"So tell me why we got to die and kill each other one by one."
~ Lenny Kravitz, Are You Gonna Go My Way
Please don't forget to comment, follow, and vote!
Knock knock.
In his bed, Sully ignored the knocking and rolled over, praying to God whoever had the audacity to wake him would go die instead.
The knock came again.
He swung a heavy arm over his eyes with a groan.
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
"You gotta be kidding me." He swore under his breath, yanked the blankets off him, and jogged down the stairs. He ripped open the door, scaring the poor human half to death. "What?"
"He's gone!" Sophie cried.
"Who's gone?"
"Cillian! He- he was next to me, sleeping, and when I woke up, he was gone!" She exclaimed, tears falling heavy and fast down her cheeks.
"Look, just... just relax. Maybe he took a walk to clear his head." He tried to deescalate the situation.
She frantically shook her head, her eyes wide and panicked. "No, something's not right. I-I know he's gone."
With a disgruntled sigh, still in his pajamas, Sully stepped outside and guided her to the pack house. His parents, along with a few others were quick to meet them there.
"We're heading out." Andrew stated, nodding to Sophie. "Why don't you sit with Angie?"
Angie shook her head, as did her daughter in law. "That's her husband. My son out there. We're going to look too."
"Hold on." Sully interrupted, pulling up security footage on a tablet. "This was not even thirty minutes ago."
On the screen, it showed Cillian leaving the house, in nothing but his flannel pajama pants and no shirt, taking off into the woods.
"Why would he do that?" Sophie exasperated.
"He probably went for a run to clear his head. The less clothes we wear when we shift, the better." Was Sully's reasoning.
She shook her head. "No, Cillian hates the cold. He's always bundled up no matter what."
"He can't be far. He might be too far now to see him on the cameras, but I'm sure if we hurry, we can find him." Andrew butt in, wanting to reassure his wife and Sophie. "Why don't you two stay here since we have a good idea where he's at."
"I want to come-"
"No." Sully interjected. "If worse comes to worse and it is the humans that took him, they'll want you next. It's better you stay here. We'll be back soon."
Minutes went by. Hours went by. Days went by. No Cillian.
To stay safe, Sophie had been instructed to sleep at her in-law's guest room, guards outside her door 24/7. Though she was constantly surrounded by people, she had never felt so alone. She was sick again. So horribly weak, tired, achy, and just overall bad. It wasn't a sickness that was contagious. Broken hearts didn't have that effect. She only assumed Cillian was sick as well.
There was a light knock at her door. She decided to ignore it, wanting to be unbothered for the time being. She only burrowed under her blankets even more. Yet, the knocking persisted- until the door opened.
She didn't move, didn't sit up, didn't react. The bed dipped beside her and finally, she looked up. "Hi, Mrs. Thompson." She rasped, not even apologizing for ignoring her knocks.
Sat beside her on the edge of her bed, Angie smiled. "Hi, honey. I brought you some soup." She didn't mention how Sophie didn't join them for dinner. She understood why.
"Thank you," she mumbled and sat up, shivering as the blankets bundled at her waist.
Guilt washed over her features. Angie had been nothing but kind to Sophie and all she's been doing is sulking in bed, not even thinking to ask Cillian's own mother how she's feeling. She just got her son back, just to be taken away again.
"Mrs. Thompson?" She whispered and she hummed in reply. "I'm..." the words died in her mouth.
Before she could say anything more, Angie beat her to it. "You better not be fixin' to say you're sorry."
Sophie couldn't help but let out a small laugh at that.
"I don't blame you for any of this, or him. I just want the both of you to be safe." She said, her tone soft and sweet, but there was a finality to her words at the same time.
Sophie nodded her head, processing. Her words slow and well thought out, she muttered, "I just want you to know that... that you might not have known your son for the past several years, but he's a good man, Mrs. Thompson. A great one. He's so kind, gentle in his words, gentle in his actions. It doesn't make him a coward or less of a leader, because he can be authoritative and take charge when he needs to be. He always puts others first, even though others have done nothing but hurt him in the past. He's so brave. I mean, he was scared to shower when we first met." She sniffled, thinking back on the memory. "Something as simple and as enjoyable as a shower, they made a living hell for him. I don't know how he's still... still doing life. I don't know how most men can go through what he's been through and live to tell about it...."
Angie remained quiet, and it wasn't until then Sophie became a little more insecure in herself. Maybe her mother in law didn't like her as much as she thought. I mean, why would she? She probably hates humans as much as the rest of them.
"Mrs. Thompson, I know I might not be the ideal mate you saw Cillian having, being a human and all, but..." she sucked in a deep breath. "I just want you to know, I may not be able to protect him physically, but I will always protect his heart."
Angie placed a hand over Sophie's, making her look up. A quiet gasp escaped her when she found tears in her mother in law's eyes. "Thank you."
Her mouth opened and closed a couple times, unsure what she meant.
Angie smiled a watery smile and said, "he's come so far because he's had a strong and trustworthy hand to hold through it all." She spoke softly. "Not too many humans would give him a chance. Not only because of what he initially first did to you, and his past, but also because of what he is... despite it all, you helped my son through every single thing. I couldn't ask for a better woman for my son."
Sophie leaned forward and Angie immediately opened her arms, enveloping her into a loving embrace. "Thank you." Sophie sniffled.
"Thank you." She corrected, squeezing her tighter. "I couldn't have asked for a better mate for my son. We'll get him back."
•••
When Cillian woke up again, he woke up prepared to swing. Silver restraints kept him from doing so, making him growl and yank against them. His chest rose and fell quickly in sharp, deep breaths as he tried to break free.
"Easy there, mutt. Don't want to tire yourself out already."
The haunting voice sent a chill down his spine, his frantic movements immediately ceased. He couldn't stop his body from trembling, knowing nothing but torture was to come.
General Hoppers rounded the corner, a wide grin on his lips. It wasn't eerie, nor sarcastic, or creepy. It seemed genuine- which made it all the more terrifying. "Good to see you again, Project X354183." He chuckled, somewhere where he couldn't see him. Even Cillian's head was strapped down to the table, the only thing able to really move being his eyes. "Missed you."
There was a hand on his shin and Cillian thrashed, the silver restraints screeching as they actually began to give away and become loose. Fortunately for him, the general didn't notice.
"Easy, now. Preserve your energy. We have work to do." General Hoppers explained.
"And if I refuse?"
A dark chuckle tumbled past his lips until it morphed onto a full on belly laugh. "Refuse?" He cackled. "I have your kryptonite!"
His heart sunk. Sophie.
Finally, his face came into Cillian's view. With a sickening, twisted smile, his voice dropped to a threatening whisper. "You refuse to do what I say, I do what I want to her. You don't hurt the people I tell you to hurt, I hurt her. You don't kill the people I tell you to kill, I break her to the point she only wishes I kill her instead. Am I understood?"
A deep growl rumbled in his chest, only making Hoppers laugh more.
"You know, better yet, I'll have you do it."
"Like hell-"
"You don't think I could make you?" The general questioned, his head tilting to the side. "You think you wandered here all by yourself? You think you have free will?"
Cillian's heart sank. The chip in his head. It wasn't just a tracker. It didn't just inflict pain. It controlled him.
With a loud clank, Cillian's head and arms busted free from the restraints, his hands immediately wrapping around the general's neck. It took everything in Cillian not to squeeze Hoppers throat until his eyes popped out of his head. One thing he knew about General Hoppers was that he was man of his word. He never bluffed. That is, he thought that until recently.
He seethed through clenched teeth, "give me one reason why shouldn't I kill you, right here, right now?"
He wheezed out a laugh through his suppressed windpipe. "You kill me, and someone takes my place." He rasped with a snarl. "You think I'm not replaceable? You think I don't report to my own higher ups? I'm only following orders, just as you did. This is for the greater good. It's serving our country."
"It's not serving if I'm forced to do it." Cillian shot back. "There is no greater good if innocent lives are at stake."
Hoppers only took a step closer, taunting him to finish the job. "Do it. Be the monster I made you to be. See what happens. I can't promise the next man after me will be any better than me."
With a sickening snap, Cillian broke his neck, his body dropping to the floor with a thud.
Before he could get his legs free, a dart hit his neck and everything went black.
•••
Please don't forget to comment, follow, and vote!!
This week we gained over 5,000 reads, bringing us to 23k reads, we hit #1 in new story, and #2 in alpha!? Thank you everyone so much!!
Again, I'm so sorry for the slower updates. I don't want to get too personal, but there's just a lot going on in my life right now. I feel awful for having to make y'all wait, but I have to prioritize real life first. I really appreciate you all understanding and for all the love y'all have for this book.
Question of the chapter: what do you think will happen next?