Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Bronx’s POV

“Come on, man. It’s been a month. We're sick of this shit. If this is your order, if this is truly what you want, then man the fuck up and come to the dungeon so you can see your damn handy work,” Milo’s steel-gray eyes bore into me, “ Like you said, you don’t give a fuck anymore, so prove it. Come see what you're doing.”

“Watch your tone, Milo,” I stand up, growling at him.

“Look, Bronx, you can come with us right now or you can find Blood River another Beta. I have plenty of packs who have already said they would give me asylum. Fuck being a Beta. I'll take a job as a front gate guard and call ita fucking day. I'll pack my shit, take Codi, and leave today if that’s how you really want this to go down. Your choice,” he crosses his arms and stares me down. Behind him, Reggie has his hands on his hips, looking at the floor.

“What about you, Reggie? You're awfully quiet. Are you part of this ultimatum, too?” I lean forward against the desk, giving him a chance to speak up.

His blue eyes glance up at me, then back at the floor before he clears his throat, “We've already spoken to the Manae. They said we can stay at the Kardia tou Manae if we need to. Their new home. If that’s what we think would be best for Katie.”

All the rage that Saint has been feeling roils inside me at the thought of even more people abandoning us. These guys are supposed to be my two best friends. They would just pick up and go that easily?

“Fine. I'll go to the fucking dungeon. But I don’t know why it’s so damn important to you. I already told you to

feed her, and you gave her the stupid blanket she wanted. Why do I need to see her too? She chose her fate,” I snarl, stepping around my desk to follow them out the door.

“Shut up, Bronx. I'm so sick of your shit. I just need you to shut the fuck up,” Milo growls as we make our way down the back stairs to the dungeon, with Reggie following quietly behind us. °

When Milo opens the dungeon door, Tyree stands up from the chair behind the small desk.

cancel

“Alpha, Beta, Gamma,” he regards us.

“Tyree, you're the only guard down here?” I ask, looking around for everyone else, “Shouldn't there be more security?”

Tyree looks around as well, confused, “ Alpha, we only need one of us at a time. I'm here during the day. There are other guards here at night, but one ata time is more than enough.”

I look at him suspiciously, “Huh. Okay.” “Any activity?” Milo asks him, ignoring me.

Tyree looks at the monitor. His eyes look remorseful when he looks back at Milo, “Just some shuttering, but nothing has come of it. I-I don’t know how much longer it will last, honestly.” Shuttering? What is he talking about? I glance at Milo, then Reggie, but they both continue to ignore me.

“Is this what the kitchen brought for her?” Reggie asks, picking up a covered to-go container.

“Yeah, please take it away,” Tyree screws up his face, looking at the container, “it smells disgusting.”

Reggie picks up the container and gives Milo an annoyed look. Milo motions with his head for me to follow him. From behind us, I hear Reggie talking to Tyree.

“We just need to be strong for her,” Reggie murmurs, “Have faith in the Moon Goddess for this to be over soon.” The motion sensors turn on the lights as we walk down the dark hallway. We pass the soundproof solitary confinement cell with the solid silver door. From the tiny window, I see a pair of light brown eyes stare out at us. They grow wide when they see me and a dull thudding sound of the occupant pounding on the door thumps into the hallway. I turn my eyes away. Just another traitor who chose his fate.

We get to the silver barred cell at the end of the hallway. I recognize it as the one where Kas once forced me to shift using her goddess voice so Lex could fight Saint. Milo stops with a sigh and flips several switches on the wall, changing the lights in the cell from dark blue to a soft white glow. There’s a low cot in the center of the cell, piled with blankets.

I cross my arms and sigh in frustration, “ Okay, I came down. What's the big deal?”

cancel

“Stay here,” Milo snarls, pushing the button on the wall to open the door. He steps inside while Reggie stands in the doorway.

“Be careful,” I call from outside the cell. Milo scowls at me and rolls his eyes.

“Shut up, Bronx,” Reggie finally speaks up.

Milo gingerly pulls away layers of blankets, but there is no movement from the bottom of the pile. He whispers words of encouragement and asks for forgiveness from the bedding. Is she even in there? Even with all the security upgrades, maybe she escaped.

Maybe it’s another fucking magic trick. I can feel Saint in the back of my mind paying attention to what is happening.

“Why are there so many blankets?” I ask, leaning against the wall across from the cell.

“She’s cold. So we gave her extra. Is that a problem?” He glares at me.

“No,” I sulk, observing him. Cold? Bullshit. It’s not cold at all. We keep the temperature controlled down here, but I will not argue with him right now.

He moves slowly, peeling away the layers of grungy, soiled bedding, whispering quietly to the un moving pile. When he gets to Kas’s green and gray blanket, I feel an unexpected hitch in my breath. Saint is fully at attention now, waiting to see what happens, buthe still says nothing. A very faint scent of fresh rain and lilacs comes off of the blanket, but it’s old and stale, like it’s been lingering for a long time. I look closer, curious why the scent isn’t stronger. Even after rejecting her, if she’s in there, I should still be able to smell her. There is no way she’s in there.

I watch Milo drag back the last blanket, exposing a thin, almost skeletal, hand that hangs limply off the edge of the cot. He carefully slides the blanket down further to expose the head and shoulders of a bone thin woman, laying on her side. Her tangled white hair looks like it used to sparkle and shine, but now it’s just dull and thinning. Sections of it have fallen out, leaving her scabbed scalp exposed. Her skin is sallow and tight against her bones and tendons. Her thin lips are dry and cracked from dehydration and eyes sunken into their sockets. Dark circles stain the area under her eyes.

I can barely hear her slow heartbeat against her infrequent, shallow breaths.

I don’t even know how she’s alive in this condition. Saint howls in pain at seeing his former mate in this state.

“He’s here, Little Sister,” I hear Milo whisper close to her ear. At first, there’s no reaction from the lifeless form. Even when she opens her eyes slightly and looks at me, no other part of her body moves. It’s like it takes all of her energy for that small action. Any violet those eyes once contained is gone, replaced with a dull, listless, light gray. It’s like everything that made her spirit who she is, has been sucked out of her. I’m not sure she is cognizant enough to realize I'm standing outside the cell before her eyes slowly close again.

cancel

I take a step away from the wall appalled by the shocking sight, “I thought I told you to feed her.”

“No, asshole, you used your Alpha tone to order us to ‘feed her scraps from the trash, like the pig she is’,” Reggie snarls,

throwing the food container at me. I open it up and see there is some spoiled egg salad, mostly eaten spare rib bones, and some soggy scraps of salad, “She was already underweight when she got back. We've brought food from the garbage down every day but she refuses it. There may be nothing left for her, but she still has her pride. And now she’s too weak to eat.”

I look into the cell as Milo pulls the blanket further down to Kas's legs. As the blanket comes off of her, two more heartbeats thump loudly in my ears. The scent of pine needles and lavender wafts through the air, enchanting my mind. I forget myself and almost touch the bars of the cell when I see it. Her large belly is the only thing weighing down the cot. The hand that is not hanging off the side, is covering her stomach protectively.

cancel