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From Soul Mates: Sacrifice...

I shut the door and walked the few feet to the room Caleb was in. The door buzzed open as soon as my hand touched it, thanks to Nikolas at the control panel. At that moment, I wished he'd have taken his sweet time in buzzing me in.

But it was too late now.

I pushed the door open, grimacing at the heavy scent of blood filling the air. I'd played with Caleb many times and had relished the sweet, rich taste of both him and his blood, but there was nothing familiar here.

This was acrid and bitter. Oh, so bitter.

Caleb's screams stopped. Black eyes studied me as I moved into the room.

"Hello, Caleb."

Silence.

"Do you know who I am?"

Caleb grunted, but I wasn't sure if it was in response to my question or because he'd just pulled against a restraint. I suddenly wondered why I thought this was a wise idea. I mean, what could I ask someone who was – for all intents and purposes – not in his right mind?

"Do you know why you're here, Caleb?"

He looked away, staring at the floor. "Fuck off."

"Great, so you can do more than just grunt and growl. And I guess it's obvious you know who I am." I walked closer. "I'm not gonna play games with you."

"Xander."

"Xander isn't here."

"Bring him to me."

"You're in no position to make demands."

Caleb swung his head up and glared. "Bring him to me!"

"Why? So you can hurt him like you hurt Lucien?" Caleb grimaced as if the mere mention of Lucien's name physically hurt, so I kept on. "You do remember Lucien, don't you? The man who gave you everything?"

"No..."

"You took him from his bed, from his safe place, and you buried him in a fucking wooden box. But no, that wasn't enough, was it? You laid him on a bed of silver fucking spikes and bled him, poisoned his body—"

"No!"

He struggled against the restraints, and when they didn't give, he turned his attention back to me and screamed. I felt Logan there in my head, acting as a buffer, and I knew that if he hadn't been I'd have been on the floor. There was a sharp prick at my cheek and I reached up, only to find blood on my fingers. Another prick on one arm, then the other, and then on my chest.

Son of a bitch.

Nikolas' injuries and cuts made sense to me now, but I wasn't about to let Caleb think I was just going to walk away. I stepped forward and grabbed Caleb by the throat, meeting his eyes.

"You left him to die!"

He struggled and tried to bite me, but Nikolas pulled the restraints back just at the right moment, tearing Caleb from my grasp and preventing me from getting my arm ripped open. Caleb immediately went silent, refusing to even open his eyes to look at me. This had gone absolutely nowhere and I'd yet to see anything in him that was even remotely redeemable.

Maybe the punishment for Caleb should be the same that anyone else would receive for this crime. But I couldn't think of that. Not now and certainly not while standing in front of him. I stepped away and shook my head.

"You'll be kept here until a decision is reached on what to do with you. You may not have managed to kill Lucien, but you sure as hell lost him."

I walked to the door and waited for Nikolas to buzz me out. Just as I was about to close the door behind me, I heard a whimper from Caleb. I stopped, but didn't look back.

"Xander…"

"Yeah, you probably lost him, too."

Caleb roared out again, but this time I heard something other than anger in those growls and screams. Something that sounded a little like fear and a whole lot like sorrow. The door to the viewing room opened and Logan leaned out.

"We need to talk."

© Jourdan Lane. All rights reserved.