Reclaiming Herself—Completed

Chapter Six

Patrick.

He had spent the entire morning beating the s**t out of Roger for information. For the most part, he’d been accommodating, spilling every secret he had. The last hour of torture for the man had simply been for fun. Patrick made it known that each slice of the knife, each open wound, each drop of blood spilt was for every man, woman, and child he had affected. Patrick finally left the sobbing alpha screaming at him for mercy. However, only death awaited Alpha Roger Knotts of the Half Moon Pack. His pack would no longer exist.

Unfortunately, after gaining the initial knowledge about Alpha Roger’s black market set-up, he didn’t get any really insight into the Silver Sliver pack. It appeared that Alpha Richard was smart enough to not trust the other alpha with sensitive information. However, Patrick wanted to dig up everything he could find on the Silver Sliver Pack. Patrick spent the next two days buried in research, newspaper articles, and phone calls to every alpha he could think of. The gist of what he found was that Alpha Richard had become an extremely wealthy man in a very short amount of time. That stank of underground dealings with the black market.

Patrick didn’t like it, but he couldn’t shove his suspicions down any longer. He decided to contact his inside man, who just so happened to transfer into the Silver Sliver. He’d never been so proud to be so paranoid. Most of the time, Patrick sent his men into packs to confirm that nothing untoward was happening. He wanted so desperately to believe that this would be the case for his father's old friend.

Pulling out an enchanted mirror, he tapped on the glass twice. It was the signal that he wanted to talk. A few ago, Patrick had run into a witch, who quickly became a friend and taught him how to use certain magical items. These two-way telecommunication mirrors were one such trick. Because he couldn’t mindlink from so far away or after they joined another pack, this was a fast and reliable way to talk without suspicion. Phones could easily be confiscated, and Patrick didn’t want anyone to be stranded in another pack.

Patrick left the mirror on his desk to continue researching. When his inside man was ready, the mirror would open up, much like a FaceTime call on a phone. An hour later, he heard the click of the mirror coming alive.

“Alpha?” a man whispered.

Patrick picked up the phone and grinned at the recipient. “Timothy! It’s great to see– What happened to your face?”

“You have to come get me,” Timothy said immediately.

The other man looked terrible. His face was busted and bruised. It looked like his eye had exploded inside of itself. Timothy didn’t look like his usual cheery self.

“What happened?”

“Alpha Richard is no joke. This is the worst I’ve ever seen. These people are suffering. He has a huge operation going on. It’s unlike any other,” Timothy replied, constantly looking around him.

“Are you in danger?” Patrick asked, concerned.

Timothy gave a half-smile. “Probably. I won’t lie to you, Alpha. I’m scared. This might be my last mission for a while if I live to see you in person again.”

“Don’t joke like that.”

“I’m not,” Timothy said tersely. “Though, I wish I was.”

Patrick sighed. The worst case scenario had just been confirmed. He needed to get a plan in place pronto, if what Timothy was saying was true, and he certainly believed him.

“Silver Sliver is a day away. Can you get out today if we’re there tomorrow?”

Timothy was already shaking his head. “The security is insane. There are twice as many guards as there are pack members. Not to mention all the slaves around.”

“Tell me everything.”

Patrick and Timothy spent the next hour painstakingly going through everything Timothy knew. Patrick wasn’t too fond of what he heard, but he needed to formulate a plan of action so that they could leave for the pack that night. He mind-linked Matthew to get his warriors ready and apologized for the late and short notice of the mission. Patrick tried to be good to his pack members by giving them ample time off, but with the dire situation looming, he couldn’t afford to wait another day or two.

“We’ll be attacking the pack in the early hours of the day after next. Meet us at the rendezvous spot we discussed. I’m getting you and all those people out from under Richard’s control. Stay safe.”

“Thank you, Alpha.”

Timothy hung up, and Patrick prayed to the Moon Goddess that it wasn’t the last time he was able to talk with Timothy. He liked that young man an awful lot.

Not even two hours later, Patrick and his warriors were on the road, driving towards the Silver Sliver Pack. Matthew was in the driver’s seat as Patrick devised a plan based on Timothy’s information about how to enter the pack grounds. This would be the most dangerous mission yet, as there was very tight security. Thankfully, though, Timothy had spotted a pattern with Alpha Richard’s own Beta, Antonio. He was a complete slacker and a pompous asshole. During his watch slot, he’d always skip duty and hang out in the main lounge area with his team where they reportedly drank copious amounts of alcohol and “break in the newer she-wolves”. This left a section of the west perimeter open. Naturally, there were security cameras posted everywhere, but Timothy had mapped out the locations for Patrick.

After making the long drive, they pulled off a mile before reaching the pack gates. They then snuck through the forest and crossed over a weak point in the fence. The teams passed through the west side undetected, and they surrounded the pack house. It was now time for the tricky part: getting inside. Patrick and his teams carefully followed the plan he’d devised and slipped into the house. It was eerily quiet, and that made Patrick uneasy. There wasn’t any movement at all. Normally, in the wee hours of the night, that wouldn’t be seen as unusual; however, no pack house was ever truly silent. With so many members, someone was bound to be up. Patrick made his way up the flight of stairs and found that room after room was empty. There weren’t any people sleeping. There weren’t any slaves. There was no one. Patrick opened the biggest rooms on the floor and caught a whiff of the most delectable smell he’d ever noticed before. The room was clearly for Alpha Richard. Everything was ornate and lavish. But he felt a sickening feeling in his stomach as he also found torture devices and chains and whips. He saw a full body suit that hung from the ceiling and a medieval cage with spikes in the corner. Alpha Richard was evidently into dark, sadistic s**t. Patrick shook his head and exited, walking back down the stairs. He mindlinked Matthew, who relayed similar information. He stated, via mindlink, for the teams to circle the pack grounds. Something was amiss, and he’d be damned if he couldn’t figure it out.

Patrick then followed his nose to the stairs, which led down into the dungeon. Now that he knew what smell he was looking for, it was easily detectable to him. He was going to follow that incredible scent, even if it was off a cliff. He had a goofy smile on his face because he’d only ever read and heard about what this smell could mean. Though, the further he traveled, the more dark and dank the place became. He reached the end of the stairs and started down the hallway. Patrick smelled feces, along with blood and other odors, and his heart broke for those who had been kept down here. His mate. His mate was down here. Anger burned within him, though his mind reeled. Even the cells down in the dungeon were empty. Nothing was adding up to Timothy’s intel. The pack was a graveyard and devoid of people. Sighing, he continued forward, his feet moving on their own accord as he followed the hallway down until he reached a dead end.

If he had been angry before, his rage took on an entirely new level. Timothy’s body had been nailed to the wall. His head had been detached from his body, as well as his other limbs. A note had been pinned to his chest. Timothy’s face was frozen with a look of fear.

Patrick snatched the note from his friend’s body and read, “So sorry to have missed you, Alpha Patrick. Won’t the New Council love to hear you’re hunting other packs. Can’t wait to tell them unless you leave me be.”

It was signed, Alpha R.D.

Mindlinking Matthew about what he’d found, Patrick then turned his attention to the silver door in front of him. His nose told him that this is where his mate was. Or, well, had been. The handle was barely covered with a small piece of cloth to protect the person opening the door. This was the only cell with such a door. What had happened to this woman to have a silver door keeping her inside?

Patrick carefully unlocked the latch holding the door in place and swung the door open. The room was surprisingly clean compared to the hallway; however, he could see blood stains that had seeped into the flooring and left behind a stain. Everything had a beige tint to it, and it was barely furnished. He saw a small cot, a bucket, and a tray with half eaten bread on it. What stuck out to him, though, was the smell. It smelled like a sweet, light perfume. But, it was empty. Alpha Richard had his mate.