Page 43 of Blood Lost

We were cuffed and led back downstairs to an unmarked van with no windows. The men shoved us inside one by one before hooking the cuffs to the seats and closing the door. The ride wasn’t long and the van stopped. The men took us out again and escorted us inside a warehouse. If there was a way out of this, we needed to pay attention to everything. I started to get flashes of another warehouse and being kept there. These were different than the usual flashes of memory. There was something more sinister about them. Each time a flash happened, I shivered and the memory threatened to take over, leaving me helpless.

I fought against the sensations as we walked. The men put each of us into a small cage with three feet of space between us. That was the worst thing that had happened so far. I needed my guys close, but they were so far away. I refused to speak unless it was to their leader. Talking to anyone else wouldn’t benefit me anyway. These guys were just the muscle, not the brains. They had no control over anything that was happening. They were just here to follow orders. I watched in horror as, one by one, my guys were taken away for questioning. I knew that was code for torture. I wasn’t sure what kind of information the hunters thought my guys had.

Eli had been taken first. He was gone for an hour or so and returned with a cut on his cheek and some bruising on his face. If we tried to talk, they would hit the bars or jab poles between them and poke us until we stopped. I desperately wanted to make sure Eli was okay, but there was no way to do that without getting hurt. If these assholes hurt me, it would make my guys fight harder. I had to stay quiet and still. I needed to be the example.

Vik was taken next. He was gone closer to two hours. When he returned, his entire face was bruised and cut up. He also had bloody knuckles. That told me he’d fought them once they were alone. I wanted to call out to him but couldn’t. There was nothing I could say to make the situation better anyway. I refused to let the hunters see me cry. I wouldn’t have them misconstrue my feelings or twist them into something else.

A tall Hunter with brown wavy hair came to get Declan. They seemed to know each other, which made me think this guy must be Kayden. Maybe that would work in our favor. If he really cared for Dec, maybe he wouldn’t hurt him. The minutes after he was escorted away stretched into hours. At some point, I fell asleep.

My dreams were fitful, horrendous things. I watched as my guys were tortured nearly to death. The hunters were distorted and spoke in a strange language. I couldn’t understand the questions they asked. When I couldn’t answer, they would torture one of my guys. I woke myself screaming at the bloodshed. All I wanted was to take my guys and leave this place. It was clear that was not going to happen.

I looked around for Declan, but he wasn’t back yet. What could they be doing to him? Who was behind this? I tried to remember anything that would be useful. I had no idea if I had enemies as a human. Someone had to hate me for this to be happening. I just wished I knew who it was and what I had done to them. Hopelessness was taking over. No matter how hard I fought to stay positive, I couldn’t see a happy ending here.

The hunters keeping us were monsters. They visibly enjoyed making us suffer. If we were too calm, they would pound on the cages to get my guys riled up or scare me. Just when I thought Dec was never coming back, two of them dragged him through the doorway. I wasn’t even sure it was him at first. “Please, just put him in here with me,” I begged. I knew it was a bad idea since it would get me punched and upset my guys. But I didn’t care. I needed to be close to Dec and take care of him. The two thugs shared a look, then dragged him over and tossed him into the cage I was in.

I cradled his head and held him, waiting for his supernatural healing to kick in. I knew that it wouldn’t take too long for his wounds to heal. Before I had a chance to do anything besides brush his bloody hair off his forehead, one of the hunters stomped over. “You monsters want us to think you actually have feelings.” He turned to the guys who were guarding the other cages. “Drag those two over here. Then we won’t have to waste our time guarding so many cages. Shove them all in this one.”

Eli and Vik were taken out of their cages and forced into mine with Dec and me. There was no room to move, but we were all together. I held Dec’s head on my lap. Eli and Vik each took one of his hands. At least now we could whisper to each other. I would know they were as safe as possible for the moment. Maybe I would be able to sleep without the nightmares.

For the first time since we were brought here, I relaxed against the bars and fell asleep holding Dec.

Chapter 53

Declan

I woke feeling cramped. Where did all these legs come from? My head was killing me, but I figured that was pretty standard when a wolf throws you around like a rag doll. I made the mistake of challenging Kayden as if that would do any good right now. I knew better. He kept at me until he pushed the right button to piss me off, though. I couldn’t stop myself. I opened my eyes to find Delilah staring at me, with Vik and Eli crammed in the small cage too. “What happened?” I whispered.

“They beat you up pretty badly. Delilah convinced them to put you in here with her, then they shoved us in as well,” Vik said, barely moving his lips as he spoke. The single guard didn’t seem to notice. He was more interested in whatever he was watching on his phone.

“Did Kayden do that to you?” Delilah asked softly. I wanted to lie to her and tell her it was someone else, but I couldn’t. I just nodded. I knew it would happen again and again until he got what he wanted. I didn’t understand who the hunters were working for. They were supposed to be enforcers for the Council, but this was not how they operated. This was something else.

“There’s something strange going on here. This isn’t how the hunters should be handling this situation." I fisted my hands in my hair.

“I didn’t think this was following procedure,” Eli whispered, turning away from us. “This seems more like what a drug operation would do.” He had already come to the same conclusion that I had. Whoever was behind the Powder operation they’d been investigating had somehow taken over the Council and the hunters.

“This is bad. If someone has control of the Council and the hunters, there’s no telling what’s going to happen to us here.” I hated to scare Delilah, but she deserved to know we weren’t dealing with what we thought.

“So, surrendering was a mistake? I’m so sorry. I was trying to keep you all from getting killed. Now I think I’ve made things worse.” I looked up to see tears streaming from Delilah’s eyes. Eli wiped them away. If this cage wasn’t so small, I could have pulled her into my arms and held her close to comfort her.

“You did what you thought was best. Don’t ever doubt yourself, mo chroí. If it weren’t for you, we’d probably all be dead right now. Because we would have fought.” She ran her fingers through my hair and I relaxed a little. I knew that she wouldn’t be finished with her guilt, but we would help her work through it. She had nothing to feel guilty about. If anything, we failed her.

“What did he ask you?” Vik looked at me, then over at the guard, who was essentially ignoring us.

“Nothing really. He just said some asshole things until he pissed me off and I challenged him. Then he shifted and beat my ass as a wolf.” I avoided Delilah’s stare. I didn’t want her to ask what he’d said to set me off. Delilah didn’t need to know that Kayden had threatened to gut her while I watched.

“They were asking me about our inquiries into the Powder operation. I wondered if it was the same line of questioning for everyone,” Vik explained.

Eli shook his head. “They asked me about your company’s security. It was like they wanted me to break in for something. But they didn’t say what. I didn’t tell them anything, either.”

“Why would they care about Vik’s security? Or what you know about some random Powder operation? There’s something here we’re not connecting.” The words were out of my mouth before I realized how stupid they were. Of course, there’s something we’re not connecting. It’s Delilah. Somehow all of this leads back to her. But how? I tuned everything else out for a while and thought about it. That was the only thing that made sense. It didn’t even really make sense because we hadn’t made the connection yet.

“I’m not sure, but it’s all connected. We need to get out of here,” Eli said, just as another Hunter joined the first one. They spoke in hushed tones for a minute, then walked over to the cage. I could tell from their faces that one of us was in for it.

When their gazes zeroed in on me, I knew that Kayden wanted another conversation. As much as I wanted to fight, I resisted the urge. One of them grabbed my arm and pulled me from the cage. I looked at Delilah as she put her fingers to her lips. She was terrified for me. I wanted to comfort her, but that would have to wait. I hid my fear, keeping my expression neutral as the guard walked me to the interrogation room I’d been in earlier. I wasn’t even sure what day it was or how long we’d been here anymore.

The guy shoved me inside and slammed the door. I tripped over my feet but managed to catch myself instead of falling. Kayden would keep me waiting first, then come in swinging. Whatever it was he wanted to know; he hadn’t figured out how to ask me yet. It didn’t matter. I wouldn’t have told him anything useful anyway. I stretched my cramped muscles while I waited. I was facing the back wall when the door finally opened. I braced myself for an impact that didn’t happen. Slowly turning around, my eyes met my friend’s.

“What do you want from us?” I asked, knowing he’d never tell me the truth. I watched his expression to see if he would give anything away.

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