Bastien
Making myself wait to take action until hearing from Helene is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. My relief over escaping the dungeons with Grayson and James wore off almost immediately after learning that Selene was still Blaise’s captive. I hadn’t really expected her to get away at the same time we did, but my disappointment and worry once Matthew filled us in was proof of the hope I hadn’t let myself acknowledge.
The worst part is waiting for the witch to appear afterwards, but my new allies keep reminding me that I won’t be any help to Selene if I get captured again. Only this fact keeps me from storming back to Blaise’s palace and ripping the place apart to find my mate. If I thought the Alpha would face a challenge head on things might be different, but it’s painfully obvious now that he would never allow a fair fight between us. He’s the worst kind of Alpha, one that relies on his army to maintain his power, rather than letting his strength speak for itself.
When Helene finally appears, striding into the rebel headquarters as if she owns the place, all my previous concerns evaporate. She hasn’t come alone – in fact she’s with the very last person I ever expected to see here: Frederic.
“What the hell is he doing here?” I demand, surging forward and barely restraining myself from attacking my cousin.
“Easy Bastien, he’s the one who connected me to your friends here.” Helene explains, holding her hand up to stall my aggression, “He wants to help Selene.”
“Are you out of your mind?” I exclaim, feeling a fresh rush of fury consume my body. It took me a long time to finally sort through all the memories Arabella erased, especially those I gained after her poison campaign began – but I had a lot of time to think in the dungeons and I remember perfectly now. When I look at Frederic all I see is the foul man raising his hand to strike my pregnant mate in broad daylight, and I want to rip him to pieces for that alone – nevermind all his other crimes.
“Selene had the same reaction when I told her.” Helene assures me. “But in the end she agreed beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to allies.”
“You’re telling me Selene knows about this?” I inquire, thrusting my hand towards Frederic indignantly.
“Yes, she does.” Helene confirms gently. “Trust your mate, Alpha.”
Pacing back and forth across the floor, I try to come to terms with this information, trying to find some logic in how Selene could ever agree to work with my deranged cousin. “What was her state of mind?” I press.
“She was fine.” Helene stated simply, a suggestion I cannot believe given the circumstances, “frightened and stressed but thinking clearly, I assure you.” Helene added, seeming to read my mind.
For weeks now I’ve been imagining Selene suffering at Blaise’s hands, and every time I picture her my morbid thoughts conjure some new misfortune. Now I’m picturing her in chains, so desperate to get away from the horrible Alpha that she’d agree to risk trusting the least honorable wolf on the continent. It’s too much. Dragging my hand through my hair, I grit my teeth and zero in on the true issue. “I need to see her. I need to talk to her.”
“You will.” Helene promises me steadily, “In time.”
“Where is she, what’s our plan?” I question, Axel rising close to the surface as I consider all the threats and hurdles we’re going to have to overcome to finish this horrible chapter of our lives.
“She’s in Blaise’s palace.” Helene sighs, clearly following my frantic train of thought. “The entire city has gone into lockdown because of the prison break. She doesn’t know you’re free, and I can’t get a message to her with everything under such tight security.”
“So what?” I clarify, scanning the grim faces around me. “We’re just stuck?”
“I didn’t say that.” Helene answers, clearly exasperated. “I swear, you young people are so impatient.”
“I’m impatient because her life is on the line – our baby’s life is on the line!” I explode, my thunderous voice echoing throughout the headquarters and making many a hardened rebel flinch.
For all the shockwaves my dominant energy sends throughout the shifters, it seems to have no effect on the wizened witch. “I’m well aware, Alpha.” Helene responds coolly.
“Then why aren’t you more concerned?” I bite.
“I’ll remind you that I’m the one who has gotten you this far, pup. I’ve been risking my life going back and forth between you two, conspiring with the rebels, passing messages and plotting against a tyrant.” Helene reminds me, “do you believe I would take such risks if I wasn’t painfully aware of the dangers we’re facing? If I didn’t care about Selene?”
“You’re also the one who brought my mate here, knowing what you would be up against.” I growl in accusation.
“Don’t do that.” Helene scolds, “Don’t patronize your mate that way. She was going to come after you with or without me.”
The reality of what had happened while I was trapped by Arabella’s spell hits me full force. I doubt Selene snuck off into the night without anyone knowing her plans, not when she had made arrangements to leave Lila with Drake and Sophie. That had to mean that the others had helped her come after me, they’d all broken their vows to put her life above my own. “What was everyone thinking?” I grouse, “you all were supposed to protect her.”
“I don’t know if you realize this, but your mate is a determined woman.” Helene drawls, “her mate was in trouble. There’s not a force on earth that could have stopped her from coming after you.”
“They were supposed to let me die!” I object, knowing how irrational it seems to be angry at people who helped rescue out of nothing but love, yet unable to quell my indignant rage.
“You made that deal with your Betas, not Selene.” Helene reminds me. “That was your mistake.”
However this wasn’t entirely true. Selene had promised me she would never come here, I’d forced her to vow never to follow me, no matter how dire the situation became. On one hand it’s completely hypocritical because I would never make such a promise myself, but then again my life is nowhere near as precious as hers, or our children’s. But she broke her word, and now we’re in exactly the circumstances I feared most – I’m safe now, and she’s hanging on by a thread in the grasp of a madman. “I’m going to kill her,” I murmur forlornly, feeling almost as if I might cry. “I’m going to wring her perfect, beautiful little neck.”
“Well that’s… violent.” James observes with a frown.
“Come on old timer,” Matthew teases, clearly understanding where I’m coming from as he glances at his own mate. “You never wanted to strangle your mate, just a little?”
James thinks for a moment, then shakes his head with a small chuckle, “Of course I did. Who hasn’t?”
“And you people think I’m the mad man.” Frederic grumbles.
“The difference is that none of us would actually do it.” I snap, again picturing him towering over my vulnerable mate on that street in the video.
“Alright, enough arguing.” Helene interrupts. “This isn’t helping Selene, or your cause.” She directs to the rebels. “We need to talk about next steps. We need to get all your alpha male bullshit out of the way so we can work together to achieve our aims – without killing each other.” She adds, clearly reading my mind about the best way to put our differences behind us.
“If Selene knew I was free, could she escape?” I ask, returning to the matter at hand despite my macabre fantasies of ripping Frederic limb from limb.
“Depending on where he has her, yes.” Helene shares. “She has her powers, but if she’s in some bunker surrounded by guards, her magic might not be enough. And she can’t risk using it unless it’s certain she can escape. If Blaise finds out she got her powers back he’ll take them away again – and they’re the only thing protecting her from his… attentions.”
My wolf growls at the implications of the witch’s words, and for the thousandth time my mind fills up with fear for what Selene is suffering while we all stand here arguing. “So how do we get to her?” I question, “how do we get her a message, or take out the guards so she can get away?”
“That’s only half the question.” Helene instructs me, looking around at the rebels. “If she escapes and Blaise still lives, she’ll just be on the run again. We have an opportunity here – if we do this right we can kill two birds with one stone – free your mate and the city together.”
“We’ve been working on a mass insurgency plan for some time now.” Mathew announces at my back, “but we’ve never had anyone on the inside so close to Blaise, or an Alpha we’re certain can defeat him in combat.” I can feel his eyes on my back, and while I never intended to aid a revolution, I have no problem with killing Blaise.
“What happens afterwards?” I ask him solemnly, “I’ll gladly get rid of Blaise, but I have my own pack to run.”
“If you can help us oust him, we can handle the rest.” Matthew assures me. “We have the perfect leader in mind.”
Following the rebels gaze, I see he’s watching Grayson – who in turn seems mildly oblivious. My former cellmate blinks when he realizes where our attention has turned, “What, me?”
“Who better?” Matthew questions. “You have the strength, and you sacrificed everything in hopes of freeing this pack.”
“I’ve also been in a dungeon for ten years, I’m not strong enough to bring down challengers in this condition.” He argues.
“If worst comes to worst, I’ll take over in the meantime.” Matthew offers, “and when you’ve regained your strength, you can wipe the floor with me to take your rightful place.”
Grayson’s expression shutters as he considers the other man’s words, but after a moment he nods in agreement, looking around at all of us with stolid determination, “So what’s the plan?
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