Gypsy Moon (All The Pretty Monsters #4)(2)

I wish my bra wasn’t empty. I didn’t want to risk blowing up the store on accident when I was bending over and stuff.

“They certainly checked me,” Shera grumbles, groaning like her head’s in pain.

“You’re the larger threat,” I say while glancing back at the bars.

“Well, this is a very shitty plan. Everyone knows better than to kidnap a vampire,” Shera growls. “Especially wolves.”

“The planning is actually good,” I tell her as I peer through the bars, staring at the wall in front of me. “It’s the execution that won’t work, because they’re a bunch of omegas fighting all their instincts for the sake power. Not freedom. They already have freedom and take it for granted.”

“How are you awake before I am?” she asks as she makes an effort to try to get comfortable.

“Because I fainted after Abby hit me,” I answer somewhat proudly.

“You fainted?” she asks, sounding disbelieving of the fact I said those words like they’re bragging rights.

“It’s my super power,” I explain absently. “I can faint on command. I just have to focus.”

“Oh, goodie. Arion has chosen a girl who faints when faced with life and death,” she states dryly. “How did I become a target in a wolf mutiny?” she adds on a growl.

“Because these wolves want to get their hands on not just Emit, but the four Head alphas,” I answer, still distracted as I search for any way to escape.

Laughter bubbles out of her like she’s surprised, and I turn to look at her, as her body continues to shake with the force.

“They have four Van Helsing caskets,” I go on, causing her to only laugh harder. “These are the same wolves who attacked en masse not that long ago. I’m not sure why you’re not taking this more seriously.”

Her eyes cut to mine, as she wipes the laughing tears out of them, still chuckling. She sighs and leans her head back, the chains rattling with every subtle action she makes.

“It’s funny because omegas bitch that they die for no purpose. They’re always stepped on during the wars. Well, it’s fucking war between monsters. Shit happens. The irony is that you and I may die for no purpose at all, outside of a non-existent war, because when Arion comes in here, there won’t be a wolf left standing. These stupid fucking na?ve wolves will likely kill us just to feel like they’ve somehow wounded the alphas they wanted to bait to their own slaughter.”

“These wolves pinned Damien down. Do you know—”

“Damien hasn’t fed the way he’s needed to in centuries, Violet,” she says very seriously. “An alpha who hasn’t maintained himself still held these wolves off you, and for all you know, he could have killed all of them, even without the other three showing up. You aren’t understanding how unnaturally powerful they are. The betas and omegas? We’re weak impersonations of that power,” she goes on, her eyes narrowing.

She stares at me for a moment, almost as though she’s struggling with how best to make me understand.

“Emit is weak and tortured, hating himself for the innocent, trusting wolves he killed too long ago, but he could still slaughter everything under this roof if he really wanted to. They struggled with Idun because they lacked the proper motivation and concern, and she was a very powerful, very motivated bitch of an alpha I fortunately never had to meet,” she goes on, studying the shackles on her wrists.

I stand and stretch, moving freely through the room, as I listen to her and to the light chatter I can hear. The chatter is distant, as though this hallway stretches on for a while in the left direction. I’m not sure about the right.

“Arion, however, is the one monster among them who genuinely enjoys killing things. He enjoys being really good at being the vampire alpha. Sure, it makes him terrifying to most of us—you’d have to be an idiot not to fear him a healthy amount—but no one fucks with him. Do you know why no one fucks with him?”

“Not really, since people are currently fucking with him, and we’re the bait,” I state as I test the cage bars.

I’d have to let my heartbeat drop dangerously low to do any damage to them. Which is too low to safely turn back from. Theoretically.

“These are some outsiders who think they know how the true world works. They think they’re strong enough to break free from any sort of regulations. They think they can do whatever in the hell they want to do, so long as they get rid of the ones in charge. The alphas are designed to stop that from happening, and trust me when I say Arion takes great joy in his part.”

Thunder rumbles overhead, muffled by the thin layer above us, so I wonder just how close to the surface we are.

“I need to figure a way out of these chains so I can protect us when they figure out this was a horrible idea and try to clean up the mess—the mess being us,” she rambles.

The chains rattle behind me again, as I continue straining to hear anything else.

“Why am I in chains and you’re not?” Shera asks like she’s annoyed, as I begin pacing the room.

I immediately pause my pacing and smile over at her. “Because I fainted and you fought.”

An agitated expression creases her features.

“Guess fainting isn’t such a bad super power after all, is it?” I muse as I glance back out the bars.