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Liam
Eleven o’clock came too fast. I stood outside the old mill, looking up at the grimy building as memories from the last time I was there flooded my mind. I hated that I was back. I’d sworn I’d never go there again, but my pack needed my help.
As I walked down the old gravel walkway to the entrance, two guards stepped out of the shadows, armed with exceptionally large guns.
I recognized the larger of the two from when I was a regular there.
“Liam,” his warm booming voice cut through the quiet as he slapped my shoulder. “I thought they were kidding when they told me you were coming back.”
“Hey, Charlie. Good to see you again.”
“You too. Alpha is inside waiting on you.”
“Thanks.”
Charlie moved to the side, and I stepped into the small entryway. Every window was covered, making the room dim with exposed light bulbs that cast deep shadows. It was just one of the many ways we made sure to disorient and control captives.
I looked down the long hallway to my right remembering the way to that dreaded room. The first step was forced but with each following one, it grew a little easier knowing that the sooner I got the interrogation over with, the sooner it would be done, and I could go on my nightly run. At night, not many dared to go into the Southside park, unless they were looking for trouble. That was where I could let my wolf run free, at least for a couple of hours.
I wanted nothing more than to get the day over with. There were innocent people at risk. That man put innocent people, men and women that I work with, in danger because he betrayed us. I needed to get information from him. I needed to know who he told the information to and what details he shared so that we could protect the people he left exposed.
I reached the room with chairs lining a wall and the two-way mirror against the other side. It was the viewing area, but no one was there. Moments after I walked into the room, the door on the opposite side opened revealing my alpha, Mr. Stone, one of his associates, and my old buddy Chase.
“We are so glad you were able to make it tonight.” Stone reached out his hand and I shook it. He knew I wasn’t happy to be there. Not that it truly mattered to him as long as I got the job done.
“Let’s get this over with. Is he already in there?”
“He’s waiting for you.”
“Any specifics I need to know?”
“We’ve already prepped him. We just need to know what intel he passed along. Anything you can get will help. Then, we can guide the questioning depending on what he says.”
“Sounds good.”
I yanked the thick steel door open and took a deep breath before stepping inside. For this to work he couldn’t see any hesitation or reluctance to do what needed to be done.
“Thanks for waiting on me before things got started.”
“It’s not like I had much choice,” He snapped.
“You have made some people very angry.” I kept my tone casual as I strolled deeper into the room. I approached the empty chair in the corner and grabbed the back of it. The legs dragged across the concrete floor, scraping and screeching until even I fought not to cringe at the noise.
I placed the chair just out of his reach though he was restrained with silver chains. I plopped down casually and studied him for a minute. His face was beaten and bruised with heavy bags under his eyes. They’d been using sleep deprivation tactics. My guess was that they had also been deploying sensory bombardment techniques which were extra taxing on a wolf, whose senses were already heightened. That usually consisted of placing the detainee inside a bright white room with blinding lights that would periodically turn on or off. That way the subject could never adjust.
Along with the lights, there would be loud, obnoxious noises. The high pitch would feel as though the person’s eardrums were going to explode. That would go on for days. The lack of sleep and mental exhaustion made it less likely that the subject would be able to lie. Their brain wouldn’t be sharp enough to maintain their story if it weren’t the truth.
It was a time-consuming yet highly effective form of interrogation. I was glad they had already gotten that part out of the way before I arrived. I didn’t want to stay there for days. I wanted it over. I hoped the guy would crack easily so I wouldn’t have to resort to anything too terrible. But when it had to do with our pack's safety, there wasn’t much my alpha wouldn’t do.
“I need you to tell me what information you compromised and to whom.”
“Why should I tell you? I’m either dying here tonight or rotting in a cell.” I wasn’t surprised he still held onto his aggression.
“True. You’ll die either way. But how you die, when you die, and how painful it will be is all determined by what answers you give me here in this room.”
“Why should I make this any easier on you?”
“On me? Oh no, it’s a question of how easy you want to make this on yourself.” I pulled out my pocket knife and opened the blade. “You see I don’t want to torture you. That’s more work for me.” I played with the silver-bladed knife in my hands. Sometimes it wasn’t so much about what I actually did to the subject. It was important to keep him on edge—to make him question what I might do with the knife. “I’d be just as happy if you told me everything I needed to know now. I could send you to a nice comfy cell and be done for the night. But that’s up to you.”
“I’m not telling you shit.”
I let out a loud sigh and stood up from my chair. He instinctively cringed, thinking I was about to hit him, but I didn’t. I turned my back to him and paced the floor. He wouldn’t be easy. I wouldn’t be able to get him to talk with simple tactics like that.
I glanced toward the two-sided mirror and nodded. It was time to bring in some help. Moments later two large men entered the room.
“Let’s get him shackled,” I commanded.
They moved the chair out of the way and slipped on leather gloves before digging through the small, unassuming wooden chest in the corner. The smaller of the two men pulled out the silver chains and manacles.
He hissed in pain as they wrapped the chains around his wrists. Being bound in silver would not only be painful in itself, it would also prevent him from shifting or healing during torture. His wolf would be clawing to get out and stop the pain but would never be granted that reprieve. A sickening feeling settled in the pit of my stomach as they chained the weak, struggling man until he could barely stand on his tiptoes.
The position was extremely uncomfortable. It strained the legs and shoulders all at once. It was impossible to find any relief. The more uncomfortable I could make him, the more likely he was to talk.
The two men left once he was secure again. Alone with him again, it was time to get started.
“I need answers,” I demanded as soon as the heavy metal door slammed shut. “I know you’re tired. You haven’t slept in how long? Just tell me what I want to know, and this can all be over.”
“Go to hell.”
I laughed, not letting him rattle me in the least as I got right up in his face, keeping my voice low and eerily calm. “Didn’t you know? We’re already there and you—you’re my special guest.” I patted his cheek hard enough to let it sting before stepping back.
“Now, tell me who you were sending intel to?”
Silence.
“Not feeling chatty?” He glared at me, so I continued. “That’s okay. I’ll talk. You obviously aren’t important to whoever they are. They let you take the fall. They aren’t coming to get you. You were just a chess piece they used and now you’re nothing to them. Why do you hold loyalty to someone who doesn’t deserve it?”
“I’m not telling you anything so you might as well kill me now.”
“You’re not going to get out of this that easy.”
I strolled casually over to the box and began to dig around again, searching for my next tool to entice him to talk. It was going to be a long day. Things were going to get ugly, and I knew it. I would have to let my training take over. Otherwise, there was no way of making it through it emotionally intact.
I shot up in bed, sweat covering my body. I’d dreamt of being back in that room—of the torture I’d inflicted. Never again.
Almost a week had passed but it was still fresh in my mind. It had been close to three in the afternoon by the time I made it home. In the end, he finally talked. They always did. I didn’t want to think about what I had allowed myself to do—again.
I’d showered and changed out of my blood-stained clothes before leaving, shifted and ran through the trees that surrounded the old mill, but I still needed a shower when I got home. I stripped away my clothes as I walked to the bathroom and turned on the cascade of scalding water. I stood there for a while, letting the hot water pummel my body until the streams turned cold. I fell into my bed, completely drained. I wanted to sleep the rest of the day and night until my mind forgot everything about that trying day.
But sleep hadn’t helped. My wolf was restless and I found myself waking at all hours. The run hadn’t helped him burn off the energy from the torture I had to inflict on another of our kind. I had to catch sleep between missions whenever I could, but I needed to find a way to rest. Sleep deprivation could lead to mistakes on the job.
The light through my window was dim. I glanced at my clock. 6:00pm. At least I’d managed two hours.
I slung the covers off, jumped out of bed, and went to the kitchen to make myself a sandwich.I poured a whiskey sour, and took my drink to the balcony to soak in the cold evening air.
As I leaned back in my chair, movement in the window across the alley caught my attention. It was her, the brunette I’d watched move in last week—in just a towel.
‘Mine,’ my wolf growled at the sight of her. ‘I wonder if she’s cold. Maybe we should go ask if she needs to be warmed up? I shook my head and chased away the thoughts that followed. Pervert.
I knew it was creepy to sit there in the dark and watch the girl as she got ready for who knows what, but I couldn’t help myself. Using my binoculars to get a closer look was beyond the scope of normal. I knew it, but I didn’t care. I shouldn’t have kept watching but damn, she was sexy the way she hurried around her apartment in that little scrap of cloth.
She bent down to dig through a box, and I had to take a sip of my whiskey to keep from groaning as the towel rode up the back of her thighs. That woman had curves that could make a grown man cry.
‘Mine. Claim her. Mark her.”
Get a hold of yourself.
Maybe it had just been too long since I’d gotten laid. The guys did say I worked too much. In any case, after the day I had, I needed a good distraction.
I admired her as she got ready, though I did turn my head as she got dressed. I wasn’t a total perv.
She really needed to get curtains. Any sick bastard could be watching her through those bare windows. Like you.
A flash of anger took over as I thought about someone else watching her like I was.
I didn’t know the girl, but there was something about her. Something that called to that primal voice in my head and drew me to her. I needed to meet her. I needed to be close to her.
‘We need a plan,’ my inner wolf echoed.
There had to be some way of meeting her that wasn’t as creepy as spying on her through the window.
She was definitely going out on the town the way she was getting fixed up. Jealousy flared again as I realized she could be going on a date.
‘We’ll kill the bastard,’ my wolf growled.
I tensed as she rushed toward her door. I couldn’t see what she was doing but I assumed she was on the intercom because moments later she hurried to put on a jacket and grabbed her purse.
I got up from my chair and moved to the railing. Looking over, a bulky guy with a petite vixen on his arm stood waiting on the sidewalk.
Were these the people she was going out with?
They looked like they were together, which gave me some comfort. They could just be her friends. Friends were good. A boyfriend? Not so much. From my balcony, I was able to watch the three of them walk down the street. I wished I could go down there, introduce myself, talk to her, ask if I could join her but how could a beautiful, sweet girl like her ever fit into my twisted messed up world?
I was dragged from my thoughts by the shrill ring of my phone. “Woods.”
“Hey man.”
“Hey, Chase. What’s up?”
“Got a job for you. It’s short notice, but it needs to be done tonight and it’s on your side of town.”
“Okay. Send me the details.”
“Will do.” He ended the call, and I went inside to get ready.