Page 33 of Redeem Me
Chapter 29
Jade
I mulled over the information that Damian had bestowed upon me as I walked back to my shared room. But the closer I got to that room, I knew I couldn’t go there. I took a detour and ended up in a common area where people were sparring and playing board games. Everyone ignored me as I walked through, observing. Everyone but Bee, her eyes met mine and an emotion I couldn’t place passed over her face. She waved me over.
I sat down beside her at the small, square, wooden table. She had a tablet in front of her and was looking at pictures of a little girl. “This is my daughter.”
“She’s beautiful,” She was blonde like her mother but instead of sharing the same bright blue eyes like Bee had, she had brown eyes. They reminded me of Lucas. I pushed the thought down.
“Damian has her, like he has all of our children. Either that or we have nowhere else to go.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Damian kidnapped our children from school or on playdates. He had everything perfectly calculated and if he couldn’t take something important to us, he changed us. I was lucky to not have a wolf forced on me but the rest in here? Most of them are wolves and witches or humans that are now wolves like you.”
My heart hurt. This was so much bigger than I had imagined. Of course he had created an army. The humans that had been forced to turn had nowhere else to go. They didn’t know about pack dynamic or what life as a wolf was really like. All they had was this place. I remembered how lost I had felt after I had been turned and I had people that were looking out for me. But the witches that were also wolves? Where did they belong in this? Then the ones that had their family members taken? I pinched the bridge of my nose to keep the burning from behind my eyes. I couldn’t afford to cry. I had kept myself from crying this entire day and now my eyes were betraying me.
“Sheeva also has a niece that’s here, but she hasn’t been permitted to see her. Damian lets me see my daughter on occasion.”
“Where is he keeping them?”
I was surprised that she had an answer for me. “He keeps them in a building similar to this. I think it was an abandoned boarding school. They have nice rooms and get an education. They have no idea what is really happening to them there but we know.”
The sadness in this room was thick. “What can you do about that?”
Bee leaned back and sighed hard. “Nothing. We are prisoners here and the ones that aren’t prisoners? They have powerful magic and they are very happy to kneel at Damian’s feet.”
“Why would they do that?”
Bee shrugged. “There are many reasons. The witches feel like they’ve been at the bottom of the food chain for too long. The Vampires are tired of being afraid of the werewolves and their poisonous bite.” At my look of surprise she chuckles. “Oh yes, your bite will kill a witch and a vampire. Possibly more than just that. How do you think the wolves are at the top of the food chain?”
“Then how is it possible that a witch can be turned into a werewolf?” I didn’t know if it was safe to ask these questions but my mind was spinning with all the new information. I needed more. I needed to know it all that way I could put together a plan. I knew Rafe was plotting but I couldn’t rely on him. What if he got bored with all of this and decided I wasn’t worth it anymore? The last thing I wanted to be was a sitting duck.
Bee shook her head. “I wish I knew. You’ll have to ask Damian.” Her eyes flashed angrily. “I heard you’re getting rather cozy with him.”
I couldn’t blow my cover, even if it meant the people here would hate me. “I want revenge.”
“On Rafe Crimson?” She raised her light brows. “That’s funny considering what I saw in your head.”
I smiled. “You can read thoughts?”
“When I was in control of your body, I saw things. I know what he did to you but I also know you’re confused by it all and you want to know why. You know he isn’t a psychopath that did it like Damian is doing.”
I leaned forward and my voice dropped low. “There are things I need to do while I’m here. I had my chance to run and leave you all behind. Remember that when I need something from you.”
There was no point in denying what she saw in my head. If she wanted to use that against me, then so be it. But I wasn’t going to let her think I was a traitor.
A voice spoke in my mind as I walked out of the room. “We will rally behind the one that saves our children, then we will die to destroy the man that did this to us. If you have a plan, we will ready ourselves.”
I hadn’t done anything to deserve their loyalty but I had stayed and I guess that was enough. I doubted they had many that would care about them. I didn’t know them but I knew I had to do something. There were too many innocents involved. But first, I had to talk to Lucas and I was dreading that conversation more than anything else.
Lucas was waiting for me on my bed this time. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and his bronzed body had started to put on weight again. He didn’t look so emaciated anymore. His eyes met mine and I was shocked by how handsome he was. But as I continued to stare at him I wanted to beat myself up for not seeing it sooner. He looked just like Tracey except he favored his father more.
“What did Damian want?” He lounged back on my pillows and for a moment I wondered if he was trying to seduce me. The corner of his mouth picked up and I knew instantly that was what he was trying to do. There had been nothing remotely sexual between us but this was different. His body language had warning bells going off in my head.
“He had lots of information he wanted to share with me.” I sat on the edge of his bed and put my face in my hands. Before I knew it he was up and out of my bed. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and I relaxed into him. My body seemed to sigh with relief but Nalia growled in my mind. She didn’t like this one bit. I shooed her away mentally. It felt good to have human contact again. To be touched. When was the last time someone had touched me? Hugged me? I wrapped my arms around his bare waist and held on like it was a lifeline.
He knelt down in front of me and cupped my face between his hands. “If you don’t want to be touched, say the word. I know you haven’t had the opportunity to consent to so much in your life recently.”
