Chapter 45 Nico
NICO
My last visit to the auto shop had been cut short by the kidnapping attempt on Maddy, but I knew I couldn’t keep neglecting the shop.
I got Felipe to come and watch over Maddy while I headed out to finish what chores I had left there.
The team was good and, thankfully, didn’t ask too many questions about my abrupt departure the other day.
After a few hours there, I decided to head back home.
There was too much uncertainty. As much as I enjoyed working at the shop, I had other responsibilities.
I walked out to the parking garage, swiping through my phone to see if I had any messages.
I did have a few texts, mostly from Maddy, some from the guys, but nothing crazy or important.
I put my phone away and walked slower. Something didn’t feel right.
I glanced around with every step I took.
Sniffing the air, I noticed an unfamiliar scent.
The hair on my arms rose, making me nervous.
I even thought about calling for backup, but the smell was faint.
Whoever had been here had left hours ago.
I had the sense that I was safe for now.
I walked around my car, even looking underneath it.
When I was about to unlock it, I saw something that made no logical sense.
There was a jeweled case with either a CD or DVD in it lying on my driver’s seat.
I glanced around one more time and tried my door handle.
It was still locked. What the fuck? Memories of old gangster movies with car bombs filled my head, but that wasn’t what was happening here.
The royals wanted Maddy to give herself up.
Killing her mate was a one-way ticket to making sure that didn’t happen.
Though they had been brazen enough to try to take her, I didn’t think they were desperate enough to do something so rash.
I unlocked my door and got into the truck, picking up the case as I did. Flipping it over, I found a piece of paper taped to the back.
A friendly reminder that the full moon is approaching. In case you forgot how serious we are.
I gritted my teeth and started the car, then sped home. Maddy was downstairs in the living room when I came in. I tucked the jewel case into the waistband of my jeans. I needed to watch it before I showed it to her. That way, I could help prepare her for whatever blow awaited.
Felipe nodded. “Hey, man, are you good if I go now that you’re back? I need to run some errands.”
“Yeah. Fine.” I grunted the words as I headed toward the stairs, desperate to get to my office and my laptop.
“You good, Nico?” Felipe asked.
“Yeah. All good.”
“Are you gonna even say hi?” Maddy called from the kitchen. I winced, realizing I’d totally ignored her.
I turned around and plastered a fake smile on my lips. I prayed it looked more genuine than it felt. “Sorry. I need to order some parts for the shop. It’s something I should have done a week ago, so I want to get it out of the way.”
I gave Maddy a quick kiss. Felipe called a goodbye, and we both heard the front door close. Maddy stared into my eyes, and I realized I was totally fucked.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Huh? Nothing.”
“You’re lying, Nico. I can tell. I can hear your damned heart beating a mile a minute. Something happened. What was it?”
My shoulders slumped as I came to grips with the fact that whatever was on that disc would be out in the open soon.
I wouldn't get the chance to watch or listen to it first. I just hoped whatever was on the disc wouldn’t devastate her.
Slowly pulling the case out of my waistband, I held it up between us.
Maddy’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell is that?”
“The royals left it. They somehow managed to break into my truck. It was on the driver’s seat with a note. I have no idea what it is. I wanted to check it first before I showed it to you. If it was… something bad, I wanted to be able to prepare you for it.”
“Well, it’s here now. Let’s see what those assholes sent,” Maddy murmured. She looked less confident than she sounded.
I got my laptop from my office and set it up on the kitchen island, sliding the disc into the drive. It only took a few seconds for the media player to pop up. It was a video file. A knot twisted into my guts, like snakes fighting each other. Video would be worse. There was no way it wouldn’t be.
“Push play,” Maddy whispered.
I hit the button, and within seconds, it felt like the floor had dropped out from under us.
Maddy’s mother was on the screen. She was still tied to a chair, her hair matted and greasy.
Sweat and dirt coated her skin, but otherwise, she looked healthy and unharmed.
She was staring to the left of the camera and nodding.
Someone must have been giving her instructions.
Finally, Maddy’s mom looked at the camera.
“Maddy, baby. We… need you to do what the… the royals say. It won’t be that bad.
They’ve… uh… they gave me, and your father guarantees that nothing will happen.
” Maddy’s mom glanced to the left again, possibly listening to more coaching, then she focused on the camera again.
“They only need some blood. They—” Maddy’s mother gritted her teeth and snarled at the camera.
“Don’t do it, Maddy! Do not do it. Your father and I will die for you.
It’s our job. We’re your parents. I forbid you from trying to save us or doing—”
Her screams were cut off. She began to convulse in the seat.
Her eyes rolled up into her head as she jerked and jolted in her restraints.
It was then that I saw the collar around her neck.
There was a buzzing, clicking sound on the video.
They had her in a goddamned shock collar.
The bones of my fingers cracked as I clenched my fists.
Foam oozed out of her mother’s mouth, and she slumped, passed out, and exhausted, her chest heaving.
From the edge of the camera, a familiar form appeared.
Viola was dressed in another designer suit.
This time her hair was slicked back away from her face.
She stood directly in front of Maddy’s mother.
“Bitch,” Maddy hissed, vibrating with rage. I’d never seen her look so angry.
Viola turned to the camera. “Well, this was unfortunate. We only typically use shock therapy on the ones who don’t fall in line. As evidenced by this”—she curled her lip in disgust—“display, your mother has been a tough one to break.”
Maddy snarled at the screen, and I put a hand on her lower back to steady her. The fact that Viola could torture someone like this and act like it was no different than swatting a fly made it clear she wasn’t sane. “I’m going to kill her,” Maddy hissed.
I believed her. A chill ran down my spine.
“Maddy,” Viola said. “You can end all this. Your parents and your little friend can all be set free. All you need do is join us at the disclosed location in a few weeks. Very simple really. I hope to see you soon. Your family hopes I do as well.”
The video clicked off. There was a moment of complete silence, then Maddy went berserk.
I stumbled back as she started swinging her arms around the room.
She pulled books off the bookshelves. She slammed her hands into the wall, punching holes in the drywall.
Her hands flashed between claws and fingers so fast that it was almost like watching a strobe light.
“Maddy, calm down!”
She rounded on me. Her eyes were filled with a fury I couldn’t begin to understand.
Her eyes were blood red, then they were back to normal, then red again.
Her lips were peeled back in a snarling growl, and I watched as she and her wolf were both fighting for dominance, fighting to see who was the angriest.
I held my hands up, patting the air in a calming gesture. “It’s okay. I’m here. Maddy, take a breath. Remember what I told you at the stream? Focus.”
Maddy’s body twitched as though she wanted to lash out more, but she ended up taking a single steadying breath, then visibly relaxed. I sighed and realized I’d been scared. Hell, I was still scared. I’d never seen anything like it.
Maddy opened her eyes, and though they were calmer, they didn’t have the look I’d expected. She wasn’t crying. She didn’t even look sad. There was only a deep and vicious fire in her eyes. That scared me almost as much as her destructive outburst.
“I know what you’re thinking, and you need to get that out of your head,” I said. “I’m not letting you sacrifice yourself.”
Maddy gave a single shake of her head. “You don’t know what I’m thinking.”
I frowned. What was wrong with her voice? It didn’t sound like her at all. It was deeper. Throatier. What the fuck was happening?
Maddy clenched her hands into fists and shook them in front of her.
“I don’t want to sacrifice myself. I don’t want to die.
I want the royals to die. I want to force them to sacrifice themselves.
” Her words grew in volume. The more she spoke, the more alien her voice sounded.
“I want Viola’s sightless, unblinking eyes to stare up at me from where I have her head on a platter.
All these years of lies and deceit, so much time spent scheming.
I know what they are. Years and years, I’ve dealt with them.
I want them to scream for mercy. They’ve done this for so long, they don’t even see how evil they are.
I want to gut them and see their faces as they watch their insides slide from their bodies—”
I ran forward and clutched the sides of her face, putting my eyes right in front of hers. “Maddy! Snap out of it.”
As though a switch had been flipped, she blinked, and then she was Maddy again. Only her. She took a deep gasping breath and put a hand to her chest. “That wasn’t me, Nico. That was my wolf speaking through me.”
I blinked at her. “What? That…” I frowned. “That isn’t possible. She can influence what you say. Give you impressions and emotions, but they can’t talk through you.”
Maddy shook her head, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. “None of those words were mine. I didn’t say any of that.”
“But you were talking about knowing the royals. Having memories of them. That can’t be your wolf. How would your wolf have any memory of them? It was only born when we mated.”
“I don’t know, Nico.” Maddy dragged her hands through her hair. “That’s what I’ve been telling you. I don’t think this is the typical way a shifter’s wolf is born. I keep telling you this is weird.”
My mind spun with the possibilities. How could her wolf have memories of the royals? How strong was it that it could actually take over her body and speak through her? Why hadn’t it come out yet if it was so strong? I needed someone with more experience.
“Are you cool if I call my father over?”
Maddy nodded and paced around the room like a caged tiger.
I grabbed my phone and called Dad. He was at our house in less than five minutes.
We met him downstairs and sat down to explain what had happened.
He listened carefully as we explained what we’d seen on the video, Maddy’s reaction, her outburst of anger, and then the way the wolf seemed to speak through her.
He held up a hand. “Wait, wait, you’re saying the wolf itself spoke?”
“Yes,” Maddy said, desperation seeping into her voice.
“Right,” I added. “She says none of the words were hers.”
Dad sat back and rubbed at his beard. I remembered the look from my childhood. It was what he always looked like when he was contemplating something very important. Finally, he shook his head. “I’ve never heard of anything like this.”
I sighed in frustration. I hadn’t held out much hope, but I had hoped he could help us make sense of this.
“Theoretically, it is possible,” Dad said.
“We share bodies with the wolf. We even give over our bodies when we shift. Our minds are melded in a sort of symbiosis. We are one being of two halves. If the wolf can completely change our bodies and use our other senses, there’s no reason it couldn’t use our voice.
I mean, they sort of do already when we growl or snarl.
I’ve just never heard of a wolf strong enough to do that. ”
“What about the things it said?” I asked. “The memories and stuff?”
Dad looked at Maddy. “Is this anything the wolf could have gleaned from your memories? The dealings you’ve already had with the royals?”
Maddy shook her head. “I don’t think so. She was talking like she already knew them, not like she knew of them.”
Dad shook his head again. “None of this makes any sense.”