Chapter 4

ETHAN POV

My fathers pace as my mother stands next to the door with her arms folded. So many emotions are flowing across her face, so I wait. I know they are upset and pleased at the same time.....much like me.

"Ethan, you left your birthday ball. The last one we will ever share together," my mother finally says, and I nod my head guilty.

"And while the action led you to your mate...it was still rude and hurtful. We thought you had just decided to take a breather as you have in the past. We didn't even consider that you had run off...I taught you to cloak your scent to escape dangerous situations, not disappear from important family functions," Mom says, and I stand up.

I walk across the room and take her hand in mine.

"For some reason, tonight I had to run. Every instinct I have was screaming for me to leave....and while I am sorry to have hurt your feelings, I am delighted that I did. I found my mate, mother. My other half...who was being hurt by someone she cares for," I say, and her eyes flash with anger.

"You witnessed him hurting her," mom asks, and I growl before nodding.

"Yes, and since she doesn't have rapid healing, you will be able to see the extent of his assault.....and possibly previous assaults. But I would like for you to heal her after documenting," I say, and Father cuts in.

"Where is she," Father Jackson asks, and I turn to look at both of them.

"In my room. Louise and Aria are looking after her," I reply, and he nods.

"And the males," Father Jason snarls, and I smirk as I think over what I am about to do to them.

"In the dungeon. After I spoke to you, I was planning on paying them a visit. Miranda begged for Bryan's life at the diner....but what she doesn't know won't hurt her," I growl, and my fathers smirk.

"I will visit your mate. We sent the packs home early, so she is safe. Word hasn't spread about her yet, but it will. .... 124 wolves found their mate tonight. It was magical," mom whispers as a slow smile begins to spread across her youthful face.

"You sound like a true moon Goddess when you talk about mates," Father Jackson says as he approaches my mother with love in his eyes.

She gives him a beaming smile filled with emotion, and I look away. I don't want to think about love and mating before I go down to the dungeons. I want to hold onto my anger but also my control. If I think about how much Miranda means to me before going down there, Bryan will never see sunlight again. Not that he should.

Wolves like him create hunters. Wolves like him fuel hate between the different species. He abused his strength and heightened senses. He used them to harm and control my mate, for Goddess knows how long. He deserves his sentence. The only thing I need to investigate is if his buddies are like him. Which I have a good feeling that they are since they witnessed Miranda's pain and did nothing.

"We will accompany you to the dungeons, son. Your mother will go tend to your mate," Father Jason says as he finally stops pacing and moves towards his mates.

"I am sorry that I ran off. I didn't think about what this last ball meant to you," I apologize, and my mother gives me a small forgiving smile before she disappears into thin air.

It isn't often my mother uses her teleportation ability. She says it will make her lazy. I personally would use it all the time if it were me.

"I don't think I will ever get used to that one," Father Jason mumbles before we all share a small chuckle.

We silently leave my parent's office and head down to the dungeon we built directly under our mansion. When we were planning the new layout to Riverstone's main area, I had pointed out the importance of protecting our remaining pack members. So it was decided that criminals would be housed as close to us as possible. We are stronger and more equipped than regular werewolves. If there is danger, we want to confront it before our pack members do.

Father Jackson nods towards the guard waiting in front of the steel door as we approach, and he immediately unlocks it. After passing him, we move into a single file line to descend the narrow staircase that leads to our silver reinforced cells. We have ten cells, and as long as I have been alive, we have never had that many prisoners.

"Bryan, what the hell have you gotten us into," one of the other males growls as we approach.

"Shut up, like you don't do the same thing to Heather. I've seen the marks," Bryan snaps, and my anger begins to boil.

"Silence," my father's roar, and the cells fall silent.

We move into view, and their eyes widen as they look us over.

"My Kings... Bryan's actions have nothing to do with us," the male who hadn't spoken says with a bowed head.

"Who is Heather," I snarl, and the other male sharing his cell turns red.

"My girlfriend," he answers weakly, and I growl.

"From the sound of things, you abuse this female as well," I snarl, and his face turns red.

"What are your names," Father Jas asks before folding his arms and throwing off a few waves of authority.

The males almost buckle under the impact, and I smirk at the sign of their blatant weakness.

"I'm Greg," the third one says.

"Marcus," Heather's boyfriend says.

"Bryan," Bryan answers with a tone to his voice that makes my fathers raise their eyebrows.

"You know Bryan...My mate has special abilities. She can cause a person pain with just a simple touch. Personally, I find her way of torture boring...I like the old ways. The torture that requires blood and knives. Helios and I both find pleasure in hurting those who hurt others. The last time we had to handle males who hurt females, we bathed in their blood," Father Jackson says as he yanks open the door to Bryan's separate cell.

He immediately shrinks back, which makes my Father smirk evilly.

"Come here, Bryan," my Father orders, and Bryan's body immediately snaps to obey its King.

Father Jason and I position ourselves at each of Father Jackson's shoulders. I want to laugh at the look of absolute terror on Bryan's face. I know exactly what he is seeing. Three males almost identical, except for my eyes, staring at him with vicious smiles. Eager smiles! Kratos, Helios, and Eros are all on the surface, shining through our eyes at their prey.

"Let's get acquainted, Bryan...It seems my future daughter-in-law cares for you," Father Jason growls as Father Jackson seizes Bryan's arm.

I turn towards the cell that contains Bryan's petrified friends.

"Don't worry, fellas... You will be joining the party soon," I say before following my fathers to the torture room.

*********

"Let's try this again, Bryan. How many times have you hurt my mate," I ask as I place the pliers back down on the table.

My fathers growl, and Bryan whimpers.

"I don't know...I didn't count. Not every day, just when I get jealous or mad. I...I...my mate rejected me. Miranda is all that I have...please forgive me. I just wanted her to be mine...to stay with me," Bryan begs, and Father Jason punches him in the face.

Blood splatters the wall, and I turn to face the bloody heap of flesh chained to one of the interrogation chairs.

"Just because your mate hurt you does not mean you hurt someone else...How long have you called my mate your own," I ask as I slowly approach him.

His swollen face is bruised, but due to him being a healthy male, his cuts are healing as fast as he gets them.

"A year...we attended the same high school but reconnected last year," he answers, and curiosity punches me in the gut.

"How old is she," I whisper, and he looks up from the floor.

"23. She has a younger sister who is 19. Her parents are older and retired. They moved to Florida," he answers quickly as if to make me happy with information about her.

"Is she in college," I ask before I can stop myself.

He shakes his head and actually has the decency to look ashamed.

"I had her drop out. I didn't like her being in those classes. I knew the guys flirted with her...who wouldn't," he says, and Father Jackson loses it.

He grabs what's left of Bryan's hair and yanks his head back. Helios flashes in his eyes before he shoves his claws into Bryan's exposed stomach.

"My soon-to-be daughter was never yours. NEVER YOURS TO CLAIM OR CONTROL," he shouts before tearing off a massive chunk of flesh that will take days to heal...if he lives that long.

"Bring the others," Father roars through his mindlink as well as out loud.

The door to the interrogation room slams open, and the two other males are thrown to our feet. Greg immediately begins to cry like a baby, and Marcus freezes at the sight of his bloody friend.

"I swear I will break up with her. I never...I never hurt Heather like Bryan did Miranda. I did grab her by her arm roughly a few times, and it left bruises, but I never hurt her like he hurt Miranda....please. I just wanted to be cool. I apologized to her when he wasn't around. I just liked feeling tough. Miranda does anything he wants...I thought it was cool; please forgive me," Marcus begins to plead, and disgust fills me.

I crouch down next to him slowly.

"You are pathetic and weak. You are an embarrassment to our community...You thought it was cool to harm human females...you thought it made you tough like him? Look at him. Does he look tough? Against a human female maybe...but against someone with equal strength, he is nothing," I growl lowly in Marcus's ear before standing up.

Greg's sobs grow more intense as the guards press a few buttons on the wall. Two more chairs slide out from their hidden compartments, and the guards yank the males back to their feet.

"PLEASE, NO! I NEVER TOUCHED A FEMALE HARSHLY! PLEASE," Greg screams, and I raise my hand towards the guards.

Father Jason steps up to stare into his panicking eyes.

"You never personally hurt a female, but you witnessed their abuse," Father Jason asks, and Greg nods.

"I am ashamed... But please, please don't," Greg begs, and Father nods towards the guard holding Greg.

He drags him from the room, and the door closes.

"He will be punished at trial," Father Jason says, and I nod.

Marcus squirms and cries out as the silver chains are fashioned around his wrists and ankles. His eyes bulge as they land on the torture equipment already covered in Bryan's blood.

"So Marcus, what happened to your mate," Father Jason asks as he moves to the table Marcus is staring at.

"I haven't met her," Marcus breathlessly admits while watching every move my father makes.

"If Heather was your mate...would you hurt her like you have," Father Jason asks as he chooses a small silver dagger before turning back towards Marcus.

Marcus lets his tears fall as my father approaches him slowly. He shakes his head, and Father nods. Without another word, my father rips away Marcus's shirt. The pathetic male begins to cry harder, but none of us feel an ounce of sympathy for him. Father begins to carve letters into Marcus's exposed chest that will last a lifetime due to the burn from the silver.

A-B-U-S-E-R

"Now, when you meet her, she will know what you are," father says after he is done with his work.

The guards unstrap Marcus and drag him from the room. We barely spare Bryan a glance before we follow them. Their fates are now in the hands of the pack. We are done here.

"Tomorrow, I will contact the human press. New laws need to be put in place. Since the majority of our people now live amongst humans, we must do a better job at protecting them..the humans, I mean," Father Jackson says, and I nod along with Father Jason.

"I will ensure the new laws are obeyed," I vow as we ascend from the dungeon.