Chapter 34 - Imprisoned

"You already know I can't say it. Last time I did, your AI secretary went nuts. Besides, my alpha won't let me talk about any of this. You know how that goes." Evelyn said, hiding behind the list of things that would have been true if she were a real shifter. But Henry was starting to believe otherwise.

He chuckled, now, it seemed strange to him that he hadn't picked up on any of the flags that he normally would have. Between all the crazy shit that has gone down since, and just the pure excitement of Rose finally coming to him, he'd definitely not been at the top of his game. "So you are the daughter of Macias Vanderbend?"

"Yes." Evelyn walked up to the bars grabbing them before pulling back quickly, as if shocked. "He's done horrible things. But not as horrible as that creature of the dark. You have to believe me." As her mother's voice broke, Rose became torn. Evelyn was never the ideal mother anyone would ever wish for, but she was still *her mother*.

"Then you need to explain to me what sick and twisted experiment he's trying to accomplish with Rose and Kai tonight."

"You know I can't tell you that." Her words were crisp and cold.

"Well, from the sounds of it, let me tell you what I do know. The Nightmares were created from a true old-world werewolf. Bred, incessantly to various vampires. A poor woman abused and used for his own wants and desires. Yet, here I stand. With the woman I love. For some reason, I can't mark her as mine and no one else can sense I've been marked by her. For some reason, the pill going out to my men aren't working on those without a mate either. However, when she speaks, they all listen."

"Maybe none of you are as manly as you all would like to think. Maybe she has a real mate out there somewhere and you're just not the one."

As Henry turned to look at Rose, she shook her head, "That can't be right, Henry."

"You want to know the real kicker here, Evelyn?" As her brow drew and her eyes widened, even Rose wondered what lies her mother was about to start with. Because, as Henry paused, the silence around them became so very heavy.

"That you called your whole clan here to face all these unknowns and to die trying to save a mate that was never yours to begin with?"

Anger and rage hit Rose like a train, "How dare you!" She shot toward the cell, but Henry wrapped her in his arms, stopping her. "I swear--"

"Shhh," he whispered into her ear, "Just wait, I'm not done yet. I'm not trying to silence you, but don't let her get under your skin." As his eyes met hers, Rose stood down. She would hear him out. Just as he always heard her. "However, I find it funny, can you do one simple task for me?"

Evelyn puffed out her chest, "Whatever you want."

He pulled a quarter from his pocket. "Shift. Right now. And take this quarter from my hand." As he held up the gleaming silver coin, pure panic crossed her visage for a brief second before she regained control. "Shift, Evelyn. Just your arm. And take the coin." He placed it in his palm, and held the coin beside the bars. "Anything you want. The simplest shift is all I'm asking."

"I can't." All of the steam blew out of her and she turned her eyes away from him. "The prison prevents it."

Henry nodded, "Hmph," he pressed the coin back into his pocket. "That's... interesting. Why not?"

Though Evelyn's visage darkened, she didn't answer the question.

Henry, who's passive look was so cool, it was like he was talking about normal everyday stuff. "Well, you see, what's interesting is that I chose to give you this prison because of its abilities. My other ones hinder shifters. I could have chosen a prison that *would* have hindered your shifting. Or I could have chosen one that would have caused you pain. My thought was, well, if I can continue to allow her to shift, *which I never allow*, then you could at least be comfortable in a cell with a different form. Because, no matter how I looked at it, you weren't really the enemy." Henry paused, and the tension could be felt between them all. As Rose turned to look at Kia and watched as he stared at Henry. Pure amazement and respect played there. Rose still wasn't quite sure what was going on, and felt worry and fear creeping in on her.

The lights flickered, and she backed away from the group by a few steps, retreating further into the basement. "Scarlet. Not mother. Scarlet will bring darkness. Darkness will sense her lacking power. He will come. The race is on." It was like it had all happened in a blink. She was barely taking her third step back when Henry turned to raise a questioning eyebrow at her. Instead, Rose swallowed, not understanding what the thing had said.

"Sorry, I just... I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed right now." She said, stopping to look up at him.

Henry put his hand out, and Rose couldn't help but grab it. "Does this look like your mother?"

"No." Rose said, almost feeling bad as she spoke, her heart pounding in her chest. She suddenly felt like she might faint. "Her hair was never red. And why does she look so young?"

"That's your own daughter." Henry said, pulling Rose into his embrace. His hard warm chest and stomach against her was a relief. Just being close to him made her feel a thousand times better. At least he cared. How many times had she seen and heard her mom turn her back on them? Where was she when Carlyle was hurting her? And now, to see this. What was she supposed to feel and think? "You want to know what happened?" His eyes darkened as they focused on Evelyn.

Her red hair waived in the light as she shook her head.

Henry scoffed at her. "Well, I guess we'll leave it at this; this cell is made to stop magic. You can no longer shift, and you can't pick up a simple coin from my hand. You are looking completely different, but I think the longer you're in there, the more you'll look like yourself." Henry looked back at Rose again, "Am I being too harsh? If there's anything you would like to say? I would love to know."

Rose squeezed his hand, "Can I talk to you in private for a moment?"

"We can soon." He said, looking confused. Rose's shoulders fell. At least he didn't dismiss her. "But, do you see this?" He looked at her, "Your mother has been lying about who she is. She's a witch. With red hair." As soon as the words left his mouth he straightened. "Oh. I'm sorry. Is this what you wanted to talk about?"

Rose shrugged, and Henry pulled her away, toward the darkness again.

"You know how I disappeared upstairs and could hear that voice?" She looked up with him, worried.

"I do." She was expecting him to be cold and hard, but his words were soft as his hand came up to push the hair back from her face and cup her cheek. "Did he come back?"

Rose nodded, "It said that Scarlet was going to bring darkness. That he would sense her magic leaving. Said the race was on..."

Henry swallowed, looking back at Evelyn. Her hair was a dark red, but it was clear she was holding onto the masking spell she'd woven around her. That any witch could live an entire life looking like someone else and able to make it look like she'd aged was unbelievable. It meant she had incredible power. Henry had only ever had to deal with three witches in his life, and none had the power to do that. She'd even convinced him she could shift like them. That must have taken some massive practice.

"Sounds like it's claiming that your mother is actually Scarlet. And the more her magic disappears, the more danger we'll be under. Is your friend coming here?"

"It sounds like they are. I think they're bringing others. They said the race is on, so it sounds like they're bringing others. What do you think the darkness Scarlet has could be? More magic?" Rose gripped his arms, "Because whatever it is," she could feel the tears brimming in her eyes, "I'm scared. I-I think it's going to be something we're not going to be able to fight."

Evelyn was now talking to Kai in whispers. Reaching out to him, as if she were trying to convince him of something. "Come on, lets head upstairs. I think we need to look into this more." Henry wound his fingers through hers and led her back toward the stairs. "Come on, Kai."

"Wait." Evelyn tried to hold onto his hand, but Kai pulled away.

"Sorry grandma, I've gotta go."