Chapter 33 - Finale part 2

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Sam softly slipped out of the control room. She'd left the three guards slumped in their seats. They shouldn't remember anything from their encounter with her, and would probably think that they'd fallen asleep at their desks.

Now comes the hard part. Sam stealthily made her way towards a small door opposite her, trying to be as quiet as possible. Now that the environmental triggers had been disabled, she felt confident moving around, more secure in herself. Also, she'd been able to remove her horrific makeshift bandana and nose plugs, and now only had to wear her glasses.

According to the blueprints, the door should lead to a storage room, and she couldn't help but feel relief when she opened the door to reveal heavily laden shelves. She quickly rifled through, hoping to find what she was looking for. She searched the top shelves first, moving aside big bundles of cloth and cleaning products. The shelf below held spare bits and bobs, including lightbulbs, nails, a couple of batteries. The third shelf was covered in tools. Below that were stored some more cleaning equipment but nothing else was in the room. Sam groaned. There was only one other place it could be, but she'd hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Closing the door behind her, Sam left the storage room and made her towards the stables, dread twisting her stomach. She'd hoped to avoid the wolves until the last possible moment, knowing that seeing them would enrage her, driving her fury and making her act in ways that she would later regret. But also she was scared of seeing them, as this was the mating season and she was terrified of meeting her mate somewhere like this. Nonetheless, she knew she had to help, she owed them that much.

She moved at a fast jog. Just slow enough that she could keep her footsteps silent but fast enough that she could easily speed up and take out anyone that appeared at the other end of the long corridor. Luckily she reached the door leading to the stables undisturbed. She was surprised at the lack of personnel around. Based on the cameras, most were in the dining hall as it was lunch but she hadn't expected the halls to be so empty.

The large doors were made of solid wood, so old it had darkened with age. The corridor and the large imposing doors starkly contrasted with the white clinical walls of the rest of the compound, and Sam couldn't help but wonder what sort of darkness the doors held back.

Anxiety gripped her as she pushed open the creaking barn doors. Her eyes took a second to adjust to the change in the light and she took off her glasses to help her vision. The stables were dark, the only light in the room filtered in through gaps in the roof. A short corridor ran down the middle of the room, from door to opposing wall, pens lining it on either side. The two pens closest to her were open, filled with tools and equipment.

But what caught Sam's eye were the huddled shadows in the cells. They pressed themselves into the darkness, shielded from the light let in behind her. Their eyes remained downturned, and despite the darkness Sam could make out their thin limbs, almost translucent. 

"Who the fuck are you?" A grating voice demanded from beside her. The voice was slow and raspy, but the expectation of obedience was clear in the tone. Sam turned to her right. A group of men stood before her. She hadn't even noticed them as she'd come in, too preoccupied with the horror before her. She released the door she hadn't even realised she was still holding, letting it swing shut behind her.

"Oi, I asked you a fucking question." The aggression was obvious, and the tone made Sam's hair rise, a growl growing deep in her throat. Every word uttered by the man was a like a sharp knife in her side, a reminder of every abuse she'd every suffered as they'd watched on, goading her. She turned to face him, her head held proud. Hatred seethed in her eyes as she stared him down, and she felt a dim sense of pleasure as he flinched.

But the two behind him stopped him from backing down. That's when he made the mistake. Stepping forward he jammed his face in front of Sam's. She could smell his rancid breath, the trace of alcohol that lingered from the previous night.

"Do you..." Sam moved so fast her hands were a blur, reaching up and snapping his neck in one fluid motion. His words died on his lips as his body fell limp, crumpling to the floor. His two comrades took a step back, fear dancing across their features. Before they even had the chance to react, Sam leapt on them, claws out and eyes glowing. She swung out with her right hand, ripping across the man's throat then twisted, landing on the other and pushing him to the floor. A ferocious growl ripped through her throat and the man visibly cowered on the floor. Bullies are always the biggest cowards, reflected Sam before she used the same hand to cut through the skin of his throat, sending a shower of blood across the hay strewn floor.

Sam stood, her breath coming out in deep, shaky gasps. She couldn't remember the last time she'd killed someone, but the feeling hadn't changed. Horror, revulsion, disgust in herself underlying an undeniable sense of power. A power that could be addictive. That was what she hated about the feeling, not that she felt power. It made sense to feel powerful, she had the ability to take away someone's life and that was true power. No. What scared her was that she wanted more, she felt herself craving that power.

She forced herself to calm her breathing. Her legs involuntarily walked her towards the cages. She'd promised herself that she wouldn't come here until she'd been successful with the rest of the mission. But now that she was here, she couldn't help herself. She had to see them, she had to give them hope that she was here to help. As she moved closer a strong scent enveloped her. The air smelled like freshly peeled clementines, a hint of chocolate behind the citrusy scent. Her nose also detected a faint scent of vanilla and cinnamon beneath it but the citrusy scent overpowered it, driving it out of her mind almost as soon as she noticed it.

She moved forward, reaching the first of the converted pens. Big eyes stared up at her from the floor, filled with fear. The figure cowered further into the corner as she approached. She gave a slight smile, hoping to convey comfort, but didn't want to make the creature uncomfortable so moved back again. She continued down the row of cells. In each, eyes conveying despair, pain and suffering gleamed back at her. Finally, she reached the final cell, she had counted nine prisoners in total. At the back of the stables, the scent was strongest and she peered into the final cell. The occupant was almost invisible in the darkness of the cell, their face turned away from Sam.

"Hey," she whispered, trying to attract their attention. "Please don't be scared of me." She couldn't explain it, but for some reason the thought of this frail figure being scared of her made her heart break. Yet she couldn't prove she wasn't a monster, she just had to hope that they'd trust her.

The face slowly started to turn towards her, but their eyes remained downcast.

Suddenly the barn door flew open. Sam whirled, ready to face whoever it was with a newfound ferocity stemming from her need to protect these helpless souls. Her breath caught in her throat. Her eyes frantically scanned their face, before she whirled back to the creature beside her, locking eyes with them too. Their deep purple gaze burned into her soul, igniting her with fire. Desperately she turned back, looking straight into the Aiden's soft green eyes. As he stared at her she felt herself cool, soft happiness enveloping her in its comforting embrace. His jaw fell slack as shock registered on his face. Sam brought herself to tear her eyes from his face, staring back at the wolf beside her. They'd moved closer to the bars now, their purple eyes starkly contrasting with their dark skin. Once again Sam felt a fire build inside her, an urgent desire to scoop up the vulnerable wolf and cradle them in her arms overcame her. Sam twisted back around, her eyes wide with confusion as she stared first at Aiden and then at the dark wolf beside her.

"Mate." She whispered.




Ahhhhhh!! End of the section! Are you excited? Which one is her mate? Who do you hope it is?


I really hope you've enjoyed reading this story! I'm going to take a short break before section 2, whilst I finish editing section 1 but don't worry, it won't be long before Sam is back in your lives!


Please leave comments, feedback and votes! I really want to know what you think XD

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