Chapter 9
CHAPTER 9
C hristophe
“Your blood pressure is normal,” the doctor says as removes the blood pressure cuff from my arm. “And your broken leg healed up nicely.”
I cut him a sideways glance at the cheer in his voice.
What in Mother Moon is there to be so damn cheerful about? I move my formerly broken leg, almost hoping the pain would come back.
No. I don’t almost hope. I do wish for the pain to come back. I deserve it.
Damn shifter genes and fast healing.
“Looks like that means you’ll be going home soon, then,” the doctor says. He’s younger than the other doctor that was here two days ago.
“Home,” I huff out, then yank my arm that’s still handcuffed to the bed. “Where exactly is that?”
The doctor blinks. His face falls, and for a beat guilt pinches my belly, but I look away from him. No, this doctor probably doesn’t know my circumstances, but I don’t give a damn right now.
Besides, it’s not like I care where I end up. I know I don’t deserve to be free. I’ll probably be sent to some sort of prison or confinement. The true shifter jail I should’ve been in, in the first place, apparently.
None of that matters.
I’ve accepted my fate for what I’ve done.
What I can’t accept is leaving this hospital with Ashley thinking she’s done something wrong.
Both of my hands clutch into fists at the thought of her. More so, at the thought of how I responded at seeing her face.
Those bastards.
Somehow, they knew about our bond. They knew she and I were communicating in that cell, and they used it against me.
“Dr. Mikeven.”
Chael’s voice catches my attention. I turn to the door to face him. My heart races and my wolf pants, both in anticipation. We still want to see her.
My hopes are dashed when only Chance enters behind Chael. Ashley’s nowhere in sight.
That’s probably a good thing.
I snort in derision at my subconscious reminding me that it’s the sight of her that brings me undeniable, unalterable pain.
“We need to speak with our br— Christophe alone.”
My heart clutches as if someone just squeezed it in their fist. No, I no longer deserve the title of brother to either one of these men.
“Christophe,” Chael says, stepping forward once the doctor has left the room.
Unable to ignore the alpha command in his voice, I peer up at him, but don’t look him in the eye.
“You will be transferred to a temporary shifter prison, about five kilometers from the National Shifter Alliance’s mansion.”
My stomach muscles tighten.
The scene of the crime.
The place where I helped to almost end my brother and our entire pack.
“Once we find out who is responsible for the other … prison,” he says through gritted teeth, “where you, Ashley, and the others were held, we’ll relocate you to your permanent prison.”
I swallow the lump in my throat and nod.
“Ashley?” I question. “Is she okay?”
“She’s fine.” Chael’s voice is cold, almost robotic.
“She must be terrified,” I say to no one in particular. Then I look back at Chael and Chance.
“You said the people responsible for hurting her are still out there.” It’s not a question, this time. My memory over the past few days is jumbled, but they’ve stated more than once that some—the main perpetrators of that prison—got away.
“Most of the guards were killed, but there’s a few who got away and some others who weren’t there that night. But there’s more.” Chance surprises me when he speaks up.
Chael glares at him over his shoulder. They have a stare-off.
They’re likely using their brother-bond to silently communicate. Since I was only the adopted brother, I never shared that ability with them.
‘There are two doctors, we think. Dr?—”
“X,” I finish for him. My hands tighten into fists. X was the main one, running the prison. He gave out the orders, even when there was another lab coat in the room. But I never saw any of their faces.
“He’s still out there, then,” I say, drawing their attention back to me. “Him and the other bastards who did this to her … who hurt her. They’re still roaming free?”
There’s a collective silence.
Chael hardens his face, making his expression unreadable. Chance looks on with curiosity.
“I suppose you’re using your tracking skills to hunt for them?” I ask Chance.
He nods but doesn’t say anything. He’s a fine tracker, one of the best among us wolf shifters.
“That won’t be enough,” I blurt out, without thinking. “Whoever they are, they’ve done this for years without being caught. They have connections that run deep. You won’t be able to find them just using your tracker instincts.”
“What are you suggesting?” Chael asks with narrowed eyes.
“I’m not suggesting anything. I’m telling you that you need someone who can use technology to assist you in this hunt.”
They look at one another and then pin me with their gazes.
This time I don’t look away. With each second that ticks by, I become more certain. The sons of bitches who hurt Ashley are still out there.
They’re still roaming free and may even try to come back for her. There’s no way in Mother Moon’s world I can allow that to happen.
“She’s not safe until they’re caught,” I tell them.
“No.” Chael immediately starts shaking his head.
“You already said you needed my help,” I remind him of what he said on that first day I woke up in this hospital.
“That was before we learned how unstable you are,” he counters.
I ignore the bite of pain in my chest his words cause. Yes, my condition may make me unstable, but it doesn’t make me any less determined to put an end to those bastards.
“Let me assist you in finding those dogs .” I spit out the last word, and unintentionally bare my teeth.
Chael eyes me over, his jaw tightening. “Why? You’re still going to prison either way.”
His words don’t cause any reaction from me because it’s a fate I’ve accepted. My punishment for betraying my pack.
“Because they hurt her,” I tell him with all honesty. “I don’t care what they did to me. But they made her suffer and cry and they need to pay for that.”
Seconds tick by as they both stare at me.
It takes me more time to realize that the growling sound I hear in the room is coming from me. My wolf.
The memory of Ashley’s crying, the terror in her voice, her screams … all of it wells up in my chest and make me want to put my fist through a wall.
Never have I ever experienced such deep, roiling anger. Not even when I watched my birth father slap my mother until her face was swollen and she could barely open her mouth to speak.
Not even when he did the same to me.
Especially not when my pack mates ? —
I shake those thoughts out of my head. Feeling sorry for myself will not get me anywhere. My fate is my own.
But my fate isn’t Ashley’s. She deserves her freedom and she’ll never be completely free if those bastards—whoever they are—are still out there.
“She’s still in danger,” I tell Chael and Chance through gritted teeth.
Chael’s jaw tightens at the same time he blinks. When his eyes open, they’re completely barren of any emotion. Chance continues to stare at me as if I’m a curiosity.
Neither one says anything. A beat later, however, Chael nods and then turns his back on me, starting for the door. Chance lingers for another minute or so before following his alpha out.
Clamping down on my tongue until the point of pain, I fight back the urge to call out to them, to make them understand reason. I can help them find those sons of bitches. Not for me.
For her.
Only for her.