Page 134 of Caged

“Idril was supposed to be an Alpha. A male. I spent decades searching for her mother. And instead of an Alpha male, the bitch gave me Idril. Almost died doing it. There was no other chance to get it right. No do-overs.”

“She is your daughter,” I snap, disgusted.

He snorts. “Oh please. She’s a useless girl. She was meant to be my legacy. Turns out she’s nothing more than a vessel for true power. Worthless on her own. Thankfully, I don’t actually need her. My legacy lives in their blood. Their DNA.”

He flicks a dismissive glance over his shoulder, barely acknowledging his own fucking daughter laying there motionless and pale. A storybook princess, trapped in a cell that was never meant to hold her.

“All that matters is what’s in these bags. The rest is expendable,” his cruelty is so casual. My fucking heart breaks for my Omega.

Expendable.

He refers to her like she’s a failed prototype, not his own flesh and blood.

How has my sweet girl lived with this monster for so long? How long was she subjected to his abuse with no hope of escape?

Varenthrall dismisses her with a wave of his hand, snapping his fingers at someone in the hallway.

“Take her upstairs and dump her in her room. If she dies, she dies. If she doesn’t, maybe we’ll come back for her later if it becomes necessary. Though I doubt very much that it will.”

“We aren’t taking her with us?” Albertson asks, eyes wide with confusion.

The asshole scoffs. “Of course not. We have what we need—assuming you aren’t lying about not needing more. Dragging her with us will only slow us down. Either way, it doesn’t matter. This is only a backup. I shouldn’t even need it as long as I have⁠—”

He cuts himself off, waving the thought away like he’s swatting aside a bug. Whatever he was about to say, he clearly didn’t want me to know.

He turns his glare on the doctor. “Be grateful you’re still of use to me. If you’re smart, you’ll keep that in mind and stop of asking questions that don’t fucking concern you.”

Albertson visibly recoils.

Two men wearing dark uniforms stalk in straight toward Idril. One of them pulls our the IV, causing a soft moan of discomfort to falls from her lips.

If my brothers don’t get here soon and get this silver out of me, I’m fucked, and so is our Mate.

I have to believe they’ll be here in time. There’s no other option. I will not find my Fated

Mate and lose her in the same godsdamned hour. I haven’t risked my life for centuries to protect the future of thousands of others just to have my own future ripped away the moment I find her.

“Be fucking careful with her,” I snap when one of the men whips Idril’s body over his shoulder. He scoffs, and I make a point of blatantly memorizing each one of his features.

When we get out of here, and I get this silver out of my system, I’m going to hunt him down and kill him. Slowly. Brutally. And with fucking pleasure.

My thoughts must broadcast across my face because the coward nervously backs away until he’s out of the cell.

He leaves, unknowingly taking my entire world with him.

At this moment, the pain of being separated from my Omega far outweighs my physical pain.

“Keep calm. I tried to use as little as I could, but if you keep pushing yourself, you won’t be able to save Idril.” Albertson’s voice comes from behind my head, where he pretends to fuck with the drip bag attached to my IV. I scan the cell and see Varenthrall on his phone in the corner, not paying attention to either of us.

“You,” I growl, blinking through the haze of pain. “I don’t trust you.”

“Good. Don’t.” He levels me with a stare I don’t expect from the nervous old man. “I’ve been treating that girl since she was a child. She is kind. She doesn’t deserve this. So you will listen to me, and you get her out and keep her away from him.”

His gaze flicks to Varenthrall, and a look of undisguised hatred flashes across the doctor’s face.

Why the fuck is this guy working with him if he hates him this much?

There’s something else going on here, but I can’t focus enough to think it through. The pain is coming in waves now, fiery hot one moment and ice cold the next. My jaw’s clenched to prevent my teeth from chattering. The muscles in my neck strain from the effort of keeping my mouth closed when I want to do nothing more than scream.