Darkness Unleashed (19 page)

My focus split as my gaze bounced between them both. Ross didn’t speak another word, silently obeying his orders, strapping my head into place where all I could do was move my eyes. Peering over me now, Helena’s face swam in my vision.

“
Are we ready?”

“
I don’t know what you’re hoping to prove with this. We know you work for the Master and we know what you’ve been planning. Darcy informed us of everything, so you’ve lost your element of surprise. Torturing me won’t get you anything,” I answered.

“
Who said this was meant to give us anything but the pleasure of seeing you reduced to nothing? Here you lay, the powerful Alpha of the Mystic Wolves, respected leader in the community, and I have you completely under my control. Yes, the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak, but who’s to say you’re the target for today’s attack?”

“
You failed with my wife, so now you’re needing another way to seize power. You can slice all you want, but you’ll never get it from me. All you’ll get is frustration because you’ll never break me.”

My words did nothing more than make her laugh. “You think we need you? You are merely my reward for loyalty and Ross’s play toy. The Master doesn’t need your pathetic authority or connections. The one he wants is much more worthy of his attention.”

“
I know he wanted my wife,” I growled.

Helena glanced over at Ross and nodded once more. “And now he has her.” Her words were perfectly timed with the cutting edge of the blade as it sliced across my chest. My body bucked off the table as I felt blood flow from the deep gash and over my sides.

Control yourself
, I demanded myself, refusing to let either of them see my vulnerability.

“
You lie.”

Two more long slashes accompanied her words. “I have no need to lie, Mason. I hold all the winning cards. When my Master possesses Darcy’s body and controls the power her dual natures grant her, he’ll be one step closer to being invincible. Harness the magic of the vortex? He’ll become unstoppable.”

“
So that’s your plan?” I had to punch each word out, determined not to scream as Ross continued using his knives against my flesh. The coppery scent of blood all but clogged the air and made me gag.

“
It’s only the beginning. Now scream for me. My young friend here is designing a beautiful crisscross pattern over your chest. I know it hurts. Show me how much.”

Glaring at her, I grit my teeth, refusing to part my lips despite the flaring agony bursting through me. They might have succeeded in keeping me hostage, torturing me at will, but damned if I was going to give them the satisfaction of breaking me.

Frustration flooded Helena’s face, revealing her impatience. For all her smug, sarcastic taunting, it bothered her that I wasn’t bowing to her wishes. Grabbing one of the silver blades, she held it to my throat, pressing down firmly as she lowered her head closer to mine. “You are nothing, Mason. You’ve already lost. Let it go and give in to the pain. I promise you, it will be nothing compared to the agony of seeing your wife and knowing she’s dead, and that your worst nightmare is walking around inside her.” The maniacal spark I’d seen earlier had returned to her eyes.

“
Cut my throat, it won’t change the fact that he’ll never possess her.” Somehow I managed to smile up at her. “We stopped it from ever happening again, you bitch. Factor that into your plans.”

Blood trickled from the cut she was making as Helena pressed even harder. “Impossible. Vivien isn’t strong enough for that kind of magic. It requires a darker kind of energy than she’s comfortable using.” Looking away from me, she growled at Ross to continue with his slicing.

Dragging in a ragged breath, I exhaled through clenched teeth. “Then you underestimated her. You underestimated us all. There’s nothing we wouldn’t do to protect someone we love. Masquerading as our friend should’ve shown you that.”

Once Amber had been destroyed, and before releasing Elynor back to the other side, Vivien had asked her dear friend to also help with a spell to keep Darcy safe from ever being possessed, closing her body to any future attacks. It had required darker magic, something that placed me forever in her debt because I knew how keenly Vivien had fought against ever using it. Elynor had argued, insisting she take on the consequences for conjuring up the power needed, but Vivien had stubbornly refused.

Vivien might not have been blood related to Darcy, but she’d taken on her own form of oath when she’d agreed to help Devlin all those years ago. To her, my wife had become the daughter she’d never had—family in every sense of the word. If there was ever a reason to taint her magic, Vivien declared this would be worth it.

For the rest of my life, I would never forget the sacrifice she made. Her dedication to my mate humbled me.

“
Then we no longer have use for your wife. Her death will be something else I enjoy,” Helena murmured, moving the blade from my throat as she traced a path over my jaw to my cheek. “Maybe I should bring her in here, let her watch as I carve up her handsome husband. I wonder if she’ll love you after I’m done.” The tip of the knife pierced my tender skin.

Her threat caught my attention as anger lit a fuse within me. “Shut your lying mouth, witch. She’s far from here, guarded by her Pack and uncle.”

“
Or is she lying in a drugged stupor in the dungeon next to you?” In an exaggerated, slow move, Helena opened up the side of my face with a deep cut.

I didn’t care what she did. I didn’t care what Ross was doing. All that mattered was knowing Darcy was safe and far, far, away from here.

“
I won’t let you mess with my head,” I snarled as a drop of blood flowed into my mouth.

“
How about you check that connection of yours? I know you have one.” Pulling back the knife, its surface was stained red. “Oh wait, I’m guessing it’s not as reliable with the drugs in your system.”

I wanted to slap the smirk from her mouth. I wanted to hand over control to my wolf and shift, tearing apart everyone in this room that tried to stop me from seeing whether she was right. The Wolfsbane was still working a number on my wolf, his spirit struggling to surge forward and protect us, but he was just as weak.

Unfortunately, the only weapon left was my words. Unless something miraculous happened, there was nothing we could do. Being this helpless infuriated me—going against everything in me.

“
I’m going to kill you when I get free,” I threatened, my energy lagging, again, from blood loss.

It was as if it fell on deaf ears. “Ross, I’m disappointed we haven’t heard our guest scream, yet. If he has the strength to talk, we haven’t hurt him enough.”

“
I agree,” he replied.

“
Then let’s see how the Mystic Wolves Alpha responds to your next party trick.” Helena bent forward and whispered softly. “This part’s my favorite.”

My skin sizzled as Ross drove a flaming hot power into my side, the air instantly filling with the scent of burnt flesh. Sweat dripped down the side of my head. With my eyes screwed shut, I screamed inwardly as the searing pain continued with a second power, this time above my hip.

“
My, my, you are stubborn. I look forward to destroying that defiant spirit.”

I didn’t look at Helena, instead choosing to make sure I kept breathing. She could taunt all she wanted. She could cripple my body, but I would never cave to her demands.

The scream that came wasn’t from me.

It was from Darcy via our connection. For as hazy as the pathway was, there was no mistaking that somehow she’d latched on to this moment, the exact moment Ross hit me with the fourth poker.

Pain seared through me into her and I could feel her drop, as her body couldn’t bare the attack.

Mason
, she screamed, her plea breaking my heart.

Break the link
, I fired back, doing everything in my power to push her out of my mind. She couldn’t be here. Not now. Not while I lay at the mercy of these sadists.

Ross chose that instant to roll a metal rod over one of my blood-crusted gashes, effectively booting my mate from my mind.

Mental connections weren’t meant to be treated roughly. They were a gift between mates and ours had already suffered from the effects of her conversion and possession. In its already fragile state, it couldn’t withstand the pressure and crumbled.

I cracked, screaming from the anguish of shattering from the inside out, knowing that our combined agony had overwhelmed the link.

“
And there it is. Well done, Mr. Green. And again.”

After everything I’d gone through, the punishment they had already inflicted on my body, Ross took advantage of that weakness and there was no holding back.

Screaming, Helena had been right.

They began echoing off the walls until my own screams were all I could hear.

Chapter Sixteen

Darcy

There was a brief moment where I panicked, not knowing where I was. The last thing I remembered was talking after the attack at the Council building, feeling Mason’s disorientation, and then blackness. Familiar sounds and smells eased my waking, the soft cushions beneath my body telling me somehow I’d made it home and was sleeping in Mason’s office.

“
You okay, Darcy?” Opening my eyes, Daniel’s concerned face peered into mine. Crowded around him were Devlin and Vlad, both wearing relieved expressions.

“
What happened?” I croaked, my throat sore and scratchy.

“
We brought you home after you collapsed,” Devlin answered. Easing past Daniel, he crouched down beside me, placing his hand over my forehead. “You scared us, love. Here, let me help you sit up. Easy.”

There was nothing easy about the jolt that pierced through me. “Mason! We need to find him. They’ve taken him somewhere.” Running my fingers through my hair, I couldn’t believe I’d fallen asleep at such a critical time. The man I loved had been kidnapped while everyone fought, and here I was, stretched out over the sofa having an afternoon nap.

Devlin’s touch was gentle as he handed me a cushion to prop behind my back. My head ached as if a herd of elephants were carelessly trampling through my mind, my limbs heavy and lethargic. “Why do I feel like this?” Trying to stand, the room tilted on its side, causing me to briefly close my eyes to stop it from spinning. “Do I have a concussion or something? I don’t remember being hit that hard in the head.”

Thinking back to the fight, the person attacking me had been more concerned with trying to drag me to the rear of the van than doing any kind of damage. I’d gotten more strikes in, surprising them with the force behind each punch. Even though I’d guarded my head, something Mason had taught me during our many workout sessions, I had taken a few jabs to the jaw—but nothing that would have resulted in this.

“
The best we were able to come up with was you were reacting to something happening to Mason. I wouldn’t be surprised if they drugged him to keep him subdued. There’s no way he would’ve gone willingly. He’s strong and in his prime,” Devlin added.

“
They did drug him.” The longer I remained awake, the clearer things became. My recollection of those minutes prior to my passing out came rushing back. “I remember his anger at being injected through our connection. It was right before everything went wonky in my head. There wasn’t enough time for him to say anything before the pathway disappeared.”

“
It makes sense,” Devlin muttered, earning a glare from me. “I’m just saying, if they didn’t do something to control him, he would’ve shifted, allowing his wolf to eliminate the threat. The fact he’s not here tells me they planned ahead. They came prepared.”

There was a slight tremor in my hand as I accepted the small glass of water from Vlad. I hadn’t noticed he’d left the room, but appreciated his kindness. Steeling myself, there was no time to fall apart. Now was the time to show the strength I knew resided inside me. Now was the time to show I was equal to the role of the Alpha’s mate.

“
What’s been done for Mason? Has anyone called in?” Even though I didn’t have any experience with hostage situations, I’d seen enough on TV and movies to know that kidnappers usually had a list of demands, a sum of money or something they asked for as ransom.

“
Right now, we’re gathering all the information we can. It’s not too much of a stretch to assume that Helena is somehow involved with this. She was in the process of being transported to a more secure location when she escaped during the chaos,” Devlin answered.

It was Daniel who spoke next. “I’ve also reached out to Pack members and warned them to be careful. I have Wade coming in to help with the search and have issued a property lock down. We’re on high alert . . .”

“
And you’re acting as Alpha,” I finished. Daniel nodded slightly, his eyes filled with sadness. Pack protocol dictated that if anything happened to the Alpha, his second-in-command would assume authority, doing everything in his power to retrieve the missing leader whilst keeping the Pack safe and protected. I didn’t envy his role and the burden it placed on his shoulders.

An open act of violence against an Alpha was the same as declaring war. It made the future tumultuous until the action had been avenged. More blood would be spilt before this would be declared over.

People would die—Pack justice demanded it.

“
What do you remember, Darcy?” Looking at my cousin, Vlad was all seriousness. I was so used to seeing the jovial side of him, it was startling to see his chiseled jaw tight, his focus zeroed in on me. It made his outfit seem out of place because at the moment, he was every inch the Enforcer our uncle was.

Taking in a deep breath, I reined my emotions in, letting my mind flow back to earlier. “I wasn’t able to see too much from Mason. Those who took him didn’t remove their masks, at all. They spoke softly, in short sentences over walkie-talkies. I’m assuming whoever was giving them orders was in a different vehicle.”