Chapter Thirty

“Someone get me out of these shackles instantly,” commanded the man as soon as he reappeared at their hideout. His voice had transformed from a thin, shaky voice to a strong commanding voice.

The leader stood up eagerly, “How was the mission, Ken?” she asked him.

“The mission was a success, Boss. I need to be released from these shackles. They’re holding me back,” he said.

The leader gestured with two fingers, and one of her cohorts moved to his side. He grabbed the shackles in a bid to snap them off, but they burned his hand.

“That’s dumb of you. Don’t you know they’ll be made of silver?” he said drily.

Another person came forward, wearing a pair of thick leather gloves. He grabbed the silver links and broke them, freeing Ken.

As soon as the shackles were off, Ken transformed from a small wiry man with black hair and blue eyes, to a huge man with tan skin and dark hair. However, his eyes had changed colour.

They had transformed from a shifty pale blue to a clear, intense and pulsing red. He had vertical slats for pupils, and black veins snaked under his skin.

“Gah. How I hate silver. I don’t know how that mongrel got his hands on high-quality silver like that. He must be very rich,” Ken said. He had a deep, rich voice that was slightly accented.

“Hayden is rich, I assure you that,” said the leader, bobbing her head, “He only spends on the best.”

“So brief me, please. Did you deliver the message exactly like I told you to? There will be no room for mistakes, I hope you know that,” she said sternly.

Ken moved closer to her, placed his hand on her waist and pulled her to himself. “Don’t you trust me, boss? I delivered it exactly like you told me to. He reacted exactly like you said he would, and I disappeared just in time,” he explained.

She smiled and placed her hand on his broad chest.

“Good,” she said in a sultry tone. He tilted his head downwards and began to kiss her neck.

She giggled.

***

Alexia gave the punching bag as much as she got. Punches and kicks attacked it from all sides as the two of them rained down their fury on it.

Hayden gave it one last punch and it burst at the seams, spilling its contents to the ground. Alexia stepped back, her chest heaving.

She was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, but her mate looked like he just took a dunk in the swimming pool. His brown hair which flopped onto his forehead was soaked and appeared black. However, his eyes still reflected murderous rage, but they were starting to flicker back and forth between blue and gold.

“Well, do you feel any better?” she asked.

“Leave me alone, Alexia,” he growled.

He stalked to the storeroom in the basement and took out the last punching bag. He unhooked the previous one and attached the new one. Then, he resumed his punching.

Suddenly, Alexia had had enough. “Stop!”

He stopped punching and jerked his head up.

“Yes, stop! I am tired of this. You have used up all the punching bags in the store. You have been punching without tape or boxing gloves,” she moved closer to him and grabbed his fists.

“Look at these!” she yelled. His knuckles were raw and bleeding. Some had the skin peeling off them.

“You are a werewolf. You don’t get injured easily, yet you manage to almost split your hands in half. What is wrong with you? What could have happened down at the prison that would make you want to break your hands and apparently all the punching bags in the clan?”

Hayden was huffing and breathing hard. Then, all the fighting seemed to drain out of him. He sighed. Alexia saw that he was resigned, and grabbed his hand. “Let’s get this treated first,” she said softly.

She pulled him along and he followed without any resistance. She made him sit on the bench and then she went to get the first aid box. Gently, she cleaned all off all the blood on his knuckles with a swab soaked in methylated spirit.

“This might burn a little,” she warned. She treated the wounds with iodine, then covered them with a dry swab and wrapped up his hands with bandages.

“They should be healed by tomorrow,” she told him, “Now, are you ready to talk about it?”

Hayden sighed, “There’s really nothing to talk about. For the whole of the Werewolf clan, all three packs—White Flame, Dark Crescent, and Red Moon—we captured only one rogue.”

“One? That’s absurd?” she said, puzzled.

“I said the same thing. Anyways, Ace and I went to interrogate the prisoner, and then he started saying a bunch of stuff that rubbed me the wrong way.”

“What did he say?” Alexia asked tenderly.

“He said some things about you and me being born on Half-Moon nights….and that I am older than you by exactly 3 years and 3months. He also insinuated that Helena is not dead,” he explained.

“The rest…okay. But Helena not being dead? That’s absurd. Very absurd. If she didn’t die, then how am I here? How did you feel your mate bond snap?” Alexia quizzed.

She grabbed his face with both her hands and looked at him squarely, “Don’t let it bother you. He probably was just saying it to mess with your head, okay?”

Hayden lifted his hands to hers and brought them down. However, he still held on to them, “That was not the most surprising thing that happened. He was talking when I interrupted him by choking him because I was so angry and then the strangest thing happened. He disappeared right from my grasp.”

Alexia squeezed his hands, “It’s probably all part of this battle that we’re fighting. You shouldn’t let it affect you, okay?”

He sighed and nodded. “I understand. Thank you, babe,” he said and attempted to pull her closer. She raised a finger and scooted away from him.

“No, eww! You’re covered in sweat. You need a shower. Don’t touch me,” she exclaimed, smiling.

He tried to reach for her again, but she stood up. A mischievous glint entered his eyes and he stood up without warning.

Alexia barely made a sound of surprise when Hayden grabbed her waist and melded their bodies together. She tripped his feet with hers and they fell heavily onto the gym floor.

Because of their proximity, Hayden’s hair fell into her face. She raised her hand and brushed it away, “You need a haircut.”

“I know, right?” he lamented.

“I can cut it for you. I went to cosmetology school. I’m a hairstylist,” she said.

“She's got skills, yo!” Hayden exclaimed, beaming. Alexia laughed.


***

Somebody grabbed Vanessa’s arm and dragged her around to the side of the house just as she was about to enter. When she saw that it was Ace, she tried to yell, but he clamped his hand over her mouth and pulled her to behind the building where they were hidden. He had her back to the wall and braced her body with his.

Then he removed his hand from her mouth and covered it again with his lips. They kissed hard for some time before Ace broke the kiss.

“You have to stop doing that!” she whispered.

“Stop doing what? This?” he asked, then kissed her again.

“No, not that. You have to stop dragging me into dark places and hidey-holes,” she replied.

“So, you don’t want me to stop kissing you?” he teased.

“I didn’t say that,” she retorted.

“Hmmnm, so you want me to keep kissing you?”

“No!”

“So you don’t like it when I do this?” he pecked her once.

“Or this?” he kissed her gently.

“Or this?” he murmured against her mouth and deepened the kiss. Vanessa moaned and Ace slid his tongue into her mouth. They made out, then he suddenly broke the kiss.

“Your mouth says no, but your body says otherwise.”

Wisely, Vanessa kept her mouth shut. She deliberately looked away from him. He brought one hand to push her face back so they made eye contact.

“Accept me as your mate, please,” he pleaded.

“I’d sooner stab myself with a silver knife,” she snarled.

“Then I have no choice but to keep pulling you into dark places and doing this,” he said and slammed his lips on her. This time, he was rough. He slanted, sucked, and teased without mercy, without allowing her to respond.

Vanessa’s brain was going into overdrive and she suddenly lost the ability to form coherent thoughts. She could not keep up, yet every movement his lips made, everywhere his hands touched and caressed burned with sparks and sensations.

When he broke the kiss, she gasped for breath and her eyes were dazed and unfocused. By the time she regained the use of her brain, he was gone. She raised a finger to her swollen lips and touched them gently.

When Vanessa went back to the front door of the house she was staying in, Cole was standing at the threshold, glaring at her with his arms crossed.

“I saw you.”