The thing about being locked away in a dungeon meant you had a lot of free time on your hands. Nik welcomed it, because he had a lot to think about.

He’d been pacing relentlessly since they’d locked him up in here a few hours ago, mulling over everything again and again until he thought he’d go insane.

How could he have missed it? He’d sensed something was wrong with his mate, but he’d been too distracted by all this other bullshit to pay attention to it.

Because the doppelgänger wanted you to be distracted, his logic said. You did nothing wrong.

Which was bullshit—he’d failed her. Not only that, but he’d failed this pack when he’d let that thing take over.

He pounded a fist against the wall, rattling the bars. How could he have been so stupid and so blind?

Not much was known about doppelgängers. They usually weren’t this careless or this reckless.

Which made him wonder… was this thing on a suicide mission? Had it finally gotten to a point where its supposedly “noble cause” was worth more than keeping the secrets of its species?

That thought scared him the most.

It said, after all, that it had been trying to save the world. Did it mean by stopping Mistress Black? Was that why it had Alara go after that dagger? Whose side was this fucking thing on?

Guilt wracked him. He’d never felt more like a failure in his life. He’d felt guilty when Mom, Dad, and Elijah had left, as if it were somehow his fault. Which was stupid. He knew they’d made their own decisions, and he’d made peace with that long ago.

But this… maybe it was his fault.

He leaned his head against the cool metal bars, breathing deeply and closing his eyes.

So what if it was? The one good thing his dad had taught him was to own up to his mistakes. He would make this right. He had to. He had people counting on him. His mate needed him, now more than ever.

Hold on, Alara. I promise I’ll set you free.

He didn’t know how, he didn’t know when. But when he made a promise, he damn well kept it.

Voices approaching jerked his attention upward, toward the stairs. His hackles rose, and his inner wolf growled as Ralph appeared along with three other men from the perimeter watch. Counting the two guards already on duty, that made five.

Nik grinned. He was almost insulted if this was all the doppelgänger had sent after him.

“Time to go, hotshot,” Ralph said, smirking as he unlocked the door to Nik’s cell. “My boss has big plans for you.”

“Funny. I thought I was your boss.” Two men stepped forward to grab Nik by the arms to lead him out.

“Not anymore.” Ralph glared at him. “I can’t say I won’t enjoy this.”

“Nor can I say the same for this.”

Summoning his strength, Nik jerked free and quickly dispatched the two guards who’d been holding him. “Not cuffing me was your first mistake.”

The remaining two guards, standing alongside Ralph, raised their guns. “Wait!” Ralph brought up a hand. “She needs him alive.”

“What for?” Nik demanded.

“Don’t know. Wouldn’t tell us. But I’m sure it’s nothing you don’t deserve, you piece of filth.”

“Why do you hate me so much?” Nik couldn’t care less, but he kept talking, hoping to distract Ralph long enough to form an escape plan.

“Because you think you’re tough. You think you know loss.” Ralph’s voice warbled a little. “But you don’t. You don’t know shit.”

Nik stared at him. The hurt, longing, and regret shining in the other wolf’s eyes twisted at his heart.

And in that moment, he knew he couldn’t hurt him.

“Sorry, fellas,” Nik said. “I’m afraid I can’t participate in whatever flawed plan this doppelgänger has thought of.” Quick as a shadow, he lunged for the guard to Ralph’s right, the smallest of the three, and disarmed him before he could draw breath. Nik hooked an arm around the guy’s throat, holding him to his chest as he pointed the gun at his head.

Was he going to pull the trigger? Hell no. But they didn’t know that.

And if there was one thing he was damn good at, it was playing poker.

Ralph and the other guy—Nate, Nik finally remembered—growled at him. Their eyes flashed gold, warring with the silver. “That’s low for an Alpha,” Ralph said. “But I suppose we shouldn’t be surprised.”

“Never underestimate a Johnson,” Nik said, grinning like a kid up to no good. Shoving the hostage at them, he fired a round into the overhead fluorescent lighting. The bulbs shattered, sending a shower of sparks and glass raining down on the three wolves. They ducked, throwing up their hands to partially shield them.

Nik bolted.

Bounding up the stairs, he burst through the door and down the hall, heading for the main storage room. Since it was filled with magical paraphernalia, there had to be something in there that he could use to stop the doppelgänger. He needed to help Alara, even if he died trying. On one hand, he could try to leave and run for help. But he didn’t want to leave his mate vulnerable to the whims of that monster, and besides, he didn’t know if she’d even be here when he got back. Or what the doppelgänger would have her do while he was gone. He couldn’t risk everyone else’s safety any more than he could risk hers.

For all he knew, that thing could take Alara and everyone he cared about straight to Mistress Black. It had said it’d been running from her, but that could just as easily have been a lie. But if it actually was running away, why? What had it done? Was it an escaped prisoner and wanted revenge for what Mistress Black had done to it? Or maybe it was lying. Was it really part of Mistress Black’s extended network of spies, sent to destroy them from the inside out? Was the whole “running in fear” thing a sob story meant to trick them into letting their guards down so it could kill them all more easily? His heart threatened to cave in on itself in a black hole of heartache. The thought of losing Alara forever was unbearable.

The storage room wasn’t far, thankfully, since it was located on the lower levels of the manor. Running for it, he quickly shut the door, knowing someone had to have seen him come down this way. Suddenly the extra security cameras he’d had installed in a moment of paranoia, believing he was keeping his pack safe, sounded like a fucking stupid idea.

C’est la vie.

Looking around quickly, he scanned row after row of bottled potions and dusty spellbooks. This room had never sat well with him. The air stank of magic, which clung to the worn pages of the spellbooks like cheap cologne.

He stopped before a glowing, golden bottle. It looked… hopeful.

Unfortunately, the label was in some language he couldn’t read.

Damn. Too bad there wasn’t a Hooked on Phonics for paranormal languages.

“I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”

He whirled around.