Page 40 of Their Defiant Mate

“Unlike cats, wolves can sense their mates,” Elias muttered. “My entire pack will sniff the females until they find the combinations that work. That takes minutes, not days.”

He was full of shit and they both knew it, but arguing with him was a waste of time. “Show me where they are,” Isaac commanded.

Elias’ gaze flew toward Isaac and then he squeezed his eyes shut. A litany of information flooded his mind, random locations, faces and names, even the lyrics to old Earth songs.

Isaac had encountered the technique before, and it was effective, for a minute or two. Inevitably, the person ran out of filler and their mind focused on whatever they were attempting to hide. “They disappeared in the forest. How did they do it and where did they go?” As he expected, an image flickered and then disappeared. Isaac had seen enough to delve deeper. “How is the opening disguised? Is there only one entrance to the tunnels?”

Elias’ eyes widened and fear helped clarify his mind. “You’re a fucking Shadow, aren’t you? I should have realized.”

“Tell me what I need to know, or I’ll start digging. One way or the other I will get to the information I need.”

Elias hissed. “It’s too late. Every one of those women spent the night with a wolf buried deep inside them.”

Years of discipline allowed Isaac to suppress the surge of emotions triggered by Elias’ claim. Remaining calm was crucial for a successful interrogation, and Isaac was determined to learn what they needed to know before the guards ended Elias’ miserable life. “Did you discover an abandoned mine or a series of connected caverns?” This planet was supposed to have been uninhabited. Why would there have been either?

Elias glared at him. “What makes you think we discovered the tunnels? Who’s to say we didn’t dig them?”

Isaac chuckled. Elias had just confirmed that the tunnels existed. His tendency to run his mouth was making this easier. “The timbers were milled. And there’s the holographic entrance. Even the raptors couldn’t have programmed something like that.”

“You should see what else is down there,” Elias bragged. “It’s unbelievable.”

“Tell me where it is. I’ll be happy to look around.”

Elias just made a rude noise and averted his face.

“If all the females have been claimed, there’s no reason to hide their location. Show me where they are.” For a millisecond Isaac saw a massive room beyond the winding tunnels, but the image blinked off before he could discern any of the details. Elias wasn’t succeeding in keeping the thoughts from his mind, buthe snuffed them out as quickly as they formed. “Show me the entrance. How does your pack find it?”

“Fuck. You!” A song played loudly within Elias’ mind. He was basically screaming the lyrics to keep himself from picturing anything.

Often surprise questions would trigger a reaction, so Isaac switched subjects. “Who tortured Akari?” Another widening of Elias’ eyes indicated that he was struggling to keep the information out of his mind. Not giving him time to refocus, Isaac pressed onward, “We know it was you and Armando, but who else was there? Show me their faces.”

The younger wolf Elias had been talking to in the shelter flashed through the wolf’s mind and then a burly male with long auburn hair and a tattoo that wound around his neck. If Diego didn’t know their names, Travis the wolf spy certainly would. “She was your captive for six days. Was it just the four of you?”

Elias glared at him and started silently screaming the song again.

Despite Elias’ efforts, a flash of memory provided more information. Elias stood at the edge of a large room. The room was filled with ruckus wolves, and Elias shouted, “Juan, get your ass over here.” The young wolf looked up and waved at him and then made his way across the room.

So the new beta’s name was Juan. That just left the wolf with the neck tattoo.

The sudden topic shift had worked before, so Isaac used it again. “How can you tolerate working with Babcock after all that fucker did to you?”

The singing stopped and hate ignited within Elias’ hazel-green eyes. “Zion left us no choice,” he snarled. “We have just as much right to survive this as you do. Babcock will ensure that there’s a next generation and then I’ll slit his throat.”

Despite Elias’ claim, a scene surged into his mind. He was fucking a human female from behind while Juan roughly used her mouth. The image suddenly shifted, racing forward. The female thrashed on the bed, snarling and screaming while her features twisted and her body contorted, transitioning from one mutated shift to another.

“How many women has Babcock killed? Is that why you raided the shelter? Does Babcock need more test subjects?”

Elias squeezed his eyes shut and shouted, “You goddamn freak, get out of my head! Get out!”

Without explaining his actions, Isaac stepped out onto the small porch and telepathically pinged Zion.

Any luck?Zion responded.

There’s some sort of mine or a series of tunnels situated under our forest, Isaac told the pride leader.The entrance is concealed by a holographic image, but Elias won’t explain how they find it.

Where the fuck did the wolves get a holographic projector?

Damn good question, Isaac agreed.He’s resisting, but I’ll keep at him.

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