Page 32 of Baby for the Alpha
“So, what did this Devon person try to do?” Kaylee asks as we reach the first floor of the dungeons.
“He tried to flee our pack. The spies we placed said he was very fidgety last night, and this morning, he took off while everyone went to breakfast or their assigned jobs for the day,” I answer.
Kaylee hums, her brows furrowed in a frown. We continue walking down the halls in silence, Kaylee moving closer to me as her eyes dart about the empty cells. For a moment, I wonder if Kaylee is okay, and then it hits me.
It was the first year of Marilyn coming to stay in Oak Fur. Kaylee, Simon, and I were running around the pack like we used to dowhile I avoided that bitch at all costs when a group of wolves suddenly captured us. Since we were pups who hadn’t shifted yet, we couldn’t fight back and were carried away towards the pack borders. We were held captive in a dungeon similar to this one by rogues who demanded that my father give them a portion of land so they could start their own pack.
Simon and I were made to do manual labor while Kaylee was forced to cook and clean for the rogues. At night, she was locked away in a cell across from the one Simon and I were thrown into. She was all alone in that cell, the first to be taken out in the morning and the last to return. Simon and I were searched every night to make sure we never hid any weapons, but Kaylee was just thrown into the cell and never searched.
During what we assumed to be our tenth night there, something slid across the floor and hit my cell door with a small clang. She’d managed to steal a few knives and hide them. We used the knives to pick the locks, fight off our captors, and escape. It just so happens that Kaylee’s parents were leading a rescue party, narrowing down the search to where we were being held, and we’d luckily run into them.
“The cells here are cleaner than I thought they would be,” she mumbles, her voice holding a slight tremor. I let go of her hand to wrap my arm around her and pull her close. I can feel her relax against me and smile slightly. I’m glad she trusts me enough to relax into my touch.
“Marco has a group of warriors come down here once a week to clean the cells,” I explain, catching the hint of surprise flash across Kaylee’s face. “He says no omega should be allowed here and that warriors need to know the layout of the dungeons they guard.”
Kaylee chuckles at this. She muses about how she should start coming down here more to get over her wariness of dungeons, and I firmly state that she won’t be down here alone while pregnant. Thankfully, she agrees, one of her hands moving to rest on her stomach.
Our conversation ends as we reach the interrogation room, the door already slightly ajar, and I catch sight of my aunt, uncle, and Marco standing just inside. We nod to them as we enter the room, Devon staring at each one of us and landing on Kaylee. I snarl in warning, and Devon flinches back in his seat, his head lowering in submission.
“Kurt and Ash are grabbing the things you asked for,” I inform Uncle David, and he nods in acknowledgment.
The room grows silent, everyone waiting for Aunt Amelia to take command. Kaylee stays beside me, studying Devon. I rub small circles on her arm to keep her calm as I feel her rising anger through the bond.
Maybe my uncle shouldn’t have invited my mate down here.
30
Kaylee
Walking through the first floor of the dungeon brought back unwelcome memories. Memories that made me want to become a stronger she-wolf and a stronger beta. I’m glad that, unlike those cells Lucas, Simon, and I had been held in as pups, these ones were kept clean. Even if someone is a prisoner, they deserve some standard of basic cleanliness.
Now, staring at the man cuffed to the interrogation chair, I feel my anger and hatred replace the discomfort I felt. This wolf came to us as a rogue from the Council. He came to our pack pretending to be excited to join and turned out to be a spy for Ramos, giving that vile man information about Goddess knows what about Ivory Fangs.
For all we knew, Ramos and Marilyn could be on their way here right now, ready to take us out.
[So why do you need the ice?] I link David, getting a deep chuckle from him, the only sound in the room. There’s a silent agreement between the five of us that we won’t talk until it’s time to interrogate our captive. No matter how benign the information is, anything we say could be relayed to Ramos through Devon.
[For interrogation purposes,] he answers, piquing my curiosity further. [It’s a tactic your father used. He would put our captive’s feet into ice water, inject wolfsbane into them, and wait for an hour. If the captive were willing to talk, we would remove their feet from the water and allow them to say their piece. If they refused to talk, well, let’s just say some ended up having their toes amputated from the frostbite,] he continues, his eyes twinkling with mischief.
Marco’s face scrunches in disgust at this information, making David and Amelia chuckle. Devon’s head snaps up, his eyes darting to each one of us in turn before Lucas growls again. Devon lowers his head, only for it to pop back up when the door opens.
“Lucas, I brought the—” Ash begins to say. His nostrils flare as he looks around the room, and the ice buckets fall to the ground with a loud bang. Shocked, I move to help my friend when he lets out a feral growl, his body shaking as his eyes zero in on Devon.
“Kaylee,” he says through gritted teeth, his eyes never leaving Devon. “Who is that?” His skin ripples as if he is fighting his body to stay put, and for a moment, I wonder if my friend is okay.
“I’m Devon,” Devon responds. His voice is low, and his eyes fill with grief and confusion as he takes in Ash. Before anyone cando anything, Ash turns on his heels and rushes out the door. Shocked, I move to run after my friend and see what’s wrong, but a deep chuckle from the man cuffed to the chair stops me mid-step.
“To think I would find my mate here. Not only that, but my mate is male,” Devon says.
Whirling on my heels to stare at Devon, my mind feels like it’s lagging from this new information.
“You’re lying,” Marco scoffs, crossing his arms over his chest while glaring at Devon.
“I’m not. His scent is delectable to me,” Devon says with a shiver, his confusion turning into a longing look. No one says anything, too stunned to interrogate Devon now, knowing that he may be the mate of our friend. Deciding I need to ask Ash for the truth, I open the link between him and me.
[Ash?] I call out tentatively.
[I’m upstairs. I just need a moment,] Ash replies quickly with a shaky voice.
