Page 33 of Her Reborn Mate

Maurice stared into my eyes as he tased me again, this time for a longer period. I had made up my mind that I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of writhing and screaming in pain. So, even as he continued to send raw electrical voltage through my body, I stayed still and stared menacingly back at him without so much as a scream. It was pure agony, all that current racing through my body, but I was not about to make him feel like a big man for torturing me.

“Fine. Don’t scream. What do I care?” Maurice said, getting back up and kicking me in the chest as he left. “Rot here all you want.”

Just as he left, I fainted out of sheer pain, and this time, I did not know for how long I was unconscious. When I woke up, it was dark, and not even my wolf vision could help me see where I was. All I could hear were the sounds coming from the far end of the cave. It seemed like Maurice was talking to some people out there. I closed my eyes and focused on the sounds till I could decipher the murmurs and whispers.

“Yes, the crates are all accounted for,” someone hissed. “We made sure to empty the cove before we left.”

“Good, then we must continue our shipping from here. No one’s going to suspect we’re here,” Maurice said.

“But what about the wolf you’ve got in there,” another voice spoke.

“Oh, she’s just my little pet. It gets boring in there, you know. Especially now that I can’t go out in the open, thanks to that whole fiasco, so, yeah, I’m going to entertain myself with her, and when I’m done, we’ll send a little message to Wilhelm Grimm. Show him that he’s not all that powerful,” Maurice said.

Even though I could see nothing, the accents of the people speaking to Maurice were distinct enough to make me realize they were vampires. The context I gathered from their conversation was quite clear. They were using this second location as their smuggling hub now that the cove was deserted.

He had underestimated me. In his pride and anger, Maurice had unwittingly led me to the one place he shouldn’t have. If only I could get out of these shackles, I could put an end to this operation.

While there was nothing else to do, I lay on the floor, my eyes closed in concentration, and tried to get in touch with Will. What people like Maurice did not understand was that bonds between fated mates did not rely upon factors like distance and time to work. Bonds like ours transcended all such limitations.

At least, I hoped that was true.

Will. Are you there? I’m stuck somewhere terrible, I called out with all the strength left in me.

Chapter 14: Will

It felt like a gunshot ringing in my ears. I woke up with a start, tugging at my chest, expecting to see blood. There was so much pain emanating from my ribs that I felt like screaming. It had been a dreamless sleep, but at the last moment, I woke up to the sound of Alexis taking my name.

My body was sweating, and I was panting to catch my breath. My first instinct was to use my bond with her to see if she was all right. However, when I had earlier tried to use my bond, all I had gotten in return was just darkness. How would this time be any different?

Outside, the pack members had gone back to their homes and were sleeping off the events of the previous night. Today had been a very lazy day, at least for me. I just watched as most of the members of the pack helped put the commune back together, reinforced the boundaries, and made communal meals for everyone who had taken part in the battle. Most people were just happy to be alive and to have survived that ambush by the vampires. Some of them were feeling particularly brave after having beaten all of those vampires with a wolf within their midst.

The way they looked at me had changed considerably. There was more respect in their gaze, more reverence in their words, and whenever they approached me, they did so with a politeness that I felt was entirely involuntary on their part. Their behavior toward me was that of a deity. I figured that having seen me come back from the dead and then just within a short time after that, witnessing my transformation must have reinforced the impression that I was some form of a supernatural creature of myth rather than just an ordinary werewolf like them.

While I wandered around the commune during the day, the people kept discussing over and over again the events of last night. The women talked of Alexis and how she had taken down several vampires to get the women and children back to safety.

Knowing that Alexis had come to my aid and had assisted the pack made me feel happy. But it was a bittersweet happiness, given that Alexis had shortly disappeared after her feat of bravery. The question remained, where had she disappeared? Ever since she had rescued the kids and the women, no one had seen her anywhere near the commune or even in the city.

When I tried to use my bond throughout the day, all I got was radio silence. Had she done something to sever our bond? Did such a spell exist that revoked one’s matehood? I feared for the worst yet kept hope alive in my heart that the worst had not yet transpired. There was only one possibility other than the severing of our bond that would result in such silence from her end.

Her death.

If Alexis were dead, then it would break me beyond repair. I toiled with that thought all afternoon, and when I was unable to come to terms with it, I fell asleep, only to wake up to the sound of her ringing in my ears and my body aching as if it had been shot with a shotgun at point-blank range.

I raced out of my home and stepped out into the clear night. Unlike the ill-omen night of yesterday, tonight, the sky was clear, giving plenty of stars a chance to shine their light and the moon to suspend majestically in the cloudless blue horizon.

There was no one outside except for me. On second thought, I should have worn something warm. I shivered on my way to Vincent’s home, where I could see that the lights were turned on inside. I knocked just loud enough that he would hear me if he were already awake, not if he was fast asleep.

Upon my third knock, Vince opened the door. I could see from his face that he had not been sleeping. The odor coming from him told a story involving many strong alcoholic drinks and some tobacco.

“I never knew you to be a smoker,” I said.

“I’m not. It’s just…a very hard time for me right now,” Vince said, slurring his words as drunks often do.

“Why are you so inebriated?” I asked, feeling a bit angry at his compromised disposition. The Vincent I knew was a man of strong character and never let anything get him down. I pushed my way into his home and closed the door behind me, secretly thankful that Vince had the central heating on in his home. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Trust me, I’m fine. I was just taking all of dad’s old things and throwing them out of my home. I don’t want anything of that sick old freak in my home. When I was done throwing everything out, the only two things that remained were a pack of Virginia Slims and a bottle of whiskey that he had tied a bow on top. I’m guessing it was for some special occasion. Anyway, I decided that it’d be a better use for both things that I smoked the cigs and drank the whisky rather than throw them out. One thing led to the other, and here I am. Although, I will admit I am feeling a bit gloomy,” Vince said.

“Cut that out,” I said sternly, heading into Vincent’s kitchen to prepare some coffee. I needed him sober right now, not in this drunken state. Vince sat down behind me on the kitchen counter, rubbing his head.

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