Page 17 of Sigma
I growl and stomp that way before I climb into the passenger seat, hearing Mase say, “We’ll deal at that point.”
Joel follows, reaches in and squeezes my shoulder with affection and concern on his face. “Sorry, Sis. But we–”
“Don’t touch her if you can help it!” Linc cuts him off.
I bristle even further, shooting Linc another dirty look. “Now I’ve got the plague, do I? Though I’ve had it for a while now judging by how you’ve been treating me.”
Linc’s eyes narrow as he says, “He went silverback apeshit when he smelled you on me after… you know… that last time I spent the night.”
I jolt with surprise.
He keeps explaining, “So, I had to restrain him. For days. He was so weak from his wolf struggling in the irons, it nearly killed him. That’s how we figured it all out.” He blows out a long breath, looking like he’s reliving that.
Man, this hurts.
“It’ll be worse now that he’s claimed you,” he adds. “And shifting is painful for him, Sis. Pretty sure it causes emotionalandphysical pain for him.”
“She gets it. Let’s go,” Joel says, sparing me from more information that hurts.
As much as all this hits hard, I can’t walk away right now and just sit somewhere to wait for an update. I can’t and I won’t.
***
We’re now in a stone building built into a hill that the guys refer to asthe bunker. It’s on a barely noticeable dirt trail that branches off an old logging road near the old water tower road leading to Drowsy Hollow. The council apparently uses it for weapons, spare clothes, and other pack emergency supplies because it’s near town.
Since it’s rarely used, they installed a restraint system here as well as put up a barred door behind the original. The sight of it sickens me. It feels like despair in here. It’s as if I can feel what Jared felt when he was locked in here. I loathe this sensation. Even more than that, I loathe seeing him unconscious on the dirty floor, a thick iron ring around his neck as well as around his arms, legs, and his waist. They’re chained to the stone walls and floor.
He's been locked up in here repeatedly in his wolf form as well as in human form when he feels like he has no choice but to shift.
I glare at the note on the wall warning the others to call Linc.
I haven’t spoken, but have been listening to them talk, fuming that this has been going on long enough that they’ve had time to put together this setup, using it however many times Jared has needed it while I’ve been oblivious.
And the way Linc talks to these guys, it’s clear nobody else in the council but Linc knew what Jared was hiding about himself.
Linc said he hasn’t seen Jared’s wolf enough times to know how long they have before he wakes, that it has varied, but this doesn’t ease my mind. I’ve been in the dark, going about my business with no clue my fated mate was here in chains.
Jared shifted to human while unconscious just as soon as he was pulled into the river but hasn’t woken yet. And shifting a few times is probably what he needs most based on how rough his battle wounds are. Linc poured antiseptic over multiple bites, and I feel a minute amount of relief that they seem like they tried to inflict as little damage on him as possible. Despite how his wolf fought them, they did the minimum to protect themselves, and regardless of his size and those terrifying teeth, four super alphas could’ve easily killed him.
“I’ll run in to Cicely’s store and get some supplies, yeah?” Joel asks, looking at Linc.
My eyes bounce between them, waiting for them to elaborate.
“Sports drinks, water, first aid shit and some protein bars, maybe?” Linc suggests.
Joel’s eyes move towards me. “Okay?”
“The shop keys are on the hook inside my apartment door. Apartment door is unlocked. Store alarm code 7782.” I turn my gaze to Linc. “What’s your plan?”
Linc blows out a long breath. “Ty and Mase, you two can head home if you want. He’s secure.”
I look at the sky. The sun has only been up for a while, started to come up when Jared jumped in the river. I’m gonna need someone to open the store and run it for me today.
“He might be stronger now,” Tyson says.
Mase leans against the wall, looking set on waiting.
“Stronger?” Linc repeats.
