Chapter 2

• Griffin stood there facing the window that was an inch away from the cage. To his captor, it would appear he was looking out at the blustery weather, and that’s what he wanted him to believe. The light was just right in this space to allow him to use the clear pane as a mirror and watch the other man. He wasn’t locked in the room by any physical walls, just wire. His father, Alberto Tomas had put a tracker in his body. How had he not known this? When had he done that? At first, he thought it was a ploy to keep him cooperative and stay in the cage and then a big man named Raymond had shown him with a bug detector. He scowled and looked at the floor for a moment, did his brother watch his movements and only display false trust in him? Trust was the wrong word, Aiden had never hidden his disdain for their shared blood.
• Flicking his gaze back to the glass, he watched the man that was here to ‘protect’ him. They had him in a cage. It was roughly eight feet by eight feet and contained a small cot. He knew the size because once his head had cleared from being knocked out, he’d paced it a lot. The wire was to keep any signal from his transmitter from being detected. Graham, he only knew the man’s name because the big man, had called him that, had been left to watch over him and feed him.
• Three days ago, he’d been sent to retrieve an alpha woman and had woken up here. He was glad for one part of this at least, that Aiden hadn’t gotten the woman. It would be one Griffin wouldn’t have to watch as his brother’s lackeys crushed her free will and erased all that she was, and turned her into an empty shell. He hated seeing when the light was no longer in their eyes, when they’d broken and given up hope.
• He turned and watched Graham sit down and look at the small tv screen. His own fate was questionable at this point. He hadn’t been asked any significant questions, threatened, or beaten since he’d woke up in the back of the vehicle with the alpha woman and the man, that as it turned out, was not working for his brother, but was part of the Shifter Alliance. He’d been scanned, fed, and for the most part, ignored. He was used to being ignored, had been for most of his life—but having nothing to do but sit in here was going to get to him if it went on much longer.
• This wasn’t the Alliance that his brother swore about and insulted often. He expected feral lunatics based on the information he’d overheard, but so far, he’d only seen intelligent, reasonable people. What worried him more than anything was that they couldn’t keep him indefinitely in this cage. Then what happened? He’d overheard a quiet conversation, and as far as he knew they were waiting for a doctor that could safely remove the tracker that rested in the muscle at the back of his neck. If removed wrong, it could paralyze him. Reaching, he ran his fingers along the muscles, trying to feel it. There was a small lump, but he’d always had it—moving his hand he felt the other side. There was no lump. His father had had it put in when he was quite young because it had been there for as long as Griffin could remember. Other than that, he hadn’t overheard anything pertaining to his current situation.
• Why would it matter for him to have this inside his body? At what point had he ever been able to wander free? Never. The pickup for the Alpha woman had been the first errand he had been sent on alone. The reason for that was that things were happening to finally stop what his family was doing and there hadn’t been anyone free to ‘escort’ him.
• His one guard had told him some of what was happening, how the shifters were fighting back, and for the most part, winning. He’d had to clamp down on his emotions and not cheer out loud when he’d been told. It was about time that someone did something to stop his family and the others that worked with them.
• He turned around to look directly at Graham again. Family. Could he even call them that? Family did not torment and humiliate other members. Not that he had a lot of proof of that, he didn’t know anyone outside the immediate circle that worked with his brother. Even thinking the word brother made his stomach churn. Aiden was no brother, just as his father hadn’t been a dad either. A sire would not parade his child around like a showpiece of ‘look what I did,’ not in the evil sense he had. Griffin couldn’t relate to those he shared blood with at all.
• The sound of Graham’s phone chirping dragged him out of his thoughts. He went over and lay on the cot and closed his eyes, not wanting it to be obvious he was going to listen to the conversation.
• “Yeah.”
• While this vacation from Aiden was nice, and no one was barking orders at him, Griffin hoped that soon someone would communicate with him, maybe give him a clue what fate had in store for him. Graham gave off the vibe that he wasn’t interested in conversation, so he’d used the last few days to sleep, because for the first time since he was a child he could without worrying about something happening to him.
• “Visibility is next to nothing up here.” He chortled, “when do I panic and worry she’s out there lost in this?”
• Someone was heading here. Was it the medic to remove his tracking chip, or tracker, whatever it was called?
• “I’ve never worked with her, but I’ve heard she’s straight-up scary.” He laughed, “yeah, we’ll be fine.” He heard the chair scrape the floor. “You want me to head back down?” The sound of the tv was lowered, “yeah, might take me a day to get there, so tell him to wait. These machines are solid, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.” A few moments of silence, “sounds good, boss. Yeah, still chilling and catching up on sleep. Will do.”
• He heard the man’s boots on the floor. “Hey. Do you want a shower before I go?”
• Griffin opened his eyes and looked out through the cage at him. “Yes.” He swung his feet to the floor and stood up. Grabbing the silver blanket from the end of the cot, he wrapped it around his shoulders. He didn’t know what it was made of, just that it was heavy, and blocked any signals. For whatever reason, the only spaces protected in this place were his cage and the bathroom. Who put their bathroom inside a Faraday cage? He didn’t know who owned this place, but they’d obviously built it with captivity and privacy in mind. He glanced out the windows as he walked. There was nothing to see but white in any direction when he looked out.
• Graham stood at the door for a moment before locking him in. “I’m going to be heading out soon.” He put his hands on his hips and looked at him, “look I can’t imagine being a half-breed, but just take a bit of advice, be straight with them when they start asking questions.” He shrugged, “I’ve heard the prince is a fair man.”
• Griffin was going to meet the prince of the Alliance? He would process that later. He made sure the blanket covered the back of his neck, “like I’m in a body that is the wrong size.” He told him. Graham’s confused look almost made him smile, “what it’s like being a half-breed.” He clarified.
• Graham nodded, “that’s got to bite, man. Sorry.”
• Sorry? He was apologizing like he had played some part in his father’s sadistic world. He shrugged it off, “take what you’re given and make it work.” He mumbled it and turned his back to the door, so Graham wouldn’t try to strike up any sort of conversation. Right now, he needed the solitude the shower offered him. Hot water sluiced over his skin and the sound drowned out all noise. He smirked when the door closed, he knew his mother wasn’t one of those water people, or he’d still be able to hear in the water. At least that was his assumption.
• He didn’t know what they planned for him, or what was next in this life for him, but he did know that he was never going back to a life of torment with his family. Even if the cost was his life.