Dawn Released

"Why, we're as good as dead anyway," Eloise mumbled. Torr's brow wrinkled in concern for her. She didn't want him to worry about her. He needed to worry about himself. If only one of them could make it out of this mess alive, she'd rather he be the one. Her family was safe and in lighting Ramon's pyre, she'd already said goodbye to her pack. She'd done all that she could for the people she cared about. Unfortunately, Torr had worked his way into her heart. She wasn't in love with him. That small piece of her heart already belonged to someone else. It was a blessing Nash didn't realize the depths of her feelings for him. He'd never know and that broke her heart.

She had come to care for Torr like a son. And like she had her daughters, she'd failed him too. The best she had to offer him was to die bravely and nobly. When the time came, she'd do her best to try to manage that. Fear bubbled in her gut. Seff was unpredictable and power crazed. Her hope was that he'd kill her first. Maybe, he'd exhaust his anger on her and leave Torr alone. If she had to stand to the side helplessly and watch him torture Torr to the death, she'd break.

Eloise didn't know the secret Torr kept hidden in that golden locket around his throat. She hoped he'd protected it well from his father. Perhaps, the fact that he had would be a comfort to him after she was gone.

"You don't know that." Torr hovered over the edge of the bed with the spoon clutched tightly in his hand. A bit of cherry sauce dripped onto the comforter, staining the expensive pale fabric bright red, like blood. Had his father managed to beat Eloise so easily? He'd assumed too many things about Eloise over the years. Apparently, his assumption of her strength had been one of his greatest misconceptions. He'd expected many things from her, ruthlessness and cunning. But, he'd never expected her to cave and cower in fear at the idea of her own death.

"We publicly defied him. What do you think is going to happen?"

Torr plunked the spoon down on the plate and set the tray on the floor. His emotions ranged from pity to hopelessness and had come full circle to rage. "So what? We just give up?"

"That was the plan. Catch up on a little sleep and wait for it to be over." Eloise rolled away from Torr and pulled the covers up to her chin. "I just hope he kills us quickly. I don't relish the idea of being tortured to death. And I don't think I could bear to watch you suffer." She'd played dozens of scenarios of her death over and over in her mind. Ways Seff could finisher Torr and her off, hanging, firing squad, guillotine or perhaps, a variation on the theme. Slow torture and slower death was definitely more Seff's style.

She had desperately hoped to see her daughters again, just once more. But, it wasn't in the cards for her. She'd dreamed that she'd see Nash and once more to feel his lips slide over hers, but that wasn't likely either. Her poor omegas, Tracker and Catcher, she was grateful she hadn't brought them here. They would have died trying to save her. It was odd. In her final hours she had only memories to comfort her while she waited in limbo for her death to be staged.

"I can't believe you!" Torr hissed and slammed his fists into the mattress, jarring her body. "More of your pack will die. Their deaths will be for nothing because they believed in a mistress who gave up on them and didn't even have the strength to believe in herself. Stay here if you want, wait to die, but I'm finding a way out."

"How?"

"Out the fucking front door if I have to." Torr's jaw clinched in determination. The room was bugged. The doors were locked. Guards were stationed in the hallway. The windows were barred. But he'd be damned if he was just going to sit here and wait for his father to decide how he would end his life. He'd rather decide it on his own terms.

"That'd be entertaining," Eloise huffed. What an example Seff could make out of Torr.

"I'd rather be gunned down than to sit here and do nothing."

"That's what will probably happen if you step so much as a foot out of that door."

"At least I will have done something besides wallow in self pity. I can't believe you're willing to just give up."

"I'm not wallowing in self pity. I'm simply accepting my fate with grace and dignity." Eloise rolled over in the bed and cracked open an eye to look at Torr. He glared down at her, so fierce and determined. His fists and jaws clenched in rage. "I'm dying bravely, for you."

"Bullshit," Torr spat. "That is such absolute bullshit. I'll be sure to put that on your headstone. She died with grace and dignity. What a fitting although erroneous epitaph that will make. Eloise Collins was a bullshit coward that gave up on her pack and her family is what your headstone should read. Dying bravely is for shit. Tell the truth, Eloise. You are afraid."

"I am not. I just know when I'm beaten," she retorted. Why was Torr trying to pick a fight with her now? Why couldn't he just accept the fact that his life was null and void? He had nothing left to fight for. His father had won and it'd be so much more peaceful for him, if he just accepted it. She didn't want to spend the last minutes, hours, or possibly days of her life fighting with Torr.

"I stuck my neck out for you because I respected you. What a mistake I made. You're nothing but a coward hiding behind a fancy pedigree and good DNA. Weak. Pathetic. Embarrassing. Go ahead and die then. You deserve it. I only hope Jan and Kacie don't find out. Surely word of their mother's final escapades won't reach that far north." Torr's voice was harsh and measured. He was treading on dangerous ground. The air fizzled with the energy building inside of her. At last, he was getting somewhere. The old Eloise, the pack mistress, the defender, was coming back to him.

"Enough!" Eloise flung back the covers and sprang from the bed. Her wolf scratched at the surface of her mind. Begging to be freed, to take care of business and this idiot who didn't know whom he was speaking to. No one threatened her daughters. Even if it was with words, words were dangerous weapons. Her fingers wrapped around the thick of Torr's neck as she knocked him to the ground. "How dare you even breathe Jan's and Kacie's names!"

Torr choked and sputtered as he grappled at Eloise's wrists. He could have easily defended himself from her. He chose not to. He wanted her rippling with fury and her wolf hungry for the taste of blood. Her anger though, needed to be focused on the right person and in the right way. "Welcome back, Eloise. Welcome back to the land of the living."

Eloise released Torr and scrambled to her feet. She extended a hand down to help him up. Tugging him to his feet as he sheepishly gave her his hand. Rubbing his bruised neck gently with her fingertips, she said,. "You certainly know how to piss people off don't you?"

"Ask my father. I've been doing it to him my whole life." Torr cracked his neck and grinned wickedly. He smoothed a hand through his hair and righted his rumpled shirt. "So, exactly how are we going to get out of here?"

"I don't know. But, we're going to or die trying."

"That's the Eloise Collins I know. Good to have you back with the program."

The lock on the door snicked open and Seff, flanked by an army of omegas, waltzed into the room like he owned the place. In his hand he held a syringe filled with white liquid. Gleefully he whistled jovially as he eyed Eloise. He uncapped the needle and squirted a small waterfall of the medication out of the gleaming metal tip. He nodded to the omegas as he approached Eloise.

"What's that?" Eloise struggled beneath the bulk of four omegas, writhing desperately to get free. She didn't know what Seff was up to. But, she could guess it wasn't anything good. The guards roughly tore at her shirt, ripping the sleeve from the bodice. "What are you doing?" Her teeth gritted as Seff approached, wielding the syringe. Her wolf rose to the surface of her mind. Her body burned with the heat of the oncoming shift. Eloise struggled against the power of her wolf. Her wolf wouldn't do her any good. If anything, her wolf, the primitive force trapped inside of her would serve to get her killed that much faster.

Torr grunted and growled at the omegas as they restrained him. He spat and kicked, his limbs flailing desperately as he tried to break their hold on him. He had to get to Eloise. The omegas took turns holding him while others worked him over. Punching him in the face and kneeing him in the gut, they beat him down. The air whooshed out of his lungs and blood poured from the force of their blows.

His wolf howled beneath the surface of his skin. In the process of putting the smack down on him, the omegas had managed to secure a thin, razor sharp length of silver wire around his neck. It was one of his father's favorite tricks and unfortunately, means of execution. Very few pack could control their shifts once the wolf had burst through the barriers of whatever force held it at bay. A wolf's neck was thicker than a human's. The wire would tighten to the point where it cut off the airway and dig deep enough into the skin to sever the carotid arteries and quite possibly the head. There wasn't any coming back from that. And it was a truly gruesome, bloody death.

Grins spread across the omegas' faces as they assaulted him with their fists in their attempt to bring out his wolf. They enjoyed the perks of their job, obviously. Torr scrabbled to maintain control of his wolf. Sucking in breaths and wincing at the slice of the wire into the skin of his neck, he trembled and broke out into a cold sweat from the effort. Panting and gasping for breath, he managed to contain his beast. Blood trickled in a hot line over the hollow of his throat and down his collarbones. Fortunately, his father had trained him well, too well, if he meant to execute him in such a manner. He'd learned to contain the wolf thanks to many, many such lessons in pain and punishment.

Seff chuckled at his son's efforts. It seemed Torr had learned something from him after all. A weaker wolf would be dead by now. Eloise bucked and wiggled in the omegas' hold. She too, had learned the fine art of containing her beast. All the better. He'd hate to have to kill her now that he'd finally figured out a use for her.

Seff plunged the syringe into Eloise's arm and pumped the contents into the muscle. "Well, I'm glad you asked. Since my son wasn't man enough to fulfill his obligations to Dear Old Dad. I'm going to do the deed myself. I'm not risking the chance that I'll have to repeat the act. I'm ensuring that once will be enough. Fertility drugs ought to do the trick. I'm not sure if I can stomach our first and only time together, let alone a second." Finished with the injection, he released the safety on the syringe and withdrew it from her arm. "Do have a good day. And you can forget any attempts of escape. It would not be in your best interests to try. My guards tend to shoot first and ask questions later."

"I told you Eloise is already pregnant," Torr huffed. He stared up at Eloise in sympathy. A tiny bead of blood welled to the surface of her skin from the injection. With one dose, his father had managed to take away any free will she might have had. It was just a matter of time before she welcomed, possibly even begged the bastard to come into her bed.

"Sure she is. Did she tell you that or did you deduct that conclusion all on your own? Surely, you know how babies are made by now son. Step one is that you have to have sex. Perhaps that's the tiny detail you forgot." Seff patted his son on the cheek as he pocketed the syringe. "I think it's time my son found new quarters. I wouldn't want to risk him impregnating the mother of our next generation now. Escort him to his new home. And Eloise," he turned to grin at her, "I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

"Torr!" Eloise grappled at Seff's pant's leg as the omegas dragged Torr out of the room. Alone, Eloise pounded on the door until her fists bled and there were smears on the door. Tears rolled down her cheeks. Her right arm throbbed from the injection and cold dread settled in the pit of her stomach. For him though, for Torr, she would not give up. She would find a way out.

Torr drifted in and out of awareness. Dizzied in a fog from the working over he'd gotten from the omegas. His toes thumped down a flight of stairs and a long hallway, through a wide expanse of living space, then a doorway, then another flight of stairs that led into the darkness. He twisted and fought as the dank, closed in musty smell of a basement invaded his nose. He was tossed roughly into a windowless room that had at one time probably been used to store fruit and vegetables. The scent of mold stung his nose and the cramped, airless room stifled him, making it difficult to breathe. He reached for the thick wooden door, reinforced with steel slats as it clanged shut with a resounding echo. "NO!" Darkness swallowed him up and panic set in.

His father's laughter filtered in from underneath the door. "Once Eloise gives birth to my son, your usefulness will have reached its peak. Enjoy what little time you have left, Torr. It isn't much. And Torr, you'd better work hard to contain that wolf of yours. I have a much better death planned for you than that."

Chapter 27

Luckily, the night was overcast. The scant moonlight filtered by a thick impermeable line of storm clouds. The team got into position, standing point while Carter prepared to dig. The fence was almost a living thing. It hummed with a lethal dose of electricity, almost eager for prey to stumble into it. The silvery links gleamed dully in the spotty pinpricks of light. Razor wire snarled and curled across the top of the fence with jagged points of metal sticking up like teeth, ready to devour. The fence loomed over Carter's head, mocking and almost daring him to take it on.

Carter sank the sharp point of the shovel into the dry earth beneath his feet. Nothing grew here, not even weeds. The hole wouldn't be easy to hide. Shovel full after shovel full of ground piled around him as he dug. Feeling for the end of the fence with the point, he stood in a hole almost waist deep before the shovel hit nothing but the earth below him. Someone had taken time to bury this fence deep. Someone hadn't wanted anyone to get in or to get out. It seemed like hours had passed before he burrowed beneath the fence and emerged from the deep hole he'd tunneled on the other side. He wiggled free from the hole and motioned for Shayla to come through.

Shayla gathered her courage and dropped into the hole. The darkness swallowed her as she glanced uncertainly up at the faces of her team members. She felt a little like Alice falling down the rabbit hole. Twisting and shimmying her shoulders into the tight, confining space, she wiggled into the narrow tunnel beneath the fence. The air was stifling and the opening barely wide enough to wedge her body through.

She fought back the wave of panic at being so confined. It felt like she was crawling into her own grave. How Carter had managed to wedge his body through the hole was beyond her. He was taller and broader than she, long and lean, though. And insightful enough to make the hole no bigger than it had to be. Finally, fresh air wafted across her face. Relief washed over her as she kicked free of the tunnel and reached for Carter's hand.

Carter pulled Shayla free of the hole and sat her on her feet. "You ok?" He could hear the panic in her mind shouting in his consciousness. Her mind ran through dozens of emotions within a few seconds. Terror. Fear. Worry. She wasn't afraid for herself, only for the others. Of what would happen if she screwed something up and was discovered. If somehow, Seff learned of their plan.

"Yeah." Shayla answered as she brushed her hair and clothes free from clods of freshly dug earth. Her heart pounded in her throat and her hands trembled. She should have thought about what she'd volunteered to do more carefully. But, she had to go through with this for Eloise's sake and for Ramon's memory. She had to be brave. Pretending was going to be the hard part. In a way she wished that she really were as clueless as she had to act. She knew too much. If Seff discovered, if she somehow tipped him off, they'd all die.

Carter reached down and pulled Emil from the hole. Plopping him unceremoniously onto a mound of dirt. "You both know what to do. Get in, do what you need to do, and get out. Leave the rest to us." He rested his hand on Shayla's forehead and brushed her bangs free of her sweaty skin. "I will be with you." He filled her mind with his presence, hoping his belief, false or not, would somehow reassure her.

Shayla shivered as a cool wind blew through her mind. Carter was everywhere in her head, in every thought. "I can do this."

"Yes, I know you can." Carter jumped down the hole, shimmying through the cramped tunnel beneath the fence as Emil and Shayla filled it with loosely packed dirt behind him. The hole would be easy to find. One step and someone would sink right into it. Hopefully Shane had come through and detailed the guards far from the spot. He had to keep his mind focused, otherwise she'd read his thoughts and know how deeply his doubts ran. He didn't think their chances of coming out of this without casualties, if at all, were very great. It was a simple issue of numbers. The wolves simply outnumbered them and the odds were not in their favor.

Carter covered up the hole on his side of the fence and shot Shayla and Emil a nod. The dirt was loose and the tunnel could easily be unearthed, opening it would take only a few seconds with his strength and speed. "Lets move out and let them work," he said to Catcher and Tracker as he turned to disappear into the night.

Shayla gave Emil a good luck squeeze around the shoulders and trotted off through the narrow strip of brambles and stubbly trees that separated the fence from the main housing quarters. Ramon and she had shared a small three-room unit on the other side of the complex. Going back there, sleeping in the bed they'd made love in so many times would break her heart. What other choice did she have though? Any variation in her routine would raise suspicion. Ramon had only been dead a few days and she was a widow in mourning. She was expected to continue to stay in their home and continue on until another came along and took his place.

Hanning camped out in the gardener's quarters instead of returning home, cursing his stupidity for being trapped inside the fence. His wife and son were out there and here he was, like an idiot stuck inside. At least they were safe. He had been hesitant around the vampire and the strange wolves from the north at first. But, Catcher and Tracker, and Kacie trusted them with their lives. He and the others had little choice but to accept their offer. They needed all the help they could get. He had no way to get word to anyone. All he could do was sit tight and wait it out until the right time to vie for his freedom.

He had spent all day helping to clear away the rubble from the fire. Ramon's bones were scattered among the ashes. And although Seff didn't know it, he and a few others had snuck the remains away and scattered them properly. It hadn't been much of a funeral. Hardly what Ramon deserved, but at least he'd gotten laid to rest.

Rebellion was brewing. Eloise had fanned the flame and it was beginning to catch like wildfire. This was a dangerous time. As fast as the flames spread, they could be just as quickly extinguished. Seff was adamant that the platform be reconstructed immediately. Luckily, materials were scarce and Seff needed the lumber they'd managed to find for his new training compound. The supplies for the platform would be here in the morning. He was supposed to report in first thing to help rebuild the structure that could spell the destruction of his people.