The Prisoners

Most of them were sleeping but not all of them. It was fairly easy for Ant to take them to a predesignated area in the Night Life building where refugees were sorted. And while they weren’t exactly refugees they needed sorting and medical attention. Ryan was on the phone ironically as we were below the city. He muttered something about Jack and tech. My phone beeped too but I didn’t bother checking it. I knew it was Sage making a connection – it was all hands on deck.

There were still a few therians against the wall and humans too. And there was still one who had more fight in him than necessary. He struggled against Ant’s grasp growling at the vampire but unable to do more than meagerly struggle. “Hold up Ant. Leave him. Take him after the calmer ones.”

Ant let go and the man charged Ant like a bull but I had him wrapped up in air before he got any closer than he already was. I put him on his knees with air and I squatted down in front of him and reached my hand out. He wasn’t a wolf – a cat of some sort. He growled at me, but I did what I’d done before only on a smaller scale. He mellowed out a little and looked at me with amber eyes of a lion. “Did they make you shift?”

There was a growl but a slight nod of his head. I introduced myself. “My name is Nox.”

My name sent him lunging at me. “I didn’t do this to you.”

There was a small voice in the shadows. “They were looking for you, among us.”

“How did they not know who I was?”

The voice didn’t answer and I stood up and walked over to the shadows and found a boy, no older than my brothers and Matt, he was naked and dirty, covered in his own filth. He shrank away from me and cowered even more. I knelt down in front of him and held out my hand. “I promise I won’t hurt you. I just want to take you home. Get you cleaned up and fed.”

The man behind me spoke in a gutteral voice still affected by the change. “Why?”

I turned to look at him and smiled, “Because that’s what I do. You must not be from around here.” I stood up and walked back over to the man, “Will you help me get him out of here. Both of you. My vampire friends won’t hurt you I promise, if you trust him, and trust me, we’ll take you to The Resort. It’s a place in the Night Life building where only Shadow walking vampires can get to. It’s well guarded. I promise you’ll be safe.”

“You can’t make that promise.” The man growled.

“I can, and I will. I can’t promise once you leave the Resort you’ll be safe, but I can promise you will be safe there as long as you stay.”

The man looked at me and nodded and I let the air bonds go and he rushed over to the boy in the shadows. “They broke his legs and his hands because of me.”

“I’m sorry. We can try to help.” I held out my hand and the man took it as he carried the boy with his other arm. “We can go now Ant.”

And just like that we left the cavern underneath the city. We didn’t know who was running it, but it didn’t matter right now. We’d found some of the missing people. I had hoped anyway. Hopefully these were some of the missing we were looking for.

Tony and Henry were helping Ant ferry the former prisoners to The Resort. The man and boy were in Doc’s fine care. I had vouched for him and they had agreed to stay with him. But refused anyone else.

I promised to come back after I made the rounds. I also had to go up stairs and make sure my pack was doing alright. But as I rounded the corner to see if I could find a shadow walker in the meeting room, Cass flew across the room and into my arms. Hunter followed, with Drake just a little behind. Rider and Laker came too. Alex was smirking in the background with Quinn standing next to him. “Matt can’t travel by the shadows.”

“Well that sucks.”

Laker grinned. “He said that was okay. He would hold down the fort up there. Ricky and Jin are contacting family of those we can get to talk. Allison is helping them too. I think the lawyer dude is doing the lawyer thing. He’s happy.”

“You feel him?” I asked.

Laker blushed. “Danny and Adrian say thats the way with mates.”

I smiled at Lake. “That’s good man. I’m happy you found love.”

“I’m sixteen. Aren’t I supposed to fu…” He looked at the kids clinging to my legs and laughed, “you know, and have fun for a while.”

“Aren’t you doing that?”

Laker blushed again. “Yeah, but that’s not what I meant.”

“Lake I fell in love when I was 13. That fun you think you are missing out on pales in comparison to that.”

Alex wrapped his arm around my waist, “But it was still fun.”

I stuck my tongue out at him, “Maybe so, but I’d have given it up for you.” Alex rolled his eyes, “Where were you going?”

“To find someone to take me up to you.”

“Missing me already?” Alex asked.

I nodded, “It hurts to breath without you near.” I laughed. “I need to help more here.”

“Figured as much. Healing be a good lesson for those two? Quinn and I can help figure out who people are. And the wolf boys are good grunts.”

“Hey!” Rider and Laker said together. “Jinx!” they both busted out laughing at their continued unison speech.

I kissed Alex softly on the lips and he bit my bottom lip. “That’s for making me wait.”

“Wait for what?” I whined.

“A kiss.”