Richard’s POV:I opened my eyes and sat up simultaneously with a jolt.I don’t know what shocked me awake. But now I was staring at the wall of my bedroom, wondering what had happened. I wondered who had called my name, which I heard clear as day.It was the next day after Darren returned to the pack with the rest of the rescue team, save for Arielle. I could not stop thinking about her, and I had been restless since he gave me the horrible news that the Rogues now had her in their custody.After all, how could we trust that the Rogues, the same ones who captured and injured some members of my pac, would not do the same thing to Arielle?I had no reason to trust them, especially not the one who Darren called the leader - the one who had insisted on Arielle leaving with them in the first place.So I had worked throughout the night, unable to sleep, unable to eat dinner.I had, without myself even knowing, effectively starved myself because I was unable to stop thinking about Arielle an
Arielle’s POV:Day 3 dawned on me with the feeling of pain blooming in my chest, deeper than I had experienced it before.I hissed, opening my blearily eyes to the room that was now filled with sunlight streaming in from the windows. The room was nowhere unwitting prison, and an accomplice in Leon’s acts.I had not been able to sleep well, and I knew without looking in the mirror that my eyes were likely swollen and that the whites of my eyes were very red. I sniffled helplessly, raising myself from the carpeted floor where I had curled up on a fetal position to rest.The pack bond was hurting now more than ever, and I placed my hand over my chest, wishing that I could somehow find a way to ease the pain.It was too much. Everything - from Leon locking me up in here in a guise to keep me, to the loss I felt from not being around my pack, and the pack bond that hurt so damn much. I felt like I was unable to do anything, and the feeling of hopelessness was welled up inside of me.I had
Arielle's POVTo my despair, he shook his head resolutely.“I can’t help you, or talk to you in any way, Dr Grey. Leon was very clear about that,” he responded, sounding hollow.It was obvious that Leon had done something to him, making him less receptive to my pleas.But I blocked Ethan’s path, shaking my head at him.“You have to help me leave, Ethan. I should be with my pack, not here.”“You should be with your mate,” he replied, “Leon told me that you have a mate bond with him. Why do you want to run away?”I gaped at him.“I don’t- I...” I began to stammer, feeling my ire rise as I processed his words. Leon, again! “I don’t have a mate bond with him!” I exploded at Ethan, who looked stunned at me. “We dated a long time ago, and we did have a mate bond then... but he rejected me. I have moved on, Ethan. I just want to leave and get back to my pack, where I belong.” I clasped my hands together in front of him. “Please Ethan. You are the only one that can help me out right now.” I p
Arielle’s POV:I don’t know how long it took for Ethan to return, but soon, a knock came on the door, followed by him unlocking the door and entering.“Hey,” he said to me, “It’s time for you to go.”“You mean, I can finally be anywhere but here,” I replied pointedly, to which he responded by looking away. “Your move,” I said, folding my hands over my chest.“Dr Grey, don’t make his any harder than it has to be. Come on,” he seemed to be pleading with me now. “I cannot go against Leon.”“You mean to tell me that you trust his words,” I shot back and he looked shocked at me. “I’m not asking you to denounce the Rogues. I just need to leave.”“You’re Leon’s mate-““No. I am not. Not now and not ever,” I retorted.All I wanted to make Ethan see was that Leon was the one manipulating the entire situation. This had nothing to do with me and everything to do with their leader.How could only me see that?Meera seemed to think that it was my fault that I was trapped in this room.Ethan did no
Arielle’s POV:The floor met me suddenly, and I landed with an “Oof,” with my knees bent and my body trembling badly.Breathing in and out heavily, I began to slowly stand up, remembering my lessons from medical school and putting it into practice. I couldn’t afford to injure myself now, so I let my legs relax and recover from the shock of jumping down two floors.Looking up at the open windows, I was glad to note that I saw no one looking down at me. Great, I sighed in relief. No one had noticed my escape yet.But my relief turned to horror when I saw that there was a singular shadow right at the corner, looking at me. I cringed, mentally running through possible actions I could take right then and there, so that Leon would not be alerted to my action.The shadow moved, coming closer and closer to where I was, and as it did, I began to identify who exactly it was.Ethan.My horror simmered down a bit, and I straightened up, tense as ever as I met his eyes.“Dr Grey,” he looked just a
Richard’s POV:“Not so fast,” a strange voice said.Darren and I whipped our heads to see who it was that had spoken those words, and out of the corner of my eye & noticed how Arielle paled all of a sudden.What was going on.I took in the man who had spoken. He looked like he had been running, and his chest heaved as he breathed in and out heavily. His eyes were dark, and focused on our dear doctor.This was a Rogue, I recognized, going into defense mode almost immediately.“Arielle is not going anywhere with you,” was what the man said next, before I heard the girl in question say one phis name. “She will be returning with me.” He sounded so certain of that, and it grated in my ears. I tended, clenching my hands into fists. Who the hell was this?“Leon,” she sounded absolutely angry, yet I could still detect the hints of fear in her voice. “What more is there that you want me to say? I refuse to entertain any more of this nonsense, especially now.”I suddenly understood as soon as s
Arielle’s POV:I was still in the room, that Leon had locked me in. It was dark, and no light shone there. My fears increased ever more as I heard a growl emanate from somewhere, echoing in my head.I was weak, a voice told me in my head. You are so weak, Arielle, that you cannot even protect yourself.You were unable to defend yourself against Leon, the voice told me.You were unable to even land a punch on him. Oddly enough, the voice sounded like Darren’s, like Ethan’s c like Meera’s, like mine. It was taunting me. And I could not shut the noise out. Why couldn’t I? Why was I so helpless against this?I kept pacing the room, trying to find a light switch to light up this darkness. But as I moved closer to the walls, the walls seemed to get farther and farther away.All at once, I felt a hand clamp on my wrist.I screamed.My eyes opened as I sat up with a jolt. My breaths came out faster and my heart was beating so rapidly in my chest.I was having a nightmare, my mind supplied, ev
Arielle’s POV:“Okay,” Darren drawled, with a lot of curiosity inflected in his voice. “Shoot.”I breathed in and out deeply, trying not to sound nervous as I talked. Perhaps it was Alpha Richard’s presence that was making me nervous, but I felt like I was going to break out in sweats as I made a request.“I wanted to ask if I could get some training,” I finally said. “Maybe from Lilian, since she’s a Hunter Wolf.”I did want to train,, because the way I had a nightmare that morning made me feel weak. Despite me not wanting to believe those voices that haunted my dream last night, it was certainly true that I had been helpless. I had not been able to fight back in any way but my words. Leon had not had any problems with grabbing my arm and dragging me to the room and locking me inside.O never wanted to feel that helpless ever again in my life.Some training might do me some good.Darren broke out into a grin, looking a little relieved.“Is that all? With how your face went a little s