Shadow Pride

Chapter 8 Gabriel Felicity's Plea and a Secret Vow

"Maybe," I say, though hope feels like a luxury we can't afford.

“Maybe they can tell me and I…” She begins, and I know what she’s thinking.

“You can’t ask them yet. You don’t know who might be listening.” I tell her and watch her shoulders slump. I pull her in for a hug, whispering in her ear. “I promise you, I will not allow him to send you away too.”

She sniffs against my chest, her tears wetting the front of my t-shirt. Every day we live in fear that today is the day she’s sent away. That this may be the last time I see my sister. She’s not only my sister, she’s my best friend, my confidant, my savior. And there is no bond stronger than the one we’ve forged.

Aiden prowls the periphery of my senses, his cruelty a tangible weight on my shoulders. Each girl he parades before us, each soul he aims to break—my lion rages, claws itching to tear through our oppressor's flesh.

"Gabriel," Felicity’s hand brushes mine, fleeting as a shadow. "If you could... would you save them all?"

"Every single one," I admit, and it's a confession torn from the deepest part of me.

"Even at the cost of your own life?" Her gaze holds mine, searching.

"Especially then. But the one I’m most worried about is you." My words are steel wrapped in velvet, a promise made to the darkness around us.

"I don’t matter. We have to save them all," she says with quiet resolve. "In whatever way we can."

"You matter.” I tell her, a small growl in my voice.

“To you maybe.” she says, a challenge in her voice, daring me to argue that others do too. When I say nothing, she nods and continues. “We have to find a way.”

“We will." The lie tastes bitter on my tongue. Because I am Aiden's to command, his shackles invisible yet as real as the iron bars that cage us. And if I’m only able to save one girl, it will be Felicity. I’ll make sure of it.

For now, we survive. We bear witness. But inside, my lion prowls, restless for the day when we can do more than just endure. When we can fight back and reclaim the freedom that's been stolen from us, one precious life at a time.

Felicity takes the bucket of dirty water out of the room to swap the water and I turn to the captives. “Do you know of a place I can send my sister that she will be safe?” I ask them, pleading with my eyes.

“Ye…” Elizabeth, Lucy’s mom begins but it hushed quickly by her husband, Jacob.

“We can’t.” He says and his mate turns to him, her eyes swollen, blood running down her face, crusting up as it dries.

“We’re dead already my love. If we can safe someone else….”

“What if he tells Aiden?” Jacob says, concern clear.

“I swear to you, I only wish for my sister to be safe. I will not tell a soul.” I tell him placing my hand on my heart.

“She needs to get to the nearest town and use the internet to contact the Supernatural Network. They have it set up so they will come rescue shifters in need.” Elizabeth says and I stare at her in shock.

“So you don’t know who she’s with, or if she’s safe?” I ask.

They both shake their head no. “But we met a young dragon in town one day and she told us if we ever needed help to contact them.”

“She could’ve been lying.” I declare, sharing my head unable to believe that they just let her go with some strangers.

“She could have. But she wasn’t. I believe that my Lucy is safe and that’s all that matters.” Elizabeth says. I open my mouth to call her crazy just as Aiden’s voice bellows through the house.

The summons comes like a crack of thunder, abrupt and jarring. Aiden wants me. Now.

“I will keep your secret.” I vow as I push off the wall, muscles coiling tight beneath my skin. The corridor stretches before me, each step toward his office a leaden march. I can already feel the weight of his gaze, those piercing green eyes that miss nothing.

The door to his lair looms ahead, and I don't bother knocking. He never requires such formalities from me—his personal slave, his plaything, his puppet.

I step into the room, the scent hits me once again, stronger this time. It's wild, untamed, and utterly intoxicating. My lion stirs within once more. His interest is piqued, fur bristling with an awareness that borders on reverence.

"Gabriel," Aiden's voice slices through the thick air, a razor wrapped in velvet. But I'm scarcely listening.

My lion paces, restless now. For years he's been smoldering with rage beneath my skin, a tempest held at bay by iron will and chains of circumstance. He snarls at my passivity, my compliance with Aiden's twisted demands. He's furious that I've let us be subjugated, degraded, when we should be kings among men.

"Are you even paying attention?" Aiden snaps, his tone brooking no argument.

I force my gaze to meet his, locking away the primal instinct clawing its way to the surface. "Yes, Alpha," I reply, every word a shard of ice.

"Good." He prowls closer, the predator in him recognizing the challenge brewing within me. "Because I have plans for you, Gabriel. Plans that require your... undivided attention."

I nod, a mechanical gesture, my eyes darting to the floor in submission. But inside, my lion rages against the bars of our gilded cage.

One day, he promises, one day soon, we will rise. I internally scoff at that. If we could’ve risen, we would have already. Hell, I can’t even escape this place let alone rise. He’s talking nonsense.