Chapter 57
Capture of the Guard
SHADOW
Six Years Ago
Igasp awake as a burning sensation brings me back to consciousness.
Sprays of liquid fall around me. Sharp pain radiates down my arms into my shoulders.
Another sluice of fiery liquid falls over my skin, and I grit my teeth in pain.
The swift fluttering beat of my heart echoes in my ears, and my muscles clench and quiver involuntarily.
When my brain catches up to what is taking place, I come to the realization that I wasn’t burned but doused in ice cold water.
My head droops back, and my vision focuses on the chains wrapped around my wrist, suspending me from the beams of an old, abandoned warehouse.
“This all could have been prevented."
I ignore the voice coming from somewhere in the shadows. Dropping my chin to my chest, I breath in through the pain.
Toby, I whisper in my mind, but I hear nothing but a deafening silence. He's gone. So is my magic and the ability to shift into my wolf.
"I don't want to break you, Tyler."
"Traitor," I croak in a hoarse rasp and squeeze my eyes shut as a wave of pain courses through every fiber of my body.
The traitor laughs. "Is that what Anders and the Emerald Guard made you believe? That we are all traitors?" he tsks. “We’re not traitors, Tyler. We just believe in a different way of life, a different hierarchy of sorts.”
I scoff at his bullshit. He can’t even come up with a sound reason for their greed. “Delusional idiots. That’s what the Resistance stands for—delusion and greed.”
Metal scrapes against concrete, stopping several feet before me.
I crack open my swollen lids and peer down at the man, who straddles a chair and casually places his forearms over the back.
I'm going to kill him, as soon as I figure out a way to free myself.
I roll my numbing hands, and the chains around them bite into my skin.
The pain is so much more pronounced than I ever experienced.
Is this what Jessica felt like when she was tortured to death?
He sighs. "I've been extremely patient, all these years, waiting for you to grow up, to take your place as the Alpha.
I had big plans. Of course, ten years ago, those plans were meant for your brother.
Unfortunately, he died too soon. I had the perfect plan.
Toby would be Alpha and you the perfect Beta.
I had the perfect name for the two of you—the Shadow boys.
And you were going to help me, the Resistance, to take back what is rightfully ours before the monarchy took control.
You would have both been kings of the LS. "
"I would never be a part of the Resistance," I spit between clenched teeth.
"You sure about that? Maybe you feel that way now because Anders programmed you to feel that way, but there was a time when you would have followed your brother to the ends of the earth."
"You know nothing about me or my brother!"
He throws his head back and laughs. "I don't know you or your brother? Who do you think groomed Toby? Who do you think helped him master his magic? To wield his power to get anything he wanted. It’s because of me the two of you are still alive—well, until his untimely death. I could have easily killed your brother when I learned of his secret, thanks to your father’s trust in me.
I’m the one who convinced the leader of the Resistance to let him be, to mold him into our secret weapon.
It all could have worked, but the arrogant asshole had to piss someone off and get himself murdered. And he almost took you with him.”
He rubs his face before continuing.
“Fortunately, you survived. I just had to wait ten years for you to be ready.
At first, I was so pissed with your father for letting you stay with Elias, letting Anders corrupt your views of the Resistance and what we are trying to accomplish.
But then, what a perfect way to get in, by planting someone they would least expect. "
Blood drips to the floor as I listen to his nonsensical bullshit.
I would never work with the Resistance, even if I had never met Anders.
Toby—I knew from his memories—was involved with some questionable people, how he consumed his wealth and businesses when he was barely twenty-four.
But this? This is beyond what I ever thought he would do.
How did he manage to keep those secrets from me?
I thought I had access to all of his memories, much in the same way he had access to my own.
"But you had to fuck with my plans by stepping down from your position as Young Alpha. I hope the pussy was worth it."
My eyes snap up to my father’s Beta, Wade Dydrian. He sneers when he notices my gaze.
"Leave her alone."
He leans forward, looking up at me from his seated position. "What do you think your little girlfriend would do if she knew she lived the way she had, all because of you and your brother?”
An involuntary growl escapes from the back of my throat. "What the fuck are you talking about?"
He laughs again. "You don't remember? Or did Toby not inform you of what the two of you were tasked to do?"
I tear my gaze away from him, racking my brain for the answers.
"How old were you when your magic came in? Five or six? You used to follow Toby around like he was a god, whenever he was home. One day, you ended up in my office just like that,” he snaps his fingers to accentuate his point, “appearing out of thin air, looking for Toby. That was the happiest day of my life. When I mentioned what I learned to your brother, I saw it. His fear. You were his weakness, and all I had to do was use your life to get him to agree to my terms. To control him. So, I tested his loyalty to me and sent the two of you on a mission. Our leader wanted a baby, a baby born of two magic-wielding parents—not just any magic wielders but a child of Anders Knight’s bloodline.
Of course, it’s not a secret to those of us in the upper chains of the Resistance that Anders is the last of the royal bloodline and a powerful magic wielder. ”
A sick feeling settles in my stomach as fragments of my life before the accident came to mind. Toby came home one night and woke me up. He told me that he needed help, that someone had stolen something valuable from a friend. We were the only ones who could help him.
Eager to please my brother and help someone in need, I agreed to go with him.
I didn’t have full control of my magic yet, so he came home every night to my room and woke me up to practice for a week.
When I had a good handle on it and was able to transport both of us together, we stole into the night to an unfamiliar area.
I stood guard while my brother disappeared with a large empty bag on his shoulder.
When he returned, I was supposed to transport us to another location, where his friend was to meet us.
But I couldn’t get it right. After multiple attempts, I can’t recall where we ended up.
Toby reassured me it wasn’t a big deal. He made a call, set the bag down on the ground, and we left it there.
I felt so horrible that the one time my brother asked anything of me, I let him down.
Had I known the truth, I never would have helped him.
“You remember. Don’t you?”
I don’t bother to answer him.
“You messed up that night. Toby was supposed to meet with Alpha Greystone from the Howlite Pack. You never made it. The two of you ended up in Ruby Falls territory instead. Doesn’t matter. In the end, it worked out, and the baby ended up where she was meant to be.”
“Why?”
“You see, killing magic wielders became a bit harder with the rise of technology, and the investigative guards became smarter. The magic wielders got smarter at hiding their magic. We decided it was best if we could observe them, experiment on them to find out what made a magic wielder tick. What triggers would draw out their magic? How could they control their magic? What happened when they lost control? We had the perfect candidate to study.”
He sucks on his front teeth, and bile rises in my throat.
“The DuPonts are idiots and insisted that the girl didn’t have an ounce of magic.
So the DuPonts were ordered to get rid of her.
Those stupid idiots couldn't even kill a small child.” His face reddens, nose scrunched like he smells something rotten.
“No matter. When we learned where she ended up, practically dead, she became useful to us after all. She became our little science experiment and assisted us with our second plan.”
I remain still so he keeps talking. I want as much information as I can get, anything I can use to take them down. When I get back to Jessica, I’ll take her far away from the LS so these bastards can’t harm her anymore.
He huffs out a laugh, stands, and swings his leg back from the chair.
“For years, we tried to harness the power of the magic wielders. Our predecessors thought that the magic resided in the lands, which was the main cause for the Great War. They were so stupid because the true source of their power lies within their DNA. If they only realized that from the beginning, we could have used the white wolves as breeding stock. The future spawn of the Resistance could have had their own magic and achieved so much power by now.”
He moves closer, but not close enough for me to wrap my legs around him and break his fucking neck. Taunting me, the asshole takes three steps closer.
I curl my legs up to attack when my abdomen cramps, and the weight causes the chains to dig into my wrists. My body trembles as my muscles tighten. Pain rips through my entire body. My muscles twitch and spasm, and I grit my teeth, willing the pain away.
What the fuck? I barely moved. When my muscles finally settle, I force my swollen eyelids apart to peer down at the traitorous bastard my father trusts and treats like family.
He grins up at me, like he already won a battle.
“How does it feel to be so weak, powerless, completely human? How does it feel to be like those of us without magic? Thanks to your girlfriend, we were able to create a vaccine for magic wielders—well, I guess you could call it an antidote for magic shifters.” He flips his hand in the air.
“We still have some kinks to work out, but we no longer need her help for that.
Thanks to you, we now know that it works beautifully on other magic wielders.
“Don't worry. I’m told it's only temporary. I'll let you have your magic and the ability to shift back if you behave and work with me willingly. In fact, I’ll even let you keep your little girlfriend. Think about it. You get to become the most powerful Alpha King in LS history, and your children will become the most powerful successors of their time. All you have to do is side with us. It’s a win-win situation. Don’t you think?
You keep the girl you’re madly in love with, and I rule by your side as your Beta. ”
“I will never side with you."
He scratches his jaw. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He snaps his fingers, and footsteps echo from somewhere inside the building. “There are other ways to get you back on board."
A tall man steps into the light. The Beta claps his hands together, delighted by the man’s presence.
“Shadow, I would like to introduce you to Byron Niles. He’s in charge of our assassin department. He came all this way from the Northern A, personally, to help me with your little problem.” Byron Niles. Fuck. I close my eyes. Boris Niles is his son.
Jessica mentioned twice that they were sending assassins. She initially lied, that she gleaned it from Marcus or Elaine’s mind. In fact, it was probably from Boris himself.
"Do what you need to, but keep him alive," Wade instructs Byron.
“You promised me I would get my son back," Byron claims in a husky voice.
"And you will. I'm sure he'll tell you exactly what the guards did with your son, as soon as you correct his problem.”
With all the training in the world, nothing could prepare me for the amount of pain I endure—tortured with their fists, electrocuted, burned with searing irons, and sliced with dull knives.
If I were a weaker man, I would have caved by now, begged for death.
Instead, I keep my mouth shut and focus on thoughts of my beautiful Princess and the need to keep her safe.
“Where’s my son?” Byron asks again. I have no idea how long they treat me like this.
Hours? A couple of days? It can’t be much longer than that.
Otherwise, I would be dead. Whatever they gave me weakened me and inhibited my use of magic, my ability to shift.
My healing abilities are slow but still there.
They allow time between torture sessions for me to heal. Hanging my head, I silently watch the blood drip off my body.
I haven’t seen my father’s Beta, Wade, since Byron arrived. Is my family safe? Did he find them? Did Reggie escape? Is he safe? I hope to hell he’s alive. I didn’t mean to get him involved.
“Where’s my son, Shadow?”
When I still don’t answer him, another blow strikes me in the face. Blood fills my mouth, and I spit it on the shoes of the man wielding the punches. I glare at the man standing off to the side.
"Fine. Since you refuse to talk, I’m going to take matters into my own hands and get him back myself.” Byron calls out to someone outside of the room, “Get in here and make sure he stays alive, as Wade asked.”
Soft footsteps pad along the concrete floor. A female figure appears below the dim light glowing from the beams above. I blink a few times to clear the sweat and blood from my vision. I want a good look at her.
A familiar face looks up at me. Now I know who the real spy has been all along.