Page 24 of Dawn of the Pack

Milo slams his hands on the table, standing to his full height and leaning forward with a sneer. “Don’t forget who you’re talking to, Dominic. You’re lucky Lily is still including you in this conversation at all. If you want to continue to be a part of this discussion, I suggest you apologize to my mate for interrupting and listen to your alpha.” His voice is a throaty growl, and I’m shocked; I’ve never seen Milo lose his cool like that before.

Jared and I exchange a wide-eyed glance, and even Lily looks up at him in surprise.

“Thank you, Milo,” she soothes, placing a light hand on his forearm to coax him back in his seat. “I’m sure Dom didn’t mean any disrespect.”

Dom’s face has turned a deep shade of red, as if he wants to shout but knows better, so he’s holding it in.

Roxanne decides this is the opportune time to speak up. “I know we all want the same thing: to rescue Derrek as quickly as possible, in the safest way we can. The information Jared and Landon provided is extremely helpful, but I do agree with Dom that it’s not enough to launch a full-on attack and just hope for the best.”

Dom blows out a breath, and the color in his face gradually returns to normal. “Yes, thank you. That’s what I meant. I apologize for interrupting, Lilliana. I think we’ve accurately covered the information we know, but we need to figure out what information we still need, and how we’re going to get it. That should be decision number one.”

Lily’s eyes close for a few seconds and she draws in a deep breath, then releases it. “Okay.” There’s another handful of heartbeats before her eyes open and she speaks again, her gaze laser-focused on her uncle as she runs down her thoughts like a list. “We need to know if we can cross the boundary into Pack Montrose. We need to know how many people are in the house at any given time. We need to know where Derrek is exactly, the properties of this magical prison they said Azalea has him in, and what it takes to get him out.”

Dom nods in agreement. “Yes, to all of that. We also need to know how many of Nielsen’s pack are actually involved or know what’s going on, and why he’s suddenly so keen to have Derrek under lock and key.”

“Agreed. So now that we have our list, how do you propose we get these answers?”

At this, the former alpha’s lips curl into a grin that looks distinctly devious when combined with his dark beard and flashing eyes. “From the enemy themselves, of course.”

Chapter Ten

Derrek

The first thing I notice when I wake up is that I’m warm and reasonably comfortable, which is a surprise given that I’m sleeping on a concrete floor. But the thick blanket and pillow that Billy brought in did the trick, and I actually feel rather well-rested.

Then the feeling of being watched registers, raising the hairs on my neck, and I know I’m not alone.

They must have been staring at me, just waiting for me to wake up, because the second I move, they begin speaking.

“Ah, there’s my boy. Sleep well, son?”

An unpleasant voice answers, “Sure sounded like it to me. I didn’t know someone could snore that loud.”

Well, this is bound to be interesting.

I sit up slowly, taking my time to meet the two unwelcome faces staring at me through the metal bars and the invisible shield of my cell.

“Sorry, didn’t realize we were doing the family reunion today. I’m not exactly dressed for the occasion.” I gesture to my shirtless, unwashed state. Given the lack of bathroom facilities, I’d had to avail myself of the bucket. So I sacrificed my shirt to cover it to reduce the foul smell and discourage associated insect life.

“Always that sharp sense of humor, just like me.” Nielsen grins as if he’s truly a proud father.

Azalea rolls her eyes and shifts her weight from one one black platform boot to the other. “Hilarious. Shall we get on with this? The smell is disgusting.”

Nielsen waves her forward, and Billy steps out of the doorway with a set of keys. When I spot something made of black leather in Azalea’s hand, I jump to my feet on high alert. I don’t know what’s going on here just yet, but my every instinct is telling me it isn’t good.

Billy inserts the key into the lock and turns, then carefully grips the iron bars of the door and swings it open. The magical wall flickers, his proximity enough to make the spell react.

Azalea struts through the opening and eyes me up and down with a nasty smirk on her face. I might be able to use magic against her since she’s within the force field, but something tells me she’s already considered that possibility and I wouldn’t change my circumstances by trying.

She strides slowly around me, as if assessing my sorry state. “The last twenty-four hours haven’t done you any favors, cousin. You look terrible, and you smell like a dog.”

I should have seen it coming, or at least suspected something. But my focus is torn between her and Nielsen, and I thought if there were any surprises, they’d come from him.

Just as she whispers the last word in my ear, something black flies past my eyes and tightens around my neck. The second it touches my skin, it shocks me like waves of open electricity. I gasp for breath and the searing bolts shoot down my throat, inflicting such agony I can’t even breathe. My fingers scrabble at the thick leather, trying to find purchase to rip the thing off. Doubled over in pain, I drop to my knees and struggle vainly to draw in air.

Azalea snickers and exits my cell, passing through the magical field as if it were nothing more than light.

My hands slide to the back of my neck as I search for some sort of buckle, but there’s none; the collar is as smooth as the front, and equally adhered to my skin. The only difference is some kind of metal loop attached to the leather, but there’s no break in the circle around my neck.

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