Shackled (The Lord Series) by Carlos
193. Wasp - Bonds, new and old

Beetle helps me spread the spike strip on the snow-covered road before we hide behind trees. I would have much preferred to stay in my office and enjoy some hot cocoa, but alas, shit happens every single fucking day. This world wasn't always this violent and the hate between the Dukes and the Lords wasn't always so strong. It changed about six years ago when a teenager killed her best friend out of jealousy or something like that. Carlos took the lead of the Celestial Heaven soon after the horrible crime. It was around that time that men started becoming more... ruthless, treating women even worse than before. Abuse, torture, rape, crimes, only increased since then. Which led my mentor to step in and create the Sanctuary within Veross City. Then he found me. When he extended his hand, I grabbed his entire arm. He taught me everything I know. I am Wasp today because he really saw me for what I was. Beetle glances at her watch. "It shouldn't be long now."

My gloved hand wraps around my firearm. The mask I always wear keeps my face protected from the cold.

From the other side of the road, Mantis and Cricket wave, letting me know everything is ready for our little mission.

The waiting always kills me. Adrenaline rushes through my veins, fueling me, as i wonder if something will go wrong. If I ever fuck up, a woman, a potential bonded to some of these pricks that call themselves Lords and Dukes, like they are fucking royalty on Earth, can get hurt, or worse-killed. Demons and angels will be lost, cursed to join the others who didn't find a bonded in the Catacombs specially created to keep them prisoners. I can't let that happen, not when the Blight is coming. Without the help of the Outcasts, this will be over before it starts. With God still locked in his palace, not wanting to talk to anyone, and Heaven and Hell not letting anyone enter or leave, I took it upon myself to do what was and wil be necessary to save Earth. This world will not fall. The Blight will be defeated. And for that, sacrifices must be made. Yet sometimes, I wonder if the price is really worth it.

A car is quickly approaching the extraction point. Thanks to the blizzard, they won't see the spike strip.

Time seems to slow around me.

My heart beats faster, blood roaring in my ears, and I exhale loudly when the car reaches the spiked strip and comes to a halt.

My instincts take over and I jump from behind the tree, ready for action in case the men inside the car try anything funny.

"Hands where I can see them!" Beetle yells, a semiautomatic gun in her hands.

The three assholes inside the car don't listen and when they try to reach for their guns, Mantis points her gun to the sky and shoots. The men put their hands in the air. The woman we are here for seems to be asleep in one of the backseats, her head leaning against the window.

I open the driver's door. Mantis and Cricket open the passenger doors and we point our guns at the men. Who the fuck leaves their doors unlocked?

"Don't make me blow your useless brain out," I yell at the driver.

The man to his right, the only one I recognize―Jason Deymar―looks at me. "If it is money that you want, we can—”

Mantis hits Jason's head with the back of her gun, silencing him. "I can't stand him," she shrugs. Jerking her chin at the man in the back seat, she adds, "Nor his rapey friends."

Beetle tries to open the last door of the car, but this one is locked. "We only want the woman. Give her to us and no one gets hurt," Beetle speaks next.

The driver makes the mistake of reaching for his gun and I shoot him in the hand. He grabs his wrist with his other hand and looks at the bullet wound, then screams. Olivia doesn't wake up, making me think she might be drugged. Or maybe she is a heavy sleeper. Who knows.

"Don't test my patience," I tell him.

"Why do you want a drug addict whore?" Jason asks.

Not killing Jason is a challenge, but I remind myself that all life is precious. Although, I have a hard time believing some people are redeemable. One of those people is Jason. But I want to try to save his angel. Cricket thinks there's a way to force a demon or an angel to accept another vessel if the first one is killed.

"Keep talking and you will find out what death tastes like," Mantis tells him.

Beetle prepares the smoke bomb that will knock the assholes out so we can take them with us. When she throws the smoke bomb inside the car, we quickly close the doors and wait for the men to fall asleep. They try to open the doors but the smoke makes them dizzy almost immediately and it doesn't take long for them to stop struggling.

I take out my phone and dial a number. "Moth, we have her. Bring the car." As soon as I end the call, I hear the sound of a car approaching us. Knowing it can't be Moth, I say, "Let's get Olivia out and hide in the surrounding woods." We move quickly. Mantis and Beetle carry Olivia out of the car while Cricket and I cover them. We leave tracks in the snow but there's nothing I can do about it. With a bit of luck, the snow will cover them fast.

Two cars without license plates stop close to Jason's car and five bulky men get out. They mean business. I point my gun at them, but their only objective is to retrieve Jason and the other two men. Beetle presses the trigger but when I place my hand on her arm, she lowers her gun.

It might be stupid on my part to let them go, but I am not here to start a blood bath. I don't even know how many more men are in the cars and with Sleeping Beauty Olivia, I can't risk it.

It takes less than half a minute for the two cars to disappear in the direction they came from, leaving behind the car that we ambushed.

"We should have killed them when we had the chance," Beetle mutters.

"We are not criminals," I remind her.

Mantis scoffs. "They are not good men. You know this. Must I remind you of what they've done to so many women? To FireFly? Jason used her, then sold her to Azael, and we had to send Bumblebee after her and you know how that ended. She almost lost her baby!"

I grip my firearm even harder. "She didn't and now she is with her men on their honeymoon.”

I take off my coat and with the help of Beetle, we get it on Olivia before we get out of the woods and go to the car. The doors are open and after I check it for explosives and make sure the air inside is clear, we lay Olivia on the back seat. We wait for Moth to arrive.

Olivia whimpers and I turn my attention to her. "You are safe now," I tell her but I doubt she can hear me if she

drugged.

Olivia whimpers again before mumbling 'Ansel.'

"Who the fuck is Ansel?" Mantis asks no one in particular.

"One of the men from the farm," I let her know while I really look at Olivia.

All hellstars have some sort of power. Some powers lay dormant for years, others manifest soon after a hellstar finds her mates, while others powers never show. This has always been kept a secret from the men not wanting them to use the powers of hellstars for their own gains. The powers are gifts, traces of the divine power given to them by God and no one should abuse it.

Mine is rather peculiar.

It takes me a few minutes to see what no one else can.

Strings, bonds that tie her to two men. One bond is new and fragile, while the other is old and strong but with hundreds of tiny notches cut into it. It only happens when one of the bondeds cheats. But why didn't the bond break?

While rare among married Lords or Dukes, cheating does happen, resulting in the bond breaking. It is very painful on both sides. But if Olivia's old bond is still there, then what kind of hell did she and her man go through? What if there was n cheating between them? Maybe on his part, but her?

From what Bumblebee told me, Olivia was a pornai for the Dukes and if she was bonded to someone, then... one cut for each time she was raped, as I doubt she fucked men out of her own volition, since her body would have been repelled by other men touch.

Jesus Christ!

She must have been in a great deal of pain each time she was raped. And if her man slept with other women, I don't even want to know. But why did the bond hold? What force still ties them together? "We can't take her with us," I tell the others.

Mantis tilts her head to the side. "Why?"

"She is bonded to someone. To two men, to be more exact. She needs to be with them," I reply.

“It didn't stop you before,” Beetle reminds me.

I sigh. “It didn't, but the last time a bond broke because of me, I saw how much suffering it brought and I made a promise I would never be the cause of that pain again.”

Our ride finally arrives and Moth gets out of the car.

“You are making a mistake,” Beetle says. “Look at the bruises on her body.”

Cricket takes a better look at Olivia's neck. "Those are hickeys."

"How about we let her decide?" I suggest.

Beetle folds her arms and leans against the car. "You think she is capable of making any decision?"

"There is something about one of the bonds that intrigues me and I want to learn more about it." I tell the others my observations about the bonds.

"Fine," Beetle finally agrees.

"Let's wake up our Sleeping Beauty then," I say.