Chapter 29 #2
The next day, no porridge is brought. When it’s time for it, the door opens, and Agent Anderson appears, this time flanked by two men who are dressed similar to him.
They’re each carrying a seat of heavy cuffs with shackles to bind our wrists and ankles.
The sight makes my blood run cold, because I know what it means.
“Tonight, the three of you will face Morlock’s judgment,” Agent Anderson says. “You can voluntarily accept these shackles, or we’ll use wolfsbane to subdue you.”
I exchange glances with my brothers. If they use wolfsbane, we would be unconscious for whatever trial we’re about to face. I’m sure it won’t matter. They’re going to execute us, and if they know about wolfsbane, they won’t have any trouble ending our lives.
“We won’t fight,” Erik sighs. “Can we see our mate?”
“You’ll see her when you face Morlock’s judgment, since you’re facing it together,” Agent Anderson says, killing the electricity on Erik’s cell before one of the men opens it.
I want to scream at Erik. Tell him to call his wolf. Rip apart as many of them as he can. But I can’t make myself do it. He deserves to see Avery one last time. I don’t feel like I deserve it, but I want to. I just want to hear from her lips that our babies are safe, before we face the bitter end.
Once Erik is shackled, they move to Ivar’s cell. He doesn’t fight them either. He allows them to put the shackles on his wrists and ankles. Judging by what I can see, they’re designed to inject something if needed. Probably wolfsbane. This technology shouldn’t exist on this world.
My turn finally comes. Like my brothers, I just let it happen. My wolf claws at my insides. It’s telling me to fight. To do anything to keep them from putting the shackles on, because there’s no way I’ll get out of them. I’m sure they can inject us faster than I can shift.
“Very well, move the prisoners to the Chamber of Judgment,” Agent Anderson calls out.
They have weapons at the ready when they march us down the hall.
Even if the shackles aren’t quick enough to get the wolfsbane into our system, their darts will.
We’re taken down several flights of stairs.
When we get to the bottom, there are two large metal doors. I sure hope Avery is on the other side.
“The time has come for you to face Morlock’s judgment,” Agent Anderson says, pulling the door open. “You’re on your own from here.”
Erik walks in first, followed by Ivar. When I step into the room, I notice it’s extremely hot.
That’s because the walls on our left and right are on fire.
The material almost looks like brimstone, and it rises to the ceiling on both sides of us.
There’s an elevated platform in the front of the room, and a large chair behind a desk.
But none of that matters, because I see Avery. She’s sitting at a table, in front of the elevated platform, shackled like we are. She tries to stand up when she sees us, but she winces with pain.
“Avery!” Erik calls, moving toward her as quickly as he can with the shackles slowing his movement.
Ivar and I rush to our mate as well. Erik hugs her first, holding on for so long I’m worried he’ll squeeze the life out of her before letting go. Ivar hugs her next.
The four of us are alone in this room. I look for any route that could give us an opening to escape. Nothing presents itself. The doors we entered through are now shut. The walls are on fire. The ceiling looks like heavy black stone. No way we could punch through that, even if we could get to it.
“Avery,” I sigh, hugging her as soon as Ivar lets go. “Are you well?”
“I’m okay. The babies are safe, too. I was able to nurse the girls… before they brought me here,” she says, squeezing me as tight as she can. “I had to name them. The nurses wouldn’t wait…”
“It’s okay,” Erik murmurs. “You chose excellent names. Names that will serve them in life, even if we’re not here to witness them grow up.”
“Did they say anything to you? We’ve been kept in cells and haven’t seen anyone except Agent Anderson,” Ivar asks.
“He’s the main one who talked to me, too. The doctors and nurses refused to speak to me about it. Agent Anderson was angry the first time. The last few times, he’s been rather nice. He even brought the girls to me today,” she says.
“He touched our children?” I snarl.
“He was very gentle,” Avery assures me. “Like I said, he’s been rather nice since the first night.”
“I don’t know what is going on here, but they know what we are. They used wolfsbane, which paralyzes our wolves. Nobody on this world should know about that,” Erik says.
“Somebody does,” Ivar grunts.
“Yeah, and that doesn’t bode well for us,” I admit. “If they know what we are, they may have found a lot more than that. They could have even found our ship.”
“Either way, I don’t think we’re ever leaving this planet,” Erik says, then he turns to our mate. “I’m sorry, Avery. I should have tried to repair the ship earlier… we shouldn’t have come to the hospital… I…”
“You did everything right,” Avery says. “Agent Anderson didn’t tell me much, but he knew you were wolves and knew I was your mate. He must have figured something out, because he was still calling me your wife the first time I saw him.”
“Let’s sit down.” Ivar pulls a chair out.
I would rather pace than sit, but I reluctantly lower myself into a chair.
The only thing we can do is now wait for the trial to begin.