Jaded Hearts (Book 2 of Blue Moon Series)
Jaded Hearts Chapter 75

Matt

It was a real hard thing to accept, being captured.

Xander, Alexi, and I were all focused and alert. We didn't make any mistakes, but somehow, we still got f*****g caught, and now we were tied up in a dark basement with no idea where we were. "Matt, are you alright?" I heard Xander ask.

I rolled my shoulders as best I could and wiggled around. Besides a blaring headache, I didn't feel that anything was hurt.

"I'm good. How are you? Is Lex awake?"

Whatever was used to knock us out had a stronger effect on him since he was human, so whatever we were about to go through was going to whip his a*s. I only prayed he was strong enough to withstand it.

"I'm perfect, just kidnapped and tied. Lex is still out, but he's strong. He should wake up soon."

"Did you see anything that could help us figure out who took us or where we are?" I asked.

"No, but we're still alive, so whoever has us is going to come down and gloat about it. We're going to need them to tell us everything we want to know."

"That's nice and all, but what makes you think you can do that? You're a damn good Alpha and all, but I don't think you can command them."

"Am I really a good Alpha?"

I looked over at him, confused. He was the best Alpha anyone could ask for. Why was he questioning himself?

"Remember when we were kids, and we would pretend we hated each other to get the adults to do what we wanted? For some reason, weakness within the ranks makes the other side relax. And when they relax, they make mistakes." "Your dad used to get pissed when we'd do that to him, but he fell for it every time," I said with a laugh.

"And that means we're damn good at it. If we can trick the smartest man I've ever known, we can trick whoever this fucker is."

"What about Lex? He won't know what to do."

"He's smart. He'll figure it out."

"Alright, I'm in. Same rules apply?"

"Same rules. But if you say anything crazy about my children, I'll really kick your a*s when we get out of here."

"That's fair. Let's do this."

We instinctively turned our bodies away from each other, our way of getting as far away from the other as possible. Being mischievous and i***t kids was really coming in handy, and I had a feeling it was going to save our lives.

***

I must have drifted off because I was jolted awake by the feeling of a size thirteen boot crashing into my ribs. I opened my eyes, expecting to see whoever was holding us, but instead, it was Alexi. He had finally woken up, and when consciousness hit him, his body jerked, sending his foot flying.

"What the f**k, man! You couldn't have put your feet anywhere else in this entire f*****g room? It just had to be my god damned ribs?!"

He looked around the room, confused and disoriented. I kept yelling and being an i***t while Xander quietly got Lex's attention and filled him in. He nodded and smiled right in time because it appeared that my bitching had the desired effect. The door to the basement was unlocked, and I heard loud footsteps coming down the stairs.

"I see that you gentlemen are finally awake. I didn't want to kill you while you were unconscious-where's the fun in that? I much prefer to do it while you're all awake so you can watch your brothers die. Doesn't that sound exciting?"

The man before us had long, curly blonde hair, moss green eyes, and pale skin. His appearance screamed vampire, but in case you weren't listening, the sharpened and elongated canines confirmed it all.

"These fuckers are not my brothers. My brothers aren't ignorant assholes who don't know the difference between right and left. Just take me out last so I can watch you kill them both," I spat.

"Who do you think you're talking to? I don't know where we are, and I don't f*****g care, but I am still your Alpha, and you will respect me. Do you understand?"

"Ha! Please, man, you're nobody's Alpha. I run that f*****g pack. All you do is talk s**t and play with your d**k," Lex chimed in.

"Who do you think you're telking to? I don't know where we ere, end I don't f*****g cere, but I em still your Alphe, end you will respect me. Do you understend?"

"He! Pleese, men, you're nobody's Alphe. I run thet f*****g peck. All you do is telk s**t end pley with your d**k," Lex chimed in.

Xander growled and tried to launch himself at Alexi, but the chains and ropes held him in place.

"Well, isn't this interesting? The famed Blue Moon pack isn't as strong as it seems. How do you manage to fool the entire shifter community?"

"f**k off, cotton ball. We don't have the time for your s**t right now. Come back later," I said, brushing him off.

His eyes flashed red, and in the blink of an eye, he was standing in front of me. "My name is Lancaster. Clearly, you have no respect for your Alpha, but you will respect me. You don't have a choice." The red began to swirl with the black in his eyes, and I realized that he was trying to compel me. I held eye contact for a few seconds longer before I'd had enough.

"You smell like the s**t I took last week. Don't vamps at least shower?"

Lancaster took a few steps backwards and stumbled against the wall. "H-how is that possible? I can compel any shifter; a low-level wolf like you has never been able to resist me," he said.

I just shrugged. "I'm not low-level. You'll have to do better than that."

"You're a Gamma, you're low enough," Xander said with a laugh.

"Low enough to f**k that pint-sized wife of yours every chance I get."

"Enough! Clearly, I misread the situation here, but that's alright. I will be back, and when I do, all three of you will die," Lancaster warned.

"Promises, promises. So, tell me this before you go. Does it get cold or wet down here? The whiny little human b***h over in the corner has a weak immune system and could catch a cold," I said mockingly while looking at Alexi. "f**k you, Matt! My immune system is just fine. All humans get sick, you d**k!"

"Shut up! This is Southern California; it's never cold or wet. Now keep your f*****g mouths shut before I flood the place and let you drown."

Our warm and gracious host spun around and angrily went upstairs, mumbling about his plans the whole way. When the door locks clicked in place, I looked over to the guys and smiled.

"That was perfect!" I whispered.

"Did you have to call our wife pint-sized, though? That was harsh," Alexi said.

"Harsher than implying that I sleep with her all the time?"

"Good point. That hurt like a b***h too."

"Well, suck it up. We've got a lot more information to get out of this guy before we can get home," Xander said.

Alexi stood to his feet and stretched his arms and back, making my and Xander's jaws drop.

"Why aren't you chained?!" I asked.

"Oh, I was. I just unlocked them while you and 'Cotton Ball' were going at it."

He dangled a key in front of us and smiled.

"Being human has its advantages. Nobody thinks to thoroughly check me."

He reached down in his boots and pulled out four butterfly knives, three syringes full of wolfsbane, and a tiny plastic disc.

Xander's eyes lit up. "What the f**k!? What else do you have in there?"

"Hopefully, our ticket back home. Let's see if we can get out of here."

Alexi moved behind me and unlocked my chains before moving to take care of Xander's. Once we were all free, he passed out the weapons.

"These won't get us far, but they are a good start. We may need to shift at some point, so save your energy as best you can," Xander said to me.

"We just need to get out of this basement so I can get a signal. This transmitter's linked to Tyson's laptop, so if I can get a clear shot at the sky, I can send him our location," Alexi said while playing with the buttons on the device. "When did he give you that? And why don't we all have one?" I asked. I thought Tyson and I were finally close, but I guess not.

Alexi shrugged. "He gave it to me at the airport. He and I are the black sheep in the group. We didn't grow up with you guys, we don't share the same memories and experiences, and we're not wolves. We're also the 'other men' trying to reclaim mates that we rightfully lost. I guess we bonded over the circumstances."

"I don't care when, why, or how. I'm just glad it happened. Now let's get the f**k out of here so he can find us," Xander said as he poked his head around the stairs.

I checked the basement's narrow windows and noticed that even though they were locked, they were loose around the edges.

"Somebody keep an ear out for anyone coming down. I'm going to see if I can get this window out. That seems safer than walking through that door up there," I said.

Alexi nodded and crept closer to the door, giving me the opportunity to check the windows. Looking outside, I could tell that it was the middle of the night, but I didn't know how long we'd been here. But that wasn't important-getting back home to my family was. I used the knife Lex had given me and wedged it between the frame and the brick. It took some work, but I was able to wiggle the window frame free.

"Lex! Get down here," Xander whispered up the stairs.

Once he was back down, we had a quick meeting.

"Lex, your shoulders are the only ones that might fit through the hole, so we're going to push you up and out. Once you get the transmitter to work, hide it somewhere safe, then come back. We don't know how long it will take for Kade and Tyson to find us and get the team here, so we need to continue to look like we're prisoners. Understand?"

"Are you calling me small, Xan?"

Xander rolled his eyes. "No, but you are the smallest, so get your a*s through that hole."

We tried for a few minutes to squeeze him through, but smallest just wasn't small enough. We were three grown men, all well over six feet tall, and this was a hole more fit for a large child.

"Alexi, you're not going to like this, but it has to be done," I said.

"I don't even want to-"

I grabbed his arm and quickly dislocated his shoulder. Xander and I seemed to have been on the same page because his hand came up and clamped down over Lex's mouth as he screamed out.

"I'm sorry, man. I had to do it quickly so you wouldn't have time to think about it."

"f**k you! You could've told me!"

"Maybe, but bean will fix you up as soon as we get home. We need to get that transmitter working."

Sweat was beginning to bead on his forehead, so I knew he was in a lot of pain. I wished we had another choice, but it was either this or bursting through the door upstairs, which was just asking to be taken out.

"Oh, I f*****g hate you right now, you prick!"

"Lex, less taking and more moving. The longer you stand here bitching, the longer you're going to be in pain," Xander cut in.

Alexi shot him a look. "f**k you too!"

He held his injured arm and took a few deep breaths. "Get me through the damn hole; I can't wait to get back home. I'm gonna f**k you both up."

"That's the spirit. Let's go."

We lifted him again, and this time he easily slid through. It wasn't gentle or delicate, so there were plenty more muffled curses thrown our way. When he disappeared from view, I walked back towards the stairs to listen for anyone who might come down. If they did, I'd have to immediately take them out, and who knows what mess that would start.

"Lex better be f*****g quick. We can't have him out there too long," I whispered.

His feet reappeared by the window maybe three minutes later, and Xander helped him back down.

"It's done. Now we just need to keep hating each other long enough for the guys to find us. That won't be too hard on my part." He walked away and sat in a dark corner, cradling his arm.

I really did feel bad. Xander put the window back into place, then took his spot on the floor.

"Matt, I need to you put my chains back on, then Lex needs to put them back on you. Lex, you do whatever you can to protect your arm without letting them see you're not chained, got it?" "Yeah, whatever."

"I trust our pack. If Tyson gave you that transmitter, I know it'll work and that they'll find us. You're pissed off, but you're saving us too. Just remember that."