Let Me Live

Chapter 8: King Titan's POV

***TRIGGER WARNING***

King Titan’s POV

Ryker mind linked and informed me of what he had found at the pack house and I didn’t feel like I could react anymore. I had entered that numb phase of shock where your brain just simply refuses to process anything else. The doctor stepped away for a moment to see the Luna. I stood next to my mate's bed and fought the urge to break down in tears. Her little body had so many tubes and hoses sticking out from it that she was nearly buried under them! She also apparently had 4 broken ribs, a fractured cheek bone, a broken left hand and a broken right ankle! Once she was stable, the nurses started cleaning her wounds and burns. The doc had stitched up some of the larger lacerations. I asked why her healing wasn’t working and he said, because of her malnutrition, her body was having to work too hard just to stay alive, let alone be able to heal itself. Add to that, the fact that a lot of the wounds had been made with silver or wolfsbane laden instruments! I couldn’t stop the tears that slipped from my eyes when I thought about all the pain this poor girl had suffered for Goddess knows how long. I quickly wiped my eyes when I heard Ryker and the doctor coming towards the room. Ryker came up beside me and asked how she was. 

“Stable finally, though far from being out of the woods.” Doctor answered and checked her vitals. Now that she was stable for the time being, I had a few things to tend to. 

“Doctor Marshall, may we speak in the hall?” I said, calmly. Then turned without answer. As soon as we were in the hall, I spun on him! Wrapping my enormous hand around his neck and lifting him into the air! I slammed him against the wall and squeezed till his face started to turn red! He clawed at my hands and kicked his feet, but I didn’t feel anything. 

“JESUS CHRIST!!! TITAN, STOP!!” Ryker shouted and attempted to pull my arm. I didn’t want to stop. This bastard had known that an innocent girl was being tortured and abused under the grounds of the pack house and did nothing but send a half-ass anonymous tip in! Oh no, I wanted to snap his neck and, with just a little more pressure, I could! His face was turning a nice shade of purple and his movements were starting to grow weak. Then all of a sudden, Ryker struck a pressure point in my back that caused my arm to go numb and the doctor dropped to the floor! Then Ryker slammed into me, pushing us both against the opposite wall, which cracked slightly due to the force with which we hit! He pushed his forearm against my neck and glared into my eyes! 

“Look asshole, we can’t both be the irrational and short-tempered one and damn it, I called dibs on that spot years ago!” He yelled in my face! He was only an inch or so shorter than me and though he wasn’t as broad, he still kept a firm press against my neck with his arm! His face softened.

“I know you’re scared for your mate. I am too, but the best thing you can do for her right now, is to get your s**t together and stay calm.” He said and slowly moved his arm away when my breathing had returned to normal. I forget how much of an adult Ryker can be when called upon. I nodded at him to let him know I was calm. The doctor was still coughing and wheezing but had made it to an upright position against the wall. Ryker turned to him with a cold stare. 

“It would be in your best interest to start talking, Doc.” He said to him, threatening. Doctor Marshall stood up straighter, still massaging his throat. 

“8 years ago, I was summoned to the pack house. All I was told was to bring supplies for injuries. When I got there…” He managed to croak out that much before his voice cracked and he started coughing. Ryker grabbed a small cup from a cart and filled it with water at a nearby drinking fountain. Doctor Marshall drained it in a few gulps and thanked Ryker, who simply nodded for him to continue. 

“When I got there, I was told that I was to be tending to a rogue that they needed alive. I was told that I was not to ask any questions about it unless they were medically necessary. I was not to speak to or about it to anyone. This wasn’t really something uncommon, as I was and am often called in to assess the health of prisoners. Always told they were rogues that were captured or that we were holding them for another pack until they could be tried or transported. I had my suspicions for years, seeing that the majority of the prisoners were women and some children. However, I had no proof and the one time I tried to question it, I was beaten severely.” Doctor Marshall paused, his eyes growing dark. He cleared his throat again and continued.

“When they brought me down I was shocked to learn that the opening was there at all. I had never noticed it before. When we got to the cell…” His voice cracked again and this time I didn’t think it had anything to do with the damage I had done. 

“She was on the floor, barely breathing. Her body was so cut up and burned that I didn’t know where to start. I told them I needed to know what had happened to her, so I knew what to treat first. That’s when I noticed the pile of still red-hot coals and broken glass lying a few feet away!” He stopped again and swallowed deeply. I didn’t know if I could bear to hear anymore! Ryker looked like he was wanting to kill as much as I was! 

“They- they had tied her hands and feet so she couldn’t stand and then dragged her through the p- pile, multiple times!” His voice was cracking again and he was doing his best to control himself from the memory. My mind had gone to that numb place again, most likely for its own self-preservation. She has to be at least 18 now (although I still couldn’t believe that if not for the mate scent), so 8 years ago she could only have been 10 or 11! A child was being put through tortures that I doubt even prisoners of war have experienced! I sunk to the floor against the wall. 

“I managed to keep her alive and treat what wounds I could but that was my breaking point. I started trying to talk to others in the pack about the things our alpha was doing. I even reached out to get the local human authorities involved but it never amounted to anything. Then the alpha paid me back for my treason.” Doctor Mashall was openly weeping now. 

“He- he chained me to a silver post… and- and then, right - right in front of me, he- he the beta and s-seven of his men r-r- r***d my wife!” He sobbed and fell to the floor across from me. His elbows resting on his drawn up knees and his face buried in his hands. How could I have let this happen in my kingdom?! I had a duty to my subjects and while I had very limited control over how alphas ran their packs, I had the power to stop this, had I known. Something will have to be done about this. To make sure it never happened to another pack. Ryker leaned down and placed his hand on the doctor’s shaking shoulders. After a few minutes, he was able to continue. 

“They beat me to a pulp and then dr- dragged my wife and me through town as examples! They left us on our doorstep, wh- where our 4 and 7 year old daughters found us! Alpha Drake made it very clear that should I s-speak against him again, m- my girls would be ne-next!” His shoulders shook and I now felt like the biggest piece of wolf s**t for putting my hands on him. 

“Why haven’t you left?” Ryker asked. 

“Ask Roman and the beta’s wife what happens when people try that. Besides, we have nowhere to go where he wouldn’t find us.” The doctor answered, defeatedly. 

“What made you get brave again and send in the tip?” I asked, but not sure I could stand the answer. 

“Last month, I was called down to her c- cell again and I truly didn’t think I would be able to s- save her this time. After pummelling her with their fists for a few hours and she still wouldn’t submit, they took a long, thin piece of silver and heated it to red hot until it started to melt! Th- then they lashed her with it! Over and o- over, st- stopping only to reheat it! I c- couldn’t live with myself any longer. Roman and I had been trying to plan a way to get help for a while and after that I knew we had to act or sh- she wouldn’t make it.” He sighed and I could see that some weight had lifted from his shoulders. I would never be able to reconcile with this pack and my mate for my negligence as a king. 

“Why not just let her die and end her suffering?” I asked before I even realized what I had said. My brain was numb with pain. That ended when Ryker slapped me, hard across the face! The Doctor’s eyes nearly bulged from his head! No one, even a prince, would dare to strike a King! 

“You would dare ask that?! That is a fighter in there! She didn’t even have a f*****g life worth living but she still fought for it and you would have him give up on her?!?” He glared at me! Not afraid at all of what he had done. Honestly, I needed it. 

“I didn’t mean now, I meant why not before now? All those years, why keep her alive just for them to torture her more?” I asked and glared back at Ryker. 

“Honestly, your Highness, I did think about it. More than once, but like the prince said, she is a fighter. No matter what, she has kept that fire in her eyes and refused to give in to death. If she was willing to fight that hard, I didn’t have the heart to let her fight alone.” He answered and my heart broke for this man. This was inexcusable and I would take every pleasure in torturing the alpha to death. 

“Do you know her name or how old she actually is?” I asked, standing. 

“I’ve never known her name. I first noticed the scent she was giving off last year when I tended to her after another close call. That was when I realized she had to have turned 18, so I would imagine she’s 19 or close to it now, but no, I don’t know her exact age.” He answered and we all walked back into her room. I turned to the doctor and looked him directly in the eyes and said words that no one expects from royalty.

“I am truly sorry for my actions earlier. I owe you, this pack and especially my mate, a great deal of recompense for the suffering you have endured under my watch. I will find a way to make it up to all of you.” I said and extended my hand to shake his. He looked completely dumbfounded for a moment and then shook my hand. 

“Your actions were understandable given the circumstances and you can hardly take the blame for this, your Majesty. You couldn’t have known.” He replied.

“It is my job to know what is happening in my kingdom.” I said back simply. I walked up to my little mate’s bedside and made a silent vow to her that as long as I had breath in my body, she would never know pain again.