The Story of the Exile (The Belesone Pack #2)

Chapter 31

Katarina walked into another dream walk and sighed at her luck. Something wasn't right with this one. She had fallen asleep with Leo; so she tried to let him get some peace.

The atmosphere was hot and stifling, almost suffocating. This time, she wasn't Leo's mate; she was someone else entirely and that was unnerving. She had no idea who she was or why, but she paid attention to everything she saw. If it was important, she could relate every detail to Leo or Milo later.

"He's not breaking," a voice said to the left.

Katarina walked closer to the door that stood ajar, trying to hear what was being said. The voices were gritty and guttural.

"He will," his boss claimed.

She reached out her hand to touch the door, only to notice that it belonged a young woman. Yet she wasn't herself; she knew she wasn't. What was a young woman doing in a place like this, amongst people who were torturing a shifter?

Katarina listened harder at the door and absently felt her own clothes, to find that she was wearing a maid's apron and old fashioned, foreign clothes. So Leo's mate wasn't in the country. That helped.

She refocused on the conversation again.

"It's been years. He's either given up the fight until he eventually dies or he's secretly gathering his strength for a final fight," the underling pondered, with disinterest. "He knows we're going to keep him until he dies. But we need him to do what we want first," the man explained, in exasperation.

She detected a hint of anger in his voice. Was it at Leo's mate, for not succumbing to the torture and giving them what they wanted? Or was it because his boss was too stupid to accept that Leo's mate would never give in?

"He's not giving in. And he's certainly not going to fight," the boss laughed, sinking into his seat and lifting his heels onto the desk in front of him.

"Then he's stalling until his pack arrive to reclaim him," the younger man claimed.

Katarina wondered if he was right. Leo was searching for his mate. But maybe he was honestly worried that a whole pack were going to burst in and try to save Leo's true mate? She certainly hoped so. If someone rescued him, Leo's grief and pain would ease. It would make his search easier and quicker to complete.

The boss sighed and pulled a cigar from his inside pocket, before clipping the end off and lighting it. He looked bored. "Kid, we've had him for years. He's not going anywhere and no one is looking for him. If we're lucky, they think he's dead. If not, they've given up hope of getting him back intact," he drawled, uninterested in continuing the conversation.

Katarina shrank back against the door as she realised that his eyes were flicking around the room and had glanced at the door. If she was seen and caught, she was in serious danger. But at the same time, she hoped she could stay in the dream walk a little longer, until the end of the conversation. Until she'd had time to search for Leo's true mate. Or at least discover his location.

"You have to think about this more seriously, boss. This silent phase he's going through is not normal," he remarked, in warning. "His guard heard him whimpering and crying, after that last bout of torture. Now there's nothing," he said, angrily.

"He does that all the time," the boss waved it off.

Katarina sucked in her breath at that comment. Her last dream walk had left Leo's mate upset, that much she knew for herself. But knowing that he had changed his demeanour since then was worrying. What if they upped the torture to loosen his tongue or decided to kill him because he wasn't any use any more? The more she heard, the more she had to be scared of.