Page 6 of Fate Awakened

“Ain’t no rest for the wicked, as they say.” I give him a forced smile as I try to control my wolf and appear unfazed. All I needed was for Kole to read my distress and use it against me, or worse, to lose control and kill him before he could give me any information.

She’s counting on us.

“I need him moved to room one,” I state plainly, not bothering to fill him in on more before strolling toward the “tool room,” as we affectionately coined it for the various instruments of pain housed there.

“Of course, but so you know, room one is the Enforcer’s favorite. He doesn’t take too kindly to anyone else using it.” Even as he answers, he begins grabbing the ring of solid metal keys from the wall and moving toward the holding cells. Jake may be the Head Enforcer in charge of this compound area, but I was the Second, and my word was law over any in the pack save for Dante.

Today I'm pulling rank.

***

After twenty minutes of perusing the tool room, I waltz into interrogation room one with a solitary purpose.

Find out where they would take her.

Kole was already chained to the room’s far wall, looking unamused and disheveled.

“Finally ready to release me?” he asked, an inexplicable amount of confidence oozing out of him. It gives me a moment’s pause as I consider his current circumstances.

Kole’s an Alpha wolf born into the Reno Pack as the nephew to the current Alpha. He holds no position within the pack due to both his age and what I’d assume is his lack of maturity. Nevertheless, his pack sent him away, hoping to plant a foothold in our territory in an attempt to bring Kole into the role he may someday fill, running the pack in the north.

The problem with their plan came to light when they realized Kole found himself more interested in drugs and women than in furthering pack politics. So while he gathered some support down here, he got sloppy and wound up in our holding cells because of a botched attempt to steal proprietary technology.

“Now, Kole, you hurt my feelings. Just when I thought we were becoming friends.” I throw a hand over my heart and pretend he wounded me with his statement. I’d been down here for very little of his actual interrogation, but I know Jake has had him on the brink of death several times based on reports during our weekly council meetings.

“Oh sure, friends of mine often chain me up and torture me for weeks. It’s my favorite pastime.” His response lacks humor, and his sense of entitlement irritates me.

“I’m so glad we can accommodate.” I sneer at him, showing my teeth this time. “Now, I don’t have much time for small talk as I’m completely swamped today. I’d appreciate it if you would answer my questions so that I can get on with it. Interrogation becomes so unbelievably dull when I have to start letting you heal just to remove more body parts.” I yawn in a show of indifference as I eye the tools, contemplating my choices.

“Well, since you asked so nicely…” he rolls his eyes and sighs before continuing, “I told the quiet one everything I knew. I’m not on the council or part of any planning or decision-making. Not to mention, I’ve been in Vegas for over a year. So, you boys are barking up the wrong…..”

I walk over to him, interrupting his thought, and in a single motion, grab and twist his shackled hand, instantly breaking the thumb and wrist. He screams, his face losing all of its color.

“Now, I haven’t even asked my question, and already you lie to me. We’ve allowed you to keep your contact with your Alpha. Your mind-link capabilities haven’t been blocked or tampered with. So see, I know the pack has been communicating with you. What I don’t know is why you’re under any impression that I plan to let you survive this session.” His eyes meet mine before looking over my shoulder and realizing I came in alone. No backup, no witnesses, and no one to stop me. I revel in the moment he realizes I’m unhinged.

His eyes begin looking around wildly, and I see him straining to send messages through his mind-link. I smile; his attempt at saving himself only brings my wolf closer to the surface. My eyes shift, and I feel my teeth elongating as more control shifts to my wolf. I return to various tools, eyeing a handheld taser before grabbing it, feeling the weight of it in my hand before strolling back to stand in front of him. Then, in a completely flat and calm voice, I continue.

“They took something that belongs to me, and you’re going to tell me where I can find it, or you’ll not live to see another sunset.” I pause momentarily while he desperately tries to send that message to his Alpha.

“No, no, no, no. We haven’t taken anything. Even the quiet one said you got back the shipment. You got it back. We don’t have it.”

Liar!

I place the taser on the underside of his throat and press the button, relishing in the way his muscles seize and his body convulses under the pain. A rumble curls its way out of my throat as I breathe in Kole’s agony. The taser remains in place for another moment before I back off. His body falls limp, eyes glazing over as he leans all his weight onto the wall. His head hangs back, and he gasps for air, his heartbeat crashing inside his chest frantically from both the electrical current and the fear.

“Where are they taking her?” my voice sounds more beast than man at this point, and Kole’s whimpering sobs are ignored. My patience isn't thin, it's gone, and the only thing keeping him alive are the words I wait to hear falling from his traitorous mouth.

End him.

“Who?!?” he half shouts. “There’s no one. They say we have no one.” My resolve snaps. His screams continue as I break the rest of his fingers one by one, leaving them to heal in odd directions. Kole’s breathing is labored, and sweat covers his entire body.

More lies.

“You had a man on the inside. A mole in my pack. Tell me his name.” I pull his chin up, forcing him to look at me as I await a response. It feels like an eternity before the single word tumbles from his lips.

“Hudson.”

The taser hits home again, surprising me as much as Kole because he gave me the correct information. My wolf doesn’t care, and he’s driving my choices now. If Kole knows about Hudson, his pack knows he has her. He’s lying.

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