Chapter 7: Caught Red Handed
1298 Words
Freya’s P.O.V
The woman dropped to the floor mid-jump, right after the shot reverberated inside the room.
Both Alex and I turned to face the cell door, to find out who had fired the shot…to find Cameron standing with a gun in his hand, followed closely by Sarah.
My heart hammered against my ribcage and I desperately wanted to run into the arms of my mate, to be surrounded by his embrace, but my head turned towards the woman instead.
“Wh…what?” I swallowed hard, hoping and praying that I didn’t see blood gushing out of her body. Alex had gone unnaturally still next to me and I feared that he might snap if I touched him.
“She’s alive.” Cameron’s voice was hard, angry, as he stepped inside the cell and grabbed a hold of my hand. “Get to the Alpha’s chambers, Alex. We need to talk.”
With that, he began dragging me out of the cell and out of the dungeons…err, holding rooms.
I glanced back to find Alex still standing like a statue over the woman’s unmoving body. He was in shock too, I could tell. To find his mate after six years of waiting and to end up finding out that she was a rogue…he had been through a lot since this morning.
Sarah gave me a tight smile as the two of us got back inside the elevator and she stayed outside, motioning that she would wait for Alex. Cameron didn’t say anything, nor did he loosen his vice grip as the doors shut on Sarah’s face.
‘How f****d am I?’ I asked her via our mental link, hoping to get a hold of the situation before I started making up excuses.
‘Well, considering that he caught you red-handed inside the rogue’s cell…I’d say a solid 9.’ Sarah replied with a sigh. ‘Take care, Freya. I’ll look after Alex for the time being.’
‘Be careful with him.’ With that warning sent out, I turned to face Cameron, placing my free hand over his. He didn’t even budge or look at me, not until the elevator doors opened back up and then he began dragging me to the suite that I shared with him, on the opposite wing from the Alpha couple.
It was only when we were inside our room that Cameron finally lost his calm.
“What the f**k do you think you were doing?” He snapped, grabbing a hold of my shoulders and shaking me hard. “That rogue nearly killed two of our highly trained soldiers and you thought she’s spare you? She’d have gouged your eyes out before you could even utter out a f*****g spell!”
“She wouldn’t have.” I told Cameron firmly. I know he was angry because he was worried about me, but that didn’t mean I was going to let him boss me around. “I know you were worried, Cameron, I can feel it through the mating bond. But you have to trust my instincts as well. You need to believe in me too.”
“I do, Freya!” He told me, running a hand through his hair. “I do trust you, but you need to understand just how scared I was when I saw that rogue pouncing at the two of you…” He paused to take a deep breath.
Understanding that Cameron had just had the biggest jump scare of his life, I look hold of his face, placing my palms against his cheeks and leaned up to place a slow, lingering kiss on his lips.
He closed his eyes immediately, taking in my scent as his arms locked around my waist. Pulling me closer, Cameron placed his forehead against mine, a sigh leaving his lips.
“Welcome back,” I whispered against his lips before I pulled back to rest my head on his chest; to hear the hectic beat of his heart as he tries to calm himself.
“Don’t do that, Freya.” He whispered; his voice hoarse. “Don’t let yourself get into such a situation ever again!”
“I can’t promise you that, Cameron.” I placed a finger to his lips before he could protest. “Just as much as you can’t promise that you won’t jump in to save a friend. Alex needs help. He’s been slipping away from us for the past year. If his mate is able to bring him back from the edge…then I’m willing to go to any lengths to help him.”
“Then at least promise me that you won’t do anything rash without informing me.” He persisted. “I need to know you’re going to be okay, Freya. I stop breathing even at the thought of something happening to you!”
“All I can promise you is that I’ll do my best to stay safe.” I told him firmly. “Because we’re all ready to sacrifice for our friends, even Alex. But he needs us now.”
Taking a deep breath, Cameron let me go and sat at the edge of our bed. Patting the seat next to me, he took of the navy blue jacket he was wearing over a white button-down and threw it on top of one of the chairs in the room. I followed the notion with narrowed eyes, making a mental note not to pick it up. Not that Cameron wasn’t a cleanliness freak, but he often ‘forgot’ wet towels on the bed and clothes on different pieces of furniture.
Men! Doesn’t matter if they were wolves or not; every single one of them was the same. I think even Malaya complained about Alpha Charles’s forgetting habits. Especially when it came to clothes and important documents.
“I need to tell you what I saw,” I told Cameron after I took a seat beside him. “Alex’s mate…I think something bad happened to her that made her give in to her animalistic instincts.”
“How bad?” He frowned.
“She was having a dream when I tried to read her,” I told him truthfully. “But I think it was more of a memory. She lived with her parents and younger sister. One day she came home from work…to find that her mother was murdered…and I wish it was something I can unsee…”
I felt nausea churn my stomach at that fading image I had witnessed, just before Alex had hauled me back and the rogue had woken up. But to think that she had lived through it…
I shook my head, wrapping my arms around myself. Cameron immediately wrapped me in his arms, helping me feel the warmth of his skin.
“Her body was cut open, Cameron…” I took a shaky breath. “She had been mutilated…and her heart…it-”
I covered my mouth, unable to stop myself from retching. It was a horrible sight…and I couldn’t bring myself to repeat what I saw. Alex’s mate…she had been right there…she had tripped over her mother’s torn hand…
“Stop!” Cameron commanded. “Don’t think about it. Look at me!”
Turning my face towards him with his fingers under my chin, Cameron made me meet his blue, blue eyes and I was so relieved to have him next to me, to have him take away the pain.
“We’ll help.” He promised at last. “No matter what it takes; I’m willing to help Alex’s Mate.”
I agreed, because no one who has had to witness such animosity could have survived what came after without losing their sanity. And Alex’s mate…something told me that she had had to face a fate worse than death.
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