Dollhouse

Chapter 21

Ana sighed and moved forward, placing one hand on the wall for balance. She moved slowly – the darkness made sure of that. "Would it kill them to put lights in here?" As soon as the word 'light' left her lips torches sprang to life. Ana blinked, stunned, before continuing. "I'm finding another exit and getting out of here. The medieval theme was cute at first but now this's all just weird." She huffed, annoyed, and turned left when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Now that lights had appeared, she took a look at her surroundings. The walls were a depressing slate grey concrete. Cobwebs decorated the ceiling corners. Torches continued to provide both heat and light, though how they did that when there wasn't a fire burning she didn't know.

Meanwhile, Taito was going crazy, believing he was hallucinating. He had picked up Ana's scent a few minutes ago, and it seemed to be getting closer. But there was no way she'd wandered down here by mistake, unless... His thoughts were interrupted when she rounded the corner, appearing at the end of the hallway. Her scent assaulted his senses, and alerted the rest of the warriors to her presence. Despite popular belief, all werewolf noses were not created equal. A werewolf's nose became especially powerful when their mate was involved. Alphas had the best sense of smell, then betas and trackers, and it decreased from there. Their noses were still much stronger than humans' however.

Ana took a deep breath, steeling herself, before marching determinedly through the hall, peering into the various cells. Every man she looked at nodded in respect, leaving her more confused. She found him at almost the end of the lineup. He stood, staring at her with wild, disbelieving eyes. A shiver ran through her at his intense gaze, but she refused to turn to jello just yet. She wanted answers, and she would get them. She just hoped she'd get them before her brain short circuited. Why did he keep looking at her like that? She crossed her arms and straightened her posture, eyes bright in a mixture of curiosity and defiance.

"Who are you to me?" The deafening silence did nothing for her confidence as he continued to stare. He swallowed hard, eyes darkening before he answered her.

"Your mate." She blinked, opening her mouth only to close it as she struggled to process what he'd said. Is this jerk making fun of me? This isn't some fairy tale! Ana rolled her eyes and tried a different approach.

"Where do I know you from? How did we meet?" He ignored the first question but answered the second, pride evident in his tone.

"I saved you from the dangerous man who was using you for his sick, twisted experiments." His anger had replaced the pride when he told her about the experiments. Ana's confusion grew at this revelation. That's not how she remembered it.

"No, I saved myself. Calvin had left the cell door open by mistake one night and I was able to escape. All those 'games' of hide and seek came in handy." Bitterness caused her to glare at the floor. Otherwise she would've noticed the surprise, confusion, and angered understanding flashing across Taito's face. So that's your game, is it? When I get my hands on him we'll destroy him. Ana was looking up again, tapping her thumb on her thigh. Taito knew that meant she was trying to make sense of something. Of course she would – her memories had been tampered with. She frowned harder, glancing between him and the way she'd come. "Maybe this was a bad idea after all. Even if you're telling the truth or lying it's not like I would know. I don't remember much and Ivan said that was because of my accident."

"Ana, you've never been in an accident." She glared, falling back on her default response – denial.

"And how would you know? I don't even know who you are which means that we either met recently and I forgot thanks to my amnesia or we met so long ago it's no longer relevant. You only popped up today so how would you know if I have or have not? This was a stupid idea. I shouldn't have come. I just wanted to know why every time you look at me it feels like I was shocked." She turned to go but his hand shot out, grabbing her wrist.

"Do you feel that?" Her surprised nod was all the answer he needed. "I'm a werewolf, and that tingle you feel is a sign that we're mates, destined for each other." Ana stared, transfixed, before reaching out her other hand to experimentally cup his face. Taito leaned into her hand, barely managing to bury the purr threatening to burst from his throat. The moment ended too soon when she pulled back, holding up her hand.

"If we're meant for each other, why did I accept this?" Taito looked stricken, but the moment passed so quickly she might have imagined it.

"That isn't real. I don't know where he got that from, but you belong to me." Heat coiled in her stomach at that last statement, but she ignored it to address the first.

"So what, he bought a fake ring and pretended to be my fiancé? What for?"

"To get to me." The bland look he received had him desperately backpedaling, but the damage was done.

"So, you're saying this is all some scam to get to you?" She stepped out of his grasp, shooting him a wounded look. "Am I so undesirable the only reason anyone would consider proposing to me would be to get to you?" She was backing away now, Taito desperately reaching for her through the bars.

"No! But we're mates. Everyone knows you're my weakness –"

"Your weakness?" Running an agitated hand through his hair he tried one last time.

"Ana –"

"No. I've heard enough." Turning on her heel she stomped back the way she'd come. When they could no longer hear her, Stephen spoke up.

"Maybe word it a bit better next time." Taito shot him a nasty glare before turning to sulk in his cell.

Hello my lovely readers! I apologize for the delay, and I know this probably isn't the update you were hoping for, but I needed to fix this slight error on my part before the story progressed any further. Chapter 23 was my last pre-written chapter, so I'm at a bit of a roadblock on where I want them to go from here. But fear not! The new chapter shall soon be out! Until next time!