Chapter 118
~ ROWAN
I never truly understood why my father made an entire building just for the dungeons.
Crime was low and almost entirely nonexistent, but he had assured me that I would understand why. Now I did.
A scream of terror echoed through the stone walls. It sounded louder than it was and lingered long after the wolf had closed his mouth.
His body shook with tremors, snot dripping down his nose as blood trailed down his torso but the rage inside of me did not ebb, it did not ease, if anything, it only grew worse.
He was on his knees, hands held up by chains that burned each time he struggled against them. His shirt was gone but his pants remained. Tiny carvings lay etched into his chest. The longest was the length of my forearm. That was what made him scream like an infant.
“Are you ready to tell me what I need to know?” I asked, twirling the bloodstained knife in my hands.
He swallowed thickly, words garbled by his tears. “I have nothing to say to you p>
I took a moment to catch my breath. His incessant refusal was grating on my nerves and I wanted nothing more than to shove my knife into his throat.
He hadn’t told me a damn thing. It was clear he’d been trained to withstand a certain level of torture, but he was so close to breaking, I just knew it. With three broken fingers and a silver knife carving into his chest, he’d done better than I expected but my patience was wearing thin.
“I did not ask you to bed,” I hissed. “Tell me why the fuck you were using Henry’s name and where my mate is p>
He shook his head. “I don’t know anything p>
I sliced another long line down his chest, much deeper than the last time. His skin sizzled as the silver made contact and he writhed against the chains, tears gathered in his eyes. Still, he did not speak.
I dragged over the bucket of ice water I’d kept for this moment and without warning, shoved his head straight into it. He bucked against my hold, arms flailing desperately. I counted down the seconds, wanting nothing more than to just let him fucking drown.
I pulled his head out, watching as he spluttered and gasped. “Are you ready to speak now p>
“I don’t p>
He did not finish his sentence before his head was shoved back in.
I released him again and he fell on his ass, desperately trying to get away from the bucket but there was only so far he could go with his hands chained above his head.
I turned my back to him, standing in front of my large table filled with tools. I had only tortured a handful of men in my life, but none gave me as much pleasure as this one.
I grabbed a hammer and made my way over to him. “Are you ready to speak now p>
“I don’t… know anything.” His voice was shaky, almost as if he were debating his words.
I cocked my head to the side. “Are you sure? You sound like you do. Do you love Henry that much that you are willing to be tortured for him p>
“He is my Alpha p>
My lips curved to the side. “I hope him taking my mate is worth dying for p>
I swung hard.
The sound of his kneecaps shattering filled the air.
The guards behind me winced, turning away to avoid looking at the sight. The wolf screamed but I swung again, right over the same sore spot.
“You have one more kneecap and two fucking elbows,” I reminded him. “And if that doesn’t work, I have no issues dismembering you piece by fucking piece p>
“Please… just kill me p>
“You lost the right to fucking beg when you took my mate from my pack! I have all day, and a plethora of tools p>
I reached for him, grabbing his jaw harshly in my hands.
“I have all the time in the world,” I ground out. “If you do not answer me today, there is tomorrow. I will take you to the brink of death and nurse you back to health and do it all over again until you tell me what I want to know p>
I placed my foot over his shatter kneecap, pressing down with my heels. His scream was piercing, I could have sworn I felt the ground shake. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and his head lolled to the side.
I scoffed. “Fucking pathetic p>
I wasn’t done with him… not by a long shot.
Grabbing the bucket of water, I tossed it right into his face. He woke with a gasp, spluttering and coughing as he strained against his chains.
I swung the hammer above my head, ready to take it down on his other knee. “Where the fuck is she p>
“With Henry!” he screamed, voice shaking. “Fucking hell, she’s with him! I don’t know where they are… I wasn’t told. All he asked me to do was use his name to check in p>
I lowered the hammer. “Tell me everything p>
He swallowed tightly and began speaking.
“He sent us ahead of him. He knew you would stop him at the entrance of the pack. There were eight of us. We didn’t know what he planned at first but two nights ago, he asked us to go into the woods with ropes of wolf’s bane. We caught her, tied her up and put her in a car once she was forced to shift back p>
A low growl left my lips at his words.
My hands wrapped tighter against the hammer and it took all of my self-control to not swing it at his fucking face.
“What happened next p>
“He didn’t want you to suspect him, so he asked me to wait a day or two… until you find out she is missing then leave. He said if you think he is still in the pack, you would not suspect him. I don’t know anything else, I swear, I only did it because he is my Alpha and he asked. I am sorry p>
I let the hammer fall from my wrist.
“Will you kill me now?” he asked, lip wobbling. “I told you everything p>
I ignored him and turned to my guards. “Make sure he doesn’t die p>