Trapped

Max

It was dark. Too dark. A steady dripping echoed in my ears, amplified by the small space that contained me.

I tried to move, but cold metal inhibited my motion. My hands grabbed the iron bars of my cell and shook hard, but it was no use.

I was trapped. But where were the others?!

“Bambi… Ekon…”

“I’m here,” Bambi called back. Her voice was weak but I was glad to hear it nonetheless.

“Here,” Ekon grunted.

The weight of my worry eased at hearing their voices. If we were going to be captives, at least we were together.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Bambi replied. “Maybe Holly and Leonardo...”

Bambi’s voice trailed off as laughter filled the cage. My skin crawled. I’d recognize that voice anywhere…

Torches along the walls burst into brilliant light, illuminating the small cavern in which we were held captive.

Matthias and Devina appeared in front of our cages, sizing us up with glee.

“Welcome,” Matthias said, grinning. “This has worked out better than we could have ever imagined. Hasn’t it, sister?”

“Who would have guessed that the greatest threat to our power would walk right into our hands?” Devina laughed, her shrill voice reverberating off the walls, pounding my skull with its horrible sound.

“Well, ~we~ did, of course,” Matthias said. “All thanks to Devina’s newest acolyte.”

I hoped that my ears heard wrong, but my gut knew otherwise. As Holly and Leonardo walked into view, I felt physically ill.

Holly walked to Devina’s side and watched us as if we were zoo animals.

“It was absolutely a gift that you sent her to university. And with the help of one of my devoted followers, we were able to make her see that this is where she truly belongs.”

“Holly!” My sister cried, desperately. “Don’t you recognize us? It’s me! Bambi!”

Her voice barely seemed to register in Holly’s ears. Instantly, I realized the truth…

“Goddamnit! You’ve brainwashed her!” I shouted.

Devina

I watched the pathetic wolves in their small cages. It was like a dream I’d had over and over, a desire to end them one by one. And now it would finally be realized.

“It was as though you wanted us to capture you,” Devina said.

Ekon smashed against the bars, but he had too little room to do any damage. Shifting wouldn’t help, that much we knew. A few measly subjects tested out the cages before, dashing our hopes. There would be no escape.

“I’m going to kill you!” Ekon screamed.

Matthias’ laughter ignited my own. The wolves covered their ears.

“You didn’t even realize that Leonardo was one of us,” Matthias taunted. “How do you expect to kill us when you can’t even control your own?”

Ekon grabbed the bars and shook with all his might, making me cackle even more.

“It’s no use, Alpha Ekon Helmer Jedrick,” I mocked. “You will only waste your energy. And what fun would that be for us?”

“We want you to be fully alert when you watch your Luna and her brother die,” Matthias snapped.

I shook my head with a smile as Matthias covered his mouth in feigned shame.

“Sorry, what am I thinking? You’re blind. I guess you’ll just have to listen to their screams instead.”

“The others are coming,” Bambi yelled. “They’ll save us.” I almost felt sorry for her, but that was only because she sounded so pathetic.

“There is no one coming, my dear,” I smiled. “You belong to us now.”

Her big brother Max protested, trying to get in his say, but I silenced him with a wave of my hand.

I walked to Ekon’s cage and watched him try to back away as he scented me. Remembering one of my first spells, one I’d learned ages ago, I summoned a bottle of wine and held it up to the cage.

Ekon’s nose went into overdrive, sniffing out the fruity scent immediately.

“No!” his mate screamed.

“Get away from me!” Ekon screamed. It was a loud threat, but hollow.

“Don’t do it, Ekon,” Max added. “You’re stronger than that!”

But we all knew that he wasn’t. I watched as he moved closer to the bars.

The bottle hovered closer to his nose, torturing the pathetic drunk.

“You bitch. I’m not going to give in!”

“Such a nasty mouth,” Matthias growled. “She’s family. She only wants the best for you.”

“Fuck off!” Max yelled. “Bambi is your family. I’m family!”

I could see Bambi crying, her hopes of having a sober mate disappearing by the second.

I clanked the bottle against the bars, the liquid splashing around inside. He snatched at it...

I pulled it just out of reach, forcing him to strain with every inch of his body.

“Do you want it?” I asked. “Even though you’ve struggled so hard to deny yourself the pleasures it can give?”

“No!” Bambi pleaded. “Please, don’t do it. Listen to me, Ekon. We can do this together.”

“I’m sorry,” he told his friends weakly. “But we’re going to die anyway. That’s the only thing we’ll do together.”

With the snap of my fingers, the bottle teleported to the bottom of his cage. Instinctively he grabbed it and tipped it up, chugging a quarter of the bottle in one gulp.

Matthias guffawed as he led us away from the cages. I wrapped my arm around Holly, pulling her along with me.

“I believe the four of you have some catching up to do,” Devina said, cackling.

Leonardo

Matthias and Devina disappeared down a dark tunnel, leaving me alone with my former allies.

I cringed as Ekon downed more of the wine, sating his uncontrollable need.

~This is not how I wanted this to end.~

“Fucking traitor!”

I tried to shake the words from my head, but Max’s insults wouldn’t leave. He was right. I had betrayed my friends… but it was for a greater cause.

“How could you do this to us?” Bambi questioned. “After we nearly defeated them together… you go off and join their side!”

“You don’t understand!” I yelled, unable to hold back my emotions.

“Then tell us. Help us understand.”

I faced Bambi’s pleading look and realized any worry that I had for my friends was already too late.

“When I lost my mate during the Great War, I thought I couldn’t go on living...”

“Because you’re weak, traitor,” Ekon slurred. “And isn’t it a coincidence that she was a double agent as well? You pieces of shit.”

I kicked the cage with all my might and Ekon bellowed with laughter. He gave into his demons. The fool was already drunk. And he had the nerve to call me weak?

“When you approached me for the trial, I felt it was my duty to help you. But that doesn’t mean I expected us to win,” I said, trying to keep my calm. “And when we did, I thought a new part of my life could begin. That we could defeat Matthias and Devina and put an end to them once and for all. But you let them escape!”

“We had them on the run. And in due time they would have been found and destroyed.” Max paused, leering through the iron bars. “What did you do at the Supreme Congress to foil our plans?”

Now, it was my turn to laugh.

“I didn’t foil your plans. Chair Fakari was trying to foil ours. He wanted to take Tyler and kill her for the sins she committed under Devina’s control. But Matthias and Devina could not let that happen.”

“But she was only a child. She lived out the majority of her life under the spell of Devina, or under lock and key at the penitentiary,” Bambi said, her voice filled with sadness.

“Exactly. Which is why I was given the orders to kidnap Tyler after Devina cast a spell through her, frying that idiot Fakari right where he stood.”

“Let’s have it out,” Ekon mumbled. “We can fight right here and now to see who really belongs in these cages.”

Stupid fucking fool. There would be no more fighting. Devina would make sure of that.

“We are too powerful now. Apart from your trio, no one even knows of our whereabouts.”

“You don’t know that for certain!” shouted Max.

“If I’m wrong, what does it really matter?” I smiled. “Matthias has gathered more Rogues. Devina resurrected her ancestor and stole every ounce of power her being possessed. Whether you like it or not, I’m on the winning side this time.”

I watched as their faces fell in dismay. They knew it was nearly over. All of their arguing and pleading meant nothing to me anymore. Now that Devina’s power was greater than ever before, she would fulfill the promise she made me.

“Why,” Bambi pleaded. “Just tell us why you did it.”

“Because I miss my mate so much that sometimes I can barely breathe...”

“Weakling!” Ekon growled.

I wanted to reach into his cage and grab him by the throat. Instead, I took a step back, realizing this was exactly his plan. Ekon might be drunk, but he was still as strong as ever. More so now that he had alcohol running through his veins.

“Maybe I’m weak. But Devina is not. She promised to resurrect my mate from the great beyond. When I heard that offer, I couldn’t turn away.”

Bambi’s eyes grew wide as tears began to stream down her cheeks. Max held his head in his palms, letting the weight of my revelation sit square on his shoulders.

They didn’t know what it was like to lose a mate. Max had never even found his, choosing instead to live a solitary life where no one could tell him what to do.

What a wonderful thought… to do whatever you pleased because nothing or no one was holding you back… even Bambi and Ekon must understand my painful choice. Soon, they would be without one another, and it would dawn on them that my choice was right.

No matter what they said or did, I would never regret accepting the chance to once again see my fallen mate.

“I’m sorry,” I said sadly. “But it’s too late. Devina and Matthias have already won. And there is nothing you can do to stop us.”