Smoke and Mirrors

Chloe Black

I was there when they dragged the unconscious she-wolf into my brother’s torture chamber, she was not the first and definitely won’t be the last. I could not clearly see her face due to her dark hair acting as a veil shielding it, but her frame and Warrior’s Mark told me that she was someone of high ranking.

There was nothing on her to cover her nudity, so I asked my brother if I could lend her some of my clothes. He was extremely reluctant saying that I should not waste my clothes on such a waste of space. He finally caved in when I spoke of the leering eyes of the rest of his men. She was still unconscious when I dressed her, and I wanted to wipe away the mud and blood that covered her body but my brother forbade it and made me leave the second I was able to dress her in whatever he allowed me to.

Truth be told, even though I did not know who she was and she was probably an enemy to my pack, the fact that she was able to bear that mark made me admire her as well as envy her, no woman had borne the mark in the last century and girls now were only given the basic training that would ensure that they were not liabilities during battles. I could not help but say a silent prayer for her after the door closed, leaving her to my brother’s mercy.

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The next few days surprised me though, I heard the crack of the whip as well as the sound of it meeting skin, but no sound followed it, except for my brother’s exasperated growls. No scream was heard nor pleas for mercy, the only sound I heard from her was laughter which was unusual to the sounds I hear from the previous guest my brother allowed into the chamber.

Today, I walked down the hall where the torture chamber resided, hoping that my brother would have finally taken mercy on her and just let her be. He had her pack’s land and ended their Alpha’s line so why bother keeping her especially when she meant so much to his existence. I placed my ear against the room of the chamber hoping to hear something different but to my dismay, I did not.

“Why won’t you just break!”

I winced but felt slightly surprised as I heard my brother yell, which was something that he had never done in those chambers, it was usually the other way around, his victim would be the one doing all the screaming and yelling. What was more surprising was that this was followed by a peal of laughter that sounded just like bells but for some reason cruel as well.

I quickly moved away from the door as I heard his footsteps move towards it, racing to the nearest corner to hide myself from him.

I winced again as I heard the door slam shut, my curiosity peaked yet again, it has been days since I last caught a glimpse of that girl and today might give me a chance to get a closer look at her as I did not hear the click of the lock this time.

“Curiosity kills the cat…well wolf, Chloe.”

I thought to myself, if she managed to get out of her restraints while I was in there, I don’t think she would take too kindly for my presence.

The thought gnawed at the back of my mind, but then again when was I ever going to get a chance like this again, to see the girl that some of my pack dubbed the ‘Beast’. I only saw her twice, once on the battlefield and once when I changed her. This could be my only chance as the door was not locked and I did not know how much longer she would last with my brother’s constant attention.

I decided I will see this ‘Beast’ today.

Nervousness bubbled in the pit of my stomach as I slowly opened the door, I turned around to close the door and stiffened as I heard the growls coming from behind me.

“You can do this Chloe, she is restraint after all.”

I psyched myself before gathering all my courage and turning around, my eyes widened as I took in her appearance.

She was gorgeous but not in a soft, princess way like her sister, she was beautiful in a way you would find a shimmering bottle of poison beautiful, her dark features stood out in a way that made you want to retreat. She looked no older than me which surprised me the most as I assumed that for a woman to climb the ranks till Head Commander and Warrior, she would have to be in her thirties at least.

“Are you going to get on with what your pyscho of an Alpha put you up to do, or are you going to stand there and gawk all day.”

Her voice cut like steel, it was strong and confident, not what I expected the voice of someone who had been tortured and starved for days to sound like.

“I am not here as an enemy.”

I spoke with caution, like one would with a caged tiger

“Says the person who took part in the slaughtering of my pack. Now get on with it!”

I had to use all my courage to meet the dark pits of fury that glared at me with such intensity that if looks could kill, I would be six feet under already.

“I am really not going to torture you, I...”

“Stop toying with me and get on with it! Why would a she-wolf that joined in the chaos that brought my pack down not want to torture someone that killed so many of theirs? Do. Not. Lie. To. Me!”

“I did not kill any of your pack...”

I could not finish before her voice cut through mine, dripping with venom and contempt.

“But you were there, am I right? You watched as your pack slaughtered mine, standing there and doing nothing that to me, is the same as killing them.”

I froze, I never saw myself as a killer even though most of my pack were, I did not even want to be there that horrible day and yet, her words were like shards of glass, cutting deep with every syllable she spoke.

I decided to swallow the lump in my throat.

“How long has my brother chained you there?”

One of her eyebrows went up as she surveyed my face, looking for any agenda I might have. The silence in the room was finally broken as she spoke with much caution and apprehension.

“Three days or more.”

“Has anyone brought you food or...”

For the second time, I was cut off.

“Why do you care? Here you are having a conversation with someone that your brother deemed worthy enough to have chained up like an animal, what is wrong with you?”

“Because I did not want to believe that my brother was as bad as everyone said he was, that there was still good in him, that he would still show some compassion to his mate.”

The exasperation was evident in my voice with every word I spoke. My brother used to be a kind and compassionate person who would sing me to sleep and read me stories, I refused to believe that it was his fault he ended up like this.

“You are living in a fairy tale…”

She paused for a moment before looking at me questioningly.

“How did you know he was my mate?”

“He tries to hide it, but he growls as every man that comes near you.”

I managed a chuckle at that before I was again met with stone-cold silence. I was about to leave when her voice broke it.

“I know exactly what you are thinking, you think that I can bring out the good in him, make him into the brother you loved and cherished, you want my sympathy but guess what, you are not going to get it.”

Her words hit home, without me even knowing, I came here with a purpose, I wanted her to change my brother, to make him who he was.

“He is your mate and you are his, you both are meant to love each other unconditionally and eternally, meant to accept each other no matter what.”

She listened to my rant with a smirk on her face, she looked like an adult watching a child throw a tantrum, she let me finish before speaking.

“You actually believe that there is still good in your brother despite the all the blood he has spilled.”

The amusement in her tone caused anger to bubble within me. How dare she be such a hypocrite…

“You are not saint yourself. You have spilled more than your fair share of blood yourself and yet you condemn my brother for the same crime.”

“The difference between myself and that coward is the intention. I spilled blood in order to protect my family and pack. So, let me ask you a question…what the reason for your brother’s actions is because I can assure you, that from the short time I have spent with him, he does not give a damn about anyone besides himself.”

I turned my face from hers, unable to meet her eyes as I did not know the answer to that question. She took my silence as permission to continue.

“Sweetheart, let me take you away from your world of unicorns and rainbows, this is the real world, not some fairytale where the princess forgives the prince, he sweeps her off her feet and they ride off on a white horse into the sunset to live happily ever after. You want to know what I feel about your brother, well here it is. I feel that anyone who does this to their mate deserves to go to hell, I am sure that there is a special place where he can burn for eternity, and you can bet that I will do nothing except sit back and laugh as he screams, and I promise that the thought of helping him will never even cross my mind.”

I ran out of that room with tears welling in my eyes, I began to sob as I heard her call out.

“Welcome to the real-world, darling!”