Anger, like most emotions, fluctuates and morphs. Sometimes it’s described as a ‘cycle’; a shifting from anger to hopelessness to sadness only to repeat.
That wasn’t what Cory was feeling at all. He was angry, burning with unrelenting and unwavering rage. Grayson had carried him back into Joy’s cottage and instructed Lucian to ‘guard him’ when in fact Lucian was simply the thick iron bars to Cory’s prison cell.
The mixed-blood lay on his bed for a long time, just glaring at the fireplace. He glared at the rising flames that communicated with the roaring blaze within him. Why was he dragged back to his old hell? What was the reason?
Perhaps it was just an act of gleeful cruelty; a dark chuckle at the mixed-blood’s torment.
Cory lifted the long sleeve of his musky smelling shirt to reveal the silver shackle they called ‘a bracelet’ around his forearm. If he could get it off, he could escape relatively easily. He could put Lucian back to sleep and if Grayson were to chase him again… Cory would have no objections to breaking the white-haired demon’s legs. He would leave and they would never find him.
The scarlet-haired man studied the bracelet. It had black gems inserted at regular intervals – altogether there were six. He surmised that they were onyx. Onyx was neither a gem nor a stone – it was a variety of quartz; rather famous for its absorptive qualities. Cory hardly used crystals or gems in his magic – he wasn’t advanced enough in his arcane abilities to do so. He had, however, studied the topic well enough to identify and recollect their purposes.
He remembered Ambrose had said to Grayson that he had put a seal on the bracelet to prevent Cory from removing it. It was prudent to compare the suppressing bracelet to a prison shackle – the scarlet-haired man wondered at what point they would attach a steel ball and chain to his leg so he could really fit the role of a prisoner. Perhaps they would dress him in an orange jumpsuit as well – after all he might as well look the part.
Cory scowled and brushed a strand of his now oily scarlet hair behind his ear. Despite its sinister purpose, the bracelet was quite flattering against his pale forearm. Under normal circumstances he might even have considered it as a precious gift; but it wasn’t and he wasn’t in a normal situation.
What kind of seal did that jerk cast? Cory wondered.
He touched the bracelet with his right index finger and an electric shock shot up his digit. Cory groaned behind clenched teeth.
“Fuck you, Ambrose,” Cory grumbled angrily. To ‘seal’ means to lock something in, preventing outside forces from entering or disturbing the object or person. Like the night of the mixed blood’s hellishly ‘necessary’ detox. However, adding an element of pain to a seal – such as Cory’s shackle – was nothing more than sinister and sadistic.
“Ambrose said you wouldn’t be able to remove it,” Lucian spoke rationally from across the cottage. The Beta sat on the only stool in the corner kitchen. His green eyes fixed obediently and obsessively on Cory. The scarlet-haired man glared at the Beta. Lucian had aged handsomely, some of his features had remained the same – such as his dark brown hair that teetered on the edge of black. He still possessed his full-eyed, light green gaze. The green of his eyes were severely misleading, insinuating the Beta was aloof. Lucian was the complete opposite, he was calculating, intelligent, calm and down to earth. The Beta always kept a cool head. Over the four years, however, his other features had matured. His cheekbones had sharpened slightly, his jawline had matured strongly and his nose – straight and slightly broad – had become more defined; much like the rest of his body which had become not only taller but better built. The slightest hint of black stubble was evident above his lips and sharp jawline.
Cory had never thanked Lucian for stopping Grayson from punching him that fateful, yet freeing, night four years ago. Lucian had never treated the mixed-blood badly; not that they had had any meaningful interactions during Cory’s time with the pack. The scarlet-haired man in fact held a soft spot for the Beta. He couldn’t help but wonder if things would have turned out differently if he had been Lucian’s mate instead of Grayson’s. Would Lucian have accepted him? If it wasn’t for the fact that the brown-haired man was obeying Grayson’s bizarre and inhumane orders, Cory would have been more polite and friendly toward the Beta. But obviously that was not the case.
“Are you just going to sit there and stare at me the entire time?”
“Yes.”
“Good, then maybe your fainting conscience will acknowledge my misery,” Cory sassed.
Lucian kept quiet and continued staring at the mixed-blood. He sat up straight with excellent posture and had his arms crossed. His black t-shirt fit him perfectly, not straining over the lean muscles that Cory knew lay beneath the fabric.
The scarlet-haired man sighed in annoyance and stood up.
“Where are you going?” Lucian instantly asked, clearly readying himself to rush to the front door and prevent Cory from leaving.
Cory gritted his teeth in irritation, “To bath, is that alright with warden Grayson?”
He watched in patient frustration as Lucian’s green eyes glazed over slightly, as if he were staring into the far distance. Cory had never been able to access, use or interpret the pack-link. Joy explained what it was as best as she could but, of course, even she didn’t fully understand it. From what he could remember, the pack-link acts as a sort of collective conscience. A hive-mind that all pure blood wolves could tap into to communicate directly into one another’s mind. The theory behind it was shaky but it hypothesised that the hive mind was developed through early evolution as a means for already shifted wolves to communicate complex concepts that weren’t able to be expressed through limited animal sounds. Apparently, in the early days of lycanthropy, the collective consciousness was chaotic and unfiltered – hence every wolf could hear every other wolf’s thoughts and see their memories. Through evolution the channel had developed more sophisticatedly. Now, thoughts could be transmitted to a specific individual or individuals without it being broadcasted to the entire pack.
“Yes, it’s okay.”
“I am honoured that I’ve been granted the esteemed privilege to clean myself,” Cory sarcastically placed his hand on his heart. He walked to the bathroom door that’s lock had been snapped in two when Grayson busted it open a few days ago.
“I need clothes,” the mixed-blood said.
He didn’t look at Lucian but knew the Beta was once again asking his Alpha what to do.
“Grayson says he will bring some of hi-”
“Tell him I’d rather be humiliatingly nude than wear anything of his,” Cory snapped. He now looked at Lucian’s composed face, despite the nonchalant expression Cory could tell that Grayson was yelling at his Beta.
Allow me to make things even worse for both of you, Cory thought in vindictive delight.
“May I… please borrow some of yours?” Cory asked softly, innocently.
“He won’t be happy with that, nor will he allow that,” the Beta said hesitantly.
“Oh well, I guess you’ll be in here with me buck-nude,” the mixed-blood shrugged his shoulders.
Lucian sighed and clearly sent the message to Grayson. Cory watched gleefully at the chaos he was creating – which was playing out on Lucian’s face. His brown eyebrows pulled together and he closed his eyes.
“He says he’s on his way with them now,” the Beta sighed, massaging his temples.
Cory went into the bathroom and ran the bathwater, it gushed out in its regular slightly yellow murky colour. He walked back to his bed and sat down, waiting for Grayson to return with some clothes. His mind wandered slightly, questioning Lucian and Grayson’s relationship.
“Tell me, Lucian, aren’t you upset at the way Grayson treats you?”
Lucian cocked his head slightly to the side, “What do you mean?”
Cory searched for the words, “I know you two are friends but, where do you draw the line between superior and subordinate? Particularly, does he treat you well as both friend and Alpha?”
The Beta frowned at the question, “I step out of line sometimes, which is wrong but he’s okay with that because we’re friends… He has a temper which acts as both a strength and a flaw. We were closer friends before he officially became Alpha, but I made peace with that because he’s just doing the best he can in his new position. He means well, even if it doesn’t come across that way.” Lucian smiled boyishly at the end.
“Did you ever even notice me before Grayson identified me as his mate?” Cory wasn’t sure why he asked that question. Lucian was just so easy to get along with; so patient and tactful.
Lucian’s gaze dropped to the kitchen counter.
Cory smiled sadly, “It’s okay. No one ever di-”
“You were always alone… It didn’t seem to bother you. You didn’t eat meat in the pack mess hall – that is, I never saw you eat meat. I just assumed you were vegetarian or vegan, whatever the difference is,” Lucian spoke softly, still staring at the table.
The younger man’s heart warmed slightly, someone other than Joy had noticed him. He smiled softly, “Vegetarian, I’m vegetarian…”
Lucian finally looked up to meet Cory’s gaze, the Beta also had a soft smile.
“Sometimes…” Cory began but shook his head, “Never mind, it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Tell me?”
Cory sighed and looked down at his hands, “Sometimes I find myself wishing I was your mate instead of Grayson’s.”
“I-” Lucian began but the front door swung open as Grayson came in with a basket of clothes.
“I grabbed some of my clothes as well in case you didn’t like Lucian’s style,” the Alpha spoke as he put the basked next to Cory.
The mixed-blood scowled and sifted through the clothes, feeling Grayson’s gaze on him. He could easily tell whom the clothes belonged to by scent. He picked out a large, dark brown hoodie and grey and blue plaid pyjama pants, “I’ll take these ones.”
Cory knew the Alpha didn’t like him picking Lucian’s clothes but that was precisely the point; if Cory was to suffer then he’ll try to make Grayson suffer as much as he possibly can.
Cory walked to the bathroom and Grayson’s gaze followed until they landed on the slightly murky bathwater, “Cory, you can’t bath in that water, it’s dirty.”
Cory spun around sharply, “Joy bathed in this kind of water for more than two decades and I bathed in it for twelve years – why is it only an issue now?” His hazelnut eyes held pure accusation in them; he was accusing Grayson and his parents for letting Joy live in such horrific conditions without a single care.
Grayson ignored the accusation, despite its truth, “You’re showering in the manor.”
“NO I AM NOT!” Cory yelled then took a deep breath before continuing, “You can take away my magic, my freedom, my privacy but are you really so cruel that you’re going to take away the only source of comfort I can find in this wretched cesspool of despair?”
Grayson narrowed his eyes at Cory with an unreadable expression on his face; the mixed-blood knew that the Alpha was not happy with hearing the objection ‘no’. The white-haired male sighed and turned to leave.
“While Your Majesty is in my presence, I also want a bottle of the strongest bleach you can find,” Cory glared at the tall man’s back.
Grayson stopped and looked at Cory again, suspicion in his eyes, “Why?”
Cory smiled wickedly, “You think I’ll kill myself with it, don’t you? That’s a tempting idea… but I’ve lived through too much to just off myself in the name of escaping your controlling claws. I want it to wash away the scent of your sadistic sorcerer, your bitch-boy Beta and your acrid aroma.”
Grayson scowled, “Fine! Lucian, stay inside while he’s bathing – I’ll get a manor attendee to get the bleach.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
“The door lock is broken!” Cory reminded an inconsiderate Grayson.
“I know, and it’s going to stay that way,” the Alpha scowled and left the cottage.
“Jackass,” Cory spat bitterly and went into the bathroom to wash the smell of sweat off his body. He didn’t bring his shampoo, conditioner, body wash or any toiletries. If he knew he was to be kidnapped he would’ve prepared better but some of Joy’s old products were still left on the side of the tub so he’d just use that.
“Stay in the kitchen, Lucian!” Cory spat, mad at the Beta for so easily submitting to Grayson.
“Co-”
“STAY IN THE KITCHEN!”
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