I don't know how long I was in agony, woke up and fainted, until I finally woke up a little more sober. I heard shouting from upstairs, so I listened closer.
'You are not allowed near her until I decide otherwise! You cannot judge people just because it happened in the past and without proof! Besides, you are not the one to judge the prisoners! Remember, if she is innocent, she will be your Luna! Do you even realise how serious this is?!'
'I am sorry Brandon, I didn't know…. Really… I didn't mean to…' The guy called Liam tried to explain himself.
'You didn't mean to what? Kill your future Luna?! Or did not you want to make judgments on your own, without a logical explanation or the order of your alpha? Pray that she doesn't die, otherwise… I don't even know what punishment would be appropriate for you…' Alpha said angrily. I could clearly hear that he was furious.
'Alright, I think you both need to calm down a bit and then talk calmly. Let's take her to the doctor, after all, she's still alive and it's been more than 12 hours. She should be able to get over this.' I heard Shawn trying to reassure his Alpha.
'Liam, you are dismissed for now. Shawn, call Doctor Michael to the guest room upstairs.' Said Alpha Brandon firmly.
'Already done.' Beta Shawn calmly replied.
Then there was a pause, for a moment I thought they were continuing through the mind link, but then I heard Shawn again.
'So… Do you want me to take her to a guest room?' He asked. I'm almost sure he was smiling when he said that.
'Nah, I'll do it myself. One more thing, how come no one noticed she was passed out and writhing in pain?' Alpha asked suspiciously.
'I'm not sure, but I think the guards thought she was asleep and having nightmares. Her body reacted far too calmly to the pain and that's the main reason I was informed so late.' Beta Shawn explained quietly.
'Understood. You're in charge of training today.' Alpha said more calmly.
A moment later, I heard Shawn walk away. Hmm… What did he mean by Luna? Could it be that I'm his mate? Oh shit... I'm not the one who wants to break any of the laws about it, but I can't be his mate. Shit… From one mess to another… I heard footsteps approaching the dungeon I was in. Damn it! He's an Alpha, he'll know I'm awake for sure unless…. I can freeze the bottom of my heart a little, and that would slow my heartbeat for an hour or two, as if I were asleep. I learned this trick when I was a kid and in big trouble – it was risky, but it worked then. It's rarely useful, and it's no fun after everything that's happened to me, but I guess I have no choice… It could be my chance to escape. I prayed silently for it to work as I sent cold into my own heart.
I heard him walk in and concentrated on keeping my breathing even. He sighed, picked me up in his arms and carried me outside. I found it hard to concentrate as I felt more sparks rush through my body. I felt something like warmth. I'm not supposed to feel these kind of things. I need to escape as soon as possible; I never want to confront my memories with feelings again and he's the one who could probably make me if he really is my fated mate.
I felt him tilt his head towards my neck and take a long, deep breath as he walked. I almost froze, but I reacted in time to not move an inch. I couldn't risk giving away that I was awake. He gently laid me down on a very soft bed and sat next to me. Oh goddess, how long is this torture going to last? Why doesn't he go away? A moment later I heard a knock and someone came in.
'Good evening, Alpha.' I heard the soft voice of a man.
'No need to be formal, Michael. She's unconscious.' Alpha Brandon said.
'Right, I'm too used to being polite when someone's around.' He chuckled: 'Let me check on her then.'
So, he was a doctor called in for a check-up. I felt my sheet move slightly as Alpha stood up, and then I felt someone touch my wrist. After a few more moments, I felt the doctor place three fingers on my chest and move them from side to side until he stopped at the spot just below my heart. I started to get nervous as he held it like that for far too long and I couldn't open my eyes to see what was happening.
'Hmm… I need to take her blood and do some tests to see how much of the wolf's-bane is still in her body.' Doctor Michael said a little too loudly.
'Do what you need to do.' Alpha agreed.
After taking my blood, the doctor said goodnight and left, but I still felt the presence of that damn annoying and damn attractive Alpha in the room. I had no choice but to wait patiently for him to leave. What if he doesn't leave before my little frost spell is gone? That would be bad. I waited and waited until it got boring and uncomfortable, then I heard him speak. At first, I thought he was talking to himself, but….
'How long are you going to pretend?' He asked calmly.
So, he knew all along. I wonder how… One surprise after another with this man… I sighed, opened my eyes and slowly sat down, leaning my back against the pillow. He chuckled as I looked at him angrily.
'Well, that was easy. I thought you might try a little longer.' Alpha Brandon said.
I raised an eyebrow and replied:
'What's the point of doing it if you already know. And how do you know?'
'Yeah, you're probably right.' He shrugged his shoulders. 'Michael told me via mind-link. Don't underestimate him, he's one of the best doctors I know.' He winked at me and walked towards the window.
I didn't try to run for the door because I knew he'd catch me anyway. No equality of strength.
'You won't try to run?' He asked calmly, watching me.
'Why should I? We both know I wouldn't even make it to the door of this room. I mean in this condition, thanks to your delta.' I said, looking straight at him.
I knew that I could get into trouble for this boldness but I didn't care, I hadn't found a way out of here yet and with such behaviour I certainly won't stay among the living for more than a week.
'Listen… I'm sorry about Liam's behaviour. We don't use such methods on prisoners who prove out to be guilty. He has his reasons for what he did, but I can guarantee you that it won't happen again.' He took a deep breath and continued: 'I'm not justifying him, but you should know that there are many prisoners who look innocent but have killed many people, so we can't just trust the first words we hear from you.' He looked sincere as he spoke, but his face changed as he added: 'But make no mistake, we CAN be ruthless when it comes to the safety of our pack, and we don't tolerate liars here.'
I heard a warning in his tone, and I understood him completely, but still… I shook my head.
'So, what now?' I simply asked the main question.
He looked at me, confused. He probably thought I was trying to use his apology in my favour, but what kind of favour could that be for a prisoner. Suddenly I felt the pride and joy radiating from my wolf. I shot up to sit upright, and Alpha Brandon instantly appeared beside me.
'What happened? Does it hurt?' He looked worried for a moment, maybe even scared, but that expression was covered by seriousness in an instant.
I was more than confused, but I didn't want or seek his attention, although I heard my wolf purred with pleasure. Wait, what?! That's the sound… The sound of my wolf! I only heard it for a brief moment before it disappeared. How is that even possible? I tried to call her in my mind, but I didn't get an answer, so I shook my head again and replied him.
'No, it's nothing and you didn't answer my question.'
I felt my voice shake a little, not because I was afraid of him, but because I sensed something. Him… And my wolf… I was so confused. He stepped back and it looked like he was thinking about something.
'You'll stay here until you tell me the name of your pack and all the missing details, or until I make a decision to get the information out of you in a way you won't like.' He smiled sadly and turned to leave, but stopped just outside the door.
'Also, you'll get new clothes and food, and you can use bathroom if you want.' He pointed his finger at the door to the bathroom, as I guessed. 'By the way, I wouldn't try to escape through the door or the window. I bet you didn't like the lightning in the cell… And here... Well, let's just say you wouldn't want to try it here. ' He said in a serious tone and then left. 'A few more warnings and another interrogation coming up. Great.
What's with the lightning everywhere… This really pisses me off. It was weird, but it felt like my body was recovering pretty quickly despite such a dose of wolf's-bane and the injuries from earlier. Could it be that my wolf's healing powers get stronger around her mate? Of course, if he is our mate… I can't feel anything, so I cannot know for sure. I wish we could communicate with our wolves. I wonder what she thinks about all this.
A few minutes later, a girl knocked and came in without waiting more than three seconds. Obviously, I was a prisoner and it was not my place to call 'come in', she was probably just knocking to show good manners. The girl looked just as tall as me, had curly brown hair and the same colour of freckles on her cheeks. When she smiled, I noticed that she also had dimples on her cheeks, which made her look even cuter.
'Hey, my name is Sara! How are you? I've brought you some clothes and you'll find toiletries in the bathroom. You'll probably want to freshen up and relax a bit, then we can have a little chat. I'll bring you some food and snacks in the meantime.' She spoke as she put some clothes in the closet.
I won't be here long, so why do I need so many clothes?
'I see… I've heard that you're not very talkative, but it would still be nice if you at least said 'hello, I'm Alice' for example.'
I wasn't surprised that she already knew my name, but I was a little surprised at how casual she acted around me. She even turned her back to me when she put down the things she brought. Didn't she realise that I could attack her? I might not get out of this room as I already understood that probably anyone could come in untouched by this lightning except for me and might for other strangers but….... Has anyone considered that I could attack her and use her as a hostage to get out? Is she thinking of her safety or is she that confident in her strength? This pack is going to drive me insane soon. I sighed.
'Hi, you already know who I am, so I see no reason to repeat the same things over and over again. Just a reminder, I'm a prisoner here, not a guest, and you don't have to pretend to be nice to me.' I said coldly. I didn't mean to be rude, but I'm not here to make friends or to imitate friendship with anyone. I wanted to draw a clear line between them and me.
She looked at me for a moment, I think I saw hurt flash in her eyes, but it was gone before I could understand the exact emotion.
'I wasn't just pretending. I actually wanted to hear your story directly from you because I wanted to believe you. I've felt a strange connection to you since I saw Alpha carry you in, but I don't understand what it is yet, and I'm curious, so I won't leave it at that.' She looked straight at me as she explained, and then she suddenly added in a more cheerful tone. 'You don't look like a criminal to me, by the way.' Sara smiled and then left.
I believe she'll be back soon.
I don't understand anything she said about connections, and I am too tired to think about it now. There are too many things I need to think about. I took a long bath, examined my body for the wounds from the mountains, which were all gone, and felt a little easier that my healing abilities were working well. Wolfsbane doesn't usually slow or even stop healing, but kills a werewolf slowly and works directly on the major organs. I wonder if the dose was less than I thought, or if I could have survived the dose that should have killed me.
After the bath, I changed into black leggings and the hoodie of the same colour that Sara had left for me. I brushed my long blonde hair and let it down to dry. When I came out of the bathroom, Sara was already sitting on my bed waiting for me.
'Wow, you're really beautiful. You are even more beautiful in normal clothes. I wish I had an hourglass figure like you.' She pursed her lips and then said. 'Anyway, this is the first time I've seen eyes like yours, we don't have anyone in our pack who has that mix of colours, I mean light blue eyes with those light green dots around them, it gives you a mysterious look.' She smiled and tapped the bed next to her for me to sit down. Since I had no other choice, I did.
We ate and talked a little. I tried to answer most questions with a simple 'yes' or 'no' but that didn't reduce her energy. After we talked nonsense for a while, she asked for my hand and I placed it in her palm without any suspicion as it looked like a silly joke was being made. Sara then looked me straight in the eye, her grey eyes starting to sparkle as she said:
'I am sorry to do it like this, but I have to be sure.'
I tried to get away from her, but I couldn't move. At all. I couldn't even look anywhere but into her glowing eyes. It was as if I was paralysed in that spot. Suddenly I felt like my head was going to explode and I screamed.