another scent match, another stranger my father had talked to. Threatened.
It was playing out all over again, my father offering generous grace, so uncharacteristic.
I watched, my limbs heavy as my father turned to security, ordering him out.
Watched as his hand flicked with the same signal he’d used all those years ago.
Kill him.
I lurched forward, opening my mouth and pressing my hand to my father’s arm. Because this time, it didn’t have to end the same, right? This time, I could… I could say…
The words poured out of me, cool and harsh. So different from the frantic fear that was pulsing through me.
Keep him. See him fight. It was the only way.
Had I saved him?
Or had I just set him up for a long, drawn-out death?
I was so powerless. I was trying so hard to think of a way I could get him out of here, but I couldn't do it.
Not alone.
My alpha was going to die, and I was going to have to sit in that fucking booth and watch every fight. Would have to laugh and smile as I wondered if each night would be his last.
A voice broke through the sounds of feral alphas and startled me.
“Don’t cry,” Ocean said, his voice gentle. “We’ll be all right.”
He had turned and scooted to the edge of his cage.
Did he know who I was?
Not likely. He was blind, and I was wearing scent blockers.
He was merely trying to comfort someone he’d heard in distress.
“No, we won’t,” I replied, my voice thick with tears. “We’re both trapped here, and they’ll drive you feral and they’ll use me up until there’s nothing left.”
“Don’t give up, sweetheart,” he said. “My pack’s out there. They’ll come for me. We’ve just got to hang in there until they figure out how.”
I started trembling.
I hadn’t considered he had a pack, but of course he did. They’d want him back, which was a problem. For them. My father was probably his boss’s boss’s boss, which meant if his pack was stupid enough to try anything, they’d end up dead or in here as well.
How many people had I doomed tonight?