Watch The Dark
twenty five

When she woke up, Tana's wrists were in searing pain. Gone were the chains that had tugged her away from her mate, but the cuffs that felt like they were melting her skin remained.

She was on a bed. Talon's bed. The place she had never wanted to go back to. A low growl escaped her lips as she looked around. With the cuffs tightly locked onto her wrists she knew she couldn't fight her way out. However, if she played her cards right, she could outsmart Talon just as she had before.

The room was the same as it had been before. Black walls, no windows, and a very intricately locked door. She got out of the bed and groaned at the throbbing pain in her head but stood up anyway.

She wondered how Declan felt. She wished she could mind link him, but with the silver it made it incredibly painful and next to impossible. The sound of pure agony he made when she left was unlike anything she had heard before.

And Sincere. What had happened to her? Did they get her too? Or did Declan replace her?

"You gave us all quite a scare, you know. Is that really how you greet someone you love? By passing out?" A tone filled with vile intent drifted from the doorway. There, leaning against the frame, stood Talon. He was every bit as disgusting as he had been when she last saw him. Though he was only in his thirties, age had not done him a favour. He looked like he had one foot in the underworld.

"Fuck. You," Tana spat. He only chuckled lowly and closed the door, shaking his head as he turned to look at her once more.

"Still have quite the mouth on you. It's a wonder how that child of an alpha ever marked you. But don't worry. We'll fix that soon enough. And he'll learn exactly what happens when someone takes what is mine," Talon snarled.

"I'm not yours and I never was. I'm not Declan's either. I'm just me," Tana said, backing away as he came closer.

"Is that so?"

He shook his head and laughed. "Having some freedom did make you stupid, didn't it? We'll fix that. Again. I don't care what that alpha told you or what you feel. You are mine. We are supposed to be mates, not you and him. Get that through your head," he huffed.

"If the Moon Goddess chose you to be my mate, I would kill myself," Tana seethed. In an instant, Talon stormed towards her and wrapped his hand around her throat, slamming her against the wall while she gasped for breath and clawed at his hand.

"I killed my mate for you. I did everything for you. Do you really think that I wanted you just because of what your parents tried to do to my pack? They happened to make such a stupid mistake and honestly, they made it so easy for me to take you," he snarled. He loosened his grip so Tana could breathe, but she had no idea what he was on about.

"What?"

His eyes widened for a moment, but then a sickening grin split his face and he let go.

"You don't know, do you? You don't know what you truly are," he taunted. Tana narrowed her eyes at him.

"You are more powerful than anyone could ever imagine. Your alpha back there knows it, too. He's kept it from you. Everything your parents told you was a lie. You didn't leave the Dark Wolves for your aunt. You left because-"

"Alpha! We have a problem at the border!" A voice shouted. Talon growled loudly and slammed a fist into the wall just beside Tana's head.

"We'll continue this later. But think on what I said. Is your alpha mate really any better than I am? I think you’ll replace that we're both just as vile on the inside," Talon huffed. He then turned away and stalked out of the room, locking the door behind him.

Her parents wouldn't have told her lies...would they? She was just the victim of an unfortunate situation. However, if she thought about it, it did seem quite suspicious as to why an alpha, a powerful one at that, would want to stake a claim on a random pup. Any other wolves would have been killed for what her parents did, right?

She groaned and gingerly sat down on the bed. She didn't know what to believe. Talon was a master manipulator, but there had to be some truth to what he said.

And she was going to replace out how true it was.

***

Declan's P.O.V

Declan didn't know how long it had been since he last slept. He had been busy interrogating Blood Wolves who hadn't had enough time to escape his territory. However, these interrogations led no where. None of them knew anything. Which, in Talons case, was a very smart move.

But Declan was getting impatient. His mate was in danger and if he didn't get to her soon, he knew something bad would inevitably happen.

"Alpha, there are two wolves from the South Bay pack who are here to see you," Markus said from the doorway of his office. Sincere, who was spinning around in his chair, stopped and looked up at him.

"Visitors!" She exclaimed, hopping down and grabbing Declan's hand to start tugging on it.

"Send them in. They better not waste my time," Declan huffed, slumping back in his chair, lifting Sincere into his lap. Markus nodded and headed off.

"Who do you think it is?" Sincere asked, leaning forward to grab some crayons she had thrown onto his desk to colour over old papers he had given her.

"I don't know, Sin. We'll have to see," he mumbled, rubbing his face with his hands. Every time he sat down his exhaustion seemed to kick him in the ass.

Sincere's head jerked up when a middle aged man and woman walked in. The man had black hair with streaks of grey. He was about as tall as Declan's father and stood a head taller than the woman. His features were stoic as he looked at Declan and Sincere. The woman reminded him of Tana. However, everyone reminded him of Tana. She had brown and grey hair and smooth facial features. Her eyes were dark blue and seemed much kinder than the man's.

"Who are you and what do you want?" Declan huffed tartly, lifting Sincere off of his lap to encourage her to go to his old room. He slept there most often. He didn't want to go back to the house until Tana was with him. Sincere, however, just stayed and sat on the floor.

"I'm Thomas and this is Rayla. We are under the impression that you know our children and that at least two of them remain here. We want to help return the third," the male said gruffly.

That was why the woman reminded him of Tana.

It's because she basically was Tana.

Declan assumes his eyes were currently bulging out of his head as he glanced back and forth between the two of them. These were the people who abandoned their children and fled to another pack? They looked so...respectable. Like they hadn't done a wrong thing in their life.

"You're the ones who abandoned her in the first place. She is not some trophy to be returned to my mantle. She is my mate and you would be wise to remember that," Declan growled. Rayla jumped slightly and shook her head.

"We wouldn't abandon them. I just...I couldn't look at her the same way. I loved her. I still love her. It’s just...you would understand. She’s your daughter, right? How would you feel if she was being raped and tortured by your alpha and there was nothing you could do to stop it?” Rayla said quietly. Sincere looked up, cocking her head at Thomas, who was closely examining her.

“I would die for her, that’s what I would do. I wouldn’t care because that’s my pup and if anyone hurt her I would snap their necks. Now if you don’t have anything but bullshit to say, I need to get back to trying to save my mate,” Declan growled.

“That’s Lumina’s daughter. What is she doing here?” Thomas asked, narrowing his eyes at Declan.

“Mama and Marie got hurt really bad and then daddy found me in the woods. Daddy and Blake make me pancakes sometimes,” Sincere said, continuing to colour on the floor without a care in the world.

“That’s my niece. She should be with me,” Thomas growled. Declan growled right back, now standing up.

“You watch what you say to me. I won’t hesitate to have you killed. You’re as good as dead to Tana so I’m sure she wouldn’t mind. Mention my daughter again and that’s exactly what will happen,” he snapped. Thomas growled but he didn’t say anything further.

“How exactly do you think you could help me? I’ve already made a gap in their defence. What more could I need?” Declan grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

“You need the truth. About Tana.”