Thoreau - Chapter 68: Chapter 68

And now, here's our special boy, since I know you've all missed him!
I woke up on a hard floor, hungry and with a bad ache in the back of my neck.
That was a little too familiar for comfort, and I forced myself to sit up before I sank any deeper into one of those terrible nightmares about my past.
Unfortunately, I quickly found out that I wasn't dreaming.
I really was in pain and locked in a cage.
This one was half the size of the room and had a urinal and sink in one corner instead of a separate bathroom, but it was still a cage with bars across the front and a locked gate.
Worse, I couldn't link with anyone. I tested out the pack bond, but it was locked down nearly as tightly as my links.
Not again, I panicked, jumping to my feet and looking around with wild eyes. It's a dream. It has to be a dream. Wake up. Wake up! Spring? Help me wake up, please!
My heart nearly exploded when he didn't respond or even show he heard me, and I didn't even realize that my lungs had stopped working until I suddenly sucked in a huge gulp of air, then another one and another one.
Reaching up, I grabbed fistfuls of my hair and pulled it hard, so hard it hurt, to make sure I was awake and alive - and to distract myself from the fear that threatened to overwhelm me.
Be brave, like Spring would want you to be, I told myself. He's only asleep, not dead. Be brave for him!
Unlike when Tanner had died, I could feel my wolf, which meant he'd wake up sooner or later, and I clung to that knowledge.
I also clung to the mate bond. Unlike the pack bond and links, I could at least sense Arch and Wayne in it. I wished with all my heart that I could send them even a little bit of love since they were probably going out of their minds right now, but all I could do was push on it and hope they felt it.
You know they are searching for you, I told myself. Dad and Papa and Bubble, too. They will find you and take you home. Until then, be strong for them.
I just hoped they hurried.
Being brave when you were hurt and alone and locked up was hard.
Pacing around my cage, I kept telling myself positive things like Dr. York had taught me to when I felt like I was getting overwhelmed, and it helped. As my brain calmed down, so did my heart and lungs, although my scalp and face still felt numb and tingly from the anxiety attack, and I knew from experience it would take some time for that to go away.
I wished the pins-and-needles sensation would have spread to the back of my neck, though! It hurt a lot, and I hoped Spring woke up soon and finished healing me. I could stand the pain, but if it was something seriously wrong, it could get in the way of me escaping.
Which I WAS going to do!
Well, I'm at least going to get out of this cage! I told myself as I explored it.
Unfortunately, I didn't find anything helpful, not even a pair of shorts! I was going to be in trouble if someone came in and found me naked! Only my mates were allowed to see my dicky, and I knew they wouldn't be happy if anyone saw my tushy, either!
I wonder if my zias could make me a charm that dresses me after I shift, I thought as my bottom lip rolled out in a pout.
Remembering what they did make for me, I looked down and grinned to see my skunk ring was back on my finger. It had returned to me just like they said it would. Unfortunately, turning into a skunk wouldn't be any more help here than it had been at the diner. Even in that small form, I couldn't fit through these bars.
Since I couldn't find any clothes, I went over to the gate and examined the lock. It had a number pad on it, and I was just wondering if it would be a good idea to try a bunch of different combinations in hopes of getting the right one when a man and a girl appeared in the middle of my cage.
Just appeared! No noise or anything! They were just suddenly standing there!
They didn't notice me, so I went dead still. I didn't recognize them and was frightened of who - or what - they might be.
The man was as tall as Wayne and had black hair and dark skin like Arch, but his eyes were inky black like Elijah's. His strong scent was a mix of spice and smoke that tickled my nose and almost made me sneeze.
I couldn't see the girl's face since her back was to me, but she was as short as Luna Posy and had long, straight hair that was the same carroty red color as Queen Lilah's. As for her scent, I couldn't describe it, but it made me feel like I did when I petted Henry's velvet soft nose or Squidge's silky smooth tummy.
It made me feel ... safe.
"This is as far from his office as you can get and still be in the lab," the man said with an accent I'd never heard before. "My master will figure it out soon enough, though, and give me more precise orders. Don't be here when I get back."
"You're leaving me locked in a cell and telling me not to be here when you get back?" She put her hands on her hips, her sassy tone reminding me of Briar, and my bottom lip quivered.
"The code to the lock is 05279833," the man said. "That is all the help I can give you. I wish I could do more, but my master has tied my hands."
I looked down at his hands, which were clenched in fists at his sides, and didn't see any rope or anything.
Whoever this guy is, he's a liar!
"Thank you, Darius," she told him with a nod. "Now please find a way to let Kerry know where I am, and I'll get that ring and free you."
"Little healer, angels like you do not belong here among the monsters." Darius raised one hand and let it hover next to her cheek, but didn't touch her. "Forget the ring and run while you can. Run before one of them catches you or my master demands I deliver you directly to him."
Then he disappeared as suddenly as he'd arrived, and my jaw dropped in amazement. As a half dragon, Bubble could make himself invisible, but not even he could teleport!
At my soft gasp, the girl spun around with her fists up, and I curled in on myself with a whimper as her green eyes narrowed on me.
"Who are you? And why are you naked?" she demanded.
"Ahhh! Don't look at my dicky!" I screeched and covered myself with my hands.
Her face turned bright red, and I felt a little bad for embarrassing her.
"Sorry, but you shouldn't look at me! You're not my mate or a delta." I tilted my head as I stared at her left ear. "Are you a delta? You don't smell like a shifter, but if you are, it's okay to look if I have a problem down there that needs healing. I don't have a problem, though, so no peeking!"
"What's a delta?"
"A healer and fourth in command of a pack." Hmm. If she doesn't know that, she isn't a shifter. "What are you?"
"What do you mean, what am I?" She finally lowered her fists, but only so she could hold up one of her hands. "Wait. Let's get out of here first and find you some clothes, then we'll talk. I assume you're a prisoner, too, since you're naked and locked up in a cell."
"Yes, I'm a prisoner." I put on my angry face as she went over to the gate and stared at the lock just like I had. "I just wanted some cheesesteaks, but hunters attacked the diner and kidnapped me!"
"I'm sorry that happened." Her pointer finger hovered over the number pad for a second, then she stomped her foot. "Shoot! I'm lousy with numbers. I'm not sure I can remember that code, and I'm afraid I'll set off an alarm if I mess it up."
"I'm great with numbers!" I moved a step closer to her, careful to keep my dicky hidden under my hands. "What numbers do you need?"
"Did you hear the ones Darius said before he left?"
"Yep!"
"Can you repeat them exactly how he said them?"
"Yep, I sure can!"
After ten seconds, she looked at me over her shoulder with one of her carroty eyebrows quirked up, and I gave her my best smile. Turning more fully toward me, she stared at me for ten more seconds.
"Oh." Her emerald green eyes were wide for a moment, then she smiled softly. "Cutie pie, tell me the code now, please."
Happy that she'd called me such a nice nickname, I rattled off the numbers for her.
"Thank you," she said, pressing the buttons on the number pad.
"You're welcome."
With a soft beep, the light above the lock turned green. The gate swung open when she pushed it, and she wiggled around in a happy dance.
"Yay!" I cheered. "You did it!"
"Thanks to you. Good job."
"Give me good boy pats, please?" My eyes lit up at the thought.
"Good boy pats?"
I nodded my head, sending my curls flying, and she grinned as she stretched up and patted my cheek with one of her little hands. Like the gentleman Dad and Papa had raised me to be, I didn't tell her it was supposed to be pats on top of my head.
"Now we need to leave this room before Darius is forced to come back and take us to his master," she told me as she walked out of the cage.
I stayed a few steps behind her and didn't make a sound as she opened the door, then stuck her head out and looked around.
"Okay, the hall's clear," she whispered. "Let's go, but be as quiet as you can until we find a good hiding spot."
She motioned for me to follow her, so I did, relieved she was making all the big decisions, but not exactly trusting her. She wasn't one of my safe people, but she was taking me with her rather than leaving me locked in a cage. That made me trust her just enough.
So did her scent. No one could smell like that and be bad. I was sure of it.
Besides, if she tried anything, I would run away from her and use my skunk ring to hide until Spring woke up, in which case he could take over, or until my links started working again, in which case I'd link Papa and he'd come for me with all guns blazing.
And possibly a couple of rocket launchers, but Dad isn't supposed to know about those.
Satisfied with my genius plan, I trailed after the red-haired girl as silently as I could, but the air in the hallway was ice-cold on my bare tushy, and I never wished for a pair of pants more in my life!
The girl was very smart.
She found us a nearly empty supply closet that looked as if it hadn't been used in a while, then told me to wait there while she tried to find some clothes. I was scared at first because the room was completely dark when she shut the door behind her, and I didn't like the dark.
I didn't like it at all.
And I wasn't convinced she'd come back, or that she'd come back alone and not with a bunch of meanies.
She came back alone, though, and had one arm overflowing with fabric and the other holding a desk lamp. Tossing me the bundle, she called up a ball of pure golden light in her hand, and my eyes filled with wonder.
"Zia Bea can do that with fire," I told her as I used the light to figure out what she'd found for me to wear.
Thank the Goddess, she'd scrounged a pair of janitor's dark blue overalls. They would work great to cover everything and warm up my dicky, which had shriveled painfully in the cold.
"Oh? Is she a nephilim, too?" the girl asked.
"No, a fire witch."
"A witch? I've never met a witch, but having fire power would be awesome. All I can do is heal, which I'll do for you next." She got the lamp plugged in and turned on, and her golden ball dissolved. "And now we have light!"
"Nice work!" I zippered the front of the coveralls, only pouting a little to not have any boxers on, and walked over to pat her on top of the head. "Good girl pats for you!"
"Oh. Thanks. I take it you're dressed?"
"Yep."
Turning around, she nodded when she saw I had the coveralls zipped up and everything.
"We'll try to find socks or shoes for you next, but for now, let me see the back of your neck."
"Why?" I hedged. It was really sore, and I didn't want her messing with it and making it worse.
"I need to see it to heal it. What happened, anyway?"
"How did you know my neck was hurt?" I squinted at her, filled with suspicion.
"You're moving your head very stiffly, and every time you do, you wince a little. What happened?"
"One of the hunters dragged me out from under the table and shot me point-blank with a go-to-sleep dart," I told her, putting my angry face on again. "Spring said it just missed my spinal cord, but fractured two somethings in my neck. He was healing me, but he passed out before he was done. It hurts a whole lot."
"Fractured two vertebrae, maybe," she murmured as she waved her hand, wanting me to bend down. "I can finish healing it and make sure there's no other damage, but you need to come down to my level. And who's Spring?"
"What if you hurt me or make it worse? How do I know you're not one of the bad guys?"
"I mean you no harm, cross my heart." She drew an x over her chest with one finger, then held out her hand. "I'll even pinky promise if you want."
"And swear on the moon," I demanded.
"Swear on the moon—" She stopped and shook her head. "You know what, if it makes you more comfortable, I swear on the moon and I pinkie promise that I mean you no harm."
After we did our pinkie promise, I took a knee and used my hands to lift my mass of curls away from my neck. I needed a haircut, but both Arch and Wayne liked to play with it so much, I hadn't bothered lately.
Then she laid her fingertips on my ouchie, and gold glitter filled the air. Marveling at the sparkles, I didn't pay any attention to the wasps stinging the back of my neck, although I did pout a bit when the glitter disappeared.
"How do you feel now?" she asked as she dropped her hand and stepped back.
I move my head around and the pain was all gone!
"Great!" I chirped. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome."
Now that I was out of pain and warmer and clothed, I felt more prepared for whatever came next, but as I stood up, my little eye spied my mate mark on my wrist, and a soft sob surprised me.
So did the tears suddenly trickling down my cheeks.
"Oh, hey, don't cry. I'm sorry that it hurt. What's your name? Mine's Gemma Shepherd."
"Gemma? That's a pretty name," I sniffed. "My name is Thoreau Ezra del Vecchio, but everyone calls me Reau. And it didn't hurt that much."
"Then why are you crying? I mean, I know this is a stressful situation in general, but—"
"I want my mates!" My breath went in and out of my nose super fast as I held back more tears.
"Mates?"
"Yes! WayWay and Bear-Bear! I want to go home to them!"
"Okay, wait. Mates as in how the British call their friends mates or—"
"They are my mate mates!" Throwing out my arm, I showed her my mark, which would look like a tattoo to her, as my heart ached for Arch and Wayne. "My soulmates! My husbands! My lovers! And I want to go back to them! Right now!"
"Husbands?!" Her eyes flashed with some kind of strong emotion and her thin eyebrows beetled together. "Wait. Were you some kind of child bride— Um, groom, or something? Were you forced to marry some old perverts? Because if you were—"
"Of course not!" Wiping my nose on my sleeve, I rolled my eyes at her. "The Moon Goddess herself arranged for the three of us to all be mates with each other."
"And you're okay with that?" Her green gaze seemed to be trying to see through me, and I squirmed under it. "I mean, are you even old enough for that? And are you sure you weren't forced into anything?"
"Yes and yes and yes. We're all eighteen, and we love each other very, very much."
"Then that's okay. Seems strange to me to have more than one mate at a time, but if it works for you..."
"Not at a time!" I frowned at her in disgust. "Forever! Shifters mate for life! It's part of the moon magic!"
"Do all werewolves have moon magic?"
"We usually call ourselves wolf shifters and, yes, although some have more than others." I shrugged, then my eyes widened. "Hey! How did you know I was a wolf shifter?"
"Lucky guess." Her eyes glittered and her lips twitched with a little smile. "Is Spring your wolf?"
My mouth fell open.
"How did you know that?!" I gasped.
"You said Spring was healing you when he passed out. Anyway, where are you from?"
"Five Fangs. What about you?"
"I live at a sanctuary for nephilim, but I'm originally from New York near the Connecticut border."
"My papa's in New York City, New York, right now. He is working with one of his friends to find a baby who was kidnapped a long time ago."
"That is so sad! Is your papa some kind of werewolf police officer?"
"No!" I giggled. "He's a monster hunter!"
"A monster hunter? But he's looking into a kidnapping? Oh. Does he think a monster took the baby?"
"He knows one did. Hank Bishop, Papa's friend, recognized her from a photo. She's a wicked witch named Bennie, and Papa's going to burn her to itty bitty ashes when he catches up to her."
"Whoa. Wait." Gemma narrowed her eyes at me. "You said Hank Bishop is your papa's friend, and he's chasing a dark witch named Bennie?"
"Yep!" I gave her a proud grin.
"I know a man named Hank Bishop, and my boyfriend knows a witch named Bennie. What, um, what species is your Hank Bishop?"
"A nephilim. Do you know what that is? I do! They're the children of fallen angels and—"
"Human women," she finished for me. "Well, usually women, although there have been cases of role reversals. I thought you would have guessed by now that I'm a nephilim."
"What about that guy you were with? The one who brought you here, then disappeared?"
"Darius is a djinni. That's ... an earth spirit, I guess you could say."
"Is he a good guy or a bad guy?"
"He's a good guy in a bad situation," she said. "I'll tell you about it in a second, but first, my Hank Bishop is a nephilim and my boyfriend's legal guardian."
"Do you think your Hank Bishop is the same as my Hank Bishop?" I asked as my fingers began to slap into my palms.
"Maybe. What's your papa's name?"
"Angelo del Vecchio, but everyone in the supernatural community knows him as Angelo della Morte. That means—"
"The Angel of Death."
She did it again! Finished my sentence for me! I stared at her in amazement. Was she reading my mind? Could nephilim do that?
"Reau, I'm almost positive your Hank is my Hank, which means your papa is with my boyfriend and—"
"What's your boyfriend's name?"
"Kerry Harker."
"Yep!" My fingers flapped faster and faster and I started to bounce up and down a little. "Dad said that name when we were talking right before I got kidnapped!"
"Perfect. If Darius finds a way to let Kerry know where I am, then they're already on the way!" Gemma's eyes lit up. "Kerry will tear this place apart brick by brick to find me!"
"Papa will, too! Then he'll take care of those mean, old hunters and rescue me and my friends!"
My hands flapping wildly now, I bounced around on my tushy, then bit my bottom lip when I saw she was watching me with her eyebrows drawn together and her head tilted to one side.
"Sorry, " I muttered and stared at the floor, worried she was going to make fun of me or not like me anymore.
"It's okay, cutie pie. Your body is just really excited right now. Can you give yourself a hug? Or you can give me a hug if you want to."
"That's a Dr. York strategy!" I shouted and wrapped my arms around myself, squeezing hard enough to feel it. "Do you know Dr. York?"
"No, but maybe you could lower your voice, too. If someone walks by, we don't want them to hear us."
"Oh, you're right!" I whispered. Then a thought came to me and my shoulders dropped. "But we don't know where we are. We might be really far away from New York City."
"Even if we are, there are lots of nephs who can teleport, even long distances. They can get our family and friends here in the blink of an eye." Sitting down by the lamp, she motioned for me to sit next to her, so I did. "I think we'd better hear each other's stories of how we got here and see if we can figure some things out, okay?"
I wasn't really sure it was worth the effort, but I listened as she told me she'd been kidnapped by hunters and how Darius had grabbed her right when her boyfriend came to rescue her. Darius was going to trade her to some guy named Reginald Hubler, who was a big, bad meanie and the man behind all these kidnappings.
"What was Darius going to trade you for?" I asked after taking time to process her story. "What did he want so badly?"
"He and his brothers are slaves. They're bound to a ring Hubler has. He wanted to trade me for that ring."
"Slaves? That's horrible!" I scowled. "It's also horrible that he was going to trade you to Mr. Hubler!"
"He's trying to free himself and his brothers, so I could understand." She shrugged. "Unfortunately, Hubler found out that Darius had me and ordered him to bring me to the lab. Darius works around his master as much as he can, though. Since Hubler said to bring me to the lab, that's exactly what Darius did, although I'm sure Hubler meant his office at the lab."
"Very clever!" I grinned.
"Now tell me your story, cutie pie."
So I told her hunters burst into the diner, and the Hall twins and Roger half-shifted, and Princess Rhys started throwing around her magic to fight them.
"Bowie and Becks and Roger would have killed them all, but they had those go-to-sleep darts!" I growled. "Even Princess Rhys was out cold a few seconds after being hit by one, and she's more powerful than everyone in the pack except for Chime Karma!"
"Chime Karma?"
"Bubble's dragon!"
"A dragon?!" Her jaw dropped for a second, then she held up one hand and shook her head. "No, never mind. You can tell me later. Were you fighting the hunters, too?"
"No. Spring told me to hide. I don't know why because he's very strong and full of moon magic and an excellent fighter, but I did what he said. One of those meanie hunters found me, though, and shot me before I could even use my stink-bomb! I don't know what happened after that until I woke up right before you and Darius appeared. The End."
She stared at me for a few minutes, and I wondered what she was doing until I realized she was deciding whether or not to tell me something.
Did she not trust me? Well, that was okay, since I was still not sure about trusting her, either.
"Reau," she said at last, "while we wait for Kerry and your papa to get here, I want to take that ring from Hubler and free Darius and his brothers. You can either help me or stay here. It's up to you, but I'm worried you'll get hurt either way, and that's not okay."
"Hey, I'm tough!" I protested and flexed my arms to show her my nice biceps. I wasn't as heavily built as Arch and Wayne, but I wasn't puny anymore, either. "And I'm strong, even if I'm not as big as other wolf shifters. Besides, my biological parents trained me to endure a lot of pain."
"I noticed your high tolerance," she admitted. "It hurts to be healed, but you didn't even flinch."
"Like I said, I'm tough!" I grinned.
"Well, my tough little cutie pie, decide if you want to stay and hide or come along, but decide quickly. I need to get that ring before Kerry arrives."
"Why? Is he competitive like Wayne and Arch and will try to beat you to it?"
"Ha!" She rolled her eyes with a snort. "He'll try to stop me. Who's Wayne and Arch?"
"My mates!" I chirped.
"I thought you said different names earlier."
"Aw, I have lots of nicknames for them, but their names are Wayne and Archer. I want you to meet them! And I want to meet your Kerry, too!"
"I'd like that." She gave me a warm smile.
"Well, what's your plan if I come along? Can we rescue my friends, especially Princess Rhys?"
"You said princess before. Is she really a princess?"
"Uh-huh. She's the youngest daughter of King Brioc of the Woodland Realm. She's an elf."
"An elf?" Gemma's eyes grew great big as I nodded, then she blinked and shook her head. "I'm sorry, Reau, but I think we're going to have to leave the big rescue to Kerry and your papa. We're just two people with no weapons and no idea where anyone, including the bad guys, are, and we can't risk being captured again."
I thought about that for a while, tapping the tip of my finger against my chin, then nodded.
"If I help, what do you need me to do?"
"Cause a distraction so I can knock Hubler out and grab the ring, then we'll make a run for it."
"How will you knock him out? It's not as easy as the movies make it look, you know," I warned her. "Even hitting someone on the head doesn't always do it."
"Oh, cutie pie," she grinned, "I just need to make skin contact so I can blast him with my power."
"Your power?"
"Mm-hmm. Did you see the gold glitter when I healed you?"
"That was your power? It was beautiful!"
"Thank you." She smiled, then sighed. "Your mates and papa probably will kill me if you get hurt, but I have a feeling I'm going to need you to pull this off. I just wish you had access to the moon magic in case something goes wrong and you need to escape quickly. I tried to wake your wolf when I healed you, by the way, but those tranquilizer darts must have had some wolfsbane in them. I could keep trying, but if I drain down to nothing, I won't be able to knock out Hubler."
"I hope Spring wakes up soon," I whimpered, remembering my last encounter with wolfsbane.
Then the rest of what she said processed through my brain, and I gasped. Holding up my hand, I showed her my zias' ring.
"I may not have the moon magic right now, but I have another kind of magic! I will go with you! No one should be a slave, and Darius helped you, and you helped me, so now I will help you to help him!"
Yes, I wanted to go home, and, yes, I'd promised Arch that I'd never put myself in harm's way again for no reason, but I had a reason. And I wouldn't be in any harm at all. Gemma would be taking the risks, not me. I could just shift into my skunk form to cause a distraction.
Besides, if she was right, Papa was on his way, which meant Bubble was, too, since he'd gone along to New York City. We were going to be lucky to do this before they arrived and Chime Karma helped Papa and Gemma's boyfriend Kerry burn this place to the ground.
And to be honest, I had another reason, too.
I wanted to prove something to myself.
Just like my friend Grey had, I wanted to show that I could do things. Good things. Helpful things. Make-a-difference things. Even if I was smaller than other wolf shifters and my brain didn't work the way anyone else's did, I wanted to know if I could be more than the guy who crashed a car before he drove it ten miles or caught ramen on fire every single time he tried to make it.
I wanted to find out if I could play an important role, even if it was in a small way, and I wanted to see if I could do that without my wolf or my dads or my bubble or even my mates to help me if I messed up.
I wanted—
No, not wanted.
Needed.
I needed to discover if Thoreau Ezra del Vecchio was strong enough to stand on his own.
And this seemed like the perfect time to find out.