Time Mends (28 page)

“
You don’t want to do
that,” I said as she reached for the handle of the cage. “At least
turn off the electric fence first. Getting shocked hurts like
dammit.” Which I knew from the time last night when I forgot about
that aspect of my prison.

She froze with her hand an inch from the
metal.

“
Unless they’ve given you
the code, you’re going to have to call one of the Muscle Set down
here to open it.” I leaned back onto my hands as if we were
discussing shades of toenail polish. “Although, I doubt they
actually do it. Unlike you, they seem to have the good sense to
know that even if I can’t win, I will certainly take a few of you
down with me.”

When her arms went lax down at her sides,
her held tilted to the left, and her eyes went unfocused, I thought
I’d managed to actually scare her. Which probably wouldn’t have
been a win in the long run - people tend to just flat out kill
things that make them pee their pants - but I had a brief moment of
pure and total joy.

Then our
other
conversation
started.

You didn’t think I would
find you?
Sarvarna’s in-the-head Seer
voice sounded pretty much the same as her regular voice, except the
British accent didn’t sound so much Elizabeth Bennett as Delores
Umbridge.

“
I haven’t exactly been
hiding,” I said out loud as an act of rebellion.

You’ve broken the rules,
Lilith. Choosing a human? Smart, but against the rules.

“
Scout. The name is Scout.
Is it really that hard to remember?”

I will not let you take
what is mine.

I could’ve pointed out how I was yet again
clueless, but what the heck? The chick was full-on crazy and really
starting to piss me off. I let a small smile play at my lips. “You
can’t stop me.”

That was my last visit until the night
before my trial.

For two weeks, the only person who fully
entered the basement was the slender woman who obviously belonged
to Akay and mini-Akay. I never learned her name since the others
only referred to her as “Omega,” which was apparently what the
Alphas called their servants. She would bring in my food three
times a day, and take my trash and dishes back at the end of the
night. She never spoke or looked at me directly. And the entire
time she was in the basement, one of the Shifters stood at the door
and pointed a 9mm at my head.

I never really understood the whole prison
as a punishment thing until then. I always thought it sounded more
like a vacation than anything else. You didn’t have to go to school
or work or whatever it was that ate away the time you should use to
actually live your life? No responsibilities, all your needs taken
care of? Didn’t sound like a bad gig.

I was so very wrong. Being cut off from the
people and life you know is a very special torture, one guaranteed
to get under you skin and drive you to distraction. Staring at the
same four bare walls day in and day out? An ocular nightmare.
Pacing the same fifteen by fifteen square foot of concrete over and
over again? Cabin fever at its finest. Knowing nothing you did was
private, that someone was always aware of where you were and what
you were doing? Creeptastic. Having no one to talk to? The voices
in your head just get louder and louder to fill the silence.

And, of course, that whole gun pointed at my
head thing was all sorts of not fun.

My sanity came in the form of the cheap
paperback novels I read at least twice each and eavesdropping on my
guards. At least one Shifter was stationed outside my door at all
times. During mealtimes, there were two. Mandla, Hashim, and Travis
were all on rotation, as were the three slightly less dominant
Shifters.

Cory the Canadian was what you would expect
out of a Canadian named Cory - outdoorsy and cute in that boy next
door kind of way. Assuming the boy next door neighbor is an actual
boy and sports a six pack. My next door neighbor is close to sixty
and carries a beer gut.

Rocco was from Italy and spoke no English,
which was perfectly okay with me. I got the basic gist of what he
was saying as his eyes roamed my body, and I was pretty sure it had
nothing to do with taking a ride on his Vespa to get a gellato.

The last of the lower stationed Shifters was
named Bob, which wouldn’t have been quite so odd if he hadn’t
obviously been born and raised somewhere in Asia. I overheard him
explain, in broken English, that he was from China, and his birth
name was a bit difficult to pronounce, so he renamed himself Bob,
after Bob Dylan.

While Cory, Rocco, and Bob kept me mildly
entertained, it was the person who got them talking who really
pulled me through those long days. From the time he woke up every
morning until he went to bed every night, Charlie hovered around
the staircase leading into the basement. I don’t know exactly what
he was doing up there, but I do know what he was doing every time
he opened his mouth.

God bless him, Charlie was trying to give me
intel.

It was subtle, a bit of friendly chatter
mixed with some gently probing questions. The Alpha Pack was
reluctant to talk to him at first, but eventually he charmed his
way into their good graces. It was what made Charlie Charlie. I
would have pissed them off by saying something flippant, and Jase
would have tried bullying them into saying something. Neither of us
would have gotten far, but Charlie handed me fighting style
preferences and weaknesses on a silver platter by remarking on
something he noticed during a training or sparing session, which
apparently happened just outside the window he was parked beside
eighteen hours of the day.

Not only that, he also kept me up-to-date on
what was happening in the real world. Talley was being encouraged
to spend time with the other Seers, who were being very friendly
and outgoing. My parents were calling on a regular basis, but Jase
was able to keep them from worrying too much. Angel tried to run
away from home to find me, but only made it to the end of the
driveway since she required two adult sized suitcases to
travel.

And Charlie wasn’t the only one making sure
I heard a familiar voice every now and then. At least once a day
Talley would come to check on Charlie. She never stayed too long,
and mostly just made sure he was eating something, but she always
made sure to say something about what she and Jase were doing and
mention they were okay.

I was grateful for everything my two best
friends were doing, but as the days drug on I got more and more
disgruntled because Jase never came. I would hear him moving around
on the upper floors, but he never made the journey to the top of
the stairs. I felt petty and stupid for getting upset about it, but
his lack of consideration hurt.

Then, two days before the trial, yet another
knife was stabbed into my chest.

I was laying on the bed, which was starting
to feel like brick after excessive overuse, re-reading the steamy
parts of what was quickly becoming one of my favorite romance
novels. The drone of the TV upstairs had been so constant that at
first my ears didn’t know how to register the lack of noise. Then,
I heard the voice I’d been straining to hear for nearly two
weeks.

“
So, you wanted to see
me?” Jase asked. By the way his voice dropped a few octaves below
his normal speaking voice I knew he was talking to a
girl.

“
We’ve had so very little
time alone these past few weeks,” the Alpha Female replied. “I
wanted to see how you were enjoying your time with us.”

There was some shuffling, then a plop and
the sound of a chair shifting under the sudden application of
weight. “It’s been cool. You guys have a pretty sweet set-up
here.”

“
We’ve done the best we
could with the rental.” She sounded as if she was talking about a
two room apartment as opposed to the biggest house on Kentucky
Lake. “After growing up at the Den, it’s hard to adjust to meager
accommodations, but the Omegas work hard to ensure our
comfort.”

“
If this is meager
accommodations, I’d love to see what you call fancy.”

There was a long pause. “Would you,
Jase?”

“
Yeah, totally. I mean,
there is a 52 inch plasma TV with an XBOX360 and a PS3 in every
bedroom. And have you seen the inside of my shower? There are like
five different heads shooting water at you.”

A throaty laugh. “No, I don’t believe I’ve
had the pleasure of being in your shower.”

I swallowed back the bile surging into my
throat.

“
You really should come
take a look sometime.”

My hands itched with the desire to slap some
sense into my brother. What the Hades was he thinking flirting with
the Alpha Male’s mate? Although no one ever mentioned it, I’m
pretty sure that was a guaranteed way to get his “meager”
accommodations changed to where he was sharing a room with me.

“
Tempting,” Sarvarna
practically purred. “You know we have some very nice bathing
facilities at the Den also. I would really like for you to see
them.”

“
Seriously?” There was the
sound of something clunking against the floor, probably either the
legs of the chair Jase was sitting in or his feet.

“
Quite. I’ve seen you
practicing with my Pack every morning. You’re quite the skilled
fighter, and your Dominance is quite evident. Of course, it’s rare
for a coyote to be accepted into the Alpha Pack, but not
impossible.”

Someone stood, and by the sound of the
footsteps as they paced about, it was Jase.

“
This is about Talley,
right? You want her, and so you’re asking me to join the Alpha Pack
knowing we’re a package deal.”

“
Of course we want Talley,
but I also want you.”

There was no denying the double meaning
there, which was just all kinds of wrong. I mean, she was holding
his sister captive until the new moon, when she was going to kill
her. Not only that, she was mated to an old, ugly guy who was, by
definition, the most badass Shifter on the planet. Hitting on Jase
wasn’t just creepy and wrong, it was supposed to be impossible. Was
Charlie wrong about that whole no boinking anyone else while mated
thing? Or was she just trying to play my brother?

For the record, I was going with option
two.

And apparently, so was Jase.

“
You don’t believe me?”
Sarvarna asked.

“
I’m a coyote—”

“
One of the strongest
coyotes I’ve ever met. By the time you’re in your prime you’ll
easily be the most dominant coyote Shifter in decades, if not
centuries.”

“
I’m not—”

“
You are.” Some rustling
and chair being scooted against the floor. “Trust me, Jase. You’re
special. I’ve Seen it. In the future, you could be a Stratego.
Don’t you want that? Don’t you want to be one of us?”

“
You know I would be
honored. Anyone would be. It’s just that Talley isn’t really sure
about the whole thing, and she’s my mate. I can’t just drag her
into it. That wouldn’t be fair.”

“
What if she wasn’t your
mate?”

I swear I heard Jase gulp.

“
What do you mean? I’ve
made my declaration.”

“
I am the Alpha Female,
Jase, or have you forgot?”

“
Of course not,
but—”

“
There are no buts. My
power is absolute. And if, during the hearing to determine whether
Talley belongs to you or her father’s Pack, I should decide that
you were sincere in your declaration but refuse to accept it based
on the Alpha Pack’s need of you both to be unattached, then you
would be free.”

“
And Talley…?”

“
She can return to either
the Matthews Pack or Hagan Pack, or join us. It would be her
call.”

There was a long silence,
and I knew Jase was thinking over the offer.
Don’t do it,
I thought at him so
hard my head ached.
If the White Witch
offers you Turkish Delights, tell her to shove off. Come on, Jase.
You know this is wrong.

“
And just like that,
Talley wouldn’t be my mate any more?”

“
She’s not your mate
now.”

“
I made a
declaration.”

“
And it was a brilliant
strategic move. Really, I applaud you on your choice. Talley has a
reasonable amount of power, more so than most Seers in your area.
By claiming her, you solidified your position as the most Dominant
Shifter in the Southern United States, if not all of this country.
But it wasn’t necessary. You would have been anyway. Let me relieve
you of your burden.”

My dislike of Sarvarna transformed into
pure, unadulterated hatred at that moment. Locking me in a cage and
threatening my life was bad enough, but referring to Talley as
burden in that snotty British accent, sounding as if she was
speaking about something gooey clinging to the bottom of her shoe?
Unacceptable. I waited for the sound of Jase’s fist connecting with
her face.

It never came. Instead, I heard, “What do
you need from me?”

“
I require only what you
should freely offer - loyalty to your fellow Shifters above all
things.”

A tear rolled down my cheek as Jase sealed
my fate with the words, “You have it.”

“
Things aren’t always how
they appear.”

I rolled my eyes at Alex, who was sitting on
the ground with Nicole in his lap as I wore a path in the strip of
beach that was quickly becoming as constrictive as my cage. “Thanks
for that bit of deep, inspired wisdom. I feel so much better
now.”