Chapter 33 Ch 33

We stood face to face. I could hardly breathe from the instinctual anxiety building in my chest. The beast—Matt—was just so huge. Back to back, my head would probably come to his mid-abdomen area. His glowing blue eyes peered at down me. We'd been staring at each other for the last five minutes with nothing but steel bars between us. The bars were already scratched and bent from his raging attempts to break free.

"He hasn't been this calm since we first saw him," Danny spoke from behind me.

Matt's eyes flashed over my shoulder as he belted out a menacing growl.

"He was my friend," I replied without looking away. "What're you going to do with him?"

"Well...we don't know. If the oracle was right, he's the Basileus. He's come to take charge of his throne."

"But there aren't any lycans left for him to rule."

"No," he acquiesced, "but there are hundreds of thousands of their descendants."

"Werewolves," I whispered to myself. "Us."

Something brought Matt's eyes back to my face and he whined.

"Don't you think you should let him out if he's the Basileus?" I wondered. "Isn't it disrespectful to keep him in here?"

"If he's the Basileus, he will get out. And from what we've seen, he has no interest in anything except you. That doesn't seem like something the King of lycans would do."

"Does this oracle have any more information on him?"

"She doesn't but we're working on finding someone who does."

"And then what happens when the whole world finds out you're holding him hostage?"

Danny took a step closer to me—I could hear his shoes—but his advance was halted by Matt's snarl.

Sighing, he said, "The whole world isn't going to know. No one is going to know until we find another oracle."

"And how many people in your own pack know about this?" I asked, finally turning to face him.

"Only my mate and Braden. Your parents know too, obviously."

"You didn't need anyone else's help getting him from our backyard to your house?"

"No," he answered more hesitantly. "Your parents and Braden helped."

"All while I was chained up in the basement," I muttered under my breath. Then I turned back to Matt. "Have you fed him?"

"Well...no."

"If he is the king, you are all going to lycan hell," I said. "Please, go find him a deer or something."

Without responding, Danny left. I was now alone with the beast. With Matt. My bossy badass facade crumbled almost immediately. Tears dewed in my eyes as I lifted a trembling hand to the damaged bars. The beast lowered his face to sniff my hand. He whined and licked at my pale skin.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I'm sorry I wouldn't believe it. I'm sorry I left you and I'm sorry you're here."

He stuck his arm through the bars and pulled me flush against them, earning a surprised cry from me. I could feel his body heat press into me. Our eyes met and I found myself lost in the electric glow of his irises.

"What the hell?" demanded Braden from behind me.

Matt unleashed another menacing bellow and pulled me against the bars even tighter.

"Get out!" I hissed. "You're gonna make him strangle me!"

I heard the click of the tranquilizer gun.

"Braden," I yelled, "don't you fucking do it!"

He said nothing but I heard the dart being dispelled from the weapon. Then I felt it bite into my shoulder. I screamed out in pain. Matt bellowed again, making my ears ring.

Just before I felt the pressure rush to my head and my vision fade, I heard my father's voice.

"What have you done?"

—(—)—

When I startled awake, I felt like I'd been asleep for only a second. I was relieved to look around and find myself in the sheets of an unfamiliar bedroom. Unfamiliar or not, it was better than waking up in chains.

"Thank God," someone breathed from beside me.

My head snapped to the side, giving me a neck crook. It was my father. He was sitting in a chair next to the bed. His gray eyes were strained with concern.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I got shot with a tranq," I hissed. Throwing the covers off, I sat up. Blood rushed straight to my head but I was able to stay up. "Where are we?"

"In Alpha Danny's house."

"And where's Matt?"

He hesitated before saying, "Who?"

"My friend," I bit out. "The beast. The king. Whatever the hell he is."

I glanced at his face while standing up. My father looked prepared to reprimand me for my language but he stopped himself.

"He's in the basement," he told me, "and still in the cage. Barely, but nonetheless."

"Barely?"

"He almost broke free when they took you away."

"Oh, after your son shot me. Right." I shook my head. "Braden's lost his damn mind. He's shot me twice. If he thinks I'm going to just be okay with this—"

"He was aiming for Basileus."

"Well, he certainly didn't hit Basileus."

Not sparing him a look, I stormed out of the room. Aiming for Basileus, I mimicked in my head. I don't give a shit who his target was. He hit me.

I had no idea where I was going but that wasn't going to stop me. After a minute, I found a staircase and took it down to the next floor. Danny seemed to have a pretty nice set-up for it just holding him and his mate. Every room was spacious and open, blending into the next. I somehow ended up in the kitchen. A tall, slender woman with a ponytail was chopping up vegetables at the island when she noticed me. We stared at each other for a moment.

"Rylee," she said, "you're awake."

"Where's my brother?" I asked.

Ignoring my question, she placed the knife down and approached me with a gentle smile. "My name is Kiara. I'm Danny's mate. Do you need something to drink or eat?"

Her question made me realize that I was parched, but I swallowed despite my dry throat. "No, thank you. Do you know where I can find Braden?"

"He's been trying to feed Basileus without coming within arm's range, but I don't think it's going so well."

"Figures. Can you point me towards the basement?"

Smiling again, she nodded and walked out of the kitchen and down the hall to a door. It was locked.

"Braden and Danny have a key when you want to get out," Kiara told me. Her emerald eyes shined in concern. "Be careful. Basileus could have killed you earlier."

"I'll try," I said.

She unlocked the door and opened it, revealing a steep set of concrete steps. I gulped apprehensively. This totally didn't look like the opening scene to every low-budgeted horror movie. Matt's ferocious growl encouraged me onward. By the time I carefully reached the last step, three sets of eyes were fastened to me.

"You're up?" Braden asked.

Danny just gripped the antlers of a dead buck in his bloody hands and looked between us. Then there was Matt, who whined and grabbed the bars of his cage. I walked straight up to Braden and shoved him in the chest.

"Hey!" he shouted. "What the hell was that for?"

"For shooting me with a tranq dart! Twice!"

"It was on accident, Rylee."

I pointed at my face, which was starting to feel quite warm. "Does it look like I give a damn?"

"Apparently not," Braden replied, eyes lidded in annoyance.

"If you shoot me one more time," I warned, "I will let Matt out of his cage and I will let him eat you."

Both men's eyes grew wide and jaws slack.

Glaring at Danny, I walked up to him and grabbed the antlers from his hands. The blood transferred to my hands and made it hard to keep my grip. "Now, move out the damn way so I can feed my best friend."