Mine to Claim

Chapter 44

All around us are cages. And there are people inside the cages. Some are naked, some have tattered clothes which look like rags. It's gruesome and a horrible sight to watch.

Somewhere among these cages is Dimitry. I choke on my own breath as I take in the state of women and men being trapped like animals inside these cages.

"It's horrible!"

"I agree!" I respond back to Fenris's words that are spoken inside my head.

We nod at each other and then spread out, walking between the cages, soothing the trapped people with our gifts, one by one.

"Don't free an unknown person," whispers Fenris and I nod my head, indicating that I heard him.

At this moment, we don't know the reason behind these cages. Why were these people trapped?

It is better to just free those people whom we know to be harmless to us. An unknown person's intention would be difficult to gauge. We can't even question a trapped person to ask about his intentions towards us.

Moving my gaze through the cages, I spot a pregnant female inside one of the cages. Her body is quite frail with the foetus inside her body alert to the outside world. It senses me and from the looks of this female, she appears to be a witch.

She is unknown to me but maybe to Callum she might be someone from his friends or family.

"Callum, please could you come here?"

A few seconds pass by and I hear the woosh of his breath.

"Oh, Lord!"

I turn to look at him, hearing the breathless tone of his voice. A second later, I spot him on his knees, while his hands are raised up, hopelessly. They are trembling while tears run down his cheeks.

I have never seen the easy-going wizard weep like this. Sorrow is the most prominent feature on his face, while his heart bleeds out through the tears that are flowing from his eyes. I turn to look at the woman inside the cage. She's not naked but she's not even fully covered. Her belly is visible while her breasts and lower body are covered in rags.

"Callum?" I whisper, not wanting to scare these victims. Bending down to look at the wizard, I squeeze his shoulders, trying very hard to not focus on the conclusion that my mind is drawing here.

"She's my... Dominic. She's my mate," sobs Callum as he puts his head in his hands, his entire body shaking in defeat and sorrow for the pain she must have been through.

This is the fear of the unknown. He doesn't know what happened to her. But the foetus, very much speaks of the torture that she must have gone through.

"What happened?" Fenris and Connor reach us while Fenris goes down on his knees to console Callum while Connor takes in the cage and the woman trapped inside. He looks at me and I see the rage that's bubbling in his eyes. He's reliving the moment when he found Catrina, trapped and tortured by one of Oman's minions.

Hadn't we saved Catrina on time, she might have ended up like this female here. It is times like these that make us realize that we are not actually the rulers of this Kingdom. Evil lurks around and possesses a person so deeply that it can easily overpower us, King or no King.

"Let's break the cage, and teleport her to Crimson Shadow," instructs Fenris after a long minute. I assume that Callum must have telepathically explained the importance of this female inside the cage.

Slowly we all let Callum get up and watch as he uses his magic to break open the cage. One by one he breaks all the chains while making sure that the woman is not harmed any more than she already is.