124 I don'st know

The darkness in the eyes dissipated very slowly. Brian still couldn't understand, whether he is still sleeping or just the room in which he is now is so dark. He tried to blink his eyes and even felt something, but the view remained all the same.

A strange rattle sounded in the silence, and only after a while, he realized that he was the one wheezing. It seems he really was not asleep.

Brian tried to move his limbs, but his body was so numb that for a while he felt like a dead herring without limbs.

From somewhere on the left came a rustling, then a strange moaning, which was more like a cry.

Brian was gripped with anxiety and fear, and only after a moment, he realized that the feelings were not his. It was definitely Risa. And she was scared. Nothing else could stop him to get to her now. The stiff limbs barely moved, but now he knew his goals and wriggled like a worm, crawled in the right direction.

The girl was very close. She was bound, her mouth was taped, but her eyes were burning so brightly that she was going to set fire to everything around with one look. Having finally noticed Brian, she began to squirm, trying to free herself or at least creep closer. Brian tried to get near too. As a result, even being a couple of inches apart, they fidgeted around not knowing what to do next and silently exchanging helpless looks. For some reason, in Brian's head appeared the image of two fishes thrown on the land. If you add to this incoherent mooing, the image turned out just epic.

Risa stopped, noticing how Brian began to tremble and grunt strangely. Only after some time, she realized that this idiot actually laughs. Gritting her teeth, Risa crawled closer and tried to kick this impossible man. She is in a panic trying to get free, and he laughs like a horse! Idiot!

Brian immediately calmed down a bit and began to look again for an opportunity to get out of his bonds. Unlike Risa, he was tightly wrapped in a strong chain of a special alloy, which easily could withstand even the power of the werewolf.

While he was fiddling with the chain, Risa halted, trying to assess the situation. No matter how Brian puffed, his chains still did not succumb. He could hardly break them just straining his muscles. And the fact that his hands were twisted behind his back made the turn almost impossible. The werewolves, though they were mystical creatures, were still obeying several natural laws. The same rule applied to regeneration. Even though it was many times faster for shifters than for a human, werewolves still could not heal what a human or a beast could not. It was impossible to grow a new eye, limb or part of the brain, even for legendary creatures. Therefore, despite all the fabulous flair, if Brian shift now, his paws would wrench from the joints or break before he frees himself from the chains. But the ropes would hardly be an obstacle for him.

Kicking Brian again to draw attention, Risa crawled closer so that her wrists were precisely at the level of Brian's face. The man hesitated a bit, trying to figure out what Rise wanted from him and staring a little at her ass, just a little bit though. Finally, he realized what was required of him and began to work actively with his mouth and tongue, trying to get rid of the tape. It must have been an extraordinary sight because even Risa tried to turn around when she heard strange, smacking sounds. It is good that she did not succeed in it, and also couldn't see in the dark.

In the end, Brian nevertheless got rid of the gag and gnawed at the ropes on his girl's wrist.

Freed, Risa quickly jumped up and tried to free her boyfriend. But in the end, nothing helped, the handcuffs could not be yielded in any way, and it was not possible to merely pull or loosen the chains. But the girl did not give up and began to explore the room in which they were.

The walls were covered with solid stone, as well as the floor. Total room was about 8 square meters and had only one way out - an iron door that was locked tightly.

"It's a dungeon," - commented Brian, hearing the description of Risa. - "Under the main house, a whole basement was specially designed for several such cameras in case there are some troublemakers in the pack or ...

Brian faltered. Knowing the latest news, he could not believe in any good intentions of his father anymore, even during the construction of these cameras.

"The door is closed from the outside." - Risa's voice was full of poorly concealed panic. - "How do we get out?"

" It'll be fine!" - Brian's quiet voice sounded unusually calm in silence. - "We just need to wait a bit."

And as if in response to his words, the door creaked and opened wide. The bright light blinded both prisoners for a second, and then someone's silhouette blocked the rays and the next moment something heavy flew to the floor. The door slammed shut. Risa stared into the darkness for a while, trying to let her eyes get used again. But Brian did not need this at all and apparently immediately saw that, or rather what was thrown onto the stone floor right in front of him.

"Risa!" - He yelled, calling the girl, and trying to direct her with his voice. - " It's Mom! Check her!"

Upon hearing this, the girl immediately hurried to the side of a badly discernible shadow on the floor. As she approached, the body began to move. Risa ran up and felt that it was really Veronica. The girl felt around checking for any injury or anything else. Brian's mother was also bound in chains, so Risa decided to at least drag the woman to the wall and made her more comfortable.

"Veronika, how are you"! - Implored Risa, feeling the woman for injuries one more time after taking off the tape from her mouth.

"Fine," - she croaked in reply and smirked. - "This woman would not dare to do something."

"Who?" - uncomprehendingly asked Risa, pausing. -" What is going on?"

"Haven't you guessed it yet, my girl?" - answered Veronica in a dark voice. - "Ian and this snake Sybil have kidnapped us so that we do not interfere with their plan."

"But ..." - Risa began, without even knowing how to end this sentence. Brian helped her with this.

"It's true." -Came his hoarse voice from the darkness. - "Patrick is with them too. All this was their one big plan, only to make Greg and Lana go into the shadows and in no way reveal the past mistake of our father."

"But this is some nonsense!" - Risa couldn't believe it yet. - "Just because of some position in the Council to sell your own daughter, then trying to ruin her life again, even go so far as actually to murder someone! Is Mr. Winterbourn completely out of his mind?"

"No, girl." - quietly answered her Veronica. - "It may be nonsense for you, but not for many shifters and definitely not for my husband. This is not just a position in the Council. The Head of the Council alone can make a vast number of decisions. The whole composition of the Council, if you try hard enough, can be changed to the people that could support any new decision of the new Head. And that means only one thing."

"Complete power." - Brian continued for her, forcing Risa to cringe.

"But why would he need it so much?" - She still tried to argue the point. - "So many victims just for the sake of power? This is just stupid!"

"Power in itself does not matter." - answered Veronica. - But the opportunity to decide what to do with it ... You do not know something, girl. Council is not only a group of old shifters who resolve disputes and feuds between packs. You've already heard about hounds who are investigating crimes, right?"

Risa nodded. Veronica, who saw the gesture well in the dark, continued the story after a short pause as if gathering her straight.

"Probably, you heard about the cleaners too. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. The ones who are sent to these two units are usually those who are not suitable for the main unit. Night watchmen."

Risa started, she tried to see the face of a woman in the dark in the hope that it was a joke. She has been with Brian for a few years now and more than once has heard this urban legend, a horror story for children, from other shifters.

Veronica apparently decided not to wait for the reaction of the girl, or just accurately guessed what Risa was thinking, continued.

"This is not a legend and not a horror story. They really exist for a very long time. I know this because I was part of it with Ian. Just a year, but this was enough for me to still wake up from nightmares even nowadays."

Her voice for the moment subsided, but then appeared with a new force as if she forced herself to speak.

"The Council created this squad a long time ago. They resolved issues that the Council could not have fixed without soiling its hands and staining its reputation. Night watchmen -killers. And they do not care whom to eliminate - a human who threatens to reveal the secret of shifters, a stupid hunter who decided that safari on predators is no longer so much fun, or a shifter who for some reason does not fit into the general pattern."

"But you said you left it, didn't you?" - Brien asked carefully. Risa felt her heart contract waiting for an answer, or it was not her heart at all ...

" I left." - Veronica corrected her son with sorrow in her voice. - "But apparently your father is still there. It's hard for you to understand now. But there, among the night watchmen, is an entirely different ideology. Any danger to the shifters, no matter where it comes from, must be destroyed. Over the years these people have been walking through so much: grime, murder, and pain. As a result, they are no longer humans nor even animals. They are monsters. The Council began to worry about it a long time ago, they feel that they are no longer able to keep this monster on a short leash. But your father apparently does not think so."

" But what do they need? I don't understand! World domination? Slavery of humanity?" - snarled Brian with anger and again rattled with chains, trying to free himself.

"I don't know," - Veronica answered quietly.- "But I know for sure that if one little she-wolf paired with a human stands in the way to their goal, they will crush both. Even if it is Ian's own daughter and her Mate."