5

"Get some scissors, razor, shaving cream and towels," I said to my roommate as I walked into my room to find her reading on her bed.

"What?" she asked, completely confused, looking up from her romance novel.

"Just do it and then meet me in front of the dungeon door," I ordered her and quickly ran to the kitchen.

Once again I was lucky and didn't bump into Devin or my brother, which was almost a bit unusual. But back to my mission.

Arriving in the kitchen, I immediately raided the fridge. I packed sausage and other meaty things, along with water bottles and fresh bread in a basket and rushed to the meeting point with Mara.

Luckily she had listened to me and stood in front of the dungeon door with the stuff I had mentioned.

"Would you like to tell me what's going on here?"

"Okay, short summary: My brother keeps pack wolves in the dungeon and lets them rot down there," I began to talk, while Mara gave me a startled look. The outcasts might have been rejected by their former packs, but some did still had a heart and were just misunderstood. That's not the fault of the other pack wolves, they never made a mistake. Mara was exactly the same opinion, otherwise I wouldn't have asked her for help. "And you help me now, she again to get in shape!"

"Well, if that's the case, what are we waiting for?" On her own, Mara tore open the dungeon door and ran down the stairs. I followed her.

Arriving at the bottom, the first thing I did was run back to my mate's cell. I hadn't locked it, but he sat on his bunk and waited for me to come back.

When he saw me between the bars, he immediately smiled. But then he recognized Mara as an outcast and pulled me behind him as soon as I entered his cell. He started to growl menacingly, but Mara just started to grin broadly.

"Now I get it," she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

To calm my mate, I stood in front of him and put my hands on his bare chest. The tingling calmed him down immediately.

"She's harmless and just wants to help. Trust me." I told him. He nodded, but he still looked at Mara suspiciously.

Then I went to the basket and took out all the food and drink, which I then distributed to the men down here.

Meanwhile, Mara got out scissors and razor and went to my mate. She had a mad look on it, like she was about to stab him with scissors.

"Then let's get to work," she said.

Steven reluctantly dropped onto the set up chair, which we fetched, and Mara immediately began her work.

-----

I don't know how long we've been busy down here, but now the men from the other cells have come to trust me a little after devouring a decent meal. They also didn't look as shabby as before, since Mara gave everyone a fresh haircut and shaved off their beards.

Satisfied with our work, we looked around down here. My mate put an arm around my waist. Also with him you could now see his soft facial features, which were previously hidden under the beard. He also didn't look like he was in his mid-thirties anymore, but more like his mid-20s. His hair was also much shorter now and he now had an everyday short hairstyle.

He smiled at me contentedly. This smile. It was simply the most beautiful thing in the world and triggered something in me.

I turn my head away, embarrassed that I just stared at him for so long, but he gently grabbed my chin and turned it back so I had to look into his ice blue eyes.

You are simply beautiful. My mate is just beautiful. He is perfect.

"Silva?" I heard the muffled voice of my brother, who seemed to be looking for me. Steven tensed noticeably and produced a slight growl.

"That's fine. That's just my brother.", I turned to him. Then I started to speak to the others, who sat well in their cells, which were no longer locked. "I'll ask you to wait down here. I'll clarify that now with my brother and then we'll find a way to bring you back to your old pack. I promise."

"Take care," Steven said to me before I ran up the stone stairs and looked for my brother.

He was nowhere to be found in the house, but I heard voices from outside. So I ran out into the twilight of the evening sun and confronted my brother. Unfortunately, I had to realize that Devin was also here, who let his perverted gaze wander over my body. He was probably thinking about last night.

"Here you are at last. I haven't seen you all day." Jaxon broke the silence.

"What do you want?" I asked annoyed.

"So. Devin finally wanted to make you his mate and..."

"I DON'T WANT THAT," I cut him off. Devin next to us seemed amused.

"YOU WILL DO WHAT I TELL YOU! NO ONE ELSE HAS CLAIMED ON YOU, SO DO WHAT YOU ARE TOLD FOR ONCE!" he snapped at the same volume I had before. "Well, once that's settled, go ahead and do it..." he gestured something with his hand, "...whatever!"

He was just about to turn and walk away when suddenly a voice came from behind me.

"I claim, as your mate, too." I immediately turned to Steven, who was angrily staring at my brother.

Then I looked over at Devin, who was no longer standing casually next to us, but was also getting angry. Apparently someone's toy was taken away.

"I almost killed you before. You don't stand a chance against me anyway." he said and fixed Steven. So it really was Devin who almost killed my mate.

Steven growled and cracked his knuckles.

A fight was about to ensue. To be honest, I was scared now. Fear for my mate, who hasn't seen sunlight for several years and was clearly not in his best shape. Devin, a skilled fighter, will be easy to kill.

Devin and Steven faced each other with a snarl before both turned into their wolf at the same time. Their bones started to break and their bodies deformed until finally a reddish wolf and a cappuccino-colored wolf faced each other. Worst of all, Devin's wolf was a lot bigger than Steven's.

The growl they emitted became more and more menacing and I knew they were going to be at each other's throats at any moment. My gaze slid to my 'awesome' brother, who was watching the action intently and enjoying himself.

"Do something? He's my mate!" I turned to Jaxon, hoping he would intervene. However, he just shrugged, unperturbed. "MAN JAXON! HE'S MY FUCKING MATE! IF HE DIES IT'LL BREAK MY HEART ." Maybe I could talk sense into my brother that way.

And in fact it worked. It looked over at me annoyed again. Then he stepped between the two wolves, who were still aggressively staring at each other.

"STOP," he yelled, then looked at Devin. "Let him. He's her mate, so she's part of his pack."

wait what He wanted to throw me out of our pack now? Was he fucking serious?

"What?" I said, confused.

Devin immediately transformed back and is now grinning mischievously at me. What was the matter with this madman now? He sort of just lost me and he's grinning? For the fact that he has always put so much 'trouble' with me, he is far too happy right now.

"Then she's an enemy now?" His gaze fixed me and it really didn't bode well.

"Yes," my brother said before turning to run back into our 'packhouse'. "Will you take care of our prisoner, please!"

"I'm your sister!!!" I said angrily. Who etched his brains out? Since when was he so heartless to me?

"And a traitor or why are you hanging out with enemies in the basement?" Jaxon added before disappearing into the house.

How did he know I was in the dungeon? Hopefully he didn't know that all the cell doors are open down there. From what I've heard from everyone down there, they're almost all warriors. Even in their worst form, these could certainly flatten our little 'pack'. Although, like Jaxon said, it's not my pack anymore. Which pack do I think I belong to now...

...worth...

I made it I finally have a real pack, even though Steven hasn't been there for a long time. As his mate, it was now my pack too.

A happy smile immediately crept onto my face. This was so much more than I ever wished for.

"You'll stop laughing in a moment, you little slut!" Suddenly Devin growled, who just seconds later grabbed my arm and roughly wanted to pull me into the forest. But he hadn't reckoned with my mate, who was Devin pushed away from me and stood in front of me.

"Keep your dirty fingers off her." Steven growled angrily.

Devin was about to get back in front of Steven when my brother stormed out again.

"Fuck, Devin we have a problem!" he cursed to himself. "The prisoners have been freed!!!" Jaxon's gaze slid to me and by his expression you could tell that he knew exactly who was responsible. It wasn't difficult to guess.

Jaxon's face twisted in anger and for the first time in my life I saw pure hatred directed at me in his eyes.

The next moment the men came out of the dungeon into the sunlight and stood behind Jaxon, snarling, ready to attack him at any second. Mara came hurrying out from behind them.

"I'm sorry Silva. I've tried to stop them, but they're still pretty strong despite the years in the basement. Besides, there are eight of them," she apologized to me. Then she looked around out here and swallowed hard when she saw Devin and Jaxon.

I couldn't react that fast when a jerky movement was made in front of me. When I opened my eyes again, which I narrowed in shock, my mate stood in front of me with a shocked face and only then did I notice the cold blade on my neck.

Great, now we were in a shitty situation again.