Wild and Free

(Mason’s POV)

I got probably halfway down the hall when I started to feel it and my stomach plummeted.

Colt Stone.

“Shit,” I cursed to myself walking closer to the door.

I used my ability to turn the lock, pushing the door open but not stepping in. Even being that close, I could feel how difficult it was to do something as simple as unlocking a door with my ability. And that was as an Alpha, outside of the room. I couldn’t imagine how Auden felt.

I peered inside the room and it was so dark that for a second I thought that it was empty. But a shift, followed by the clang of metal chains told me otherwise.

Lying on the floor in the corner of the dark room was none other than the girl herself.

I took a deep breath and stepped inside. She was either asleep, unconscious, or just wasn’t speaking, because the rise and fall of her chest told me that she was alive. Thank god.

Kneeling down, I studied her condition. The gashes that I’d seen earlier on her were still present and open despite the time that they’d had to heal. None of her injuries had seemed to improve since I’d last seen her. I guess that was was Colt Stone did to you.

She had various cuts and bruises along her arms and face but the worst seemed to be on her back where the edge of her shirt had risen up a bit. I reached for the hem to see the extent of it but in the blink of an eye, I was lying on my back, being held down by the throat with her on top of me.

Her hair shielded her face but she pushed it away. When her blue eyes focused and saw it was me, her tense, battle-ready posture relaxed.

Footsteps sounded in the hallway and Zach and Marcus entered the room. They grabbed Auden by her upper arms and shoved her against the wall. She huffed upon impact and glared daggers at the both of them.

“Guys let her go!” I yelled, pulling them both away from her. She slid down the wall to the floor without their grip. I didn’t understand. It was like she’d just given up.

Zack and Marcus looked at me for an explanation.

“It’s fine, I startled her,” I told them. “I thought she was asleep.”

Marcus scoffed, “Apparently not.”

I ignored his comment, staring at the girl slumped on the wall. With the light from the hallway, I saw the cuffs around her wrists. The blood surrounding them was fresh. I looked up at Zach.

“Are those really necessary? She’s already locked underground in a Colt Stone prison, did you really have to add bladed handcuffs?” I asked them angrily.

He put his hands up in surrender, “I told you, we were just following our orders. You can take them off now but they have to go back on when you leave.”

The second he said it, I twisted my hand, using my power and making the cuffs fall to the floor with a thud.

“How does your ability work in here?” Marcus asked. “This place is entirely made of Colt stone.”

“No kidding,” Auden said weakly.

I grinned.

“It takes longer to have an effect since he’s of Alpha blood. He’ll be as powerless as she is in a few minutes though,” Zach told his friend. She sent a pitied look in Auden’s direction, “We’ll let you know if anyone is coming. Remember what I said about the cuffs.”

“I appreciate it,” I said before they left to go back to their stations.

Auden and I sat in silence for a minute before she spoke.

“Charming friends you got here you know?” she said, rubbing her bloody wrists gingerly. “I especially loved being bound and dragged down here by those two,” she gestured to the door which they’d just left through.

“If I had it my way you wouldn’t have been taken at the field at all,” I told her.

She scoffed, “If you had it your way we’d still be in this same position. You can’t try to convince me that you aren’t pissed at me.”

“Then I won’t,” I said, standing up so I stood over her. “Why the hell did you lie?” I asked bluntly.

She laughed, “Now that is a long story, one that I’m not so sure you’re ready for.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked. “You do know that you’re in prison right? I’m not entirely sure why but technically if I wanted to I could make things a whole lot worse for you.”

Her expression changed and her eyes raised to meet mine, “You and I both know that you couldn’t even if you tried,” she said bitterly.

I shook my head, “That is not what I came here to talk about.”

“Maybe not but you can’t get it off of your mind, can you, so why wait?”

“Because I haven’t accepted it yet,”

She narrowed her eyes at me, “All this time waiting and now you don’t want to accept it?” she looked down at her scarred palms. “You’re not disappointed, are you?” she asked though her voice held a teasing, sarcastic tone which meant she didn’t even care.

“Auden I don’t want to talk about this until I figure out what it even is,” I said, turning my back to her. “You’ve lied to all of us for months and I need answers.”

“You’ve survived this long without them, what makes you think-”

I spun around and grabbed her by the shoulders, “Stop bullshiting me here! Please.”

Her eyes were glued on mine but it was like they held no emotion.

She moved so we were centimeters apart and I could feel her breath on my face.

“Why have you given up?” I asked lowly, searching her entire face for anything.

Her flaming blue gaze burned into mine, “Maybe there’s just no more fight left in me,” she whispered.

I opened my mouth to say something when the door swung open. Auden was in the corner, turned away from me is the blink of an eye.

Zack stepped through the door, “Mason your father is waiting for you upstairs.

I sighed and nodded.

“Both of you,” he added.

I glanced at Auden who turned around with a look of confusion and a hint of nervousness. He didn’t elaborate further, coming into the cell and snapping the chains onto Auden’s wrists again.

He led her out first, Marcus holding her on one side and him holding her on the other. I almost growled at the prospect but held back.

I breathed a sigh of relief when the suffocating effects of the Colt Stone cell were lifted from my shoulders and I could only imagine how Auden felt. The beating that she’d no doubt taken added on top of that horrible room, she probably felt like shit.

After the treacherous climb up the stairs, we emerged from the building.

“Mason!” A familiar voice called.

I turned my head just in time to be plowed into by my sister who enveloped me in a bone crushing hug.

“Hello to you too,” I said to which she rolled her eyes. “I’ve been gone for like an hour why the greeting. “You just ran out after- well you know. We tried mind linking you but no one could break through so we got really worried.”

I glanced over my shoulder where Auden stood, “It took me a little while to find her.”

Kenzie followed my gaze, her eyes widening when she saw her friend. It was as if my reappearance was completely wiped from her mind because she shoved me out of the way and nearly tackled the blue eyed girl to the grass in a hug.

Auden was startled at first because she obviously hadn’t seen it coming but she looked more relieved than happy when she realized who it was. Not a second later, Cassie and Holden and the others ran across the courtyard and hugged the girl too.

Zack and Marcus stayed at the side, while everyone spent that moment to make sure she was okay.

Marcus spaced out for a second but when he seemed to rejoin reality he stepped forward, “The Alpha is requesting your presence,” he said to Kenzie, Auden, and I.

Auden who still hadn’t said anything since we left the cell, tensed a little bit but seemed to hide it well as her two guards pulled her forward again in the direction of the pack house.

Kenzie walked next to me, looking at me but not speaking. Instead she spoke over mindlink.

What did they do to her? She asked.

She was downstairs, deep beneath the armory. Did you know that there are cells made entirely out of Colt Stone?

She shook her head, No wonder she looks like she’s about to fall off her feet.

We both looked up and studied the girl.

Aside from the obvious injuries, the person in front of us just wasn’t the Auden that we knew anymore. Her eyes weren’t the bright, lively shade of blue anymore. They were darker and just like she said, they didn’t have any fight left. Her posture was straight as always but her steps were unsure and a little wobbly. I could definitely still feel the effects of the stone and I’d only been in there for a couple of minutes. To me it was a miracle that she was even on her feet.

Did she tell you anything? Kenz asked as we walked down the hallway that led to my father’s office.

I shook my head, No but I’m scared that she’s given up.

She shot me a strange look, What do you mean?

When I tried asking her about why she lied she kept brushing me off. She said that there isn’t anything left for her to fight for, I explained.

Kenzie was silent, gazing at our friend who walked ahead of us with no purpose.

We came up on the door to the office and stopped. Zack gestured for Kenzie and I to go first so we did.

My father sat at his large wooden desk, bent over a pile of papers. At least two cups of coffee, both pretty much empty, sat on the desk at his side. His head looked up when we entered and he set down his pen.

“Thank you Zachary, Marcus,” he addressed them with a nod. “You may leave. I will call you back when we are finished here.”

They returned his nod and left the room.

Father stood up from his chair, circling around his desk. He studied Auden who kept her gaze straight forward.

“So this is the famous Auden that I’ve been hearing about,” he said to no one in particular. “It’s nice to finally meet you formally.”

Auden bowed her head respectfully, “I would say the same if it were under different circumstances, Alpha.”

My father grinned surprisedly. He wasn’t used to being surprised, it was a new thing to him.

“Well aren’t you a special one,” he said, going back around his desk. “I bet you’re wondering why you’re in those cuffs.”

“I’ve got a pretty good idea of why,” she muttered.

I knit my brows, “Well I don’t. Care to enlighten the rest of us Father?”

If my father weren’t a grown man and a blood born leader he might have rolled his eyes.

“As I’m sure you’re quite aware Mason, this rogue has been living in our midst for a while now,” he looked down at a piece of paper in one of his files. “And it seems that she’s been here even longer than that. Is this true?”

I glanced at Auden who nodded calmly.

“Well filthy, greedy rogues living on pack territory is illegal-”

“She’s not a rogue!” I yelled, cutting him off. “And as far as I know she wasn’t even aware that there was a pack anywhere near the town.”

Auden nodded, “When I found White Chapel I thought it was the perfect place away from all of this,” she gestured around her. “If I knew that this place was as close to the town as it is, why would I stay?”

My father shrugged, “Perhaps you’ve fooled us all and were working with Orion and his pack to plan this attack on us.”

Auden looked at him dumbfounded, “I would never do that.”

“Hm, just like you would never lie to my children and their friends, telling them that you were human and goddess knows how many other things,” he fired back.

Her jaw was clenched but she didn’t reply. She turned to face me and Kenzie.

“Do you guys believe that I would work against you?” she asked, putting us on the spot.

Kenzie shook her head immediately, “No way. Even after everything, all the time I’ve spent with you I don’t think that even if you kept who you are a secret, that you’d ever work against us.”

“Even if she ended up right where she might have wanted?” Father asked. “Right here inside our walls?”

“Never,”

“One of my men did tell me that she let one of their wolves go, during the battle,” father said.

“He was only a boy, I wasn’t about to take his life away,” she admitted. “I told him to leave and he was before your men murdered him.”

Auden turned her burning gaze to me. It was as heated as blue flames, burning ruthlessly through me. When I didn’t answer, her jaw tightened.

“Mason?” my sister asked, impatiently waiting for me to agree with her.

“I don’t know,”

Her knit her brows, “How could you say that?”

“Come on Kenz, you saw what she did out there. Plus, she’s lied the whole time,” I told my sister, my expression hard. “What makes you think that she might not be doing the same right now?”

“Shall we put it to the test?” My father asked.

I was confused for a moment before I realized what he was talking about. Kenzie seemed to realize the same thing.

“No,” she demanded. “We swore we’d never do that unless necessary. Tell him Mason.”

Everyone’s eyes were on me.

“I don’t know Kenz it seems like our option at this point-”

She opened her mouth, no doubt to protest profusely, but my father cut us both off.

“Then it’s decided,” he nodded, almost giddy which was strange. “After supper the pack will convene for her trial in the Session room and she’ll be questioned under the effects of our locally produced TS.”

Auden raised an eyebrow, “What is that?” she asked, though I could sense the slightest quiver in her otherwise confident tone.

“Truth Serum,”

A shiver went down my spine and I was afraid to look at Auden.

What had I done?

~~AUTHOR’S NOTE~~

Hope you enjoyed!

As always, comment, don’t hate, and read on!

~ your Cheshire Cat loving friend