I reach for the door and Ezra puts his hand on my arm, nudging me aside, and flips a light switch that turns on a small light above us to reveal the stairway down. He goes first, and I follow. Every step echoes on the cold concrete steps. The breeze down here is icy and makes me shiver, but it does nothing to quell the fire that rages inside me.
Reaching the bottom, Ezra reaches over to the wall, flicking another light on, it flickers a couple of times before illuminating the room. Two cells sit on the far wall and inside the last one, holding a thin hand up to shield her eyes, is Madeline Taylor.
“About damn time, let me out, Ezra. Why the hell did you have me put in here?” she snaps, using the bars to pull her to her feet. As her eyes adjust, and they narrow on me, her hands curving around the bars clench until they become white knuckles, and she trembles.
A growl erupts from her, and her pretty face twists in anger. “Bitch!” she snarls at me.
“Wrong title, she’s your Luna,” Mateo scolds before leaning over and flipping a switch on the wall.
Madeline shrieks, her body thrashes back and forth as her grip on the bars keeps her glued to the current. Her cries grow louder until they become nothing but a high-pitched squeal of agony before Mateo flips the switch again. She falls to the ground and the air stinks of the electric charge and burnt skin. My nose scrunches, but I don’t turn away.
Madeline collapses to the ground before clambering to her hands and knees. Her eyes are red and glassy. “What the hell, Mateo?” she rasps. Her voice is cracked, barely audible after all her screaming.
She struggles to her feet and backs away from the bars.
Instead of learning her lesson, she blinks rapidly, her eyes darting between Mateo and Ezra, before falling on me again. She points a finger at me, but well away from the bars. Her lips curl, and her teeth grit together. “Is this over the fucking café?” she demands, all traces of civility stripped from her.
I purse my lips at her accusation and stare back. There is no guilt in me at what just happened to her, or what might happen next. Kora is in firm agreement, she’s pressing forward, wanting blood.
Madeline shudders and sniffs while flinging a hand my way. “See, Ezra? This is what happens when you take in a worthless rogue. A pathetic little whore can never compete with a real woman!” She puts her hand over her chest to emphasize her little speech.
Ezra is the subject of her tirade, and he doesn’t so much as blink. He nods at Mateo, and he stalks near her cell.
Madeline jerks to attention, realizing that no one is listening to her. Her jaw drops open as she gasps and her eyes fly to Ezra. “You can’t be serious right now! Ezra, all this for that bitch?”
I give her a cold smile, trying to emulate what one mom would give when she was quietly fuming but had that aura of professionalism. “Don’t you mean Luna?” I ask.
She snarls, “You are not my Luna, and you’ll never be,” she snaps.
Mateo reaches for her cell door to open it and drag her out, when Ezra waves him away. Instead, Ezra unlocks the cell and Madeline scrambles backward, her eyes going wide as his huge frame fills the cell with her.
“Wai-Wait!” Madeline shrieks, backing into the corner of the cell. “Maddox!” She yelps, scrambling toward the corner. “I didn’t mean it!” she screams as he fists her hair, dragging her out of the cell. He forces her to her knees in front of me, and I see she is right. Maddox does have control, or at least partially, he didn’t kill her, yet. So I assume he is either trying not to, or Ezra still has some sort of control.
He crouches next to her before grabbing her chin with his hand and wrenches her head to look at me, his other hand wraps around her hair once more. His canines slip out, and his razor-sharp claws push from his fingertips. His face twists in rage, and he squeezes his hand holding her chin. “Who… is… she?” he snarls, jerking her face about.
Madeline scoffs, despite the monster manhandling her. “Maddox, stop trying to be the big bad wolf,” she chuckles at her own joke. “Ezra would never hurt a woman, now let go!”
Maddox growls deep, the tips of his claws impale into her cheeks until tears run down her face, and she blubbers for mercy. “It’s a good thing I’m not Ezra. I have zero problems ripping you apart, piece by bloody piece.” His grip tightens and he jerks her head further back, making her whimper. “One more time, who…is… she?” he tries again, his claws sinking deeper until trails of blood mix with her tears.
Madeline’s lip quivers as she screams. Maddox loosens his grip, just enough to give her a chance to answer.
The moment her eyes slip back to mine, she sneers with what little facial movement she has. “She is not my Luna,” she spits.
Stupid bitch, she is too stubborn to even save her own life. His hand drops to her throat. “Wait!” I yell.
I’m shocked when he listens. His dark eyes flicker up to me, questions in their depths. Kora comes forward, pressing beneath my skin instead of just watching. I tilt my head to the side, wondering what questions to ask her first. I have never interrogated someone before, but it seems pretty straightforward. “Did you help Jackson?” I ask.
She scoffs, breaking into derisive laughter. “This?” she sputters. “She doesn’t even know how to use her Alpha aura, pathetic,” she spits.
I wasn’t using it, but her words angered Kora, almost as if she challenged her. My voice comes out louder, angrier, and I know it is Kora’s influence. “Did you help Jackson?” I ask, though Kora shoves the command at her, making her scream. Maddox lets her go and she drops forward.