Caged

Chapter 35.

Rhett's POV

I laughed tightly and sat forward, resting my forearms against my knees. "It's the truth. I have something important I feel that you need to know concerning not only your Beta, but yourself as well."

He sat quietly, waiting for me to continue as his eyebrows rose.

"First and foremost, your Beta crossed onto my land yesterday morning and attacked two of my she-wolves, leaving one drugged and unconscious in the woods." I said firmly.

Dominic straightened and set his jaw as his eyes began to harden. "I see. And you have proof of this?"

I nodded and continued smoothly. "Beta Cage came to my office not very long ago, alerting me that he wished to claim the she-wolf he'd marked several years ago, but she'd left him and joined my pack of her own free will. Lili claimed he'd been abusive to her for years and she fled in fear for her life. They did not complete the mate bond, and so I saw no reason to turn her over to him without her consent. She showed these memories to the leader of my she-wolves Ivy outside, and she'd be happy to verify this for you as well."

He let out a quiet breath and sat back in his chair, listening intently. "I may need to accept that offer once we've finished."

"As it turns out, this female he sought was actually my given mate as well. So when we found Ivy in the woods unconscious and drugged, we checked for lingering scents and my Beta Asher recognized Cage's scent immediately surrounding Lili's. He'd also threatened to do as much when he visited me previously." I said smoothly.

"I assure you he had no such permission to visit you for any reason, much less with threats of war. If all is true as you say, you're well within your rights as her true mate." He said, his hand stroking his beard absently as a muscle in his jaw ticked.

"We also believe he has two other hostages with him in the house that he intended to use as leverage to draw her in before he took her. One is an old friend of Lili's, a she wolf, and the other is her child." I continued, leaving out the part that we'd had a scout party sitting on his land watching the property to find out this knowledge.

His lip curled back slightly as his jaw clenched and his expression hardened. "And you're sure of this? If what you say is legitimate, I have no choice but to confront him about this immediately."

"There's more." I said after a moment.

His eyes floated up to stare back at me and I couldn't overlook the fierceness in them that reminded me so much of hers.

"It is my belief that Lili is...your daughter." I said as evenly as possible, but I hadn't been able to stop myself as I paused.

Dominic let out a low growl as his eyes narrowed. "That isn't possible." He said cautiously.

I let out a breath and shook my head. "I know it seems that way, but I believe it's true. Her mother was Olivia Walker."

Dominic froze, watching me for any sign of betrayal. I held his strong gaze and matched the hardness as he leaned forward, inspecting my heart rate most likely as I sat silently. "You said was." He said finally.

I nodded and took a slow breath. "She passed around six years ago. It was unexpected. Lili was crushed. Her full name is actually Thalia Walker."

"I knew Olivia only briefly, but I would never have had a child with her. It isn't possible. But I'll investigate your other claims immediately. Did you come with a plan in mind?" His words were short and I could sense the wheels turning within his mind.

"Yes. I assume you'll be making the initial contact with Beta Cage to confirm what we've said is true. My team and I will hold back inside the tree line outside of his guards' patrol until you've confirmed that Lili and the hostages are there. I thought that would be our one shot at doing this without bloodshed." Dominic nodded, his fingers stroking his beard as he listened. I took a breath and straightened, leaning forward as I spoke firmer to gain his full attention. "If he denies this, or tries to fight for them, I will not hold back until I've retrieved what I came for."

"Of course. Let's not waste any more time then." He said quickly, standing slowly and stepping around his desk and walking toward the door. I stood as he was turning over his shoulder to check for me behind him.

Finally. I can sense her. She's so close.

My thoughts began to race as her presence was already beginning to draw me in, calling for me, for my wolf. I followed Dominic out of the house as the guards along with Asher and Weston fell in behind us. Our two teams split off and we fell in step behind them, slowly distancing ourselves so we wouldn't be detected as the sun slowly began to set behind the trees. As we approached the path leading to the cabin, my steps caught and my knees buckled beneath me as I felt the air inside of my throat catch. My side ached and burned and I struggled to pull an easy breath in as my vision spotted. 

I linked Weston who had been placed inside of Dominic's team in case we needed to speak quickly from a distance. "Weston, he's hurting her. She's not going to make it if we don't hurry."

I saw him rush to Dominic's side and whisper in his ear before falling back in line with our pack. We stopped suddenly, hiding ourselves within the brush so that we could safely observe Dominic as he approached the house.

He took two large heavy steps up to the front door, knocking loudly and I heard hurried steps after a moment stomping toward the door that were coming from inside, stopping before opening the door. I strained my hearing to try and catch what I could of the conversation.

"Cage, I need to speak to you right now. It's urgent." Dominic stated plainly, his voice tight as he spoke through gritted teeth from the porch.

I heard a muffled exhale before Cage answered hurriedly from inside. "Alpha, now is not a good time. I'm..."

"If you don't open this fucking door Cage, I will do it myself." Dominic's voice boomed, exuding his Alpha tone as he stepped toward the door. 

There was a long pause before I saw Dominic nod back to his team waiting behind him. He took a step back and launched his foot into the door, kicking it in and sending it flying off of its hinges. I thought I heard what sounded like a small scream from deep inside the house, but it was hard to make out through the sounds of Dominic entering the house. His warriors followed tightly behind him, blocking the doorway as they entered. 

My heart began to race as I anxiously waited to hear his confirmation, to hear that she was there and ok. I felt Ivy and Asher to my right, tension rolling off of them as they each held their breath, waiting to hear the same words. She was alive. I knew she was alive. I could feel it, but she was hurting. 

After what felt like an eternity, I finally heard the words I had desperately needed to hear. "So it's true? Where's the other one?" Dominic barked.

"She's back beneath the floor boards in a cubby. She's fine." Cage answered reluctantly, clearly angry that he'd been interrupted. 

"Show me. Now." Dominic commanded. I waited anxiously to hear which of Cage's victims it was that he had yet to find, hoping with every ounce that he'd seen Lili already and that she was finally safe. She'd been with him far too long already.

Please say Lili's ok. She has to be ok.