I followed her down the row, trying my best not to look at the men who were housed and on display like zoo animals.
“Why are these men here?” I asked, unable to help myself.
Lulu gave me a tight look. “Usual crimes. Theft, assault, violating Pack Law. They’re kept here until the Alpha decides their sentence.”
So Nikolai was the judge, jury, and executioner.
“Where’s my uncle?”
Lulu nodded at the last door in front of us. Another steel one with another biometric scanner. She placed her palm on it and a second later it beeped and unlocked.
“We keep the more dangerous ones in here,” she said quietly as the door pulled open.
Two guards stood just inside, their stoic faces impassive as they looked at us. Finally they gave a brief nod and let us pass.
Where the other cells had looked like normal jail cells with bars, these cells were rooms, completely blocked off by steel walls with a steel door the only access point. A thin, narrow window only provided a glimpse into the rooms.
Lulu kept walking until we reached the end of the row.
“Open it,” she said.
I turned back to see one of the guards had followed us.
He inserted a key into the lock, twisting and opening the door for us.
The first thing that hit me was the coppery tang of blood. My wolf scented it, alerting me, before my eyes could focus on the scene in front of me.
“Holy shit,” Lulu breathed beside me.
That didn’t begin to cover the carnage in front of me. Blood splattered the walls, some streaks black and dried, other fresh and still dripping down the cinder block walls.
And that nothing to say of the man in front of me on his knees. He glanced up, one eye swollen closed. A steady river of blood dribbled from his mouth. He was barely upright, one arm cradled to his waist, the other arm shaking from the exertion to hold himself up.
The eye that could still see locked onto mine, the green identical to my own. His mouth opened, my name forming soundlessly on his lips.
My gaze swung to the only other occupant in the room. The man had flecks of red splattered on him, like he had stepped out into a blood storm without an umbrella.
He passively wiped his knuckles on an already crimson rag as he glanced at me.
“Skye,” Nikolai greeted, actually smiling at me. “Wonderful timing. Your uncle and I were just discussing you.”
19
Skye
“What the hell are you doing?” I whispered, still trying to get my brain to process what I was seeing.
Nikolai tossed the bloody rag onto the floor before lifting a knife with a wickedly curved blade from the table beside him. A table that was filled with a bunch of things that made a shiver zip down my spine.
Linden looked completely broken at his feet, barely upright. I could see the glint of silver on his arm, identical to the band I had worn when my wolf was suppressed.
“Speaking with your uncle,” Nikolai replied congenially. He pointed the blade at the man on the floor. “He seems to believe whatever transpired in your pack was a simple mistake.”
“It’s …” Linden spit out a mouthful of blood with a rattling breath before looking at me. “Tell him. It’s a mistake. Your … your mother kept you—”
With a snarl that surprised even me, I stalked forward and knelt in front of him. “Don’t even say my mother’s name, asshole.”
Shock, quickly followed by fury, lit his eye. His mouth twisted into what I assumed to be a grimace.
“Ungrateful—”
He was cut off as Nikolai’s steel-toed boots made contact with his ribs. The undeniable crunch of bone and cartilage, accompanied by the animalistic howl from Linden, turned my stomach.
“Stop!” I yelled, whirling to my feet and glaring at Nikolai.
He arched his brows, amused as hell that I was stepping in. “I would have assumed you would enjoy that, little wolf.”
“He has answers I need,” I hissed. “Answers I can’t get from a dead man.”
Smiling, Nikolai held up his hands and took an over-exaggerated step backwards.
As I turned back to Linden, my eyes met Lulu’s. She didn’t look the least bit surprised or upset. Like walking into a room where a man was being beaten was a normal occurrence.
Her eyes moved to Nikolai. “I’ll be outside.”
“Thank you, Lucia,” Nikolai told her, his tone the picture of courtesy and kindness as he smiled at her.
What kind of a psychopath helped create me? This man was covered in blood—my uncle’s blood—and yet seemed completely at ease. Hell, everyone else seemed completely calm, too. Like this was just a normal day, and maybe it was.
That wasn’t my concern.
I dropped into a crouch in front of Linden. “I want answers.”
“Fuck you,” he spat, glaring at me. The effect was less threatening when he only had one eye and it looked like he was missing a few teeth.
I held up a hand as Nikolai took a menacing step forward.
“You’ll tell me what I want to know, or I’ll make sure they keep you alive for a very long time,” I whispered softly. “I’ll make sure you’re given the same treatment my mother was every single day for the rest of your miserable life.”
Linden flinched from me.
“That can absolutely be arranged,” Nikolai said in a bright voice behind me.
“What happened the night she came home?” I demanded.
Linden stared at me blankly.
“The night after she bonded with … With Nikolai,” I forced out.
Linden’s gaze didn’t break, but his lip curled slightly. “Apparently she had second thoughts.”
“You’re lying,” I replied coldly. “Mom talked to Remy tonight and she said … she said she didn’t break her bond. She said it was broken.”
Something flickered in his gaze. It swept across his expression like a shadow in candlelight.
“What did you do?” I ground out, my hands curling into fists.
Linden snorted, the sound a choked, garbled sound. He dropped onto his side, maneuvering himself so his back was against the metal framed cot that was his bed.
“I didn’t do anything,” he replied. “Is that what she said?”
“Then you know who did.” My teeth clenched hard enough to crack the enamel.
Linden lifted his good hand and attempted to wipe away some of the blood from his face. All he did was smear a grotesque streak from eye to chin. “Allan.”
I swallowed down a fresh wave of bile. “Why?”
“Because she had an obligation to our pack,” he sneered. “Father coddled her, worshipped her. But mother and I knew what she really was. Best day of my life was when she betrayed our pack. Selfish bitch.”
“She was bonded!” I shouted, getting to my feet to tower over him.
I could feel Nikolai behind me, his curious rage a palpable, tangible thing strangling the air. Thankfully, he didn’t intervene.
“How? How did it happen?” I demanded, my chest heaving as I struggled to breathe.
Linden shrugged awkwardly with one arm, looking away. “I wasn’t there for the act. All I know is it was Allan.” His gaze cut back to me, that familiar calculating glint. “He was disappointed the paternity test showed he wasn’t your father, you know.”