I nodded. My mind raced as he reached for the door. Goosebumps broke out down my arms. Who could be in the dungeon? The only person I could think of was was Duke, the warrior from the wall. Shane had punished Pan while Duke remained untouched. He had said a surprise but I guess a day without killing would be too much to ask for. It’s not how I pictured how the night would end.
A flashback of our past life flashes through my mind and I’m reminded of the beatings Shane had taken for me. Yes, he’d been dark and his love sometimes hurt but he’d never had a chance to be taught the right way. Sometimes you love the person and not the crimes they’ve committed.
He did everything he could to protect me. I knew, I just knew that whoever was in there had done something bad and deserved the punishment they were getting. Whoever was on the other side of this door had not only offended Shane but had hurt me. If it was Duke, I couldn’t see him being sentenced to death. He didn’t do anything to me.
The door swung open with a groan and Shane pulled me into the darkness. At first, I was surprised. I had expected there to be a flash of light or dimly lit lanterns in the corners of the room. The darkness continued as we descended, and with every second that passed, we ended up further and further down the rabbit hole.
Something pricked the back of my ears and I wasn’t sure what it was. Korra stirred but didn’t rise. I’d pushed her further back than I meant to. She was so deep in my mind that it wasn’t going to be easy to let her out. I hadn’t noticed Shane had come to a stop and I bumped into his back. Looking around him, I spotted a large steel door. The designs on it matched the markings from the Alpha’s sword.
Someone on the other side pushed the door open. Devin greeted us, there was blood on his face and his expression lit up when his eyes landed on me. The sound of something hard thumping against skin filled my ears. The noise was followed by grunts of pain. Searching the room, my gaze landed on Liam.
His back was faced to us and he didn’t stop his assault as we walked in. Golden strands of hair swayed and slapped against his head as he brought his hand back and propelled it forward. Deep whooshes of air filled the air as he landed blow after blow. The metal pole in his hand whistled through the wind as he strikes his captor over and over again.
I couldn’t see who was on the floor in front of him but whoever they were they were big. Duke had also been large, so I was sure it was Duke. What had he done? I thought I’d spared his life when I put Shane’s attention on Pan. When Shane sent him back to the border, I thought I had succeeded in sparing his life. Looking at where he was now, I guess I didn’t. I only prolonged the inevitable.
Why had Shane brought me here? I didn’t like these kinds of things. If anything the excitement I had felt was now gone and lay at my feet while my stomach churned at the idea of having to sit through another torture.
Today had been going so well. I was still hopeful we could end it on a good note. Turning my attention to Shane, I stared up at him. He wasn’t looking at me, his eyes were peeled forward on the main in front of us.
Was it too late to leave? He didn’t take his eyes off of Liam as he beat him. I swallowed when I saw a going in Shane’s eye. He was excited, happy even, he was enjoying this. I should have been disgusted, I should have been disappointed but I wasn’t feeling any of the two.
Could I fault Shane for this? As Alpha, he shouldn’t hurt his own, yet since I’d come here, he’d done just that. If the ends justify the means then doesn’t that excuse his actions? Yes, he had done and continued to commit horrific acts but hadn’t I looked away when Ethan did the same? Had Shane ever told me he would be or do differently? He’d never pretended to be anything other than what he was. He had never given any inclination of doing things differently. Had he shown me that there was good to him? Yes.
Time after time, Shane had shown me that he was ruthless and bloodthirsty but at the same time, he had shown me that he was loyal and could be gentle in his own way. He had told me he wasn’t good and he wasn’t gentle or kind. He was dark, sick, and depraved. He enjoyed torture, he enjoyed blood and death.
I was the one who was in the wrong for expecting anything different than what he was. If I were to compare him to Ethan, which I would never do, but if I were to compare their violent acts hadn’t they been the same? Ethan wasn’t a saint. He was violent and he killed people because he chose to.
The only difference was that he didn’t enjoy it. He didn’t revel in their slow and painful death but did that make him any better when he still committed the same acts when he killed mercilessly?
Why was it that it was that much easier to forgive Ethan but I damned Shane to hell? Was it because of the mate bond or was it because I loved him? Was it because he was kind? Did being kind to me and having a “better” reason make it okay? Did having the responsibility of protecting the pack make his sins easier to write off?