The Alpha's Mother-In-Law's Forbidden Love (The Cresta Chronicles)

Jude POV

He awoke in a stone room, chained to the wall. His head hurt like nothing he'd ever felt. He seemed to be alone. Confused images whirled in his mind. 

The island at midnight. The burning house. Daxius confessing about the curse. Daxius' fiancée bashing them over the head.

Ravyn! Where was she?

He could feel her pain shooting through his body and he moved his head–it was a struggle. His arms were chained, and the smell and weak feeling led him to a horrible realization.

"Ravyn was right not to trust Marieke," he growled. "Chain me with silver, will she? And where the h*ll are Lilia, Dane, and the others?"

Daxius' melancholy voice answered. "If I'd known, I would never have brought any of you here. This is all my fault."

He jerked his head sharply to see Daxius sitting on a bed on a dark red bedspread. The wizard rubbed his head, nursing a headache from the blow. 

"Figured that out, did you?" Jude snarled in response.

Daxius' shoulders slumped, and he was the picture of heartbreak.

Jude sighed. "Fenrir's teeth, I'm sorry. That was a low blow."

"Thank you. Although whatever you might say about me isn't as brutal as what I've been thinking about myself." Daxius hopped off the bed and ran to Jude, channeling magic and blasting the chains. 

They only rattled mockingly.

Jude managed a smile. "Thank you for the effort."

"You think I'm giving up that easily? I've been awake for hours."

Jude grunted, impressed. "You're not chained by silver AND with a headache."

"This isn't a 'who has it worse' contest. You would win, by the way."

"No, I think Ravyn might because of the bond." Jude growled, feeling her distress like thorns. "Sorry to deliver more cheery news."

"Is she–"

"Wherever she is, she's in pain because of me. If they've got Dane chained like this …"

Daxius blasted the chains more viciously, and all they did was shake more violently. "I heard someone outside talking to Marieke. They mentioned 'checking on the others' and 'the Master' wanting to see them when they were awake."

Dread seized Jude. "Hades?"

Daxius looked sympathetic. "I don't know. That was all they said. And they didn't give away any clues."

Jude paused. "How well do you know Marieke?"

"After years of being stranded here, even better than I ever knew Ravyn. Or so I thought."

The door squeaked open, then shut. Jude craned his neck to see around Daxius. A furious howl showed his displeasure at seeing Marieke, who carried a tray filled with food for two.

"You need to eat," she said, her eyes on Daxius.

He sprang up and whirled on her. "Take off these chains! And if Dane is chained, take those off too!"

Marieke's lips trembled. "I can't."

He growled. "I'm the Alpha of the Silverpaw Pack and Dane is the Alpha of the Evenhide Pack. If you know shifters at all, you should know that doing what you're doing to us is an act of war to our people, and they'll come after you. Your MASTER should know that too. Now let us go."

"And what are you going to do?" Marieke questioned with more strength than he'd expected. "Have dozens of your shifters march across Lugdunum and risk humans seeing them shift?"

Fenrir's guts, she was right.

"MARIEKE!" Daxius stalked toward her. "I'M not chained, and I'm not a shifter. Do as I say."

She avoided looking at him and scurried over, then shoved the tray in front of Jude. "You should be able to eat."

Even as weak as he was and as heavenly as the food smelled, he leaned forward and snapped at her with his teeth. "I want nothing from you–or this 'Master' of yours."

"She wants you alive." Marieke lifted a roll spread with butter and jam. "Eat."

"Do as she says," Daxius grumbled. "If you die from hunger, it'll kill Ravyn."

"I'll only eat in exchange for answers," Jude growled, and took the roll, which he devoured in two bites. 

Daxius got his own food, then sat down close to Jude, eyeing Marieke suspiciously and not at all like a lover. "Talk, dearest," he said with an edge.

"Oh, Daxius. You have to understand … you're my world. We have a world for two on this island. And when you were gone, I couldn't sleep wondering where you were, if you were hurt, or if a wolf had killed you."

Jude smelled sincerity in her tears.

Daxius ground his teeth. "GET OUT."

Marieke's hand trembled as she passed Jude a plate and a knife and fork. "Daxius–"

"You think you're the only one who knows what lonely means?" Daxius burst out, his hair looking wild to match his eyes. "What worrying about someone feels like?"

* * * * * 

Daxius POV

He couldn't remember the exact day when she found him.

Or the exact moment dark forces ambushed him after he went to that cursed tavern in one of the seedier areas of Wildefell because he heard about a rare crystal Ravyn might like. It seemed that between the shop and their daughter they spent their days growing farther and farther apart.

But he could remember awakening in a cave on this island, one he couldn't leave. He couldn't even try to leave without collapsing in extreme pain, and his only companion was a mysterious inhuman voice mocking him.

Sometime during his imprisonment, Marieke had found him. He remembered the darkest night of his life, lying helpless on the cave floor, wondering how long he'd been there, and whether he should just die trying to escape. Let the pain take him. Only thoughts of Ravyn and Lilia stopped him. 

He'd smelled a cup of tea. That was all it took to make him sit up and take notice. Marieke had pushed the cup of tea inside the cave.

Now, she offered them food as if it made up for betraying him, his wife, his daughter, his son-in-law, his former friend … and Ravyn's mate.

His disgust with her and his disgust with himself for falling for her made him feel wolfish. Either that or he'd picked up some bad habits from the shifters. But he admired their steadfast values. You were either with them or you were an enemy of the pack. No in-between.

Jude's voice was soft. "Marieke."

She turned to look at him, meeting his eyes full of pain. "You understand, don't you? You have a mate."

"I lost a mate before Ravyn," Jude said, meeting her eyes. "It's the worst possible pain."

Jude ate ravenously, and Daxius ate because he needed to keep up his strength. He wanted to shake some sense into Marieke.

How could this kind, gentle, loving woman do such a horrible thing to them?

Marieke clasped her hands together. "Thank you for understanding."

"Who is this master of yours?" Jude asked, unpredictably.

"You'll meet her soon," Marieke said, forcing a smile. 

But Daxius saw the fear in her eyes. He glanced over at Jude, whose eyes narrowed.

Like the rest of the Crestas, Jude Faolan was someone he'd rather have as a friend than an enemy. And h*ll, they were family now. This man was Lilia's stepfather. 

Of all the people to be trapped with! If Jude died, Daxius' first wife and daughter would never forgive him. 

"What kind of mage is she?" Jude prompted. "Human witch? Elf? Faerie? Orc? If this island is truly desolate, how did she find you?"

Daxius growled, "This bedroom is neat and clean even though the tower has been abandoned for centuries, or so we thought."

The bedspread definitely looked new and not moth-eaten or with damage from the sea air, although the tower walls were well-worn. 

He pressed his advantage when Marieke looked away, ashamed. "We always avoided this place. Thought it was haunted, or falling apart inside, or Goddess knows what else. Monsters could be living here, or pirates, or a sea witch."

Jude asked, "Is your master any of the above?"

Without even trying, they'd taken on the role of good Alpha and bad Alpha. Marieke looked close to cracking.

"Alpha Jude, I'm sorry about all this. I didn't have a choice." Her green eyes pleaded with him. "Daxius, you should understand–"

Fury overtook him. "Are you really marooned here, Marieke? Or are you just your master's lure? Did your master trap me here and then send you to be my warden?"

He knew he sounded like a roomful of Crestas. By Defolim Darkarmour's beard, he'd started to act like them after just two weeks!

But Marieke had been his comfort and strength for years. When they first met, he'd spent months trying to resist her full figure and lush lips and caring ways, and then he'd spent days trying to appease his desire for her after neither of them could resist temptation any longer. He'd probably bored her to tears with stories of Lilia and Ravyn. When his mind distrusted her, but his soul cried out for her warmth, he'd surrendered to his heartsong. 

She knew the guilt over his family's suffering had eaten him alive, and yet she'd still betrayed him–all for "love."

No longer withering under his scorn, Marieke stood up, lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders. "Alpha Jude, have you eaten enough, and quenched your thirst?"

Jude put down his empty plate. "Yes. Thank you. I could use–"

Marieke unlocked his chains, then pointed to a chamber pot that Daxius had used. And the minute his back was turned, she fastened a silver collar and chain around his neck.

Jude let out a tiny sound of distress, followed by a loud growl. 

"Hurry up." She tugged sharply on the chain and Jude made a choking sound. "You've taken too long to eat while you try to wear me down. Don't think you'll be so lucky with my master. She wants to see you NOW or your family will suffer."