#ella bain

[dandylion240]

Clare’s smile slipped from her lips as her eyes fell upon the man and woman standing shackled next to the chairs where she and her father would sit and talk. “What are they doing here?” she demanded the words coming out more like a prolonged growl.

Colton looked up from his microscope, rubbing the bridge of his nose, sighing heavily. His eyes passed over the woman who had been his wife and lingered a moment longer on the man. Contempt for the young mage made his lip curl in disgust. “They’re helping me figure out a way to manage the withdrawal symptoms …”

“We don’t need their help,” she cried, cutting him off. “They’re the reason the pack is dying.”

Crossing her arms Ella’s eyebrows rose “you can hardly blame me for that. Clayton had discovered that all on his own.” Glancing towards her companion “with a little help from our little mage…”

Scoffing, Alanon rolled his eyes “you know I had little choice but to help.”

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Turning his back on Liam, Adam sighed “is there anything I can do?” Ever since he had run across the tunnel, hurtling his body into Ella as she tried to tear James head from his body with bare hands he’d felt his control on things slipping through his fingers. 

“I see you have him hen pecked already,” Ella scoffed “better watch it boy. She is my daughter. She might do to you what I did to my last husband.”

Clare’s fingers turned white from the exertion she expended to keep Adam from turning to Ella. “Don’t,” she repeated for what seemed to be the only word she knew.

“Aren’t I allowed to do anything?” Adam demanded, tugging his arm free, grunting from the effort he needed to pry himself free. 

“Yes,” she replied stiffly, “ignore what she says. She only wants to get a reaction from us.” For the first time since the battle had ended she looked at her mother “she no doubt is hoping for a big enough reaction so she can attempt to escape.”

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“What kind of idiots have you put in charge of the dungeon?” she snapped.

“They’re young and inexperienced thanks to the Alpha exterminating many of our more experienced guards,” the Chief explained, careful not to sound accusatory towards his mistress.

She let our menacing growl fill the dungeon before relenting. She knew all too well that she was responsible for the lack of experience among the guards. It was pointless to worry about that now. It had been a vital piece of her plan. She couldn’t have foreseen this happening. “Where have they gone?”

“There’s a tunnel along this passage that must be part of the old tunnel system that had been boarded up,” the chief led the way.

“Assemble the guards,” Ella commanded “we have to get them back before the rebels attack.”

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“I’m fine,” James answered, his voice low and weak.

“He’ll live,” Liam grunted, stepping back as medics came to carry the litter that James rested on from the tunnel. “What do we do with  them?” he demanded, facing what was left of the elder pack.

“I don’t know,” Adam admitted “for now we have a dungeon we can lock them into until we decide what to do.”

“And who will decide?” Liam demanded.

‘I have an idea,” Adam said “but let’s get Ella someplace where she’s less likely to hurt anyone else.”

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Ella glared at her captives, growling her disapproval. Her dilated eyes followed the movements of a young, ginger haired young woman. “You’re such a disappointment. Turning on your own kind. Your pack.”

Clare grabbed Adam’s arm, “don’t.”

Adam stopped, frowning down at her. Despite the defiant tilt of her chin he could see the hurt in her expressive eyes. “I should have killed her when I had the chance.”

“Yes you should have,” Liam agreed from across the dark tunnel where he was trying to keep James lying flat on the hard, cold stones.

“Don’t,” Clare repeated her fingers digging into Adam’s forearm.

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Her eyes narrowed and her growl rumbled in the dark tunnel. “Do you think I am incapable of leading this battle? Do you think I didn’t think of that?”

“No Mistress,” he lowered his head in acknowledgment of his error “forgive me.”

“Forgive you,” she cried indignantly “give me one good reason why?”

“Because the longer we stand here discussing this the sooner the rebels will catch up to us,” he said. He didn’t need to see tightening behind her eyes to know he had just signed his death warrant. Even though he was ready he was almost too slow to move aside when she lunged for him.

As he parried her strikes he was aware of the others screaming and falling as James and his men did indeed catch up to them. He gave Ella a smirk “maybe one day you’ll listen to someone other than yourself.”

Ella screamed her wrath and hatred of everyone and everything that dared stand in the way of her vision before she broke off her fight with her chief to seek out James intent on delivering at least one fatal blow to the resistance before the idiots with her cowered with the tails between their legs in defeat.

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2.51 In the Heat of Battle

At the sound of shouts ahead of them in the tunnels James ran past his guards, adrenaline coursing through him. “Did you encounter the pack?

The battle is becoming heated between the Elder pack the resistance. Will Adam be in time to make a difference? The next chapter of the Van Winkle Legacy is available on my WP Blog if you want to read it now otherwise it will be added to my queue.

Ella Bain and Clare Littlefield were made by @dstarstories

Liam Parker was made by @aresember

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Breathing hard she barely observed the other guard locking the cell behind her. She paced back and forth trying to figure out where Alanon had gone. How had he gotten free? “I want the traitor found and his head brought to me.”

“You,” her chief guard commanded, “check the other cells. Find out if we’re missing any other prisoners.”

A few minutes later “sir the humans are gone.”

“What?” Ella growled 

Taking a stand in front of the hapless young guard reporting his finding the Chief repeated. “The humans are missing as well, Mistress.”