Mated To The King’s Gamma By Jessica Hall

Chapter 64

Abbie POV

Gannon was off doing an errand for the King about something having to do with Trey. So he and Dustin were looking through archives. He had been nagging me about Cassandra and what I wanted to do about her, but I had no idea. I didn’t like the idea of having someone’s life in my hands. Yet when he went off with the King, I wandered around the castle. Going down to the wine cellars, I was looking for the cobweb brush when I heard her calling out from the cells further down the corridor.

The wine cellar ran what appeared to be the entire length of the castle, with different underground corridors leading off in different directions, and the one to my left I knew went to the dungeons. Guards stood on either side of the arched tunnel leading to them, and I glanced at them. They paid her no attention while she continued screaming out for them to set her free.

Finding the cobweb brush, I head back toward the stairs leading into the kitchen’s huge pantry. Only once I am halfway up do I stop. Cassandra had three children, which had been nagging at me. As much as I wanted the woman dead, I didn’t want to punish her children for her crimes. Her husband and their father were dead, and her life is now resting in my hands.

Leaning the cobweb brush against the stairs, I walk back down the steps, over to the corridor, and stop in front of the guards.

“Miss Abbie?” one asks, and I chew my lip, glancing toward the dark dungeons.

“Can I see her?” I asked, looking at the man. He had a mustache and light blue eyes that were almost white they were that light. He glances at the other guard, who had a full beard, dark eyes, and long hair that cascaded almost to the waist and was tied in two braids.

“One of us will come with you,” the other man says, and I nod. I start walking down the corridor when I hear her screaming out again, and I stop. Her voice grating in my head as memories of the same voice teased and taunted me while she would hold my head to stop me from trying to pull away from him. She was just as sick as him to do that to another woman. I hadn’t realized I had stopped moving until the guard’s hand fell on my shoulder. Only then did I realize I was shaking like a leaf.

“I’m right here. She can’t hurt you, Miss; I have mind-linked Gannon,” he says, and I swallow.

“Maybe this was a bad idea,” I murmured.

“It’s up to you. No one will force you to go in there, Miss Abbie,” he whispers.

I looked at the man, and his dark eyes looked black under the dim lighting. I should feel embarrassed that he knew what she did to me, yet his gentle voice held no contempt, and I nodded my head but forced myself to keep going until I was stopped outside her barred cell. She sat in the cell’s corner sobbing, her head in her hands and knees to her chest.

Cassandra looks up, and I could tell she was about to scream out again, but her words die out when she sees me standing there.

“I suppose you’re here to gloat?” she says, resting her head back on the brickwork. She turns her head away from me. She looked like crap, her nails all chipped, her hair a mess, her clothes wrinkled, and she had no shoes on.

Turning to the guard, I hold my hands out for the keys, and he looks at me. “Abbie,” he asks questionably.

“Keys, please.” I tell him, and he pulls them off the key chain and hands them to me.

Cassandra looks at me and jumps to her feet as I put the key in, but I don’t turn it. Instead, I noticed the bottled water just outside the cell door and pre-packaged sandwiches. I moved to the small table and grabbed two of the triangle packages and a water bottle before tucking them under my arm. My hands shook as I opened the cell, and my eyes went to her when I noticed the chain around her ankle that was attached to the wall.

Cassandra watches me warily as I enter, closing the door behind me. This wasn’t the same scornful, confident, and entitled woman I knew. This woman was helpless and looked petrified of me. She knew her life was in my hands. Gannon told her that much.

I take a step toward her, and she takes one back, her back hitting the wall. I hold the water bottle out to her, and she looks at me funny, tilting her head to the side. She reaches forward and grabs it like she thought I would toss it at her.

She opens the cap and starts gulping it down thirstily. When she was done, I handed her the sandwiches, which she took, and I watched her for a second before taking a few steps back and sitting next to the cell door. She watches me for a second before also sitting.

“Eat. You look hungry. I am not here to hurt you, Cassandra,” I tell her, and her lip quivers. She seemed shocked by my answer.

“Why not?” she asks, but peels the wrapper back on her sandwich and moans as she takes a bite.

“Because I am not you, I am not a monster,” I tell her, and she stops mid-bite and looks at me. She chews slowly and swallows, picking at her sandwich with her fingers. I observe her, and she can’t be much older than me. Without all the makeup staining her face, she looked very youthful, making me curious about who she really was.

Chapter 64

“How old are you?” I ask her.

“Twenty,” she answers with a sigh.

“Twenty!” I ask, knowing her oldest child was six years old.

“But Micheal is six,” I tell her, and she chews slowly and nods her head.

“I had him two days before my fourteenth birthday,” she answers, and I swallow. How different our lives have been, though that must have been tough to have a baby that young.

“I thought you and Kade were high school sweethearts?” She laughed and shook her head.

although he doesn’t look

just said you were fourteen when you

pack, I was placed when I was thirteen. He saved me.” my eyebrows raise at that. Saved her? Knocking a fourteen-year-old

sounds bad because of the age difference, but he

you?”

and I worked at his brothel for a couple of

is not saving you,” I tell her, and she looks down at her hands. “I know, but it’s better than who Alpha Dean would sell me to,” she

did you say Alpha Dean?” she

was picked up outside his borders. He said I was old enough to be sold off, and he needed the money. He killed my parents right in front of me and handed me over to his son,” she says with a growl and shakes her. A lone tear slips down her

“Then what happened?”

but then Kade said he would buy me off him under the

mean trafficking?” I ask,

know what I did was fucked up,

figured I

before stopping, hearing footsteps coming down the corridor, she glances behind me and

there with her?” he

from the guard. He sighs and twists the key in the lock, and opens it. Cassandra whimpers and presses into

he moves toward her. “Back off,” I tell him, and he looks at

her,”

you say that?” Gannon snapped

a story, even monsters can feel, and I am not a monster, and I won’t be responsible for her children being orphaned,” I tell him and

just as much a victim as I am,” I tell her, tears burning my eyes. Gannon

“No!” he snarls.

my choice. You said it’s my choice.” I whisper,

she did. She doesn’t deserve to live after that.” He snarls, stepping toward her, and

did was wrong, but-” I look at Cassandra. “Fear

letting her go.” Gannon snarled

Chapter 64

I got to choose what

“Abbie!”

won’t allow you to kill her. She has kids, and I am not leaving them orphaned to suffer the same fate I did,” i tell him and he snarls. Gannon walks out of the cell, slamming the door. Cassandra whimpers before she collapses, her body shaking as she

home to your children and forget about me Cassandra, I was never a threat to you, but if you come back, I will let him skin you alive like he wants to do, and I will hand him the tools while he does it,” I tell her.

Gannon growls and looks away from me and

mad

you to understand my request,” I tell him and he sighs but cups my face in hand before pulling

on their

“Thank you,”

Azalea POV

would leave me behind, to many attempts had been made on my life. Posioning, Cassandra and now having commanded the guard away and Abbie from coming near me,

as we descended them because it was dark, and they were pretty steep. Once at the bottom, I look around and see this

goes running toward me before freezing like she hit a brick wall and became stunned. It was dark down here and cold, and I groaned, realizing commanded

her, but when we get home, we are going to

will teach me?” I

me wonder if I could command him, and that is why. Repeatedly I have heard Landeena’s blood is special. They have gifts, but after the way he said it and the feeling through the bond, it made me wonder if

about Cassandra and everything that she and Gannon found out. I wished she could come with us, but when I looked over at Kyson to ask, he was in the cells with Cassandra, his entire body tense, and I

endure the same punishment.” I hear Kyson

I called out to him. After hearing about Cassandra and Kyson commanding her to double-check what she said was true and confirming it, I felt the

a hero, yet she was entirely aware of her wrongdoings and apologized countless times. She just wanted to go home to her boys, and I agreed with Abbie she was as much a victim as we were in all

away from him when he bends down, gripping the chain off the ground that wrapped around her ankle. He yanks it, ripping it clean off the wall. Cassandra shrieks,

of their names coming from you, I will have my guard hunt you down and string you up, then I will make your boys watch as I kill you for it, understood?”

utter their names again,” he says, his voice so calm it chilled me to the bone. She nods, and he shoves her away before

steps into the cell and grabs her arm, dragging her out when Abbie runs over to a small card table and snatches some sandwiches off it and

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Chapter 64

Cassandra before shocking me and hugging her. Cassandra stood frozen and looked pained, probably because of Kyson’s command not to come near