VIVIANNA
Darius, Koit, and Orion got up and left the house without a word, leaving me and the others to deal with Astrid.
I walked over to her chair and squatted down so I could rest my hands on her knees.
Astrid didn’t respond to my touch, her eyes staring off into the distance as she mumbled things to herself in a language I didn’t know.
“Astrid,” I snapped, putting a little alpha power behind it.
She jerked and looked down at me with eyes that seemed lost. “I know this is a lot to take in right now, but I think it would be best if we get you back to bed. As your Dama, I will deal with this. There is no need for you to take part in what’s about to happen. ”
“No, I can’t do that. I’m your advisor, I need to be there with you. Personal problems shouldn’t get in the way of dealing with an issue,” Astrid muttered, moving to get up from her seat.
With my hands on her legs, I pushed her back down, narrowing my eyes at her.
“Are you going against a direct order from your Dama?” I asked, raising a brow at her.
“You will stay here with my mother and the guards. No one is allowed to enter or leave this home until me or one of my mates comes to get you, is that understood?”
My mother stood and put a hand on my shoulder. “Let me get her settled, it seems you have more important things to do.”
Covering her hand with my own, I looked up at her. “Is it Vadik who is coming after me?”
“Yes, but it’s not just Vadik. He’s bringing his army this time. Your father is also with them, distracting The Collective from noticing,” Mother said, dropping what I hoped was the last bomb of the night.
“How much time do we have?” Rik asked, rising to his feet.
Mother shrugged and chewed on her lower lip. “I don’t know. I messed up the plans, caused a scene, and came to find you. Your father came to stop me, but I was able to lose him after I talked to The Collective.”
Well, this talk just keeps getting better and better. Anyone else want to join in on the ‘let’s fuck everything up’ party?
Shut up, don’t even put that into the universe. We are on borrowed time right now.
“Darius, we need to find out where my father is. He’s part of a plan for Vadik to attack us,” I called out, hoping I wasn’t distracting him.
“I’ll look into it. We have Sarma and Juris—taking them to the castle for questioning. Meet you back there,” Darius shared before cutting off our communication.
“Guys, we need to get back home. Darius has information for us to go over,” I said, not wanting Astrid to know we’d already apprehended her daughter and son-in-law.
“Mother, if you need anything, let Chaz know. He’ll be able to get in contact with me or the guys.
” I kissed her on the cheek and rushed out the door.
“Darius has Sarma and Juris, he’s also checking in on the status with my father,” I sent to the guys as we jogged back to the castle.
Crossing over the drawbridge and through the entrance, the castle glowed, humming with activity.
Extra guards were stationed around the outer walls and at the main entryway.
Darius wasn’t taking any chances, and I didn’t blame him.
We were up against a woman who knew this island like the back of her hand.
Once inside, a guard bowed and motioned for me to follow.
He led me to an area I’d never explored before, pulling open a heavy wooden door that revealed steep stairs leading down in the glow of firelight.
Did we just find the entrance to hell, because we are too young to die.
This is a castle, remember? I’m guessing there might be a chance there are dungeons down here.
Right… yeah, that makes way more sense.
Shaking my head, I jogged down the steps, confident in having my men at my back and the rest waiting for me once we got to the bottom.
Taking a quick look around, I wasn’t really shocked to find it looked just like every movie depicted.
Torches burned along the hallways, casting shadows on the stone walls and iron gates to the cells.
Hearing voices, I headed off to my right, the guys right on my heels until we came across Juris.
He was chained to a chair, and his head lolled, blood dripping off his face from what I would guess was a broken nose.
Hearing us, he raised his head, and the anger and hatred that glowed in his eyes froze me in my spot.
Sneering, he spat a wad of bloody saliva at me. He missed, but it got the point across.
“How could anyone let a mutant science experiment like you become Dama? You disgust me,” Juris scoffed.
Koit grabbed my shoulders and pulled me away from the cell, forcing me to move forward while Tav and Rik grabbed my hands.
Holy hell, I did not see that coming. I always assumed he was the puppet to Sarma’s wishes. He always seemed like such a pushover.
I have a feeling that’s not the only thing we are going to find we overlooked.
At the end of the hall was a large wooden door that was cracked open, letting me hear my mates’ voices coming from within.
Shoving my shoulder against the door, I was able to open it wide enough to walk through.
The sight before me was one that I had not been expecting.
Sarma was standing with her hands chained above her head, only her toes touching the ground.
Darius was standing in front of her with what looked like a long, thin rod.
The welts on Sarma’s legs told me what the rod was used for.
“Sarma, you are a disgrace to your kind,” Darius rumbled as he grabbed her throat. “What would cause someone from such a respected ancient line to turn her back on her pack?”
“I didn’t turn my back on them; this was all for them,” Sarma rasped, anger pouring off of her.
The fuck? This woman is bat shit crazy if she thinks that Vadik is the right choice for her people.
“Explain it to us, Sarma. Maybe we can help?” I ventured, drawing attention to our entrance.
Sarma snarled at me, kicking out with her legs, trying to get to me.
“This whole thing is your fault. If you hadn’t been born to a human family, then none of this would have happened.
It was supposed to be ME. Dr. Faulk made that embryo for me, but your bastard of a father switched it to that whore of a human.
“You were never meant to be raised in the human world, ignorant to who you were. I was supposed to raise you into the perfect partner for Vadik and bring back our species from the brink of extinction.”
The shock of her words must have been written all over my face as she laughed at me. Darius sucker-punched her in the gut, cutting off her hysterical cackling. Limp, she swayed from the chain, coughing to get her breath back.
“Tell me, Dama, did you read the records that were brought to your office? I tried to make it easy for you to find your lineage, little one. It’s no fun destroying your world if you don’t know whose DNA was used to create you,” Sarma taunted.
“Do not speak in riddles,” Tristan growled. “If you have something to say, then say it. Know that if you lie to us, then I will know it. You can’t hide the truth while I’m here.”
Sarma sneered at Tristan. “Why should I make this easy for her? She has stolen everything from me, and what have I gotten in return? NOTHING.”
“I know your kind. You won’t be able to hold back what you have to share. A masochist like you couldn’t deny yourself the pleasure of hurting someone else,” Tav said, moving to my left and intertwining our fingers together.
Baring her teeth at us, Sarma growled. “You know nothing about the pain I have survived. Just the sight of this woman shreds my heart. The only thing I wanted in my long life was to be a mother. I had the chance to be the mother of a new generation and Dama of all werewolves as we reclaimed our world.”
“I would never have allowed myself to be with someone like Vadik. He is cruel, bloodthirsty, and will never be satisfied, no matter how much power he has,” I retorted.
“Little one, you have no idea how much you and Vadik have in common.
He is from the proud line of ancient werewolves that can be traced back to Sasha, Dama of the Dark Moon Pack.
In fact, did you know that as their most revered ruler, her remains are passed down from generation to generation?
It came in handy to have such well-preserved specimens to pull from when you were created, Vivianna.
Did you think Vadik would accept just any alpha female to be his queen?
“It seems you are taking after her quite nicely, even to the point of having seven mates. You have even pulled the most powerful alphas to your side, two of them the last of their races. Well, I guess I should say six powerful alphas—your doctor leaves much to be desired, but we both know he is a stand-in for who should be filling that last spot. Even as you try to resist Vadik, he calls to you. Blood calls to blood, no matter how far removed,” Sarma boasted, watching me as if waiting to see me crumble.
“I’m sorry, little one, is that not what you wanted to hear? ”
Her condescending tone ignited my anger. I pulled away from my mates and lashed out at her. My hand shifted, my nails turning into claws, which slashed across her face. Seeing her blood bright against her skin, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to see more.
I didn’t stop until blood covered her face and skin. Her nightgown was shredded, hanging off of her in strips. Orion stalked around her, his violet eyes glowing eerily as he took in the damage. A malicious aura gathered around him, a smile growing on his lips at the horror that I’d done.