Theo POV

"Theo, you are needed in the basement. Cell three." His voice rang in my head. 

I sigh as I open my medicine cabinet and grab my bag of supplies, not looking forward to the mess I am going to be cleaning up today. I don't even know why he wastes the supplies on these rogues when all he is going to be doing is torturing them again. It makes no sense to me, but who am I to question the Alpha. 

I close and lock the cabinet behind me and leave my office. Heading towards the stairs, I nod at the various pack members who I pass in the hall. One man catches my attention. He has a black eye and deep scratches down his bare chest. I stop and take a step towards him. 

"Terrence, those scratches need cleaning. After I am done in the basement, I will tend to them okay?" I say sternly. Eyeing them curiously, I ask, "How did you get them?"

"Don't you worry about them, Theo. This is nothing of your concern." He sneers and pushes past me, storming down the hall. A familiar scent hits my nostrils, but I can't quite place it. Shaking my head, I continue on to the basement. 

As my hand touches the door to the basement stairs, I hear a cough behind me. "Theo?"

I turn to see Beta Larson looking at me. His face is solemn and his body is tense. He looks like he has something to say, but he is scared to vocalize his thoughts. He shakes his head and says quietly, "It's not pretty. Just, um. Be prepared." Then he walks away from me. 

Before I head down, I take a deep breath and push away the thoughts that are clouding my mind. The second I open the door, I am met with the scent of blood, feces, urine and fear. However today, there is a new scent mixed in there. A familiar scent. 

It can't be. My wolf, Ivar, states as I slowly step down the stairs. 

I walk past the first two cells that hold starving rogues and slowly step into the doorway of cell three. That familiar scent is stronger here and so is the stench of blood. Rage can be felt in waves as I step closer to the cell to see what, or better who is inside. It's dark, but my wolf eyes can see pools of blood on the floors as well as bloody handprints on the walls. A shadowy figure is sitting in the corner of the cell. I carefully unlock the door and step inside.

The figure doesn't lift their head so I cough in an attempt to get their attention. Still nothing. I sigh as I walk over to the light switch, attempting to stay away from the still wet blood. Flicking the light on, I gasp at who it is in front of me. 

"Skylar?" I whisper quietly as I look over her. She is naked, sitting in the corner with her head down and her knees bent to her chest. She has bruises and gashes all over her legs and arms from what I can see. Her hair is matted with what looks to be blood. She looks awful. I can feel her hatred and anger, and I think that's what scares me the most. 

I slowly walk towards her and bend down beside her. "Skylar, I am here to help you. Look at me." And she does. Her beautiful hazel eyes are gone and replaced with dark eyes that would kill me if they could. Tears stain her bruised cheeks. Her once soft, plump lips are double their size and the bottom lip is split. 

"Theo?" She croaks. 

I open my bag and pull a water bottle out for her to drink. "Here, drink this Skylar," I demand and force the bottle to her lips. She slowly sips at the drink, then pulls away coughing.

"I can't." She says with her raspy voice. "It hurts."

"Can you mind-link me and tell me what happened?" I ask carefully. 

"No." She simply states and turns her head to look at the wall. 

I carefully bring my hand to her cheek and turn her face towards me. "Skylar, I need to know. I want to help you." 

"No."

I stare at her for a second, trying to read her blank expression. "Why?" I ask softly. 

"Because it shouldn't be put into words." She whispers. I look at her with disbelief before bringing her body to me in a hug. She leans against me with her head to my heart. I expect her to cry, but she doesn't. She just sits there. It kills me to see her this way. 

"I am here for you, but I can't help you if I don't know what happened. I need to know. I need to treat your injuries." 

"I can't Theo. I can't put you through that too. No one should be put through that. What they did-" She pauses. "Nevermind. Just forget it."

"How am I supposed to forget it?" I pull away. "Look at you, Skylar! You're hurt!"

"No fucken duh." She retorts before leaning back against the wall, wincing as she does so. "Can you just fix me up and go already?"

I shake my head before taking her hands in mine. "No, I can't go. You need someone to help you, Skylar. You can't do this on your own." I look into her eyes, her pain evident in them. I start to see tears form in them before she quickly closes them tightly, pushing them away.

"Theo..." She starts, opening her eyes and showing her hazel ones again. "Why?"

"Because no one should go through this. Especially not at the hands of their mate. Especially not you, Skylar." I tell her. This woman deserves so much more than this. 

Skylar stares at me for a moment before sighing and shuffling over to me again. She leans against me, wrapping her arms around my one arm. "You know, not even a month ago I was excited to attend that ball in hopes that I would find my mate and take me away from my boring, repetitive life?" She laughs quietly. "Now I would do anything to go back to that time. Anything. I wish I could bring you with me though." She whispers that last part, almost like she didn't want me to hear it. 

"I wish things were different for you too, Skylar. I really do."

She hums quietly as she snuggles closer to me. "I wish you were my mate." She mumbles quietly, more to herself than to me. 

I don't say anything to that. What can I say? I already had my mate and she died during Colton's last conquest three months ago. My wolf whimpers at the memory. 

"Let me clean you up. I want to make sure everything heals properly." 

She sighs before sitting up. "Um, Theo?" She asks nervously. 

"Yes?"

"Remember when I was in your office and you said you would have to give me something if anything happened last night because that shot wouldn't work right away?" 

"Mmmhmm." I'm not liking where this is going. 

"Can I have that?" She whimpers out, tears finally falling down her cheeks. 

I quickly wrap my arms around her again. "Of course."

"Thank you." She says softly. 

We sit like that for a long time, her silently crying and me whispering sweet nothings in her ear. I rub my hands carefully over her back, avoiding scratches and other injuries as best as I can. After what seems like hours, she pulls away and asks me to fix her up. I kiss the top of her head and pull away from her. It's time to see the all of the damage that has been done to her.

I pull a small blanket from my bag and lay it on the ground. "I'm going to lay you here and first clean you up so I can get a good look at what needs to be done, okay?" She nods. I quickly mind-link Ashley to bring warm, soapy water and a cloth so I can bathe Skylar before I bring her to the blanket. She tenses as I lay her down, and lets out a soft cry as she finally hits the flat surface. Ashley peaks around the door of the cell, before bringing the water in and setting it down by me. 

"Thank you," I say before she runs out of the room. I don't blame her, it looks like a murder scene in here. "This will hurt."

Skylar grasps my knee tightly as I slowly rub away all the dirt and blood from her body. I start at her head and work my way down to her toes. She occasionally winces, but, other than her death grip on my leg, she doesn't let her pain show. Once I finish her front, I carefully turn her over so I can wash her back as well. Anger fills me as I see the state her back is in. It takes all I can to keep my wolf at bay. Long scratches and dark bruises cover her back and ass. I clench my jaw at the sight. I move a little quicker, not wanting to see it anymore. 

"Theo, I need you to check something else. It...doesn't feel right. Down there, I mean." She whimpers out. I grit my teeth before turning her back onto her back. 

"Spread your legs carefully, I will have a look." She looks at me for a second, hesitating before she bends her knees and slowly parts them. I nod and look down. I swallow and try to make my face as emotionless as possible. It's devastating to look at. She's swollen and torn; bloody and bruised. It's just awful. Although it will heal, this shouldn't have happened in the first place. I quickly and carefully wash her, trying hard not to hurt her further. 

"Did he do this?" I question her. 

She closes her eyes and breathes in deeply before slowly letting the breath back out. "Yes and no." She answers quietly. "I don't want to talk about it." 

"Okay, but I am here when you do," I say to her. 

The rest of the time was quiet. I worked quickly and carefully stitching up the deeper wounds and treating the others. Once she is finished, I take off my shirt and help her put it on. She doesn't need to be naked down here too. 

"I don't think I am supposed to be bringing you up, but I am going to anyways," I say, before lifting her up bridal style. She carefully wraps her arms around my neck and rests her head on my chest. "You can fall asleep if you are tired, I am going to set you up in my office. You don't need to be near him."

She smiles slightly and closes her eyes. I head out of the cell and make my way quickly to my office, trying my best to keep her out of Colton's sight. Luckily I make it there without him or any of his trusted men seeing us. By the time I set her on the bed, she is out like a light. 

I slowly pull the blanket over her. For a moment, I stare at her - debating whether I should do what I want to do or not. Against my better judgment, I lean over her slowly and plant a light kiss to her swollen lips. Then, I turn to leave the room. 

"I won't give in." Her small voice says before I step out of the door. "I won't ever give in to him. Never." 

With that, I turn to her and smile. Nodding my head before closing the door and walking off towards the stairs. I quickly make my way in the direction of my destination, my anger making me walk faster. My fangs begin to descend and my claws lengthen as I swing the door open. 

"Colton!" I growl out. "How could you?"

He looks up from his desk at me, his eyes darken at my disrespect. "Are you finished with her?" He simply replies. 

"What?!" I roar. "Is that all you have to say for yourself? Have you seen the damage you inflicted on her?" 

He stands up from his desk and steps around it, walking slowly to me. 

"What are you trying to do? Kill her?" I yell.

"No. Well, maybe." He says with a chuckle. "She is my mate, I can do as I please. I'd advise you to adjust your tone, Theo."

I scream in frustration. "No Colton. You need to listen to this. What you are doing is NOT okay! You don't treat a woman like that, let alone your fucking mate! What the hell do you think you are doing? If Mom was here-" 

Before I could finish, he lunges at me. His forearm is pushing on my neck as my back is at the wall. "Mom isn't here, brother, and even if she was here, she would never stop me from doing what I want to with what is mine." He says between gritted teeth. 

"Yours? She isn't yours, brother. She is her own fucking person! She doesn't deserve what you are putting her through!" I cough out before he pushes harder on my throat, my lungs burning at the lack of oxygen. 

"She deserves everything that my men and I have dished out to her, Theo." He spits out. "Everything. And anyway," He pulls away from me, stepping back and straightening out his clothes. "Who will stop me? Sure as hell won't be a useless runt such as yourself."

"I will do what I can. Someone needs to be there for her." I say between pants. 

"Unfortunately her mate is an abusive prick like our father so it won't be him. Actually, he's fucking worse than his father. His father never let his men have a go." I spat before walking out of the room., slamming the door behind me. 

I can hear Colton's angry words and the crashing sounds of furniture being flipped around the room as I walk away. 

I won't give in either, Skylar. I will always be there for you. 

~~~

Author's note:

What do you think of Theo? Do you think his words will affect Colton in any way? Do you think any changes are in order? 

Let me hear your thoughts and predictions in the comments!