Page 51 of Demon Rejected

“No, you’re a kid. I can’t take you."

“Hey lady, you saved our asses. What you did was badass. If we have a chance to get out, then you’re the chance. Let’s go.”

He walked in front of me, shifting into a small grey wolf. He looked hungry and ready for whatever. I stayed human. Ready.

He stopped in front of another door, a sliding metal door. He looked at it. It was silver. I pushed it to the side without breaking a sweat. New scents filled my nose. Shifters, more than one. Strange, human blood. And the stinky stuff they sprayed on the kids. The young wolf followed me.

Matt was there, and my breath hitched in my chest. I could feel he was alive, but just barely.

He hung from a pole, his legs spread with shackles that fixed him to the ground and his hands hanging. Blood dripped down his chest and rock-hard abs. His head dangled, and his hair looked matted and dirty. I wasn’t used to seeing Matt like this. Who knows how long he had been hanging there and what they did to him.

The young wolf hung back. He was scared, and I couldn’t blame him. I tried to get closer to Matt, but I was afraid that I’d launch some sort of mechanism.

“Matt, Matt,” I called out in a low voice.

He lifted his head slowly and looked toward me. His eyes were half-closed.

“Hm, finally, the hallucinations kick in...." He barely spoke, his voice not much stronger than a whisper, his beautiful green eyes filled with sadness and pain.

“You’re alive. Good. I’m damn real."

“It’s nice of my mind to offer me the image of beauty before my death."

Stepping closer, I saw that the pole was wrapped with a thick chain closed with a latch. The chain, the pole, everything was silver. I turned toward the young wolf next to me.

“Go see if there are others who need help. Do not touch the silver. If you find anyone else, come get me. I’ll try to free Matt."

The young wolf turned and started walking away. He was starving and beaten, but he kept up his spirits, which is a good thing. I’ll see if I can bring him to Shifter Nation somehow.

Matt kept talking. “Scarlett, you know I’m so sorry. I know this is just a vision, a way my brain wants to make death easy on me. I’m so sorry I rejected you. You are so young and beautiful, and I am just this old guy. And there was something else. I killed the last Fire Alpha we knew of. This makes me an enemy. I killed someone that was maybe related to you. That night when our wolves found each other, I felt full of happiness. All I wanted was to have you in my life. I wish you would be real, and I could ask you for forgiveness and maybe, just maybe, a second chance."

While Matt talked, my heart hurt and burned. He rejected me, but the connection was never severed between us, at least not entirely. I feel him and the threads that hang between us like I feel Sparky. Matt is a part of me, my fated mate. The perfect wolf for my wolf. My wolf was crying, going crazy over seeing our mate. She wanted out, but I had no idea how she would react to silver.

Pulling the latches that held the chain was difficult. Sparky stepped over and melted them. Matt kept talking. Some words made sense, others sounded like distant cries. Sparky melted the latch that held the chain in place. Good.

Grabbing the silver chain in both hands, I began lowering the chains and Matt. Slowly. It was heavy and old, and I didn’t want to hurt Matt even more in the process. His hands were still tied to the pole, but he was down on the dirty cement floor. I refused to allow my nose to analyse what stained the cement; blood, feces, sweat.... God knows.

Matt rested on his knees, still not able to understand he was being saved. I knelt next to him, trying to open his handcuffs. They had been locked with a key that I didn’t possess. Holding his face cupped in my hands, I looked into his eyes.

“Matt, I need you to pay attention!"

His long thick lashes spring open, offering me a glimpse of his beautiful green eyes. Gods, this man was gorgeous, even beaten up like this.

“You’re so beautiful, my Little Flame. Have I ever told you that?"

“Fucking shit, snap out of this, Mountain Man."

His glassy eyes tried to understand me. I could feel him trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. “Don’t be a fucking moron, Matt. I need you to be strong, just until we get out of here. After that, you can rest."

He shook his head as if trying to push the confusion aside. I wasn’t upset with him for being confused. I need him to be able to walk out of here. I had no idea where exactly I was and where I could go.

“It is you?" He asked with a dry voice, half afraid, half hopeful.

“Who the fuck else would save your stupid ass?"

Matt smiled and started to focus. I felt it. The practical wolf I fell in love with pushed aside my Dreamy Matt.

“Matt, Sparky will melt your cuffs, and this will hurt, okay? I need you to keep it together and don’t scream."