Shadows and Secrets
958 Words
Chapter Four:
Derek set down a black leather bag on a small metal table. The contents clinked together with the sound of surgical instruments. Each silver tool gleamed in the dim light of the torture chamber, polished to a mirror shine. Nina's eyes went wide as she recognized scalpels, needles, and things whose purpose she didn't want to imagine.
"Scared now?" Derek asked, his voice strangely gentle for someone preparing to cause pain.
"I'm innocent." Nina's voice was steady despite the terror crawling up her spine. "Someone else took your seal. If you'd just investigate properly—"
"Stop." Derek picked up a curved silver blade, testing its edge with his thumb. A drop of his own blood welled up, proof of the weapon's sharpness. "Every lie makes this worse for you."
"Then it's going to be very bad, because I'm telling the truth."
Something flickered across Derek's face again. His wolf was fighting him, Nina realized. Part of him didn't want to do this. But his human side, driven by betrayal and anger, was winning the battle. If only he could take time to investigate properly rather than let his anger of betrayal dictate for him.
Bianca entered the chamber with Lucien close behind. They looked excited, like children at a carnival who'd just spotted their favorite ride. It was like nothing gave them greater joy than to watch someone being tortured.
"Oh good, we're starting," Bianca said, pulling up a wooden chair with obvious relish. "I love the silver tools. They make such interesting patterns on wolf skin."
Derek moved closer to Nina, the blade catching the torchlight. This close, she could smell his scent of pine trees and rain, mixed with something darker. Anger, maybe, or regret.
"Last chance, Nina. Where is the royal seal?"
"I don't know." She met his eyes without flinching. "But I know you don't really want to do this, and you know I'm innocent”
Derek pressed the flat of the blade against Nina's forearm. She hissed as the silver burned through her skin like acid. The smell of her own flesh burning filled her nostrils.
"The silver hurts more because you're a wolf," Derek said conversationally. "But you already knew that. Just like you knew exactly what you were stealing when you took my seal. All you need to do is tell me where my seal is and this pain will stop.”
Nina bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, trying not to scream. Her wolf was weak from the priest's binding spell, but she could still feel Esmeralda's agony echoing through their bond.
"Derek." Lucien stepped forward, his eyes bright with malicious excitement. "Maybe we should bring in her friend. Let Nina watch us work on the little redhead for a while."
"No!" The word tore from Nina's throat before she could stop it. "Leave Fey alone! She doesn't know anything about this!"
Derek paused, studying her face with new interest. "So you do care about something other than yourself."
"She's innocent. We both are." Nina struggled against her chains, the metal cutting deeper into her wrists. "If you hurt her, you'll be torturing someone who never did anything wrong."
"Innocent girls don't sneak around at night," Bianca said, standing up from her chair. "They don't run when they're caught doing something they shouldn't."
"We ran because we knew you were going to hurt us!" Nina's composure finally cracked. "Because you wanted to blame someone, anyone, for your missing seal!"
"Why would we hurt innocent girls?" Derek asked quietly. "What kind of monsters do you think we are?"
Nina looked into his eyes and saw a flash of the man who had saved her from a rogue attack. The man who had held her gently while she shook with fear. The man who had almost kissed her under the stars, why was he fighting that part of him that believes i was innocent.
"Because you could," she whispered. "Because you're the Alpha and we're nobody. Because it's easier than admitting you might be wrong."
Derek's face went hard again, all traces of softness disappearing. He raised the silver blade, and Nina could see her own reflection in its polished surface.
"You want to know what kind of Alpha I am?" His voice was deadly quiet. "I'm the kind who protects his pack from thieves and liars. The kind who makes sure betrayal has consequences. And would do anything to protect my pack.”
A sharp knock interrupted them. Kamal entered the chamber, looking more nervous than Nina had ever seen him.
"Alpha, forgive the interruption. There's an urgent call from Beta Edward in Japan. He says it's about the business deal, something that can't wait."
Derek cursed under his breath, his jaw clenching with frustration. "Fine. I'll be back in ten minutes," he told Nina. "Think about your friend while I'm gone. Think about what we'll do to her if you keep lying to us."
After the three of them left, Nina slumped in her chains as much as the metal would allow. Her burned arm throbbed with each heartbeat, and she could feel blisters forming on the damaged skin.
But she'd seen something important in Derek's eyes. A c***k in his certainty, a moment of doubt that gave her hope.
He didn't really believe she was guilty. Some part of him, buried under layers of anger and betrayal, still knew she was innocent.
Maybe there was still a chance to reach that part of him. Maybe she could make him remember the connection they'd shared before this nightmare began. There must be a way to reach out to that part of him that feels something for me.
If she could survive long enough to try.
- Writer
