"Tears are the silent language of grief." - Voltaire

I decided to remain quiet, not indulging Randy with a response. I did not want to let out any piece of information that they weren’t aware of and could use to their advantage.

At this stage, I had no idea as to what they knew about me and Ethan, or how much. My best guess was that Braden ratted us out to Randy since he was the only one who knew about Ethan and I’s mating bond.

Or it could have been Elliot since he also held the same knowledge.

But even then, some questions remained unanswered: What was Josh doing here? Why did they kidnap him and not me? Was he some sort of bait to capture me? Why had Elliot sided with the Lycans? Why did Braden went back on his promise?

“Not long ago, a familiar, fiery, spirted woman was in the same place as you. Her name was Eira. I’m sure you must have heard about her,” He paused, waiting for me to answer but when he saw that I was just glaring at him venomously, he continued talking. “And now history repeats itself…” The golden circle in his eye glowed.

Elliot stood to his right with arms crossed, staring down at me with a smirk whereas Braden was standing to his left and was breathing heavily through his nose, his eyes empty and cold as usual, but his fists were clenched.

My heart hurt at the double betrayal but there was nothing left for me to do but swallow that hard pill.

Let’s put our energy and time on plotting revenge.

Randy leaned down, coming down to my eye-level. His glowing eyes travelled all over my face, lingering on my lips. “What a shame, another beauty will be lost just because of some stupid mate bond.”

“The only stupid thing is the shit coming out of your mouth, Randy.”

Somebody punched my face from the side. It hurt so fucking bad that I almost lost my vision for a second and was seeing stars. Pain spread through my body like hot fire, and I could already feel my face swelling. I blinked and lurched to the side as the room dipped and swayed.

I didn’t see a fist coming at me. Spitting out the blood in my mouth, I looked at the deliverer of my punch.

My eyes landed on the golden-pin, bald guy. He was smirking, it was evident that he was deriving pleasure from my pain.

Fucking sadist.

“Meet my right-hand man – James. Personally, I don’t like to stain my hands so I let him do everything for me.”

“Does his job entail wiping your ass too?”

There was another punch to my face and I almost hit my head on the floor. The pain shot up my body and I cringed. It exploded in my head with a blinding whiteness and made me dizzy.

The pain was so fucking intense that it felt like needles had been dipped into alcohol and were now being jammed through my skin. My ears were ringing and I was quite positive that now my nose was bleeding too.

Geez, this guy can pack a punch.

But this Alpha can take them too.

And there was no way I was going to show him that the pain from the punches hurt me so bad that it felt like electricity was being wired straight into my spine.

I can’t be weak.

I won’t let myself be weak.

“Or maybe you’re just a coward, Randy.” I began to laugh mockingly, the blood dripping down my chin. “Letting other do your work for you because you don’t have the balls to do it yourself.”

His eyes darkened, the golden circle still burning brightly. The slight shift in his expression showed me that I managed to piss him off.

He looked towards James and gave him a single nod.

I already knew what was coming so I welcomed it with my not-so-open arms. An onslaught of punches and kicks rained down on me. James attacked me everywhere, but it was the kicks to my stomach and ribs that hurt the most.

But I didn’t scream. Not even once.

I wouldn’t give them the pleasure.

When Randy gave James the signal to stop, my entire body collapsed down on the floor. Blood ran down the side of my face and splattered on the ground next to my cheek.

But I wasn’t going to back down.

Wincing, I forced my way back into a sitting position and looked up at James and grinned, my teeth all bloody.

“Is that all you got for me, Jamie?”

He punched me again, and I almost slipped into unconsciousness due to the sheer force behind it. Braden’s mouth was puckered, like he just swallowed something sour.

“This is just the start, Vivian.” Randy brough his thumb to swipe my lip, and then stared at my blood. “I’ll take my sweet time torturing you and your lover. Just like I did with the poor kid Zack.”

I faltered.

He noticed.

And just like that, it was out in the open.

My only weakness.

My brother.

Zack.

“He was a good kid, that one. Intelligent. Brave,” he looked away, as if he was reminiscing a past memory. “He would’ve been a good Alpha. Better than any I have ever seen in my life, if I'm being completely honest. But then he found out about everything. Figured out my plans before anyone else could… which was quite surprising.” The look on his face showed that his appreciation for my brother was genuine. “Alas, his hamartia was that he was born with a sister like you. His fate was already sealed the day you were born. His death was inevitable.”

Tears brimmed my eyes.

Your fault. Your fault. Your fault.

The intrusive thoughts in my mind rushed like an open floodgate.

“I can still hear his cries ringing in my ears.”

“You fucking bastard, I will kill you!” I leaped forward and thrashed in my bonds.

“How strange! He said the exact same thing when I stabbed in the heart and told him I’d enjoy making his sister cry.”

The slight hint of pleasure in his tone sickened me. I let out an agonizing scream, wanting to rip free from my bonds and mutilate him.

“Mark my words, Randy. I will fucking kill you with my own hands. You will die and the last thing you see before you leave this world will be my eyes. You will beg for mercy but you will not get any because I. Will. Fucking. Kill. You.”

“Is that a threat?”

“That’s a fucking promise.”

He laughed obnoxiously, as if I just told him a joke. “To do that, you need to get out first, Alpha.”

Turning around, he gave Josh a look and then left the room. The rest followed him, except for Braden who stayed behind with another guard.

He was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed as he stared at me from under his dark hair. A cigarette dangling from his lips.

“You never stop talking back, do you?”

“Fuck off, fucker.”

“Precisely my point.”

Throwing the cigarette on the floor, he stepped on it then strolled towards me. Crouching down, he leaned until our faces were mere inches away, “Tsk, tsk. Such an ugly mouth on such a pretty face.” His hot breath tickled my ear as he whispered. “Stay quiet.”

A snarky comment almost escaped my lips but stopped when I felt a blade near my wrists, cutting off my ties. “Don’t move.”

He got up, acting as if he didn’t just free me from my bonds.

“I can’t wait till I get my hands on you, Vivian. The possibilities are endless.” He smirked and then bowed mockingly. The tone of his voice was the same as before but his eyes were telling an entirely different story. He headed out, the guard following him.

I stayed there motionless for a minute, not understanding the meaning of what just happened but then a painful groan from the side brought me back to reality.

Josh.

Braden had only cut my wrist bonds so it proved to be a struggle to remove the ropes which were tied around my feet but somehow, I managed to ignore the pain of silver and freed myself.

However, standing up was a feat in itself. After failing and falling on my ass multiple times, I realised that it would take some time getting used to my legs since I hadn’t stood in two weeks and had been beaten to death.

Getting on my fours, I crawled my way towards Josh and mustered all my strength to turn him on his back. A sob broke through me when I saw his face again up close.

It was so bloody.

What did they do to you, Josh?

Checking for his pulse, I relaxed when I felt the faint but steady beat.

He's alive.

With trembling hands, I brushed away his hair which had clumped together due to the dried blood and placed a soft kiss at the top of his head.

“I’ll get us out of here. I promise you, Josh.” Resting my forehead against his head, I breathed in his scent. “I’ll get us out, even if it’s the last thing I do.”

Not wanting to lose any more time, I forced myself to stand up. It took me about ten failed tries, and out of those, I collapsed on the floor five times before I finally managed to stand on them. Shuffling around the room, I looked for a window or hidden door but found absolutely nothing.

There was only one door and I had no idea if there was somebody outside guarding it. And I wasn’t going to take the risk to check either.

Another problem was that I didn’t have the strength to carry Josh myself, especially since I didn’t have my wolf with me.

Fuck.

I had to think fast. What do I do?

Before the next thought could come to my mind, the door opened and my heart dropped.

It was Elliot.

Rushing towards the chair, I broke it and grabbed one of the broken legs as a makeshift weapon. It might have been a lame weapon choice but it was the only option that I was left with.

And thanks to my lessons with Dad, I had enough skills to kill a person with this. Just like John Wick with a pencil. But in my case, Vivian with a broken, wooden chair leg.

“What the hell are you doing?” He rushed towards me but I raised my weapon and stood in front of Josh to guard him.

If he dared to touch even a single hair of Josh, he won't live to see another day.

“Stay away! Don’t come any closer!”

Ignoring my warnings, he took another step towards me, his eyes flittering from my face to where I was tied just a few minutes ago.

And that’s when I saw it.

The knife.

Braden had left it behind me and my stupid, idiotic self didn’t see it. Noticing Elliot’s sudden interest in the knife, I jumped to grab it before he could make a break for it.

“How the hell did you get this knife?”

“I just picked it up. Are you blind or what?”

He gave me a look, “You know what I mean, Vivian.”

“Don’t come any closer, Elliot. I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

“Answer me! How did you get it, Vivian?!”

He stepped forward and I thrusted the knife in his direction, “Get the fuck back!!”

“What’s going on?” Another voice from behind us interrupted.

“Did you free her, Braden?”

His gaze fell on me and then back at Elliot, trying to make sense of the situation. “Why are you here, Elliot?”

Elliot rubbed his temples, “Now is not the time, Braden. They both are weak and he is here. This was not in the plan!”

“The plan has gone to shit!” He snapped back at him, “He is speeding things up. It is going to start tonight.”

“Tonight?!”

“Yes, that’s what he told me.”

“Will anyone tell me what the fuck is happening here?” I cried out, having had enough of them.

What the hell were these two talking about?

Both of them turned to look at me but it was Braden who spoke, “We need to get you both out of here.”

“Are you out of your Goddess damn mind?” I bellowed, “You first promised to remain quiet, then you kidnap us both and now you want to help us escape?”

“We are not your enemies, Vivian.” Elliot answered.

I pointed a finger towards him, “You don’t talk to me unless I address you, fucking betrayer.”

Elliot flinched.

“The round up is in fifteen minutes. We have to get going.” Braden interrupted once again. “Elliot, you can distract the guards. I’ll get them both out and we can meet by the creek.”

He nodded in agreement and immediately headed for the door. Braden rushed towards me and pointed to my hand which was still holding out the knife in defense, “You can put the knife down now.”

I shot him a glare as if to say ‘yeah, right’.

He smiled at my stubbornness and pulled out a vial from his pocket, “Here, drink this.”

“I’m not drinking anything.”

“It is a counteractive for the silver,” he explained. “Both of you have been getting injected with doses of silver to make sure your wolves are weakened. If you don’t want to die, drink it.”

“What reason do I have to trust you?”

“Did I not just free you?”

“And how do I know this isn’t a part of greater plan?” I insisted, still feeling hesitant to trust him because the last time I did, it led me to the clusterfuck of a situation we were currently in.

He sighed, “You’re just wasting our time.”

“Alright, then you drink it.”

“Fine!” He took a few sips from the vial. “Happy? Now drink it.”

I grabbed it from his hand and gulped, the taste burning the back of my throat.

He knelt down and took out another vial from his pocket to pour some down Josh’s throat but only after I made him drink some of it to make sure that it was safe.

The counteractive surprisingly got to work almost immediately. Within a few seconds, I felt more stronger and could firmly stand on the ground. I already knew that if I drank a few more doses of the counteractive, my wolf and my Alpha senses would return soon.

Braden picked Josh and put him on his shoulders as if he weighed less than a feather.

“Let’s go.”

I followed him as he maneuvered us out of the room. Elliot had done a pretty good job of clearing out the place. There was no sign of anybody outside. No guards, no nothing.

I noticed that the area looked like some sort of an abandoned, empty warehouse. There were different items and things one would find in the inventory of a grocery store. Braden didn’t waste any time and rushed out of the place. He managed to do that so quickly and easily that it felt like he had already committed the entire area to his memory and had practiced this escape plan a thousand times before.

With the passing of every five seconds, Braden would turn around to make sure I was following and that there was no one behind us.

Soon, we were out of the warehouse and found ourselves in some dense forest. I was clueless as to where we were because I had never been to this place and had never even seen these forests before.

Braden didn’t stop and had now increased his speed even more, not letting me settle my gaze on our surroundings for even a second.

It took us twenty minutes to reach our destination. It was a shed secluded behind a big tree and was completely hidden behind the grapevine.

Only somebody who had been to the shed would know its location since it was practically invisible to the human eye. A small door was the only visible thing and we had to duck in order to go through it and enter the shed.

There were no rooms or anything. Just two sofas and a small kitchen with an attached bathroom. Braden walked towards one of the sofa and gently placed Josh down on it.

“Listen to me very carefully, Vivian.” He held me by my shoulders. “I need to go but I’ll be back soon. You need to stay inside and work on healing Josh. Do not leave this shed under any circumstance. Do not open the door for anyone except for me. And do not, please, do not call for anyone.”

“What is happening? What aren't you telling me?”

“I can’t tell you right now but I promise I will when I come back.” He answered back, the coldness in his eyes had melted and was now replaced with warmth. He turned towards the door and opened to leave. But I stopped him.

“How can I trust you, Braden?”

He pulled his hand away from the door knob and turned around, his black eyes piercing right through me.

“Because I’ll die for you, Alpha.”

With those parting words, he left, leaving me out of breath and even more questions.

Because I’ll die for you, Alpha.

What did he mean by that?

Braden was an Alpha himself, so why would he reduce himself to say something like that to me? Why would he lay down his life for me? Why did he help me? Why would Elliot and Braden-

“Fuck…” a low groan from behind me pulled me out of my thoughts. I immediately ran towards Josh and knelt against the sofa. His wounds were healing slowly but there were still so much blood.

“What did they do to you….” I dropped my head in my hands and began to cry once again.

“Who do I have to kill for hurting my Vivian?” A low, hoarse whisper grabbed my attention.

Opening my eyes, I tilted my face up.

And there it was.

Those playful, cerulean eyes looking right back at me.

“Josh…” A gasp left me. I got up and quickly embraced him in my arms as he laid on the sofa.

He was awake.

He was alive.

Wrapping one of his hand around my waist, he smiled. “Why are you crying?”

“Are you seriously asking me this question?” I pulled back. Overcome with emotions, I began to kiss him everywhere – his head, his cheeks, his forehead, his eyes.

In the short amount of time we’ve known each other, we’ve become close and he has grown to be like my brother.

“I though I lost you, Josh. You were so… so…” I was choking with tears, unable to voice out my thoughts.

“Sh, Vivian.” He pulled me down again and placed me against his chest where I could feel his steady heartbeat. “I’m alright now. No need to waste your tears on me.”

I tightly wrapped myself around him, afraid that he would disappear if I let him go.

If he was in pain, he didn’t let me know.

“It’s alright, Vivian. We’re alright.” He placed a gentle kiss on my head as his bloodied hand gently stroked my hair.

It was funny, really. He was the one in pain but it was me who was crying.

Once I managed to calm down, I searched for a first aid kit and eventually found one inside the kitchen cabinets. As I cleaned his wounds and wrapped bandages, I narrated the entire situation to him. Not leaving out anything at all.

Once finished, he filled me in with his side of the story – about how he was abducted near the house he built for his mate. Somebody had injected him with something and then blindfolded him when they beat and tortured him.

I burst into tears again when he explained to me the gruesome torture he went through. I could see he was trying to avoid giving me the full details but even the minute details he told me tore a hole through my heart.

It was a miracle he was still alive.

“Can we trust Braden?” I asked while trying to find something to eat in the kitchen.

“I don’t know. Let’s not trust anyone completely but ourselves for now.”

“So what should we do?”

We both thought hard for a while, trying to think of all possible outcomes and the worst case scenarios.

“We can either wait for Braden here and listen to his explanation about what is happening or we can leave and try to find a way back to our packs.”