Oops! Still Your Mate

Chapter Thirty Five

Ivy stirred slowly in her sleep and shot her eyes open, pushing her body up from her lying position but that only served to send jolts of pain down her leg. The floor was still cold but she was sure they had changed her location.

She wasn't sure how she was supposed to contact Zeke when she was unsure of the location but that was the point, wasn't it?

“Fuck.” She cursed. And as before, the room was dark. No window, no source of light. She heard heavy boots moving towards the door and was just in time to slam her eyes close as the door flung open.

Footsteps crossed the cell floor. She could feel the presence of him before he spoke — the particular way large people occupied space, the shift in the air. He crouched in front of her. She could hear the creak of his knees and smell unwashed clothing and something metallic underneath.

"You're finally up," he said. Something in his voice suggested he found this genuinely entertaining. "There's no way your mate would have any idea where you are." A pause. She felt his hand close around her chin, fingers gripping with the casual confidence of someone who was used to not being resisted. "Open your eyes, Ivy. You're not fooling me."

She rolled her eyeballs behind her closed lids — one moment of private commentary on the situation — and then opened them.

Dirty brown curls. Jet black eyes that held a particular kind of intelligence that was worse than stupidity because it was being used poorly. A smirk that suggested he had rehearsed this encounter in his head and was pleased with how it was going.

"Welcome to nowhere," he said, standing up. He seemed to find this funny. Ivy's face stayed completely still.

She was cataloguing. The cell door was heavy — iron or reinforced wood, she hadn't been able to tell in the brief flash of light. The corridor outside was lit, which meant there was a light source somewhere. The boots she had heard were two sets, not one, which meant a second guard was positioned outside the door or nearby. The man in front of her was confident in the way people were confident when they were accustomed to holding power over someone who couldn't fight back. He hadn't checked her restraints since entering. That was a mistake.

"How do you think is behind your parents' death?" he asked. The question was conversational, almost lazy, but his eyes were watching her face carefully. Testing. "I've realized you're actually digging into the past. Somewhere I would have advised you to flee from." He crouched again, closer this time, dropping his voice. "But since you're Zeke's mate — that fact alone would make me want to see you dead."

Zeke's voice surfaced in her memory — you have no idea how vulnerable you would be once we're mated, you have no idea how many people are waiting for us to mate so they can come for you. She had pushed back against it then, called it an excuse, another wall. She was less certain of that assessment right now. But she filed it away rather than sitting with it. Useful later. Not useful now.

The soldier waited for a response. She gave him nothing. Not defiance, not fear — just the particular blankness of someone who had decided he wasn't worth a reaction.

"Are you deaf or dumb?" He stood up again, the smirk fading slightly at the edges.

She recognized the irritation of a person who had prepared for an audience and been denied one. "You probably think it's dear old uncle Darius, right?” The mention of Darius's name made Ivy lifted an eyebrow in surprise. The soldier noticed and erupted into a bout of laughter.

“See, you're predictable.” He said. “I don't know why I'm overly chatty today but maybe I just want to entertain you till you die.” He said and walked backwards.

“Well, ivy Hale. Zeke's Mate. This is where we mostly part ways.” He gave a small bow in mockery and turned towards the door walking out.

Immediately he stepped out, misty stirred awake slowly, ivy could feel she had gone weak, from exhaustion and the earlier fight.

“He knows.” Misty said.

“Who knows?”

“The soldier. He knew you were suspecting Darius. Darius probably knows too.” She added and ivy shook her head.

“That's the problem. I don't know if Darius is the leader here.” Ivy said.

The door creaked open again but this time a wrinkled old lady stepped in. A wooden tray balanced in her hand and she placed it before ivy.

Ivy allows her eyes access here. Dark haired. Black eyes that seem to hold more wisdom than most of her age mates. A healing bruise along her jaw that seems several years old.

The woman took a quick glance at Ivy before sitting across her, crosslegged on the floor like this was normal and looked at her with an expression that was part relief and part guilt.

“You're ivy Hale.” She stated with the assurance of someone that was rarely wrong.

“You're P.” Ivy said and shuddered, the weight of betrayal settling on her.

The old woman nodded, slowly but surely. “Petra.” She replied.

“And you…”

“I sent the note, Ivy. But…” she could see the disbelief seeping from Ivy's eyes. “I wasn't exactly forced, I had wanted to send you the note since forever. Sandra was my friend. Your mother was a good woman. A very good friend.” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Back to what I was saying. I did wanted to send the note but not in that manner but I was caught. And they forced me to send the note all the same.”

“They hit you?” Ivy asked.

“Punishment,” the woman forced out a smile. “I've been here for years, since your mother died. Lovked in this compound, deprived of freedom. I was reduced to an informant, sending information between rival packs.” She sniffed. “I had no choice, it was an exchange for my safety.” She added.

“You could have sent me the documents instead.” Ivy said.

“Apart from the fact that it would increase my chance of being caught, I couldn't risk the identity of the person working with me in the pack.”

“The person who had dropped the note?” Ivy asked.

The woman nodded. “Darius is already suspicious and I couldn't just risk it. And besides, you need to be here to actually witness things to be able to believe.” She said. “Giving you only the documents gives Darius the chance to dismiss the claims and you would be only branded a liar, like your parents. And you would be pack enemy. My friend didn't die so you could die the same way.” Petra stated.

“I know my parents are traitors.” Ivy replied.

“Kid, there are things that can't be actually explained with words, there's no actual good or bad in this world, everything has reasons.” Petra rested her hands on ivy's shoulders.

Ivy looked at her for a long moment. “Talk,” she said.