Mate Protect Me

Chapter 38 - Broken Bonds

Waking in the middle of the night, Baden’s eyes flew open as he sat up instantaneously. Fully awake in seconds Baden welcomed Zac, connecting via mind link. “Baden I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I failed you, I failed our Luna. I failed our pack.”

“Zac it’s okay, calm down! What’s going on?” Baden tried to remain calm opening the mind link to Ian. Baden’s vision disappeared as Zac forced his own upon him. Baden watched through Zac’s eyes. Vision pointing down at the floor, the first thing Baden witnessed was the blood. Zac had been strung up in his cell, he was bleeding out. Deep lacerations covered what was left of his skin, as blood dripped in a steady crimson stream to the floor.

Zac’s connection to the pack was cracking, weakening. The whole pack could feel his life slowly draining away. Hands and legs bound with silver chains, he could not move, nor cover the gaping wounds. “Baden.. tell my mother.. I love her.” Zac’s words were filled with sincerity and desperation clutching at the last strands of life that he had left.

Zac moaned out in pain as he put everything he had left into maintaining the sight link with Baden. He was going to die, he only had minutes left. He knew it, the amount of blood loss was irreversible. His last goal to display this last scene, to give his Luna the best chance of survival. Zac lifted his head as far as he could manage so Baden could view the scene unfolding in front of Zac.

Baden watched through Zac’s eyes in horror. Pain lit a fire in his chest, Zac wasn’t going to make it. “Zac you are a great warrior in our pack, I.. we could not be prouder or more honoured.”

A growl rippled through the room, pulling Zac and Baden’s attention. “He was mine! Baden was supposed to be mine! YOU STOLE HIM FROM ME!” Amelia’s voice pitched loudly as her face filled with rage.

Gemma was on a silver table chained down. The sliver burnt at her flesh as she struggled, her limbs tensing and straining. Unable to hold it in any longer, a scream surfaced from her throat. The sound came out horse as her voice broke, dying off in a whimper as she turned her head to meet Zac’s gaze.

Gemma’s pain shot through the bond. For the first time in a long time Baden laid his eyes on Gemma. She was partially blocked by the screen still standing in front of Zac’s cell, but he could see her face. He almost wished he hadn’t, her rosy cheeks usually endlessly blushing for him were pale. They were stark white and sunken as her cheek bones protruded from her skin.

Amelia stood over her, a knife palmed in her hand. Gemma’s face was one of exhaustion and fear as she stretched her neck, visibly trying to break free of her restraints. Baden watched intently as the knife slowly lowered towards Gemma through Zac’s failing vision. Moving over and blocking his view, the masked figure walked towards Zac. Slightly tilting their head, a smile obviously lit their eyes as they reached out caressing Zac’s bloodied abdomen. Nails dug into the already opened flesh causing more pain. Unable to react Zac continued to stare at the figure emotionlessly, which seemed to trigger its smile to falter.

“Zac!” Gemma’s voice, barely audible cut through the space, sounding her panic. “Don’t.. don’t touch him!” Her tone held desperation. The masked figure laughed out loud gaining back her smiling eyes, appearing to relish in the sorry state of Gemma and Zac.

Turning back the masked figure spoke for the first time. Her voice was sharp and unforgiving, “do it Amelia, I have waited long enough. KILL HER!”

That voice was so familiar, who was that? Baden’s mind ticked over trying to place the voice as the individual took a few steps back towards Gemma. Baden wanted to reach out, to stop her. To run to her side, but he was stuck, stuck in Zac’s fading, patchy vision. Zac was mere seconds away from the end, his body turning cold as he tried to will the blood to stop flowing.

A sudden pain slashed through the bond of Gemma to Baden. Turning the masked figure approached Zac’s cell, still blocking the view of Gemma. Baden Collapsed back on his bed holding onto Zac link by a thread watching, waiting for anything.

“Goodbye sweetness,” the masked female spoke as she brought her hands to the edge of the mask. “Here I’ll let you in on a little secret, now that we are in your final moments. Too weak to link, strong enough to regret.”

Alicia stood before Zac, a malicious smile painted on her face, as a squeal of pain sounded behind her. Alicia’s smile only growing wider at the torturous sounds. Baden’s mind ran dark, she was a monster, Gemma tried to help her, Gemma was hurt, Gemma was dying. Anger surged through Baden as his bloodlust heightened causing his body to start morphing.

Before Baden even had a chance to come up with a plan or complete his shift, another pain gripped him intensely rendering him immobile. The pain continued as the feeling of his flesh being ripped from his body crashed through his every fibre. Then it was gone, the pain was completely gone. The bond between him and Gemma felt fractured, he could hardly feel her bond to him or the pack. I was slipping away.

Sling shotted back to his own body, Baden felt Zac’s last tie to the pack snap as he took his final breath. Ian catching fragments through Baden’s mind link had already slipped into Baden’s room, phone at the ready searching for Alex’s contact number realizing Amelia’s connection. Feeling Zac’s connection to the pack sever, Ian dropped to knees. Zac was a headstrong, irrational, but he was part of pack, he was family. Now he was gone.

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