Josie POV
They thought they beat me, that this was the end and all their problems were solved, but little did they know I was exactly where I needed to be. This is precisely what I intended. I fooled them all, Mitchell so severely wanting to redeem himself, I knew he would toss me to them. I knew his loyalty lay with Lucy, and he was only a willing participant in Jamie’s plans out of fear for his mate.
I knew nothing would become between him and Lucy once he found out what Jamie had planned; not even his mate would make him cross her. Their friendship is built on love and respect for each other and a deep understanding. Yet I managed to fool him, fool the King, fool everyone.
“Not long now, my love, and you will be back with me where you belong,” I smile, thinking of my mate. We would soon be together and free. This was the only way, and I didn’t care what I needed to do to get my mate back.
Lucy stupidly thought she could take him from me, and I wouldn’t retaliate, wouldn’t get even. How wrong she was, and I plan on taking everything from her. Jamie is just the start of my plans. I would make her pay. She got us banished, got my mate taken from me, and now turned my own sister against me; she would pay for all she has done.
I listen to the sounds coming from above, waiting them out. I only had one person to fear, which was Avery, but my task should be done by then. Reika and Ryker are arguing as he tried to reason with her; I was a minor and a student, untouchable. They touch me, and the King would be breaking the laws he put in place to protect us Hybrid mutations.
He enforced rules, and the only person reliable for my punishment was Avery, as she was my legal guardian, and nothing could be done without her input, but I didn’t plan to be here when she got here. I click my tongue Tsk, Tsk, Tsk.
“Should have listened to the wifey Ryker, should have let her kill me when you had the chance, you won’t get another,” I chuckle at my words before hearing him talk to Jacob; I couldn’t stand him. He was a pet to Ryker a minion weak. I knew they would be standing guard at the basement entry, expected it, yet I had a plan to get rid of him too.
“Reika, if you kill her, it will start a war. I can not go against the laws I made, King or not, I am not exempt from the penalties, and neither are you. Until I speak with Avery and she gets here, she remains in the cell. The mutations are protected for a reason. We pleaded that their behaviors weren’t entirely their fault. If I kill her, I am going against the laws we placed around them for their protection,” I listen as they argue before he talks to Jacob.
“Don’t let her down there, Reika upstairs now, you stay off the bottom floor and remain on the second floor until I return,” I felt the command from down here; he thought he was protecting his mate, how very wrong he was indeed but that just made everything easier for me.
They are too predictable. Ryker is a reformed man doing everything by the book and trying to redeem himself for god knows what, not that I care. Reika is still just as unhinged but now without a wolf, quickly put in place by her mate and holding no actual authority anymore. Everyone only obeyed her out of respect. Respect won’t help her now.
“I am leaving to head to Avalon City to meet with Aamon. Avery is visiting her father, and he will try to get in contact with her. But he needs someone to watch over their bodies while they navigate the underworld; it should only be a few hours. Just keep an eye on Rayan; Ryden is upstairs asleep. Do you need me to send anyone else over to help keep watch?.”
“No, she is a teenage girl, and she is passed out. We will be fine,” Jacob tells him, and I try not to laugh. I hear Ryker give a few instructions before listening to his footsteps leaving the house. The door shutting before I hear a car’s engine and the tires on gravel indicating he was going, good riddance, now back to my plan.
My arms are tied behind my back, the cuffs burning my skin, and I reach around and grip my thumb before gritting my teeth as I break it to stop from screaming out. I knew them thinking I was passed out would be an advantage, fewer restraints and fewer guards, no one suspects the small innocent-looking girl putting up a fight.
My fake tears and begging when they found me clearly worked before dosing me. No one suspects a thing. Pain ripples through my palm as I am forced to not only break it but dislocate it to squeeze my hand through the cuff of my restraint. I rub my wrist, trying to get the blood flowing freely again. The burns from the wolfsbane start to heal, the sedative having no effects on me whatsoever.
“Idiots,” I mutter, pulling my bobby pins from my hair. With a bit of fiddling, the ankle cuffs release. Burned rings wrapped around my ankles where the flesh melted off, but they were already healing. They fed me concentrated levels of wolfsbane and a sedative, enough to even take out Hybrid.
Beryl Jamie’s witch made me an antidote, and I had been drinking the crap for weeks. My toxicity levels from the mysterious substance were through the roof, they could have fed me the entire damn plant, and it would not have affected me.
Thank the Moon Goddess that I took drama at school, a bit of fake illness, and Ryker believed I was down for hours, helped a little that initial effects did make me woozy until Beryl’s concoction stabilized it in my system.
Getting up, I walk over to Ryker’s torture table. Not that they left any instruments in here, they were in the next cell over. Washing my hands in the sink and drinking straight from the tap, I wipe my mouth on the back of my hand before zeroing in on the cell door, piece of cake.
Jamming my fingers down my throat, I continue to heave until I empty my stomach of its contents—the purple balloon full of Belladonna is thrown up, and lands in the sink. The second balloon contained wolfsbane in a lethal dose. Pocketing them, I move to the door of the cell.
I must say, their protocols for checking minors were a little out of whack. They really need to work on that. Retrieving the bobby pins, I fiddle with the lock. It was more complicated than I thought. Every time I thought I got it, the pin would slip, but eventually, I got it to unlock. Cursing under my breath, I tried until finally, I heard the lock click, and I could turn the lock.
See, all that time lock picking and breaking out of the school came in handy; thanks to my mate, I haven’t found a lock yet that could beat me. Walking out of the cell, the door groans as I push it open, and I stop listening for Jacob to see if he noticed.
The cell next door was wide open, and I walked over to the bench, jamming a knife in its pouch down the side of my pants on my hip before grabbing another.
This blade was thinner and razor-sharp, drumming my fingers on the steel bench. I had an arsenal at my fingertips as I looked over everything before finding what I was looking for. A Needle and plunger, quickly ducking over to the sink, I rip the plunger out before pouring the syrupy liquid from the balloon into it, squeezing it out before using some hot water to melt it a bit more and jamming the plunger back it. I shake the steel needle, watching the liquid change color and turn into metallic silver.
The pipes rattle inside the walls, and I could just make out the sound of the shower running upstairs as I stared at the ceiling. I hoped it was Reika and not Rayan, that little shit I needed to get my mate back. Creeping up the steps, I listen for any noise, trying to work out where everyone is located. The TV could be heard in the living room, and I gripped the door handle and pushed the door open just enough to see into the foyer.
I could hear Jacob talking to Rayan as they discussed Rayan’s game in the living room. Slipping out the door, I made a dash for the coatroom. It was next to the hall beside the stairs and across from the conference room. Jacob returned to the basement door, and my heart raced as I slipped out of view just in time before he spotted me when taking his place by the basement door. He takes his seat beside the door and pulls out his phone.
Trying to figure out my next move and how I would get to Rayan on the other side of the house. Ryden cries out upstairs; I knew this place like the back of my hand, having spent so much time here with Lucy, her family was picture perfect. I was always a little jealous of how she would get home to them every holiday, and she always took it for granted. Whining and groaning about not wanting to come back here. The shower is still running before I hear Jacob sing out.
“I will get him, Reika,” Jacob calls out to her just as I hear the water shut off upstairs, only for it to turn back on again. This was my chance to catch him off guard. Jacob takes the steps two at a time, and I quietly sneak after him, the needle in my hand as I creep up quietly before sneaking up behind him and getting ready, my other hand clutching the knife.