174. Chapter 174

As she was led once more into the hall, Waverly fixed the guard at her back a glower before he pushed her down. Once more there was no way to see beneath the hood to see who it was, or even if it was a he, but at the sudden tremble and retreat of his hand, she guessed he had realised she was done with being shoved… or maybe he had been in the hall with them hours before and seen what had happened to the last person that had dared lay a hand on her.

His hand shifted, stiffening as he gestured towards a gap left for her at the front of the hall next to Wynonna, Doc, Xavier, Gus and Curtis.

Waverly stepped forward, thankfully without any more jostling from the guard as her feet dragged tiredly across the stone floor and caught on every uneven bit of it.

She was exhausted, her very bones aching from being beaten, being on guard as well as from constant worry. The slightest move of her hands had her wincing and hissing in pain as the power-sapping silver cuffs around her wrists shifted and rubbed against the burst blisters encircling them where the silver had burned her flesh.

They had all tried padding the inside of the cuffs with strips of fabric to lessen the burn but they had been stripped away as they had been herded from the cells and the pain had felt doubled for the brief respite.

A quick glance around the hall as she lowered herself to the floor showed that either with good planning on the part of the Pack or because of some scheme by the Cult… family was with family.

It was comforting to be with them but it was a double-edged sword as it was a reminder of who they would lose if they tried anything.

Only, apart from their babies, there was still one of Waverly's missing from her side.

Even though Waverly had been unable to get any response from Nicole, she could feel her once more. Weaker than usual. Nicole had done her best to protect her… or maybe their connection was weak, but Waverly knew she had been beaten almost constantly since she had been dragged away. But she was there, filling and comforting her.

What truly troubled Waverly was how subdued the babies and young children still locked in the cages were. She could hear Kat, Dom, Mel and Jas, and also Alice and Michelle, but from some, mainly the cages that held the children not from their pack, the ones that had been there longer, there was a terrifying lack of noise. Fortunately, she could smell no death other than what lingered around the mansion… but they were far too close to it.

She needed to get to them!

Waverly wasn’t aware of making a sound but she must have as Wynonna’s hands gently fell to hers, squeezing gently to ground her as their eyes met. The fear in Wynonna’s blue eyes as they flickered from hers and the cages nearly undid her.

She clasped Wynonna’s hands just as strongly giving back the strength her sister had given her so they could stay strong for each other and their children. As much as they wanted to get up and go to them, they both knew that any movement on their part would more than likely lead to their babies just been killed as a warning or just out of spite.

They had to get their children out of there… all of the children… before it was too late but as much as it pained them and ate at their souls they couldn’t act right then.

But soon.

In a replay of what had happened before, Bulshar and his goons entered from the side and took their places before them along the front of the hall. There was anticipation gleaming in his eyes as he stood right in the middle of a dark stain on the floor that hadn’t been there before… A stain that looked suspiciously like fresh blood to Waverly as he looked out across at them all… a magician revelling in the opportunity of revealing a trick and shocking his captive audience.

“No ring.”

At Wynonna’s whisper, Waverly’s eyes dropped to where Bulshar’s hands were revealed by the edge of the robe. Sure enough, his fingers were bare. Had Bobo betrayed him? That didn’t seem likely. But then… who truly knew what was going on in his twisted mind?

“Waves,” casting her gaze around to make sure that no one was listening, especially the guard closest to them, Wynonna leaned in a little closer to Waverly. “Can you feel our girl? Is she okay?”

Waverly nodded slightly. That was all she could manage with the guard turning his attention back on them and also because, no matter how hard she tried she still couldn’t talk to Nicole and expressing that had Waverly feeling like she would shatter and fall apart.

Squeezing Waverly’s hands, Wynonna gave her a small smile of encouragement. “Nicole is as tough as nails, she’ll be okay,” she whispered. “We all will be.” Though how was out of her grasp at the moment. They were too closely guarded and there were innocent lives on the line.

Her eyes drifted to the cage where she could feel her daughters. Pain ripped through her soul at how quiet her usually feisty and opinionated babies were.

They needed to act soon!

“How goes my daughter's retraining?”

Bobo stepped reluctantly closer to Bulshar. He was eager to give him back his ring but he felt it needed to be done just at the right moment. Bulshar was not known for his patience and giving it too soon could still result in a backlash of anger if something came up afterwards.

“Jolene tried her magic again but the bit— your daughter had proved to be every bit as resilient as you, my Lord. Jolene did warn that it might not take so easily but she had me convinced it would work.”

Waverly huffed out a breath of relief at the news that Nicole’s resistance to poison was something they had failed to take into account. Which was kind of ironic and very sweet as it was strong because of Bulshar.

“It was unwise of you to entrust her with such an important task!”

“She assured me it would work but…” he tried to defend himself. “No, not wise,” he backpedalled a step, fearing that Bulshar would lash out at him. “We have resorted to other forms of persuasion. I asked Jolene to finish up and bring your daughter here when she was ready.”

“So, you have abandoned the task I set out for you?”

Sensing that Bulshar was starting to spiral to where he would be completely unreasonable, Bobo swallowed nervously. “For a good reason, my Lord! We finally found where they were hiding your ring and I wanted to give it to you personally once I was sure they hadn’t done anything to it that might cause you harm!”

“My ring?”

“Yes,” Bobo grinned at the softening of Bulshar’s voice. “You are perfectly capable of bringing them and your daughter to heel without it but…” hurridly fishing around beneath his robe, he wrapped his hand around the small box in his pocket and brought it forth to give to Bulshar.

“Shit,” Wynonna grumbled. “Not gonna lie. I was kind of hoping that Bobo would try putting it on first.”

“Yeah, that would have been sweet,” Waverly agreed. She tried to fill her mind with pleasant thoughts of Bobo going the way of Miller… or better yet, Bobo falling afoul of it now that the ring at its heart… or whatever a ring could have in place of a heart, set on Nicole.

Unfortunately, though, the ring had let her down.

As Bulshar removed it from the box Bobo gave him, Waverly saw the ring changing size and shape with an indecisive flicker before settling on a man’s size and style as Bulshar slipped it on to his finger.

“Shit.”

Power slammed around the room in a shockwave that sent everyone, no matter whose side they were on, sprawling. Bracing her hands against the floor, Waverly lifted her head and struggled back to her knees.

The ring was strong, there had never been any doubt about that, but it had felt worse the first time it had attacked Nicole and tried to persuade her to wear it. This was a shadow of itself… a shadow that still felt like rusty nails on the chalkboard of her mind trying to strip everything that made her who she was and absorb it into Bulshar, but still a shadow.

Swiping her bound hands across her nose, Waverly wiped away the rush of blood spilling from it and glowered defiantly at Bulshar.

Bulshar opened his eyes, savouring the rush of power that strengthened him anew. The sight of several of the captive Wolves sitting up again had him frowning in confusion but he wasn’t concerned. The ring would protect him, strengthen him as it drained them. And then everyone would bow before him!

The Wolf sitting right before him though… that one he recognised from before. “Bring that one to me!”

Waverly struggled as hands grabbed her from behind, yanking her harshly up from the cold floor and pushed her towards Bulshar.

“Let her go!” Wynonna stilled as the unblinking eye of a shotgun pointed unwaveringly at her face from inches away. She wasn’t a fan of taking a hit from a shotgun anywhere but to the face could be a deathblow even with their ability to heal. But from so close and with the silver she could smell oozing like a poisonous cloud from the shot… That was pretty much a guaranteed death.

The sound of her little sister being dragged and forced closer to Bulshar almost made her risk it though… and she probably would have if not for Doc’s touch forcing her to meet his blue eyes pleading with her to show restraint.

“Our time will come,” he whispered gently as he applied a little more force to her thigh to still her. “It will most assuredly come.”

“You, you are the one that gave me so many problems with my daughter.”

“They are… mated, my Lord.” Bobo gleefully informed her.

Waverly felt a shiver of revulsion run through her as Bulshar grasped her jaw with cruel hands as cold as the grave and forced her head to the side so he could study the mark left there by Nicole.

“I do not hold by such things.”

“Mates?” Bobo questioned. He knew that Bulshar had never taken a mate… or really let many of the ones fortunate enough to earn his attention live long after they had served their purpose. But he had assumed that that was because no one was worthy.

“That… and two women being together,” he sneered. “It is a waste and not what women were intended for. But… it has apparently resulted in the next generation of Bulshar’s being sired.”

Waverly’s lip curled back in a snarl at the pride in his voice that made it sound like he was taking responsibility for their babies.

“The Bulshar genes even found a way around that disgusting, unnatural trait.”

“There is nothing disgusting or unnatural about our love. Love is love! And it was Nicole’s, Séquoia genes that blessed us with children. It had nothing to do with you! Nothing!!!”

“Such insolence! Let me dispose of her for you.” Bobo offered, pulling a knife from his robes in anticipation.

“No. Now she has apparently ‘bonded’ with my daughter… and make no mistake, runt, she is my daughter! She will be useful for securing more of my bloodline to serve beside me when we take over the world.”

“Sounds like someone is shooting blanks,” Wynonna muttered under her breath.

“We’ll never let you take—”

“You make it sound like you have a choice!” Stepping closing, using his height as intimidation, Bulshar leaned over the pretty young wolf to snarl in her face as he exerted all this will upon her. “You will bow before me and beg me to accept your young,” he purred silkily.

“Never!”

Bulshar drew back in confusion. That should have had her on her knees but instead, she was looking at him with loathing. “What are you?”

“Her name is Waverly Earp, my Lord.”

“Earp? That name means nothing to me. What was your mother’s name?”

“Michelle, my Lord.”

Bulshar’s lips compressed into a thin line at Bobo’s utterly useless piece of information. “I meant her maiden name you useless fool!” Grasping the idiot around the neck, Bulshar gave him a harsh shake and tossed him aside in favour of wrapping his fist around the girl’s throat and lifting her off the floor until she dangled. “I want to know whose blood runs through your veins! Tell me her name!”

“Gibson,” Waverly croaked out. “Michelle Gibson.” It was just a name, nothing worth dying over.

Yanking her closer, Bulshar ran his nose along the side of her face, breathing her in. Her shiver of revulsion thrilled him but it was quickly followed by a snarl that made a shiver run down his own spine in a way he had never felt since he had become immortal. “Gibson?” That was a name that stirred his memory and increased the flame of fear. “Witch blood? Is that what gives you so much courage when you face me?”

“I’m no witch. But I can make a prediction if you like? One based on just things I know for a fact.”

“Really?” He laughed dismissively. “Tell me what you see.”

“You… Losing.”

“You are terrible at predictions, little wolf.”

“Nope. Like I said, facts. You are not going to beat us. For everything, you have done to so many people… To us. To Nicole… You are going to be torn apart, your blood scattered and your name is forgotten and we will go on! I know this because we are stronger than you ever dreamed of being!”

She could see the uncertainty flash briefly in his eye at her words and the conviction behind them and it gave her even more belief in them. A belief that was fuelled by a surge of strength she felt in Nicole and the dull thud of an explosion somewhere on the mansion grounds.

Nicole wrapped her fingers around the chain of the cuffs holding her hands secured behind her back. The silver burned into her flesh but she held on determinedly. She could feel a shift in the air, an anticipation as the moment to act rushed towards her. Her connection with Waverly was dampened by the silver but she could feel that her fierce and determined mate was pushing Bulshar towards something.

The thud of an explosion had the guards dragging her along and Jolene halting, their eyes darting around as though they thought they could see through the walls. Nicole used her senses, dimmed as they were she could still make out the scent of the explosive, the cries of confusion and pain and the rattle of gunfire in the distance.

Muscles straining, Nicole started to pull against the cuffs, gritting her teeth against the pain as her flesh ripped.

“My Lord!”

“What is it, Jonas!?” Bobo was left gritting his teeth as the ambitious Wolf shouldered his way past to deliver his news to Bulshar himself lie he was somehow important enough to be anywhere near him!

“My Lord! We’re under attack!”

Another explosion rang out, closer than the first. Dirt and plaster rained down on them from the high ceiling as it shook the vast hall.

The cuffs shattered, falling from Nicole’s wrists. It felt good to be free of them but it still left her with the tight collar around her neck to deal with. With that on, she couldn’t change but she was far from helpless, Alexandria’s training had seen to that.

As the guards moved around her drawing batons and knives, Nicole shifted her stance as she’d had drilled into her. She could feel a blanket of calmness settling over her, her breathing evening as she waited for them to make their move.

“Who dares!?” Bulshar cast the Wolf in his hand aside without looking or caring where she might land.

“From what we’ve seen there are Yiska and Nymphs from the coalition, Harpies, Black Badge and even normal humans… And, my Lord, they have a dragon amongst their number!”

Before he could school his expression, Bulshar felt his eyes fly wide in disbelief at the last one.

“Go, Eliza!” Wynonna smirked as she checked on Waverly. “Cavalry is here, Babygirl.”

“Even without the help of the mercenaries Moody has amassed we outnumber them but the Yiska fight with the ferocity of ten warriors… and that dragon… I don’t believe we can…”

“Silence!” Bulshar backhanded the fool, sending him before his jabbering had his Wolves abandoning his side. The force of his blow sent the Wolf crashing straight to his knees and shattering his flapping jaw. “We will hold our position here and let Moody whittle down their numbers before we show them what true power is!”

Another explosion has a spiders web of cracks opening up in the ceiling.

“My Lord, we can’t afford to stay here any longer,” Bobo grabbed Bulshar by the arm and tugged urgently as he kept a wary eye on the ceiling. “Might I suggest we head to one of your other properties away from all this?”

“Fine! Bring the children! I still need to feed! But no one is to touch my kin! My daughter turned out to be a disappointment but they are young and can be brought up properly!”

“And the Wolves?”

Bulshar froze and looked at them all trapped and helpless within the hall. “Kill every last one of them and then join us at the portal by the lake!”

“Shit!” Wynonna hauled Waverly to her feet as the guards advanced on them with guns drawn.