Avenger(48)

It was a statement, not a question, but I found myself answering anyway. “I know,” because I’d never stop looking for my she-wolf, “but when I do find her, how much damage will have already been done to the both of us? And I’m not talking about the physical here. I know we can both handle that. But it’s the scars inside—the ones no one can see—that tear into you and rip you apart, never healing.”

“Sophie’s a fighter,” he clapped me on the shoulder, “she’s feisty and that girl has a fire in her. If anyone can go through something traumatic and come out okay, I know it’s Sophie. And you can too, Caeden. You’re way stronger than you give yourself credit for. You’re an amazing Alpha, nothing like the shitty one you believe you are. You expect too much of yourself. You’re young, and this life isn’t easy.” He swallowed thickly. “You’ve been dealt a lot of shit, Caeden, and I understand why you’re losing it right now. But Sophie needs you to keep your head on straight. Wherever she is, she’s in no shape to fight or get away—it’s your job to help her.”

“I know that,” I growled.

I was getting really sick and tired of these lengthy pep talks from Nolan. Had he spent a summer being a camp counselor or something? Where did he come up with this stuff?

“I know she needs me right now, but the problem is I don’t know what to do. I don’t even know where she is. And until I find out where Travis is keeping her, I can’t very well come up with a plan.”

Nolan sighed. “Just know, you have a pack standing beside you, and you have me too. That is if you want this tiger’s help,” he winked.

Leave it to Nolan to lecture me like he’s my dad and then crack such a corny joke.

“Of course I want your help,” I turned away from him, reaching out to stroke the strands of hair still clinging to the table. I was kind of amazed that they were still here. It had been over a year since Sophie was held here—but this place, it was like it was stuck in time. It would always serve as a disturbing memorial to what Sophie had suffered.

I closed my eyes, remembering everything Travis had done to her before. She still hated seeing the word liar carved into her arm. I knew though, that what she’d suffered then in no way compared to how she was suffering now. Travis thrived on causing pain and Sophie was incredibly weak right now. If we lost the baby because of Travis I could not be held accountable for my actions. I’d lose it. I already felt like I’d had so much ripped away from me—my dad, my youth, my mate—I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my child as well. Especially before I even had the chance to get to know him.

My stomach clenched again and I thought for sure I was going to throw up this time, but I didn’t.

It was scary to think that one person held the fate of the rest of your life in their hands. Travis had all the power right now. And me? I had nothing.

I grabbed the lingering strands of Sophie’s hair and clasped them tightly in the palm of my hands.

“Let’s go.”





Eighteen.

Sophie

The door to my cell—I refused to think of it as a guestroom—opened and Travis smiled brightly at me. I forced my own smile, trying to act like the meek docile creature that I was not.

“I brought you ice cream. It’s vanilla.” He sat down beside me, the bed dipping precariously to the right, but since I was still chained to the bed I didn’t fall. Travis had removed the chains a few times to treat my bruised and chafed wrists—since I wasn’t healing like a shifter normally would—but it kind of defeated the purpose because he always chained me right back up. There was a bathroom attached to the bedroom and he let me shower every other day. I relished those moments when I could get out of the bed and walk. My legs had grown weak and it was a struggle, but I enjoyed the burn.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been here…wherever here was…but if my calculations were correct, and based on the size of my ever increasing stomach, I’d say I’d been here a month. A whole freakin’ month. With Travis.

He hadn’t hit me much lately. Sometimes I said something smart, because I couldn’t help myself, and he’d slap me. But I’d take it. This wasn’t like the last time. I wasn’t being tortured. In fact, it was like I was being cared for. Sometimes, I saw him greedily staring at my stomach and it scared me. Did Travis want Beau? And if so, what for? What scared me about that scenario was if I was here long enough to deliver Beau, would I then become disposable to Travis?

“Open up,” Travis demanded, the spoon hovering in front of my lips. I half expected him to make choo choo noises, but that would just be silly…although, probably not any sillier than the fact that Travis was feeding me ice cream. Had I stepped into an alternate reality or something? I was starting to miss Crazy Travis—at least I understood that one. This one was a stranger.