Page 56 of Meeting Her Mate

“Ah. I did,” I said, reciprocating her smile. “Are you feeling better now?”

“Yes. Knowing that you’re safe and okay, I am feeling better,” Alexis nodded. “Do you wanna get out of here for a little bit, maybe?”

“Clear our heads, so to speak?” I asked. Besides training the pack, there wasn’t anything else on my docket today.

“Among other things,” Alexis said. “We haven’t really gotten a chance to talk about the things that have happened. Seems like we’ve been assisting each other on journeys that lead to closure. I might have something that could help you the same way you helped me yesterday.”

The way she had propositioned her premise was enough to color me intrigued. “Surprise me,” I said, grinning at her.

“Oh, you’re in for a good one,” Alexis grinned back.

***

“What are we doing here?” I asked her as she led me deep into Fiddler’s Forest. I was not particularly fond of the forest, given that my memories of it involved me being kidnapped, attacked, and tortured there.

“Yesterday, when you helped me get my revenge, I realized something. Hell, it’s probably the reason why I decided to come back. I realized that you never got your share of closure. Yes, you escaped from the manor and everything, but you never got a chance to go back there and see what you had managed to escape,” Alexis said.

Fear took hold of my body for a brief period as it dawned on me that we were heading in the manor’s direction. I didn’t think I was ready to face the horrors and the ghosts of my violent memories that haunted that place. Even if that place was abandoned. Weren’t the abandoned places where ghosts thrived best?

“Alexis, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said, stopping dead in my tracks.

“Come with me. You do not have to be afraid anymore,” Alexis said, holding out her hand. I hesitated for a second, thinking about what holding her hand would mean.

“Take my hand, Will,” Alexis insisted.

A familiar electricity possessed my body, subduing the wildness in me. In the wake of our shattered bond trying to find a way to fix itself, I forgot about the horror that I was about to confront.

We walked through the thicket of trees that surrounded the manor. The wrought iron fences seemed to have fallen in disrepair since I had been here last. Vines grew unchecked. Rust had started eating away at the main gate, turning the Beckett insignia a bright orange.

It wasn’t just Edward who had died when I had secured my freedom; it was this entire place.

Alexis kicked the door open. It shrieked in protest as it swung open.

My hand was still in Alexis’s, and I was following her lead rather than leading. I could see the scenes play out as if it was just yesterday they had taken place.

Here, by the entrance of the manor, I was thrown out of the cage in which the mercenaries had bound me.

From those morbid doors, Edward had appeared, looking like an ethereal spirit.

Those were the windows to the basement that had been boarded shut from both outside and inside to block all sunlight from coming in. My prison was a prison of pure darkness.

And now we were inside. I had only seen this place twice. Once when I was brought in and once when I was breaking free.

Despite the disrepair, the place maintained its regality. All those arcane symbols and Celtic emblems plastered over the walls, some hung in frames, others dangling from the roof, gave this place authenticity with regard to its eccentric nature. It had been the dwelling place of an occultist. Even after his death, it remained the dwelling of an occultist.

I could see dried blood splattered on the walls, curtains, and the checkered floor. This had been my doing. When I had set myself free, I had shifted into my werewolf form and killed everyone in sight. In my mind, there were no innocents here. Everyone who was residing here knew that I was trapped below. They were all guilty of that crime.

“It doesn’t seem like Blair’s been here,” Alexis said. It was only because she had said something after so long that I was reminded she was with me. I had otherwise escaped into a deep recess within my mind, a place where Edward loomed larger than life.

“Come,” Alexis beckoned me to the basement.

“I do not want to go in there,” I said. Being down in that basement would remind me of one of the biggest failures in my life. It would make me recall the brutal acts of torture that I had to bear.

“This time, I am with you. This is exposure therapy, Will. You’re coming face to face with the horrors of your past. I am here to remind you that you appeared victorious. You survived this hell. You do not have to let it haunt you any longer,” Alexis said, squeezing my hand.

I sighed and allowed myself to be led down into the basement.

The cage was still here, its door ajar.