45

Cora's face went from sparkling sweetly to deadly cold in a split second. "Well, then. I have someplace to be. Was nice catching up, sis." She chuckled with a melodic timbre as if they had just been discussing the weather, then marched back out of the dungeons.

It took a few moments for Chesca to stop staring daggers at her exit, and unclench her aching fists. There was no good in getting worked up over her sister, but now the emptiness that it left in her chest made her feel like Cora had walked out of her life all over again. Tears nearly threatened to replace the seething anger she'd just felt.

"What was she talking about?"Kaiden rasped when silence once more hung between them.

"Just before she left our pack, she burnt my rose garden to the ground. Destroyed it until it lay in ashes," Chesca explained dully, knowing if she felt too much, it would only result in more tears.

"I'm sorry... but, uh... I meant about the pack. What did she mean by the pack not being yours anymore?"

Of course that's what he meant, Chesca mused sullenly. Telling him the full truth would have to occur sooner or later, so she might as well get it over with. It wasn't a big deal anyway, she kept telling herself.

"Your father lied to me," Chesca gulped and lifted her eyes once more to Kaiden. He watched her steadily and waited for her to continue. "He promised to let you go if I gave him the pack. Of course I agreed—"

"You what?" his roar startled her.

"I came all the way here to rescue you, Kaiden! I wasn't going to turn back without you. But then the lying snake threw me in here, and—"

"You let him have your pack? The one you care so much about? Chesca..." he groaned and shut his eyes in disbelief, nearly wincing as the gravity of it sunk in.

"I care about you, Kaiden. You're my mate, the only family I have. You're all I have left..."

"No," he cut her short angrily, startling her. Looking up once more, he stared at her, this time with darkened eyes. "Your pack is family. They care about you, and don't tell me you don't still care about them. And now my dad is just going to kill them all." The anguish in his gravelly voice couldn't be fabricated, as if he really did care about her pack.

Chesca stopped breathing for a few seconds. "Why would he do that? He doesn't have any reason to-"

"You don't get it," Kaiden growled and shook his head slowly. "My dad is just like that, okay ? He doesn't care who he hurts to get what he wants."

A sudden weight squeezed on Chesca's heart, draining her of energy yet spurring her lungs to breath faster and faster. Her heart raced with a cold dread that maybe Elbert was even worse than she could imagine. But a part of her, in this moment, saw Kaiden as the most important thing that mattered to her right now. He was in much physical pain, she could feel it through the bond, and they were both still completely stuck in this dungeon with possibly no hope of changing that.

"Kaiden, what are we going to do?" Chesca whimpered after a length of time. She felt hot tears roll down her dirty cheeks, and there was nothing to be done to stop them.

'A...are you crying? Chesca, darling..." Kaiden began, "It's going to be okay, we'll figure this out," he said soothingly, his tone devoid of the anger and sorrow it once held. It seemed now he just wanted to comfort her. In his own pain, he wanted to ease hers.

"How do you know? We weren't meant to end like this—" a hiccup cut her short, and she sniffed, staring at her mate through blurry eyes. "We never even ma..." Warmth rushed to her face at the words that she almost said, and she could only hope Kaiden would understand. She just wanted to know what he was thinking, what was going through his mind right now. If only they were completely bonded, they could be one. Then their bodies and souls would be joined together as fate intended. She would understand him exactly and comfort him in the perfect way. He would know just what she needed and they would be an unstoppable force that nothing could break apart. But instead, they were rotting in chains, separated by a few feet of space.

"I know. But darling, we're not dead yet," he murmured huskily. "You don't know how much I want you right now, Chesca," he tugged on his chains, his arms straining and his chest heaving with the pain. But he could obviously dismiss it as his eyes darkened with a hint of desire and determination. That's what the bond could do, she surmised; overcome pain and other weaknesses. If they could only touch each other, they would be comforted and strengthened on a whole new level.

"I must be a terrible person to be feeling like this right now, but I desperately need you, Kaiden." Squirming in her chains, she fought back another wave of desire as she stared at her mate. "My wolf is going crazy."

"Mine is too. I know how you're feeling, Ches. Your scent is driving me insane."

"I can even hear your heart beating."

"Yours is beating just as fast," the corners of his lips twitched in a smirk. "Wait a minute," Kaiden cocked his head and waited a moment, as if pulling something from the far reaches of his mind. "What is the moon doing tonight?"

"Uh, hanging in the sky?" Chesca wondered where on earth his random question had come from.

"No, I mean— is it full tonight?"

Her mouth dropped open. "Oh goodness, no. You don't mean—"

"It's been a lunar month already? Oh Chesca," he groaned. "You're in heat."

"Aye, be quiet down there!" an angry voice accompanied heavy footsteps as a guard stomped down the stairs. "Shut it, ya hear?" He rattled the bars of Chesca and Kaiden's cell, glaring at them both which momentarily made them shut their mouths.

"We were only talking," Kaiden defended sulkily.

"Yeah, like what else could they be doing?" a male voice commented slyly from another cell. "You've got them chained apart, thank goodness."

"Watch your mouth, Benny," Kaiden warned him hotly, making Chesca wonder just who else was imprisoned down here, and what their relationship to her mate was.

She had somehow forgotten their conversation could be heard by others down in the dungeon, not that it was explicit or anything. She was only going through her heat, she was trapped in a cell with her mate who desired her as much as she wanted him despite the blood and dirt coating both their bodies, her pack was currently being overtaken by Kaiden's father and her traitorous sister, and they still didn't have any plan of how to do something about it all.

Yes, topics for light conversation. What was the guard's problem?

"No colluding with fellow prisoners," the young guard intoned as if quoting from a rule book, before he opened the cell and stalked towards Chesca gleefully. "Are you behaving down here, sweetheart?" He lifted a hand to caress her cheek, but she jerked away and spat on him. "Ooh, feisty doggy," the guard chuckled and remained firmly in his spot, not the least perturbed by her snarls or Kaiden's growls. "Oh sugar, you smell so good," he leaned in closer and inhaled her scent deeply.

"Get away from her," Kaiden demanded and yanked uselessly on his chains for what seemed to be the hundredth time. They weren't getting any looser.

The guard threw an amused look over his shoulder at his helpless former Alpha, before turning back to Chesca with a frown. "What happened to your arm? Did Stanley hurt you, deary?" His fingers brushed across her shoulder, pushing back her shirt sleeve and revealing the bandage along with a good amount of skin.

"Get your hands off my mate!" The deadly growl echoed the shivers of disgust in Chesca's stomach as the stupid guard continued his perusal of her exposed shoulder and neck. No matter how far away she leaned or wriggled in her constraints, the guard only took it as more challenge to keep touching what wasn't his, and what no one could stop him from doing.

His stinky breath fanned in her face as he pressed closer still, and Chesca squeezed her eyes shut just as a mighty roar rang out through the dungeons. The sound of snapping iron chains followed, and heavy clanking as the metal fell to the ground.

She had no time to see what was going on before the guard was yanked away from her and went crashing to the ground, Kaiden's strong body pinning him down.

"Nobody touches my mate!" Kaiden roared as he cracked the guard's neck in half, the deadly cold sound ricocheting off the concrete walls and settling somewhere in Chesca's buzzing mind.

Panting heavily, her mate arose and snatched the keys from the dead guard's belt.

Without a word spoken between them, yet his dark and swirling eyes never leaving hers, Kaiden unlocked her wrists one by one. As soon as her arms were free, she threw them around Kaiden's neck and crashed her lips onto his. He pushed her against the wall and deepened the kiss, wrapping his hands around her waist, then sliding them up carefully to hold her face. Then they roamed along her arms and down her back, feeling her all over as if to make sure she wasn't broken anywhere.

His touch ignited such a burning within, and she craved more. It was magical, the sparks that chased each other back and forth between their aching bodies, soothing the pain both felt. She didn't care about the dirt and mud smears that coated his skin, or the dried blood that encrusted hers also; Chesca kissed him like she was a thirsty wanderer in the desert, and Kaiden was her oasis.

Never before had she felt such excitement or such contentment, so dear to her was the man she finally held in her arms. She had seen first-hand what he was capable of—killing so instantaneously and coldly like it was second nature to him. But they were Alphas, and it was part of their nature and genetic makeup. And she loved him for it. Never before had Kaiden looked so desirous to her then when he had rescued her from the grimy prison guard. Maybe she did need a knight in shining armour after all.

Kaiden pulled away from her for a moment to search her eyes, before saying, "You know I'm sorry, right? For everything. For being such an arrogant idiot this whole time."

She nodded as her heart swelled to near bursting point. "I'm sorry too, for being so stubborn and not trusting you. I made such a mess of us..."

He interrupted her with a kiss on her lips. "It's never too late to kiss and make up. I love you, Chesca. And I will always stand by you and protect you, and everything precious to you like your pack."

She barely heard anything he'd said beyond those three powerful words.

I love you.

It felt like her soul had finally come to life. "I love you, my Kaiden," she whispered against his lips, pulling his head closer to show just how much love she felt for him. His hand gripped her thigh and lifted it up, wrapping her leg around his waist. When her own hands ran down his torso, Kaiden flinched with pain and she immediately stepped back. "I'm so sorry!" Murmuring her apologies over and over, she glanced at his stomach to assess the damage, seeing fresh blood seeping from the arrow wound just below his ribs.

"It's okay," he smothered a grimace and sank to the ground. Breaking free from his chains had taken a toll on his injured body, and Chesca felt terrible, her hands fluttering over him with uncertainty. "I'd rescue you a thousand times over, even if it killed me." After lowering himself to the floor, he pulled her onto his lap while his back rested against the rusty cell bars.

"Shh, don't say that! You can't die, Kaiden. I need you so desperately," she whimpered and held his head in her hands, kissing each angry red mark to ease the pain. She could already feel her own injuries healing just from the closeness with Kaiden. As mates, even their touch on each other was enough to alleviate the pain and quicken the healing process. When her lips found his again, and her tongue ran along the edge of his soft lips, a streak of heat went zapping through her body, numbing the injuries and setting alight a fire to her core. Kaiden moaned in what could only be pleasure, and tangled his fingers through her already messy hair.

"Anytime now, guys," an impatient huff interrupted them.

"Excuse me?" Kaiden pulled away, turning angrily and growling.

"You have the keys. Would you be so polite as to let us out too?" The same voice as earlier replied.

"That is, if you can find the kindness in your hearts," another voice chimed in, followed by a few snickers.

Chesca instantly scrambled off Kaiden and felt around for the keys. If it hadn't been for the company down here, she wouldn't like to think where things would've gone between her and Kaiden. She was still in heat after all, which amplified every emotion and desire. Being with him was all she could think about, but she would never want their first time to be in such a disgusting place, or under such circumstances. Once more, she found herself cursing the stupid pull of the full moon.

"Here they are," Kaiden pressed the keys into her hands, before falling back on his haunches and clutching his side. He was still in pain, and Chesca loathed to leave his side.

A minute later, the rest of the dungeon inmates were standing outside the cells, rubbing their wrists and ankles to alleviate the stiffness and cold.

"So now what? Are we getting out of here or what?"

"Benny, just hold your horses," Kaiden hissed through clenched teeth. Chesca helped pull him up to his feet, putting her shoulder under his to support some of his weight. They stood together in front of the huddled group of wolves, numbering around 20 or more.

"Alright, I guess since you two have finished sucking each others faces off, we can make a plan," the man grumbled with a smirk, his blonde hair shaggy and hanging below his ears, a beard covering his square jaw. Golden brown eyes that shone dimly under the single light glanced around eagerly, until they landed on another wolf and lit up like birthday candles. A second later, his arms were wrapped around the woman, and Chesca watched patiently for a moment as they kissed passionately.

"Look who's sucking face now," she quipped and placed a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.

"Chesca, meet my Beta Benjamin and his mate Kira," Kaiden introduced her to the two red-faced warriors. "This is my mate," he then wrapped his own arm around her waist and completed the introductions huskily.

"Pleasure to meet you, Luna," Benjamin, otherwise known as Benny, bowed his head and smiled respectfully after disentangling himself from his mate's arms. His mate did likewise. She had short black hair, a petite body that resembled a young sapling, and a scowl on her beautiful face that would intimidate most of Chesca's warriors. Her gaunt cheeks and disheveled hair did nothing to diminish the ferocity in her eyes.

"Ahh..." At the mention of Luna, Chesca swivelled her eyes to Kaiden.

"Oh, right. Chesca is Alpha of Steelheart pack. You've probably heard of her," Kaiden said quickly, but proudly. He smiled down at her and she couldn't help the fluttering thrill in her heart.

"Right. Two Alphas. No problem," another wolf said, his words holding a sarcastic bite as he crossed his thick arms across his broad chest. "Should be no problem taking back our pack."

"We're actually going to rescue Chesca's pack first," Kaiden responded. "Because as we speak, Elbert is over at Steelheart destroying it."

"Are you kidding?" Kira stepped forward. "No offence, Alpha Kaiden, but we've been locked up down here for 4 months, and now the first thing you want us to do—after you finally decide to show up and rescue us—is help someone else's pack?"

Kaiden held up a hand, silencing the sudden murmurs and groans, and turned a troubled face to them. "Tell me what happened after I left."

"Your father's warriors were ruthless," Benny stated grimly. "When we revolted against his terrible plans for the pack, all of us still loyal to you were rounded up and either tortured, locked down here, or killed."

"I'm sorry," Kaiden murmured, his face twisting with pain. "But my father left me no choice. He would've killed me too if I hadn't fled."

"Were you going to come back for us?" someone else asked with undisguised anger and hurt.

"Of course!" Kaiden breathed heavily. Chesca could tell he was agitated and upset, and took his hand in hers, squeezing it with reassurance. "I was still figuring out how..." he finished weakly, and she could feel the pain seeping into his conscience. He had deserted his pack, it sounded like, and hadn't really planned on doing anything more for them. Neither of them had known just how badly his father was treating the pack, though they should have picked up on the signs—Danella and her siblings running away, for one; and the threatening messages Chesca had received multiple times. She felt terrible now for ignoring them, even if at the time she'd had other important things to deal with.

"Seems to me like..." she began, holding her breath to gauge Kaiden's warriors reactions. "...that going after Elbert solves my problems as well as yours."

"Killing two birds with one stone. I like it," Benny nodded slowly.

A scraping sound startled them all, and soon a guard came down the stairs and stared at them all, dumbfounded. "How—!?"

Before he could speak, one of the impoverished warriors pounced on him with fists flying. "That's for being such a traitorous... and cruel...and dirty mongrel!" he yelled between the punches, only stopping when the guard lay still in a crumpled heap. The warrior's body shook from the release of pent up rage.

"Let's get out of here before anyone else comes," Benny suggested when silence once more hung in the air, and he tugged on Kira's hand.

They all hurried up the stairs and out into the daylight. Chesca could see a large mansion a few hundred yards away, separated by a neat green lawn, and wondered why they kept the dungeon set apart from the pack residence. She always liked to keep her prisoners close where she could keep an eye on them. Not that it worked, in the case of her mate and his cunning escape.

"Our homes..." Kira gasped and covered her face with her small hands. Chesca followed her gaze beyond the Alpha's mansion and saw a few selective piles of rubble, burnt trees, and general disrepair. The rebellion amongst Kaiden's ranks had caused more than a few casualties.

The pain written on the Razestone warriors faces was enough to make her come to a realisation. "You should all stay here and fight whoever is left behind. Take your homes back and start to rebuild. I can't ask you to fight my fight. After all, I did make the deal with Elbert, even if he didn't hold up his end..."

"Maybe so," a warrior wolf named Micah stepped forward. "But you can't take on Elbert by yourself. Our mess will still be here when we get back. Your pack needs saving now."

"But we have no obligations for this Alpha Chesca," Kira waved a hand in her direction. "Why do we need to go and fight her stupid battle? We have enough problems. Let her handle her own," she said, balling her tiny fists and glared at Chesca.

Chesca actually felt sorry for the woman, and couldn't relate enough with the obvious pain she'd gone through of losing her home, her friends, and being imprisoned. There was no wonder Kira looked at her with disdain and anger, her Alpha's mate who'd seemingly 'stolen' him away for all this time.

"I'm sorry, Kira. Truly. And I know there's no reason you should be helping me—"

"But Alpha Kaiden is right," Beta Benny interrupted Chesca, and wrapped an arm comfortingly around his little mate. "We fight for Alpha Kaiden, like we always have. But you are his mate. If his loyalties lie with you, Chesca, then we fight for you." The warriors and other wolves nodded in agreement.

Then, to Chesca's complete surprise, they thumped a fist to their chests and knelt in front of her, bowing their heads in respect.

"I thank you for your allegiance. But...that won't be enough," Chesca surveyed them with hope and humility growing in her heart. They were willing to fight for her? An Alpha of a different pack? All because they trusted Kaiden, and she was his mate. Their loyalty must run deep, and she suddenly didn't feel worthy to be the recipient of it.

"She's right. Those drawn to my father's side are many. There's no way we'll be able to win against them," Kaiden looked at her with a frown on his bruised yet handsome face. Even after everything he'd suffered, he still stood tall as an Alpha, his back erect and shoulders straight as if he were in command of a thousand warriors, not just twenty. She never wanted to leave this man's side.

A smile played on her lips as she held his gaze and got an idea. "I know just the person who can help. Does anyone have a phone I can borrow?" Chesca asked, biting her bottom lip at the thought of what lay ahead.

"Here," a shewolf warrior came out from the guards' watchhouse and handed her a cell.

After dialling furiously, Chesca held it to her ear and waited a few moments for it to be answered. "Hey Jacks, it's me Chesca. Remember how you owe me one? Well....now's your chance to pay up."