Chapter 5 : Captured But Not Alone

It wasn't the first time I'd experienced bloodshed, but it had been quite a while. A decade, in fact. When I thought back to that experience, a shudder ran through my body, and my heart ached from the memory of my mother's untimely death.

I despised fighting and killing ever since then and avoided it at all costs, making this encounter not only terrifying in and of itself, but re-traumatizing.

Flashbacks of my mother's corpse popped up like photographs in my mind. Having no control over my exposure to this violence was increasing the tightness in my chest as anxiety flooded me.

Adding to the perfect ironic ill-fated icing on the cake, my mother had been killed not by another pack but by rogues, and this group seemed to share the same traits. From what I’d heard, rogues were so vicious they’d eat anything, even their own kind.

As each slash from their sharp fangs cut through the flesh of my companion travelers, I cowered further. Blood painted the once lush chartreuse grass with crimson. It was nauseating.

My stomach was in knots as I wondered, what was I going to do? This was the epitome of my worst nightmare. Obviously, I was at a disadvantage not having my wolf yet. The pain from my mother’s death had inhibited my wolf from emerging, I feared.

Quivering, I could barely move, but suddenly, my self-preservation kicked in. Scanning the woods, I only had one option left. I had to leave this overturned coach. Through the broken pieces of the vehicle, I drummed up the courage and began to sneak away.

Then, with all my strength, I dove into the nearest shrub. Unfortunately, it barely had any leaves on it. With the thickest covered branches, I attempted a shoddy privacy screen, but failed miserably.

Just as I suspected, my hiding spot wasn't sufficient, and the rogues found me like I was a child playing hide and seek against a group of adults. Coupled with their experience, sharp eyesight, and sensitive sense of smell, it was all too easy to locate me. I was like a baby chick in a hen house full of foxes.

"What a bad place to hide. How did you not know we were going to find and kill you like the others?" one asked me with a sneer on his face.

Shrinking in terror, all I could squeak out was, "No!" before he yanked me from my hiding place, then brought me to an open part of the forest.

My smirking captor set me down like I was on display. Each one carefully inspected me. I wondered if they were dicing me up into pieces in their minds.

Frightened, I frantically searched them for a glimpse, any single face, that had the slightest tinge of compassion, but of course, I saw none. Instead, there were only narrowed eyes, angled eyebrows, and curled lips, all conveying exactly how they felt about me.

Aggression, insolence, and hunger.

Just as the one who caught me was about to lunge, someone came over and held out his arm, blocking my would-be attacker.

"Take her with us," the man ordered. He had a firm yet flat expression on his face. Who could this be? A sort of leader, perhaps?

"C’mon Alston. That doesn’t make sense. She’s a witness."

I’d seen them and their faces. That meant they wanted me dead, so I couldn’t report them. My heart jumped in my throat. Would Alston stop them again? I hoped so as I watched the heated exchange.

"Just do as I say," Alston said firmly. Though he wasn’t the tallest of the rogues, he seemed diabolical. His tone of voice was without any hint of emotion, yet I had the sense that, in an instant, he could snap.

Despite my assessment of him having a hair-trigger temper, several groans escaped the lips of his group. He shot daggers from his eyes at them. In response, they shrank back.

I’d made the appropriate assessment of this person, at least partially. Apparently, Alston had the final say, after all. I waited as their wordless standoff continued for a moment longer, but finally, the others relented.

Instead of devouring me like I imagined only moments before, they dragged me farther into the forest. Two held my arms tightly, clasping my hands behind my back, wrenching my shoulders. Though it hurt, I refused to let them know.

However, as we traveled farther, a shadow cast over my heart. I realized how bleak my circumstances were the longer we walked. All I wanted to do was find a new place to live, and now I was kidnapped. Where were they taking me? My stomach tightened in dread as I imagined what they had in store for me.

When we finally arrived at their lodging, from what I could tell, it was a two-story house, judging by the staircase to the right. Could those be a way out of this place?

As I stood in the middle of the room, my eyes darted around, hoping to find a potential path of escape. My optimism quickly dissipated as I noticed the windows were sturdily barred and every door was heavily guarded.

Just like in the woods, the group examined me all with different levels of yearning in their eyes. I could tell some wanted to literally eat me while others had more nefarious notions in their minds. The menacing sneers, the flicking eyes up and down over my body, and the gnashing of their teeth were clear indications.

“Alston just wanted to bring her back here so we could eat in the comfort of our own home,” my original captor joked. Everyone chuckled.

My mouth went dry, and my throat tightened with panic as they circled me like sharks. I braced myself against a nearby banister. The tension and craving in the room were thick. Whatever they had in mind, I hoped it was over quick.

The sound of their panting, the viscosity of their drool, and their animal-like grunts were only increasing my anxiety. There was no difference between their wolf and human forms, it appeared. Was it possible to devolve into a literal animal once you went rogue?

"Let me have the first bite!" one exclaimed with desire as she shoved the others out of the way. I wanted to protest as she neared me, but instead, I whimpered and hugged my most vulnerable parts. Just as I thought my fate had been sealed, I heard a shout from a few feet away.

"I already told you no!" It was Alston. He sidled through the group and stood in front of me.

"Why not?" one asked with an exaggerated exhale of frustration. Alston turned to face me.

"Can't you see what a pretty face she has? It would be a waste to just kill her," Alston answered, grabbing my jaw, inspecting me like I was a doll, then tossing my chin to the left. The she-wolf scoffed in frustration, crossing her arms.

I could only speculate what Alston really had in mind when he spared me. Maybe he was the type who looked for excitement, and with me, I was too easy of a target. The kill wouldn't have been enjoyable with such a weak mark.

"Then what should we do with her? Keep her for ransom?" one asked. The room rippled with wry laughter at the absurdity. My attire didn't exactly scream that I came from wealth. Besides, Moon Goddess knew all my money was back underneath the destroyed coach.

My family probably wouldn’t pay for me anyway. They were too enamored with Arlene. I bet they wouldn’t even bother to answer. Frowning, the pain from what my father and Carl had done entered my mind.

I was snapped out of my daze when a tall man approached me, however. He brought his face mere inches from mine. I tucked my chin into my neck, instinctively protecting my precious veins and arteries. From the flat, dead look in his eyes, I could tell he was devoid of a soul.

"What are you going to do? Cry?" he asked as my face twisted in pain. I winced as the rest of the group continued to observe me, their eyes crawling over my every inch. The suspense was killing me.

What did this guy want with me?

"Hang on,” the she-wolf said. “I think I do like the panicked expression she's wearing. I can see what Alston finds pleasing, after all." Again, snickers popped up at various volumes from the troop.

“Let’s see what other expressions of fear and despair we can force her face into!” the tall man said.

“Oh, yes! We can start with pulling out her hair one by one–”

"Kelly, enough," Alston said, cutting her off. Kelly dropped her eyes from me and took a few steps away. The rest of the group followed suit. Obviously, Alston had bought me some time.

"What do you want us to do with her, then?" a man asked with a note of opposition in his voice.

"You, along with Curt, take her and lock her in the basement." Alston's directions were clear as the men grabbed me.

I writhed in their grip, but my struggling barely fazed them. They were far stronger than I was, and with two against one, it wasn’t a fair fight.

“Please, let me go!" I screamed.

My words fell upon deaf ears as I glanced at their blank faces. It was like I was an object they had to put away. After shoving me on the first step of the basement, they slammed the door in my face, causing my hair to lightly blow back from the impact.

I kicked the door with indignation. It was made of solid, heavy wood. Mahogany, perhaps. Extra thick and not easy to break through. I couldn't imagine having to spend minutes here, let alone hours. What in the world did they have planned for me?

My heart sank as I heard the clink of a very sturdy-sounding lock from the outside. I wasn't getting out of here unless they allowed it. Once more, my instinct to escape flooded my chest with panic, and I threw my arms and hands at the door, banging on it.

It was to no avail. The only sound I heard was their heavy footsteps walking away. When I turned around, I could barely see my hand in front of my face. It was so dark. Thankfully, there was a railing, but it was in disrepair.

I felt like the world was pressing down on my shoulders as I shuffled my feet the rest of the way down the rickety wooden stairs. Every creak of the old pine steps under my weight sounded more ominous than the last. I could very well be walking into my own personal coffin, after all.

There was no other choice than to accept my circumstances, however. Blindly, I stumbled down the last step into the main room but quickly regained my balance using my palms to hold me up on the rough, textured wall.

It was eerily quiet in there, and the scent of musty dampness was heavy. I briefly wondered how old this place was. Everything seemed to be decaying in this basement.

My mind went to all the creatures that could be crawling in here. Without my wolf, a bite from a brown recluse would harm me like a human. I shuddered but put it out of my mind as I briefly stumbled onto a more even part of the floor…

In the pitch blackness, I was caught completely off guard as I heard a cough in the corner. Startling in fright, I instinctively grabbed my chest as my adrenaline surged. My heart was racing so fast it felt like it would come out of my chest.

I wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go.

Who was this person? Throwing my hands up in utter horror, I waited for them to attack me. After a few seconds, when I didn’t hear their footsteps advancing toward me, curiosity took over. Could they be another prisoner like me?

Shakily reaching my hand out to the nearby wall again, I felt the masonry work, with bits of mortar missing between some of the bricks. I used that to guide me toward the other person.

I crouched as I approached the corner, feeling wobbly from fear of the unknown. I braced myself, hoping this wasn’t a seven-foot ogre who wanted to assault me, but the next moment, when I saw his face, I was stunned and forgot everything.