The Secrets We Keep

Chapter 17

Mathias

"What do you mean she took them?! How did she take them and how did you allow that to happen?" I was in Tyler's face but he didn't move from where he was standing.

"I'm sorry Mat, but I still have to listen to HER too! She gave me an order to get here and tell you who was after them so that we could come up with a plan to save them!" He growled at me, offended that I was mad that he followed a direct order from her. I let out a loud growl as I paced back and forth trying to think about how to get her back. The only thing that kept coming to my mind was how determined she was to carry out the task, to bring her mom and cousin here. The more I thought about it the angrier I was that I didn't just go with them or stop her.

"Ugh!" I swung my hand, clearing everything off of my desk in a small fit of rage. I looked at everything that just fell to the ground as I walked around to sit in my chair on the other side of my desk. I rested against my desk and sat there flustered, until my anger was interrupted by someone who resembled my mate.

"So what's the plan?" It was her sister. She looked at Tyler, who sat in the chair opposite of me. He looked at her for a second then hung his head low. She walked over to him and picked his face up to look at her, "My sister made this choice for a reason, and you are not to blame."I heard him sigh and then snaked his arms around her waist and then I was confused. He must have sensed it because I heard him say something I didn't expect.

"She's mate."

"Oh damn, when did you find out? What about Reyna?" He looked up at her and pulled her to sit on his lap.

"When we got to the lake house, the kid was outside, and he told us you were in the house and that this one was trying to save you from the fire." He nuzzled his face into her neck and she giggled, and it made my heart tug, she sounded like her, and it hurt. "Well Ed lead us in, and she was calling for help, we went right to where you guys were. She had you wrapped up in her legs and her free arm, holding you both up from falling into a basement engulfed in flames." I looked at her shocked, they hadn't told me everything until now.

"Reyna and Ed pulled you up and got you out. She was too scared to let go though, and she didn't want to give me her other hand. She didn't have a choice though. I reached down and pulled her up. As soon as I touched her, I felt them.... I didn't think I was supposed to feel them till after she shifted, but the sparks happened, and then her scent hit me lemon and cherry blossoms. I told Reyna at the hospital and she didn't take it well, but I didn't want to reject her." I looked at my best friend happy for him. When he was with Reyna he was happy, but this time, he was different, he was ecstatic.

"So now that we all know the story, how are we getting my brother and sister back?" She was just about as tough sounding as her sister.

"I'm not sure yet, but I believe I have a meeting with an alpha, who may be willing to help depending on how serious he was about keeping her safe." I picked up the phone and made a phone call. To my surprise, he agreed to come sit down and have a talk.

"No!"

"Alpha he needs to come so we can see what he knows! His pack has my mate, the future Luna of this pack, and we need to save her!" I was hoping my father would see reason with my plan but he only saw it as a bad idea.

"Mathias, I know you want to get her back and so do I, but there are many reasons we should take precautions." He stayed silent for a minute before continuing. "Danae is still there, she is the Luna, and if we react hastily they will not hesitate to kill her. There is also a pup you need to think about! He may not be yours but he is her pup, and if anything happens to him because of you, it will change her!"

The old man sat at the head of the conference table, "sit down both of you!" I looked at Alpha and shook my head, feeling slightly disappointed in him. He was about to speak when my grandmother walked in. We all stood up and bowed respecting her presence.

She looked at me and smiled, "my handsome boy, look at the man you're becoming!" She held her arms open and I walked over to her to give her a hug.

"Hi Nana, how are you?" I loved my grandmother, she was very loving but fierce, she was also very wise and a force to be reckoned with when she was set on something. She looked over at Tyler and his newly found mate. She was about to speak when the door flew open and in flew a very roughed up Anthony. I was surprised at first, until Iris followed shortly after. Iris' eyes were black, her hands were partially shifted as with her claws out and her teeth were extended out. Anthony stood ready to fight back, but before Iris was able to get to him, our former beta Marcus restrained her. She thrashed and struggled around trying to escape, and then he spoke.

"Calm down my dear, we need him alive." She instantly shifted back to fully human, her eyes glossed over with tears threatening to fall. She turned just enough to see Marcus' face and smiled. Marcus allowed her to turn and wrapped her in a hug. The room fell silent for what felt like an eternity.

Marcus looked at me and smiled, " She's my daughter boy. Don't look so shocked." I looked at Raymond and Demetrius who were waiting patiently and politely, the door opened again with Beta Leon and Edrick following behind him. Apparently, this quiet meeting wasn't so quiet anymore.

"Leon, maybe he should wait out......" I was cut off by my young friend before I could finish speaking. This was becoming a frequent thing and it was starting to frustrate me.

"I need to be here. Mat, you should sit and let us explain why." Edrick's face was serious, and it wasn't usually anything but silly and happy. I knew it was something I couldn't wait to hear, but first we needed to deal with Anthony.

"Does someone want to explain to me why I was just man handled by this she wolf?" Raymond stood and pointed to the seat in front of Anthony, "sit!"

He looked at me and nodded, giving me the okay to speak up. "We need to get Erika back. Your mother took her, her brother and their cousin, and from what Iris has told me, Elijah is being used as a pawn. She threatened him, now I don't know about you, but I find that low even for Naya." I never took my eyes off Anthony's face and I saw his jaw was tightly clenched.

"She wouldn't hurt him." He forced the words to leave his mouth. I don't really think he even believed them.

"Oh my goddess, you can't seriously think he is safe with them, do you?"

"My pack's future depends on that pup! The former Alpha and Luna would not harm him, otherwise they would feel my wrath and I promise you they wouldn't dare." He still seemed to be trying to convince himself more than anyone else.

"Then get them back!"

"I CAN'T!" He boomed in an alpha tone, "if they have a plan for her there's nothing I can do now. If YOU would have listened to me in the first place, she would have been somewhere safe!"

"You knew.... you knew who she was the whole time?!" When realization set in, low growls were released throughout the room.

"I wasn't sure at first, but I had a feeling. She didn't know she was one of us, so I figured I could keep her safe by masking her. Her family moved around frequently like rogues, so I didn't expect her to end up here!" He dropped into his chair and put his face in his hands.

"How do I get her back then Anthony?!" He picked his head up to face me.

"Mathias, you can't! Silver Moon has been a fortress since the fall of Hunter's moon! Rolland took in a lot of the rogues that helped in its demise." He knew all of it, the war, the rogues, and her. He knew the whole time and didn't tell us so we could protect her.

"Then I have no use for you," he raised an eyebrow in confusion, "Ty, take him below, and make sure you let his pack know."

"Mathias, my sister will not take kindly to this, be careful with the next steps you take." My grandmother wasn't trying to talk me out of it. She just wanted me to be sure this is what was best.

"Take him." Tyler wasted no time and grabbed Anthony with Iris gladly helping. I couldn't help but smirk at the feeling I got when I saw him clench from Iris' grip on his neck. Iris may not be aggressive, but she wasn't weak. All the she wolves in the Diaz family were really strong for females, my mate is going to give me a real tough fight and I'm an alpha.

"So what do you plan on doing, Mathias?" Alana asked me, hoping she was included.

"They're coming for him, and when they do we will have everyone ready, but me, you and Tyler will be going for them, and we will either save them or die trying. But honestly, I don't plan on dying, do you?" She smiled and shook her head. We will get them back if it's the last thing I do. I looked over to Leon and Ed, remembering they had something they wanted to talk about. I excused everyone else so that I could speak with them and get started on planning to get my mate out and back home where she belongs safe.

"Leon, what can I help you with?"

"Well Mathias, it's about Ed," I didn't want to be rude, but if this had anything to do with anything other than Erika I didn't really care.

"Okay, Leon, I have some important matters at hand. I love Ed like a brother, but is there any way this can wait?"

"No, Mathias, this has to do with them!" I looked at him confused at how they could have anything to do with Erika, "Mathias 14 years ago, Marcus and Michael had to come up with a plan to prevent the Montoya pups from being used, I guess. They brought him to us. After he was born, Michael, with the help of some hospital pack members, told her he hadn't made it, and he was brought here."

"But why you?"

"After Ty and Sylvie were born, Tara couldn't have anymore pups, there were complications during Sylvie's birth and there was too much damage done to Tara. When Marcus brought Ed here, Tara loved him instantly and he was left in our care. He's always known who he is and where he has come from, but he was still ours." I looked at Edrick and the longer I paid attention, the more he looked like them, his green eyes that did not belong to anyone else in his family, the blonde in his hair wasn't natural it was bleached. His glasses were just for looks and I just realized he looked a lot like Zeric. I wasn't sure how to feel about all of the information I was just given. I was still processing when the door opened and in walked Alpha and former beta Marcus.

Erika

Every bit of metal in this holding cell was silver, which makes sense considering the name of this place. The door, the bars on the window, and the cuff feels like it's burning my ankle off anytime I move. I'm so mad and frustrated, I can hear my cousin crying from the cell she is in, and I can feel my brother's anger, which makes me even more frustrated.

We had been here for two days when Anthony's mom came in yesterday to inform me that Mathias had taken Anthony captive. She was furious that her son was put in a position where his safety was compromised because of me like she always suspected to happen. I dealt with her wrath and the torture it came with. Any open wounds weren't healing the way they were supposed to and became infected because of wolfsbane or silver that were used to inflict them. I was lying on the cold floor of the cell almost a week later, just looking out at the moonlight. I wondered when or if I was ever going to get out of this place. I let myself be overtaken by the heaviness of my eyelids and slipped into my dreams. They were of my time spent here, like the first day in here, when I yelled and screamed, flames filled the room around me but didn't help in any way other than make a really hot cell.

There were a couple of things that happened to the guards on duty during my couple of fits, but they didn't tell me. I moved my leg and felt the sting on my ankle from the cuff on it. I could see the same red irritation that would form on my wrists when Dante would chain us up in the basement when we were younger. I never thought I would appreciate the torment we went through and how this wasn't as bad as it could be, just because Dante prepared us without us even realizing it. Maybe he didn't hate us, maybe he cared about us enough in his own way, knowing this could be a possibility. Maybe he was our dad, the best way he could be. Now I felt bad for my hate towards him.

I heard the lock on my cell door click and I sat up waiting for whoever on the other side to enter. I was surprised to see Rolland himself. He walked in holding a chair to sit on. Obviously, he wasn't there just to check in, he was either there to brag or carry on with the punishment Naya started.

"So, this is the mother of my grandson? Sorry we haven't officially met but I have heard a lot about you even though I was told a big lie about who you were." He had his phone out waiting for something.

"Well I've heard A LOT about you, the real you, not some fake pretend version your son came up with to save your reputation." It wasn't a lie, I knew plenty about the kind of person he is, the kind of wolf he is.

"Hmm... well, I know about you, I don't care about you personally or what happens to you. You will be of great use to my pack. Well, your powers will be at least, even if I have to remove you from the picture."

"Okay, so you're going to kill me? I don't see how I'll benefit you dead, but humor me, it's not like I've got anywhere to go." I lifted my leg that was chained and he laughed. Just the sound of his laugh gave off enough discomfort to give me chills that unsettled my stomach.

"Well, there is supposed to be a way to kill you and take the power embedded somewhere in all that," he made a gesture to me body in general.

"Okay, so what use is my brother?"

"Oh dear girl, don't think you are the only one I need for this to work. I need you, your brother and your sister. I already have Elijah. It's funny, I had the first piece for a little over half a year and just only recently found out."

"You won't touch him, he's the future of your pack, you you......wh-" I was starting to feel panic rise in my chest and he could tell. He stared at me with one eyebrow raised and an evil smirk as he picked his hand up to stop me.

"See the good thing about having a son, he can produce more heirs to this pack, as long as we can get him back from that disgusting worthless pack, your mate belongs to." he stood to leave, but not before he felt the need to spit more venomous words, "and in case you didn't understand, yes I would harm him for that power he doesn't need."

I started to fumble to my feet and ran after him but the door was slammed shut before I could grab hold of him. I completely ignored the sting I felt from banging on the door, my anger was stronger than anything else I felt at the moment, I screamed at the top of my lungs until I was horse. I was sitting against the door defeated and angry, I had to get out of here, I had to get to Elijah and get him out of this place. I looked down at the condition of the clothes I had on, and then I realized the condition I was in wasn't exactly top notch either. When they brought us in, they stripped me and Lauren and gave us big t-shirts and let us keep our panties. All they gave Zeric, was a pair of black shorts.

It was the most degrading thing that has ever happened to us. I was dirty from the cold ground and thinning due to the lack of food. My breathing was still shaking from my hysterics. I got up to walk around the small cell trying to calm myself down, when my mom's voice came to my head. She was always reminding me to breathe and calm myself. The thought of her voice calmed my heart, and I thought back to the last time she held me in her attempts to comfort me. Then I thought of Mathias, and the smell of fresh rain. He was my favorite scent. I touched Mathias mark and I thought about how much being away from him was hurting me.

I felt weak and helpless, and then I thought back to the basement days. Lauren didn't have the same upbringing as my siblings and I, she was treated like a princess. I looked at the scars I had on my wrists from Dante's handy work when we were kids. Then I remembered a time I broke a link on the chain that clung to a wall in the last house we lived in before I set it on fire.

I looked around for some type of metal bar I could use to possibly break one of the links on this chain. Sadly, these people weren't Dante and they were smart enough to not leave anything here. I wiped my tears even though I'm sure all I did was create smudge marks from how dirty my hands were. I went to the point on the wall where I was chained to, hoping there was a weak point on it, but there wasn't. It was the middle of the day and I was already ready to close my eyes again. I heard the lock click and to my surprise it was Anthony's cousin Nick. He looked different now though, not like the Nick I remembered. He always had a sweet smile and was always offering an ear to listen to whoever needed it. Now he looked cold and empty for some reason.

I felt my breathing deepen and the second the door behind him was closed I took my chance and ran full force at him, kicking him straight in his face, making him drop instantly. He quickly regained his footing, and I went in for another kick that he easily caught and held onto it, giving me an opportunity to use the leg I was chained with to kick him flat in his chest and both of us went down. He lost his air and I grabbed the keys from his belt, and no surprise, SILVER! It didn't stop me though, I continued on my mini-mission to get this chain off of me. Once I was freed of it, the cool air burnt the raw skin that was red and blistered.

"Erika, stop!" I ignored Nick when I got up to run to the door but was tackled inches away from reaching it. We struggled for a few seconds over the key set I had in my hands. He was relentless though. He finally straddled me, keeping me from moving my legs freely enough to get him off of me."STOP!" He yelled at me as I was refusing to let him win or get the keys from me, "I'm trying to help you get out of here!"

He finally pinned my arms down and caught his breath, "I'm going to get off you now, please DO NOT kick me again!" I nodded at him in agreement and still out of breath myself. He sat back and allowed me up as well and it took everything I had not to strangle him. So I punched him as hard as I could. I promised not to kick him. I never said anything about punching him.

"So how are you going to help me?"

"One of those keys is a universal key. I'm leaving it here. During the shift change, the officer who comes in is named Tommy. He has a fling with one of the female prisoners down the hall, so no one on duty is monitoring your cell. Get them and go." I was surprised he was giving me an out, but I couldn't help but wonder what the catch was.

"Where is Elijah?"

"Okay, no Erika, I'm giving you three a way out and you need to take it. There is nothing you can do for him, okay? He is literally guarded all day and all night." As soon as he finished telling me to leave my son, he got up and walked out the door. I looked at the key he left me and had a small tinge of hope, even if I wasn't sure why he was helping me. The guard's shift change was in the middle of the night. I knew what Nick was talking about because, the first two nights Tommy was on duty, they didn't try to quiet their dirty business. It was the only time me, Lauren and Zeric laughed loud enough to hear each other, which only made us laugh more. Now that I wasn't chained to a wall, I started to notice how bad my ankle actually was, and I got mad because of it. I was getting us out, even if it killed me, my brother and my cousin didn't deserve this, and I was going to get them out.

I went to the back of my cell and I heard the voice in my head for the first time since we were brought here.

"Amarie, we need to find pup before we leave this place." I didn't disagree with the voice, but hearing it made me feel like I was going crazy again. Mathias never told me anything about the voice I heard. He explained everything else but he forgot to cover that part. I covered my ears hoping to shut it out, but it didn't work.

"Girl, please, it is going to take a lot more than that for you to block me out. If you seriously don't want to hear me, go ahead and put that chain back on you. I'll tell you now, it's going to burn like a b***h!"

"Okay! I get it! You're in my head!" I didn't mean to, but I yelled out loud instead of just to myself. I heard the voice giggle, which only agitated me more.

"Thank you! Took you long enough! Now that we have passed that awkward part, I'm Artemis, your wolf." I didn't say anything back. Honestly, I didn't know what to say and it only made me feel more crazy. "I promise, you aren't crazy. I am very real and from what Maddox was saying, Mathias didn't even realize he had left telling you this part out of the talk you and him had."

"Okay, so what do you want?"

"Umm, excuse me, ma'am let's tone down the attitude, okay? Right now, I'm the only friend you have, and I promise you are going to appreciate that we can do this when the time comes." I didn't understand what she meant by that, but I didn't feel alone anymore. I felt some comfort knowing she was always with me.