Broken Chains

Chapter 11

“So you think they’ll head this way?” I asked propping the phone to my ear with my shoulder Bryce sighed,

“possibly.” He said slowly, “but honestly sweetheart we will be Trying to capture them not redirect them to you. There are eleven of us and only two of you.”

“We can stop Derek.” I said firmly

“I know you’re a hot young thing with a sweet ass that will easily divert his attention but it’s the others I’m worried about, as if you try twitching your ass at the other guys well your mate will no doubt feel the need to start breaking thumbs.” I sighed but didn’t correct his use of the term ‘mate’ what was the point after all that was what I wanted.

“What are you saying?” I asked,

“Nothing my lady”

“Okay well what are you hinting at then my liege?” Bryce chuckled, we had been referring to each other with pet names relating to Royalty for a while now, I don’t know why but it had caught on.

“I am hinting that maybe if I followed them into neutral territory with a guy or two we could again help.”

“no.” I said flatly,

“You don’t own neutral territory your highness.”

“But you know its neutral territory you can’t take enforcers in there, but I’m like a representative of the only pack who could take issue with you taking enforcers who are there. I can’t say it will be permitted I cant it’s not my job.”

“Your second in command.” Bryce said smoothly,

“No I’m not.”

“Well you should be.” I sighed,

“I am by default I guess.” I said walking back into the room where Carl lifted his head from the pillow wearily to look at me with a small smile which I returned with a flirty smile and a wink. “Look this isn’t my choice to make. I can’t allow you to bring enforcers closer to our pack I can’t.” Bryce growled “but I’m not alpha.” I sighed “maybe… maybe you could just come help.”

“I touched my beloved are you beginning to trust me,”

“I trust that you won’t try to f**k me.”

“Aaaah. Is that the secret of my success with you.” He all but purred down the phone. The scary fact was that I for some reason I did trust him. No I knew why I trusted him because he forced me to. I didn’t have my pack to lean on and I was used to support I needed more than my current ‘pack’ of Carl. When I had agreed to our ‘inter-pack’ co-operation with Bryce I had expected a phone call telling me to move they were coming and instead I was getting at least two calls a day from Bryce in the four days since we had met. He was telling me absolutely everything that his enforcers were up to as well as everything that they knew or even suspected the rogues were up to, and I appreciated that from him. Whether he had done it on purpose to make me trust him I don’t know, but I did appreciate him his openness made me trust him I just had to hope that I wouldn’t live to regret that decision. And maybe I did trust him in part because he was gay I wasn’t used to a guy who wasn’t in anyway interested in f*****g me, but I truly believed he wasn't and it was good it was something that wasn’t going to get in the way of our aims. “Hmm interesting are you denying meeting my little band of enforcers as your worried they’ll be attempting to get into your knickers?” I snorted,

“No I just don’t trust them because I don’t know them and I've always been told that if I met people from your pack that they would kill me. So I don’t want to meet your guys.”

“But you trusted me.” I sighed and sat down on the end of my bed,

“I kind of had to Bryce.”

“Thank you honey that makes me feel so special.” He purred,

“Look I needed your help it’s that simple.”

“Feeling more special by the minute,” he said softly, “would you accept my enforcers help if I ordered you knickers out of bounds and promised I wont let any of them kill you.” I smiled,

“Why do you want them here so bad?”

“I…um”

“I mean the main band there’s only five. Derek cant fight against us he won’t I know it. So Bethany, Daniel, Christian and Nathan against the three of us I know Christian we know how he fights he won’t be able to beat us. Four on three and that’s assuming Derek just runs off. The three of us we are all trained and prepared for battles, they in contrast are idiots trained and practiced in drinking and shoplifting. We won’t loose to them. That’s assuming they choose to fight and not just run, and lets face it they don’t work together I reckon one or two will just run.”

“Possibly.”

“And there will be three of us working together it’ll be alright. You don’t have to have them there and to be honest they are more likely to make the whole band just flee.”

“Maybe but I still want them there.”

“Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious Jessica they are my pack I don’t fight alone, we fight as part of a team, and I sort of trust you two but hell I was always told the same that you were: them? Not one of us so I can’t trust you.” He snorted “I want them because I trust them.” I smiled as I heard Carl snarl from the bed across the room, as he clearly perceived this as an attack on our honour.

“Sorry Bryce but I can’t knickers off limit or not.” I said lightly.

“How about a compromise?” he said his voice seemed dark and seductive,

“Speak?”

“How about if I have to follow them into neutral territory I will come to find you and I will take them down with you. I also propose that I bring shall we say five enforcers ones that are discrete because what I’m doing lets admit it if I’m found out I will be in deep shit.”

“Another bloody good reason not to bring them are all.”

“Well thank you your highness but no offence intended here I’m not exiled from my pack and you are,”

“Yeah that’s very non offensive.” I said blandly, Bryce chuckled,

“May I continue with my proposal?” I sighed which he seemed to take as a consent as he continued. “Like I was saying I will bring five trusted enforcers all informed of the no knicker approaching and no killing policy. I will also get them to form a loose parameter staying back from us so we won’t see them. But if they run.” he sighed “if they all run they’ll stop them. So that we will come to an end, for better or worse it will end.”

“Okay.” I said slowly, “it seems fine to me. I’m going to go have a shower so you just talk to Carl and the two of you can puzzle it out between the two of you.” I said scrambling up and all but flinging the phone at Carl. He was already sitting up and he grabbed the phone from midair.

“Are you alright?” he asked covering the phones mouthpiece. I nodded quickly and all but ran to the bathroom as I wasn’t. The concept of this ending wasn’t something I wanted to be made aware of. As the end of this meant me being separated from Derek either by his death or his embracing of the life of an outcast. Choosing to live out of the pack as a rogue, but even if he did that I wouldn’t be with him. I would just have to be content with knowing he existed in this world.

I locked the bathroom door, and quickly turned on the shower stripping off and jumping in hoping that this would keep Carl from the room was just a minute, I needed to compose myself. Unfortunately that didn’t work as soon as I was in the shower tears began to slide down my face. The strength in my legs disappeared and I just allowed my self to slide down to the floor of the shower and curled up in the foetal position crying noisily through my broken heart, the intense pain of loosing my Jamie and now facing the eternal loss of my mate consuming me. I spent so much time repressing these fears and ignoring my losses that the pain had just built up to the point that now these tears almost felt to be a calming release.