CHAPTER FOUR

When my eyes peered open and a bright bulb blinded my vision, I brought my fingers up to conceal the light. My whole body was numb, and my throbbing head fought to recall what had happened. 

I remembered seeing Matthew and Jake desperately rummage through the forest for Aurora before I blacked out. I remembered getting knocked down by that vampire. 

I tried to shoot up from where I was lying on the cement floor, but my body protested, screaming in pain. 

My vision finally adjusted, and I realized I was in a cell room, the glittering white bulb being the only thing in the room. After relaxing and massaging my body to relieve its numbness, I got up on my feet and looked around.

The walls of the cell were thick cement with few cracks, and when I pressed my ears to the walls, using my sensitive hearing ability, I heard nothing; it was still and quiet, and there was not even a sound of someone breathing. 

The cell bars were aluminum, stainless steel, thick, brass, and rusted. I flung myself at the gate, trashing and tossing myself at it in an attempt to bring it down.

It was abortive. 

I narrowed my gaze down the hallway from the cell; even my strained gaze didn't see it end; it was narrow and endless. 

Giving up, I allowed myself to sink back onto the ground and clutched my hair tight in an attempt to ease the throb in my head. 

Approaching footsteps had me yanking my head back up. The footsteps were slow and dragging, and a moment later, distinctive chatter surfaced through the echoing hallway. 

"You captured just two?" 

One of the voices spoke. thick and rough. He sounded like he should be in his early thirties or late twenties. 

"I thought Lord Finn only needed two of them."

The second voice spoke.

Lord Finn?  The guy who choked Aurora last night? 

"He asked us to capture the hybrids too, dummy." They'd probably report the girls' disappearance."

"By the way, what does he need them for?"

The other voice asked, and the sound of padlocks being unlocked bounced through the walls of the hallway. I remained still, paying close attention to the conversation. 

Somehow, I was linking the subject of their conversation to Matthew, Jake, Aurora, and me. But I'm about to confirm that. 

"Haven't you heard?" The ritual is drawing near. Lord Finn needs power to sustain his position as lord. "And power means more blood."

My breath hitched; I held them in, anticipating the conclusion of that conversation. 

The door of a cell shut aggressively, and I heard the sound of a padlock locking again, then their footsteps proceeding, drawing nearer. 

"He could have used human blood like he always does, but someone told him shewolf and hybrid blood empowers ten times better."

The grumpy voice guy continued, lowering his voice to a whisper, and I wouldn't have heard without my supernaturally sensitive hearing. However, that wasn't my concern right now. Did I just hear them talking about werewolves' and hybrids' blood being their Lord's empowerment source? 

So, are we getting killed? And our blood would be used? 

I briskly went back to the position I was in when I woke up when I heard them come closer to my cell. 

The clanging of padlocks against my cell bar disturbs my ear. The door jerks ajar, and someone steps inside; there is a thud like something has been dropped on the floor. 

I kept my eyes sealed. 

"Poor girls.  "They just had to be Lord Finn's next victim and would probably die a tragic death tomorrow."

Tomorrow? 

A gasp or cry or something escaping my throat threatened to spill, but I suppressed them. 

Until I heard them leave the cell and their footsteps retreat down the hall, I didn't open my eyes. When I was sure it was only me again in the cell, I opened my eyes and sat up, puffing out a choked breath the moment I saw Aurora's body lying beside me. 

I crawled up to her and scooped her into my arms. 

She was cold and was shivering. Her lips were red, and they were trembling. 

What did that sick fuck do to her? 

I took off my cloak—her cloak, the cloak she gave me—and wrapped her in it to warm her. 

I grabbed her wrist in-between my index finger, thumb finger, and middle finger to feel her pulse, and I was glad when I felt it. 

When she shifted her weight on me and her forehead, coathed with sweat, creaked, my heart pounded faster as I awaited the moment she flipped her eyes open, which she did. Her long lashes slowly peered open and only shot as soon as they came into contact with the light. 

She rubbed her eyes from the intense light of the bulb and adjusted her gaze to her surroundings. 

"Aurora?"  I called to attain her attention, and when her gray orbs landed on me, they softened. 

"Freya?"  She spoke, her voice gruffy and dry. 

"How are you?" "Are you okay?"

I cupped her chin, and she let her lips spread in a tight, weak smile. 

"Where are we?" What happened?"

Her voice was clearer this time, less dry and grumpy, as her eyes swept across the room. 

"Listen, Aurora.  That vampire bastard got both of us captured. We are currently in his cell, and I heard one of them say he planned to kill us to have our blood. 

"Oh, the ritual."

Aurora retorted casually. 

She lifted her head off my lap and sat up in a sitting position. 

"We have to leave here."

Aurora got up and walked to the cell doors, studying the padlock as if she had the keys to open it. 

Aurora: "I know you want to escape; trust me, I also want to badly escape this demon. But we can't do that now; we'd get ourselves killed. Matthew and Jake are definitely searching every corner of the forest for us. "Let's just wait for them."

I tried to convince her, panic setting in. 

No matter how strong we were, we couldn't knock down Finn's men. My mind told me that man had a number of thousands of them trained to protect him. Besides, vampires were stronger than wolves. Only a nutjob werewolf would think of attacking a vampire. 

And I wasn't ready to be one of the volunteers for that nut job. 

Our chances of getting through them to escape were slim. 

Aurora broke into a grin when she saw panic written all over my face and tapped my shoulders gently as if to assure me. 

"It's going to be fine."

No, it's not! 

We'd get caught if we tried to escape, and we'd get killed, and I'd have to kiss my plan to find my family and reunite with them goodbye. 

Aurora pressed her palms together, eyes closed and focused, a big frown on her forehead, and her mouth was muttering something I couldn't make up. 

Then, a yellow glittering light formed between her palms; she guided the yellow glow to the padlock, which unlocked effortlessly. 

My mouth hung open in disbelief. 

Then Aurora laughed. 

"That was one of many kinds of magic I learned when I lived with the witches a long time ago." "They wanted to get their charms back, but since they kicked me out, it was only fair that I returned the favor."

Our laughter echoed through the narrow hallway, and she took my hand in hers, her eyes dancing in amusement. 

"Come on.  "Let's get the hell out of here."

I followed her out of the cell and into the hallway. By the time we stepped into the hallway, it was already packed with vampires in their familiar red cloaks. 

I freaked, the familiarity of the scene causing nausea in the pit of my stomach. They were more than I could count. With their red cloaks and black garments, they approached us, their sharp canines and claws on full display. 

I looked to Aurora for the same panicked expression, but her face was relaxed. Too relaxed.  And a smirk slipped across her lips. 

"By the way, did I ever tell you that I was an Alpha in my pack before I got kicked out?"

She mused, and for a second, I took it as a joke, but there was that sincerity in her eyes again. 

"Let's kick their asses, shall we?"

And she moved quickly past me to the group, ready for an attack.