Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Nadia’s fear was palpable it was impossible for Angel not to perceive it. She was vibrating with it on her knees as she looked at him with a terrified gaze. Angel watched the guard as he got close to their location, still brandishing a gun forward, scouting the perimeter.

Angel shifted on his knees to have a better view and Nadia’s hand shot out to lay over the one he placed on his right thigh. When Angel reverted his gaze to meet hers, she shook her head, silently begging him to not get confrontational with a man with a gun. Tears streamed down her face. Angel’s heart fluttered at the show of emotion for his sake and he raised a tightened fist to nudge her chin gently before using his fingers to wipe off her tears. She shut her eyes and wrapped her two hands around his wrist, holding his hand to her face.

The crunch, crunch sound of the man’s booted feet sinking into the layered snow continued to sound from below until he was just standing by the side of their tree. He then stood there for a while with his eyes roaming the grounds. Angel heard him let out a sigh. He cursed Daniel to damnation under his breath for disturbing his sleep. He then slipped down to sit on the snow and dropped his gun by his side to bring out a pack of cigarettes. He lit one, puffed and blew out the smoke, letting out a contented sigh.

After a while he brought out his phone and opened a folder, Angel watched as he played a video of Daniel molesting the she-wolf that killed herself before they went off to the frosty island. And then the very young Blaze.

Angel figured the pup would not be more than ten at the time, his loud cry rented the air.

The guy slipped his hand inside his pants and started to jerk off while watching the video. Angel felt a tsunami of rage well inside him. Nadia shut her eyes, placing her hands over her ears, wishing the sound to stop. She cried quietly.

Angel leaned into her to press a kiss on her forehead and went climbing down the tree from the other side. Gingerly stepping into the snow, his eyes scanned the grounds for a stone but he found none. He skittered to the man’s side watching him with his hand still inside the pants. He slowly used his leg to move the gun away to the side of the tree and away from his reach.

“I have seen quite a number of sick things in my life, but this takes the cake,” Angel said. The man froze and jerked his gaze up before he could as much as flinched, Angel gripped him by the forehead and smashed the back of his head hard against the tree, pressing it with all his might. He let the recollection of what he saw fuel him until he felt the man’s skull crush and brain cells stuck to the tree trunk. He stood there for about a minute breathing in and out and just trying to contain his rage. The urge to go after Daniel welled in him, but he knew his absence would not be as easy to conceal as the doctor or the guards.

“A few more hours…” he repeated under his breath, using the promise of retribution to come to assuage the urge. “A few more hours,” he repeated and started to hit the tree trunk with his fist, grunting and imagining the tree to be Daniel. He continued to hit it until Nadia called out to him from atop the tree.

“Please, my darling, stop hurting yourself,” she whispered.

Angel stopped, breathing hard, he pressed his forehead to the tree's bark, feeling like he had failed his people yet again. Even if he had died trying, he thought he should have tried to help them escape a long time ago. The memory of the last time he saw his parents played in his head and he grunted in pain, hitting his head against the tree to stop the memory. Blood stained the dark trunk.

Nadia found a way to climb down the tree, although gracelessly, she still managed, landing on her ass, she groaned and hurriedly got up. Going to slip under Angel’s bent figure she stood between him and the tree, causing him to stop. She framed his jaw and pressed her lips to his.

“I am so sorry for your pain, darling, let me in, let me in,” she cried fervently.

“I failed them. I failed them all….”

“Baby, you are a victim just like them. You can’t blame yourself, Angel…” Nadia said in a comforting tone, framing his handsome face with her hands. She peered into his beautiful, stormy eyes. Her heart ached for him. His anguish was evident in the lovely gems.

“Do you want to know why it was so easy for me to get caught? I was too trusting and made friends with humans. I would go drinking with them and take their shitty drugs just to feel like one of them. They led those fuckers that killed my people to my pack. My father warned me over and over to never get carried away, to get my act together, and be responsible. To accept my position as the leader of my pack and stop my peacocking! I didn’t listen. I couldn’t help them. I was wasted. They killed every single one of my pack members - children, women, defenceless old weres. They murdered them all! My parents died trying to make sure they didn’t take me away. I caused the doom that befell my people. And even here, I was useless…” he said and drew back from her, turning away in self-disgust.

“Tell me what you could have done differently. How old were you? Eighteen? Nineteen…? You were not the only ones targeted.”

“That is beside the point! I was an alpha! I am an alpha Were! It is my duty to protect my people!”

“You were a child!” Nadia yelled back. “Even sober they would have caught you if they put their mind to it! Or worse kill you along with your people!”

“Maybe that would have been best!”

“So you rather have not met your friends? And me?”

“You?” He paused and leered at her, “My parents would be turning in their graves if they saw the company I keep now despite everything!!” Angel replied. Nadia paled. She searched his gaze as tears blurred her eyes and she turned away from him.

When Angel tried to grab her by the hand to stop her, she turned and yelled at him, “Damn you! Damn you!”

“Nadie…” Angel called in barely a whisper after seeing how distressed she got.

“Go to hell. I didn’t ask to be born into this family. But I was. This is me, this is who I am. If you can not accept that, then leave me alone and just stay away from me!” she cried and rushed away blindly.

Nadia felt like she was dying. Walking away from Angel was the most painful thing she had ever done. The pain tore through her so much so that she could barely see as she cried quietly, walking farther away from him.

In the foggy pain in her head, she remembered what the guard said about merchandise and she knew they must be talking about her uncle's human captives which would include Ava. She stopped walking, turned around and found Angel was still standing where she left him. His long, sturdy legs were parted, his fists balled by his sides and his eyes were fixed on her as the snow dusted his head and shoulders.

She retraced her steps to stand a few feet away from him.

“I suppose you would want to help the human captives or that goes against your alpha duties,” she said as calmly as she could muster.

“They are victims like us…”

“That’s what I thought. I will make sure I get them all to the secret passage. I suppose you have a plan…”

“Yes,” he said simply. She nodded as tears trickled down her face. “I will do my part then,” she added. Understanding this was goodbye. She walked closer to him and dared to look into his eyes. They were guarded and dark as he silently returned her scrutiny. Nadia fought hard not to break down. She wanted to beg for him to love her but she knew that would not change a thing. She swallowed, stretched up to kiss him and stood back.

“I guess we are even now,” she said and despite the fact that they were both standing outside in the cold she still felt the chilly energy emanating from him.

“Even?” he repeated. His voice was dangerously low and emotionless.

“I made a mistake and now I have done something to atone for it. Now, we can both go our separate ways … and …” her voice caught and she turned away and began to walk then broke into a run.

Angel’s jaw clenched tightly. It took every single strength in him to stay still and allow her to leave,

‘Even?!’ the word repeated, resonating in him like a sucker punch. He had felt really terrible for saying what he had to her. Internally cursing himself especially after seeing her reaction. He had thought perhaps what they shared was more than physical to her. He had figured she was beginning to have strong feelings for him. For a minute there, he forgot she was human and he was a Were, her uncle's captive. And all this while her actions had been for atonement?! A fucking atonement!

He couldn’t believe that he had almost made the same mistake twice! Knowing what the first one had cost him.