Torn Between Her Fated Mates

Chapter 8 - Rescued

ALDRIC'S POV

When we arrived at the 'pack house,' which is nothing more than an old run-down manor in the middle of the woods, Colton, Liam, Bryce, and I shifted back into our human form as the rest of the guys stayed as wolves. Liam and I take up residence at the front to draw out our enemy’s men while Colton and Bryce make their way to the back.

A few of his pack members are hanging out on the front porch, just watching us. Whereas they are not positioning themselves to attack, they are definitely ready to defend themselves if needed. Liam and I stand shoulder to shoulder, now wearing loose-fitting sweatpants and tee shirts. Clothes are easy enough to maneuver in just if we need to fight in human form and disposable if we need to shift right away.

This doesn't feel like a pack to me, more like a group of rogues banding together, and I am acutely aware of the fact that there are no females or pups anywhere. The front door opens, and the first two to exit are the twins. I can't really tell them apart, but I am guessing the one who has arrogantly nodded his head at me is the i***t who thought stabbing me was a good idea. I will absolutely be returning that favor soon. Then a bunch of males filter out and fan out around the porch. The last one to exit is the Alpha, also known as my target, or should I call him dead wolf walking? Yep, I like dead wolf walking better.

Whoever he is, he shows no fear and seems to be in complete control of his actions. The smug look on his face while standing on his porch deck is almost admirable. Flanking him are the twins; it is a defensive position we have all used. Clearly, he does not want to fight; I am guessing because he knows we outnumber him and not because he fears us.

"What an unexpected surprise; welcome to my home." He opens up his arms wide with an exaggerated sense of drama. His pack members make themselves comfortable by casually sitting down behind him on deck chairs or leaning with ease against the railing or a wall. They chuckle at Marco's theatrics, making it seem like a private joke.

I hate this smug asshole, and I am eighty percent certain that I will be exonerated from the Council of Elders if I kill him right now. Still, Liam and my dad, Harlan, convinced me to follow protocol and get authorization first. So right now, Owen, Liam's dad and former Beta, and Harlan are on their way to present my case to them.

"This isn't a social call; I want my mate back, now." Marco shakes his head, walks down the stoop's steps, and stops barely a yard from me. "Mie scuse, I apologize; I don't conduct negotiations with wolves when I don't even know their names. Call me old fashioned, but I think introductions should always proceed any business dealing." He holds his hand out, waiting for me to shake it.

“I am Alpha Marco Calabresi of the Lupi Abbandonati Pack.” I shake his hand, I expect his grip to be aggressive in a cliché attempt to show me he is stronger, but he doesn't. He is definitely up to something; I don't like it.

"Alpha Aldric Underwood of the Crescent Falls Pack. You may remember me as the guy you had one of your cowardly minions stab with a silver knife coated in wolfsbane. Now that we are properly introduced, Where. Is. My. Mate?"

I can see the flicker in his eyes and the low growl in his chest; he wants to hurt me badly and knows he can't. His pathic band of unwanted misfits is no match for my pack, and we would annihilate them. I am a bit disappointed he isn't fighting; I would love to end this right now. I am getting a small amount of satisfaction that it must be killing him that he needs to stand down and play nice with me.

I send a message to Colton 'Not sure how many are still inside, but the Alpha, his two lackeys, and about twenty males are out here with us. Go get my mate.'

BREELYNN'S POV

My reflection shows two perfect punctures, and instead of blood, there is a thick, sticky, pink mucus-like discharge seeping from them. The burn and the pain are ridiculous, but the most frightening is that it's not showing signs of healing.

I can't figure out what he punctured my neck with; his hands were on me the whole time, so it couldn't have been some kind of tool or weapon. Maybe he had caps put on his canines? I once saw that on the internet; it was part of a slideshow of bizarre things people have done to their bodies. He mostly smirks, and I never actually saw him with a genuine smile, so that must be it.

I hear the bedroom door open and hope it is Marco because I am furious and done with the whole werewolf thing, and I am especially done being his victim.

When I step into the bedroom, I see a new face. This guy is just as big as everybody else I have seen today. Seriously, do they actually eat steroids? He seemed different; at first, he panicked, then when he saw me, it was as if he had done a quick assessment, then his entire body relaxed.

"Luna, my name is Colton, and I am the Gamma for the Crescent Falls Pack. Your mate, Alpha Aldric, has sent me to rescue you. We need to leave now." He walks toward me, but I hold my hand out with my index finger pointed at him. He stops his approach and waits for my permission to proceed.

"Has everybody lost their f*****g minds? Is this some kind of a cult thing? I am not going anywhere with you. I am going home alone. I am done with mates and markings and alphas and betas and whatever other Greek alphabet letters you people use. Just leave me alone."

Somehow my words must have caught him off guard because I managed to push past him out the door. As I move down the hallway, I notice that the first door next to the one I escaped from is open. Glancing into the room, my heart instantly drops to my stomach, and without a second thought, I enter the room.

It's nearly identical to the one Marco held me in, except it is a bit smaller. In the middle of the room sits a four-poster bed with a naked and bruised woman shackled to one of the poles. I run to the bed and feel her neck to check that she still has a heartbeat. As much as I want to leave this house of horrors as quickly as possible, there is no way that I can leave her behind. Making a quick search of the room, I frantically open the nightstand drawers hoping to find a key, when I feel that guy Colton come up behind me.

"Luna, we have to go, Alpha Aldric is stalling Marco, but we don't have time for this." I whip my head around and glare at him with every ounce of resentment I can muster. "We don't have time for this? For saving her, she needs our help, and I am not leaving her here."

"She is only an omega."

"Wha…? I don't even…look, if you want to get me out of here, you're helping her too. Or leave; it's up to you. But I am not going anywhere without her."

"Fine." Colton walks away. Beyond disgusted with his lack of compassion for this woman, I can't even watch him leave the room. I run over to the dresser rummaging through those drawers, when Colton returns and heads straight to bed. Without even glancing my way, he mumbles, "I saw a key in the other room, on the nightstand."

He grabs the Omega's ankle and unlocks the shackle. The poor thing is out cold with all of Colton's aggressive manhandling, and even when he lifts her, she doesn't even stir. He tosses her over his shoulder, and since she is naked, she is exposed and in a horribly inappropriate position. Grabbing a plain white cotton tee shirt from the dresser drawer, I lay it over her like a sheet. Colton annoyingly shakes his head at me and walks out of the room, leaving me to follow him.

As we continue down the hall towards the stairs, we don't make it very far before running into another guy. He seems younger than me, but that might be because of his boyish looks and bright, innocent smile. He definitely appears to be on our side, or at least he isn't trying to stop us. I am so confused at this point; I don't know who is on whose side or, honestly, what side I am even on anymore. Colton hands the girl off to the new guy, "Take her to the rendezvous point. And don't let anyone see you."

The new guy looks confused as he puts her over his shoulder and smiles at me as I try to cover her up as best as possible with the tee shirt. He nods his head to me respectfully, and I return the nod as if it was a natural reaction. He faces Colton again. "Yes, Gamma. No disrespect intended, sir, but why are we taking the Omega?"

Colton nods his head toward me, and I am sure I saw a bit of an eye roll. "The Luna feels it is necessary to rescue her, and she has given me no choice." Clearly, I am the root of his frustration, but I don't care; this woman needs our help.

"Are we taking the other one, too?" Once I hear the question, my entire body tenses up. "There is another one?" I push past both guys and the unconscious female, and their bodies engulf the whole hallway with all three of them in such close proximity. I run to the other open door and see her, "You were just going to leave them here. Are you guys really that cruel?"

"My job, my entire existence, is to protect you. So, whereas I am not a cruel male and do not personally advocate the abuse of Omega's, I have to prioritize. You are the priority; they are a liability."

"Liabilities, you're calling two brutally beaten women a liability?" I look over that other guy, and yes, he is almost as massive as Colton, of course, because why not, "What do you think, are they a liability?"

"If they are important to you, Luna, then no, ma'am, they are not a liability."

Rolling my eyes at his politically correct non-answer, I hold my hand out for Colton to give me the shackle key. We stare at each other, waiting for the other to flinch. Colton's shoulders hunch over, signaling his defeat. "Fine, let's get the other one." His deflated words put a smile on my face, and I quickly entered the bedroom.

I have already taken the shackle off the woman's ankle when Colton walks into the room. Just as I am about to ask him to pick her up, she awakens, confused and frightened. As I hand her a tee shirt, I introduce us, "My name is Breelynn, and this huge guy behind me is Colton. We are rescuing you. Can you walk, or do you need him to carry you?

She seems wary of us, her eyes going from Colton and myself as if she is waiting for us to do or say something else. "I can walk, thank you. Is this real? Are you actually saving me?"

"Yes." Colton's reply is gruff, and I feel bad watching her flinch. She closes her eyes, taking in a deep breath. "Can you shift?" again, his voice hoarse and snappy.

"Maybe. They were injecting me with wolfsbane but stopped so I could heal. And as you can tell, that isn't working so well. But I haven't tried shifting for weeks." The woman is up on her feet, putting the tee-shirt over her head. Her frame is so tiny that it's ridiculously long on her as it hangs down almost to her knees.

It seems like everyone here is into this whole werewolf role-playing thing, which is making me really worry that it's much bigger of a cult than I initially thought. From what I gather, at least two cults are at play here, and they are both after me.

"Ready," The omega chimes in; clearly, she is eager to leave this place, and so am I. Colton takes me by the arm and forces me to look him in the eyes. "You stay with me. I did as you asked and freed the omegas, but for the next ten minutes, you don't question me, deviate from our plan, or wander away. There are a lot of lives at risk right now, and if we f**k this up, there will be a lot of deaths on our conscience. Are we clear?"

"Okay, I will do as you say. And Colton, thank you for recusing them and me."