Dark Veil (19 page)

“I will get in,” Cade growled. “They won’t stop me.”

Anika and Raven had come up to them, standing just behind Stephen. “No,” she said. “You won’t. They are well-prepared. They’ve been planning all of this for a long time. You and Gemma were just an early opportunity for them.”

Cade took a step closer to her and Raven stepped forward. “How do you know all of this? How do you know their plans?”

“She worked for them,” Stephen said slowly.

Cade’s eyes widened in surprise then cold, hard fury crossed his features. He lunged for Anika, but this time Stephen blocked his path. “She worked for them?” he yelled at him, shoving at his chest. “You let her stand there, still alive, when she has been a part of all this?”

“They’ve been using her, betrayed her. She’s the one who helped us find this place. She doesn’t know where they have taken Gemma now,” Stephen said. “This was the last place she knew. They dumped her ass.”

“I don’t believe it.”

Anika stepped back to Raven’s protective parameter.

“Fighting about this isn’t going to help,” Stephen said, pushing Cade back.

“She has answers.” Cade roared. He pushed Stephen but he didn’t budge. A god damn brick wall of muscle.

“Cade …”

Cade pointed at Anika, his face twisted with deep hatred. “You are a traitor to your kind? Is that what you are? You fucking helped them to do this?” He strode over to Anika, and Raven automatically shoved her back behind him. He held up his hands in warning to Cade. How dare he? Cade thought. Did he not know that he was dealing with Society? “Get out of my way.”

“It’s not her fault,” Raven said to him.

“Who the fuck are you? Are you with the
Humans,
too? All strays go and lay down with that filth?”

Stephen sided next to Cade, blocking him from Anika and Raven now. “Come on. Think about this.”

“I am thinking about this. They have my mate. They have the boy I took in. They’re my life, both of them, and the baby. The
Humans
have them and people like her,” he pointed to Anika, “they helped to take them from me. I can't just stop and think about it. Thinking isn’t going to get them back.”

“We’ve got to take this to Society. It’s the only way. This is bigger than us. Don’t you think that if I thought charging in there and killing the lot of them would get us Gemma and Phoenix back, I wouldn’t do it? Because I would. I’d be there now slashing my way through. But we can't. Those
Humans
are afraid and that makes them dangerous as well as stupid. You know this.”

“They have Gemma.”

“I know. Let’s do this right and get her back.” Cade’s
wolf
growled in protest, but Stephen was right. He’d not let Gemma just die if he could go and get her. It just went against everything inside of Cade. They were just fucking
Humans
—he hated them all.

“She isn’t going anywhere.” Stephen said calmly. “And we are going to get her and Phoenix. We just need some back up.”

“If she dies?” Cade gritted out. “What if we are too late?”

“She won’t. The
Humans
are idiots, but Patterson has more sense about him than to kill them. You know that.”

“He wants war,” Raven said.

Stephen nodded. “Of course he does. But he wants war that he can win. He’s not going to kill them because that would be suicide. We need Society.”

Cade breathed hard and pushed down all the negative thoughts of what could happen—what might happen. “Okay,” he finally grated. “Let’s go to Society.”

*      *     *

Malcolm was outside at the back of the house when they found him. He must have just come back from a run because he wore black trousers, shirt open, revealing a well-muscled torso. Even age hadn't stopped him from retaining his muscle. His eyes shone brightly, his
tiger
still awake in there. He pushed his glasses up onto his nose before addressing his visitors.

“Where’s Mum?” Stephen asked.

Malcolm buttoned up his shirt. “She’s out running with your sister,” he said flatly. He raised his eyes to Stephen, not acknowledging the others who were with him. “They are out of earshot so whatever it is that you want to tell me, I suggest that you do it now.” He reached for his tie and put it around his neck. “I judge by the expression on your face that you’re not here merely to enquire about your mother’s whereabouts.”

Stephen tensed. This was what it was to be alpha—reading people, knowing things and protecting others. He wasn’t sure so much that when he took over he would be able to do it quite so well. “Patterson,” he said bluntly. “He’s taken Gemma and Phoenix.”

Malcolm paused with his tie half knotted. It wasn’t often that Malcom showed any emotion. He had the perfect poker face, but it was there, fleeting, and Stephen had caught it.

“Patterson has my daughter?” Malcolm’s voice was gruff as he asked Stephen. “He has taken her? Where?”

“We don’t know,” Cade said, coming forward. “He had us at Christchurch. But she’s gone.”

Malcolm frowned. “They had
you
, too?”

“Yes. He took us both, but they let me go.”

“And you left her there?”

The insinuation in Malcolm’s question pierced icily through Cade’s chest, but right now that didn’t matter. Nothing did except for getting Gemma back. A tick worked along the side of Malcolm’s jaw, his eyes betraying the stoney façade he tried to portray. Even the great Malcolm Davies couldn’t hide his anger and concern when it came to his children.

“We don’t know where she is,” Cade said.

Malcolm nodded and said nothing. He strode past them all and went to the house, letting them follow. The back door swung open with such force that it slammed into the concrete wall and vibrated. He marched all the way to the quiet room, the four of them trailed after him. He sat and listened to the whole story from Stephen—the planned meeting after they had both been to the other Societies. He told them about Gemma and Cade not turning up and then going to the hotel they had booked. He didn’t mention taking Phoenix to see his father. Or the fact that they hadn’t had two separate bedrooms at the hotel. Cade filled in his side, keeping with Stephen and only saying what they needed to, missing out anything that would land them in trouble.

When they were done, Anika added quietly, “They’re taking them to Exile.” All faces in the room shot in her direction.

“What for?” Malcolm asked.

“They have Phoenix. He’s a half-breed. In Exile … they aren’t restricted like here.”

“They experimented on her, too,” Raven added. He reached out and brushed the hair from her ear, sweeping it back so they could all see the faded tattoo there. “She was
Human
, too, at one point.”

“Do you know where this place is?” Cade demanded. “Did you purposely keep this information from us again? Gave them time to get away.”

“No,” she said meekly. “I don’t know where it is. I always got taken to places in the dark or asleep.”

“And now they have let you go?” Malcolm asked. “Just like that?”

“I was six. They took me and made me
Other
.” She swallowed hard and took a breath, clearly uncomfortable in the room. She explained to Malcom about Phoenix and how he would be more powerful. Malcom listened, his jaw tight and his eyes fierce. The air around them became charged with each new piece of information that was revealed. His hands balled into fists, but he stayed put, listening and nodding until she was done.

“What does my daughter have to do with all of this? She is pure.”

“I don’t really know.” Her eyes darted around the table at every single hostile face. Only Raven seemed to hold a softer expression, but even he sat waiting for her to answer that one. “Maybe because she is pregnant?”

Malcolm straightened. “Gemma is pregnant?”

Stephen shot to his feet, silently cursing. “We can explain,” he said quickly.

Malcolm’s nostrils flared and his glare landed on Cade. “Do you realise what you have done?”

Chapter Twenty-Four

The man with the lopsided smile stood cautiously off to the side. If he could have smiled properly, his grin would have been huge, Phoenix thought to himself. All teeth and thin lips. Except when he did smile, only half of his face lifted properly, exposing one crooked yellow front tooth. His eyes shone with wild excitement at the discovery he had made in the car—he was positively bouncing from it. Elation radiated from him in such a way that it was intoxicating. He was a child who had just got what he had always wanted for Christmas.

He peered into the boot, his eyes roaming up and down Phoenix in glee. Another
Human
came to stand next to him, his glum face a stark contrast. Phoenix recognised him as one of the men from the car. Next to him, another
Human
stood pointing a gun at Phoenix. It was the guy with the jacket that eventually leaned in and grabbed Phoenix’s arm.

The strong odour of urine in the car burnt the inside of Phoenix’s nose, making him want to retch. Stephen had been right.
Humans
had a stench to them when they were afraid. It rolled off them, putrid and lingering. The
Human
in the jacket pushed Phoenix’s sleeve up and plunged a needle into his arm before he could react, depositing whatever liquid was in there into his veins.

Warmth spread, like a fiery flame under his skin. He grabbed his arm, pressing tightly in a futile attempt to stop it.

The three
Humans
took a step back together and some kind of trolley was wheeled closer, rattling against the concrete floor. Phoenix closed his eyes, bringing Stephen’s words to mind.
If you can smell fear, you can use it.
He’d drummed it into him like a mantra for these moments. A person,
Human
or
Other
, could hide facial expressions, they could cover their body language with forced effort, but there was no one that could ever mask the scent of fear. It just wasn’t possible.

If the
Humans
had been
Other
, they might have been able to detect the scent of Phoenix’s emotions. As it were, Phoenix had the advantage here.

Use it
, he thought.

He pushed himself up slowly, swinging one leg out first. The
Humans
backed up as he climbed out and stepped down, throwing nervous glances at each other as they did so.

The space they were in looked like a large garage. There were no cars parked around and no white lines marking the floor giving directions, but there was a large shutter at the back with a barrier pole across the top, and a small doorway that was closed.

Phoenix moved again, slow, unhurried steps that had the
Humans
backing away. Maybe he could drive them all the way to the door and then make a run for it. He pushed his shoulders back, making his presence bigger than it was. Stephen had told him how to do it. No matter what, walk it tall. Don’t hide. Don’t back away and no one will have a clue that you’re shitting yourself with every move. So that was what he did—shoulders back, chest out and jaw clenched as he kept his eyes on the
Humans
. All he had to do now was not screw this up and get himself killed.

If he got them in the right place, he could charge. “Stop.” The
Human
pointed a shaky gun at him, then quickly swapped it to his other hand so that he could wipe his palm down his jeans. Would he even have the courage to shoot? It wasn’t him who was pathetic, it was the
Humans
—Stephen had every aspect of it right. He almost felt ashamed that he had once been one of them—blind and idiotic, weak and afraid.

“You need to let me go,” Phoenix said, throwing confidence into his voice and hoping he sounded more in control than he felt.

The
Human
with the lopsided smile raised his hands nervously. “Calm down,” he gulped. “We don’t mean you any harm.”

Phoenix moved quickly, rushing at the
Human
with the gun, his eyes on the gap between them.

A gunshot ricocheted around the room and pain exploded in Phoenix’s shoulder, the force of it flinging him backwards. He landed on the ground with a thud, his hands clutching at his shoulder as he went down. With a grunt, he rolled with it and was back on his feet as fast as he had gone down. Blood trickled down his arm, and his skin grew taut. He pushed back his collar to inspect the damage—the hole was small and growing smaller by the second. Something thick and black oozed out of it, running down his arm. It didn’t even mingle with his blood, oil and water rejecting each other … but it wasn’t oil.

“Silver doesn’t work on me,” Phoenix smiled at them derisively. He really did feel strong and confident suddenly. What could these
Humans
actually do to him?

“You gave him silver?” the
Human
with the lopsided smile asked his friend incredulously. “Are you an idiot?”

“He’s a shifter,” the
Human
said in defence.

“He’s a half-breed. Silver doesn’t work on him, for fuck’s sake.”

“Maybe this will work.” 

Phoenix spun around in the direction of the female voice behind him. A tall, slim woman stood by a door, which probably led to the main building, with a disparaging smile on her face.

“Gemma …” Phoenix shot forward and the woman took a cautious step back and shook her head at him.

“Not so fast, half-breed.” She shoved Gemma forward, and Gemma almost tripped over her own feet. Her head hung down, but Phoenix could see her tired face. Dark circles ran around her eyes even though it had only been a day. “You wouldn’t want anything to happen to your friend now, would you?” she purred sweetly, and Phoenix clenched his fists at his sides.

If Cade or Stephen saw what they had done ... He had to think like them ... act like them. He couldn’t run now. They would never leave Gemma behind, and neither could he.

“You were at the car, too?” She had an odd scent to her, even from where she stood. Phoenix could smell it—coppery and rich. She was definitely
Other
.

“Did you think that poor idiot just had a haemorrhage by himself?”

Thoughts of Andy sneaked into Phoenix’s mind. No, of course he didn’t. He didn’t want to think about Andy at all or what he had seen. The woman flicked her hand in a circular motion, and the
Human
with the gun buckled over, clutching at his stomach. He screamed as she twisted her hand mid-air, holding nothing, but even from where she stood, the
Human
was affected by it.

“Stop it, Janie,” the other
Human
said.

The woman laughed as she brought her hand down again, and the
Human
started to cough and heave until he vomited onto the concrete floor in front of him. “Fucking nice one,” he said eventually, spitting out the last of what he had brought up. “You forget your place.”

She rolled her eyes. “It was just a tickle.” She pushed the half-sleeping Gemma ahead of her and Phoenix wondered whether this Janie was the only thing keeping Gemma upright at that moment. Phoenix’s
wolf
reeled in anger and frustration that he couldn’t go to her and help her. Gemma murmured something and tried to twist out of Janie’s grasp, but Janie dug her fingers in, making Gemma wince.

“Let her go,” Phoenix demanded.

The
Human
with the jacket came around then. “No can do, I’m afraid. We have our orders.”

“Where’s Cade?” Gemma asked hoarsely. She lifted her eyes to look at Phoenix, and just the sight of her made Phoenix’s chest tighten. She had a faded bruise on her face, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t recent. She was a shifter; it could have happened ten minutes ago.

“I don’t know,” Phoenix said gently.

“The
wolf
is dead,” the
Human
with the gun said as he holstered his weapon.

“No,” Gemma cried out. “I don’t believe you.”

“Believe it, honey,” Janie said. “He’s dead. Down with the fish now.”

Gemma had her eyes on Phoenix again, and despondency tore through him. He shook his head and touched his fingers to his temples, hoping that she would understand. If Cade was dead, he would know it. He would probably be dead himself. That was what he had been told anyway—their bond was a two-way thing. If Cade died, he would die, too.

Gemma bit her lower lip and gave a slight nod.

She understood.

“You need to get onto the trolley,” the lopsided-mouthed man said. “We have work to do, and we’re on a tight schedule.”

Phoenix frowned. “Why should I?”

Janie came closer, pushing Gemma as she did. “Because we said so.” She held her hand over Gemma’s abdomen, and Gemma grabbed it and tried to pull it away, but Janie reached around and grabbed Gemma’s wrist. Gemma’s eyes shifted, the pupils turning to ovals. “I don’t think so,” Janie said. She turned her attention to Phoenix, her features hard. “Get on the trolley.”

Gemma shook her head. “Don’t do it,” she rasped. She forced each word through whatever pain it was the woman was inflicting on her, doubling over and gasping for air while she fought to get the woman’s hand off her. Still, she pleaded with Phoenix. “Don’t …”

Janie narrowed her eyes and Gemma cried out with fresh pain. “How long do you think her baby can withstand this?”

“Fuck off,” Gemma cried through gritted teeth and pushed against the woman, flinging her arm back, elbow to the jaw. Janie’s head snapped back, but she didn’t let go—like a fucking leech.

“Trolley,” she glared at Phoenix, anger clear in her eyes now.

“Run, Phoenix,” Gemma shouted, but he couldn’t do that—wouldn’t do that. Stephen and Cade would never have left her. They’d have fought until Gemma was free. They’d sacrifice themselves for her without a second thought. He wasn’t afraid. He wasn’t like them and they would know it. With long strides, he walked towards Gemma and lopsided man hesitated, unsure what Phoenix’s intentions were. Phoenix stopped in front of the trolley, paused and looked at Gemma.

“I have to. I’m sorry.” He climbed onto it and she sobbed, reaching for him even with Janie holding her tightly. Phoenix tried to shut out the sounds, unable to bear the way they ripped his heart to pieces.

“Good choice,” Janie said to him. She gripped Gemma’s upper arm and dragged her over to a wheelchair by the wall. It had bindings all around and Gemma was thrust into it. Phoenix didn’t need to guess that they would be silver, but Gemma sat there with her lips firm, refusing to show them the pain she was feeling.

The lopsided smiler came to Phoenix’s side. “Glad you chose to join us,” he said as he began to fasten the straps around Phoenix. The urge to jump up and smack the stupid man and knock the smile off his face was almost too great for Phoenix, but he restrained himself. It would do him and Gemma no good.

The straps that went around Phoenix weren’t silver, but they were extra strong. When they had him secure, lopsided nodded to the
Human
with the gun and the trolley began to move.

Phoenix couldn’t see where he was going. They had placed a strap across his head so that he couldn’t move it. All he could see was the old, cracked ceiling above him, lines of black mould patched across it. Gemma was close to him; he could feel her. He listened to the sound of the heavy footsteps of the
Human
men. The lights changed suddenly, going from the dull lamps to large fluorescent lights that hummed above him. The trolley jerked to a stop when one of the
Humans
applied the brake.

Phoenix’s only sense was his hearing. There was a rattle of chains that came from either side of him, and above him, a chain hung from the ceiling. It ran through a sort of hook—a pulley mechanism. The chain started to come down, slowly, until it touched his chest, its heaviness pressing into him and the coldness of it seeping through his top.

“We won’t be a moment,” Janie said to him. He thought that they were unstrapping him as the buckles on the belts clanged, but his arms didn’t come free. If anything, they were pulled apart tighter.

“Lean him forward,” a male voice that Phoenix didn’t recognise said. The trolley began to rattle and jolt as machinery inside it began to work. Phoenix felt himself begin to rise and then he tipped forward. They had attached a hook to the strap around his throat, and it pulled tight as gravity began to win and he started to slide from the trolley. His arms began to rise on either side of him, not stopping until he was suspended upright, arms out, feet barely touching the ground.

The man who had spoken came forward. He was tall—taller than Stephen—and wore latex gloves. He wrapped a hand around the back of Phoenix’s neck and pulled his head forward. Phoenix felt the tip of a vibrating needle against the hard bit behind his ear, and he clenched his teeth, bracing himself for the pain.

The man held him in place and tattooed a number behind his ear.