Roxy rolled her head against the wall to check on Cleo again. Her sister continued to sleep, her body naturally keeping itself in a coma to protect her and her baby from the injuries they'd suffered. She now laid on a small pile of straw Roxy had found swept up in the corner. It was old and mouldy, with a slight stench of urine, but it was warmer and more comfortable than the bare stone she currently sat on.
Roxy looked around the dark cells, taking in the iron bars. The wolfsbane was still in her system, continuing to weaken her. Bile rose in her throat when she thought of the one-eyed freak forcing himself onto them and a mouthful of vomit erupted into her throat. Taking a deep breath with her eyes watering, she swallowed it back down, looking out the window which now displayed dark clouds floating across the crescent moon. She imagined Isaac looking to the same moon. Had he created an army and were already on their way?
Roxy sighed heavily. The doubt inside of her made her wonder if Isaac even cared about her anymore. It'd been her decision to leave, to give him what he'd always wanted. But in these perilous times, no matter their strained reality, she had drowned herself in daydreams of him to escape the cold cell. As she'd drift in and out of sleep, she would allow herself to skip between different scenarios. Ones of them dancing with each other all night at the White Moon ball. The two of them unloading her belongings from his truck on the day she finally called Moonlight Ridge home. Her favourite though was the picture of them dancing slowly in the back of his truck. She would be cuddled against his chest, making her feel safer than ever. Wildflowers surrounded them in the bloom of spring. Country music trickling from the radio was their soundtrack.
Then her injuries would drag her out of the blissful dream, bringing her back to the cold and damp cell and she would sit there willing her body to drag her back to unconsciousness.
But the life Roxy craved to return to was only the figment of her imagination. Cleo did have someone who loved her, someone who would miss her and their unborn baby if she wasn't to return home. Roxy's thoughts strayed to the Saltwater Woods Alpha. Trent had always been like an older brother to her, even before him and Cleo had been officially deemed as soulmates. Being the son of the then Alpha, it was always expected of Trent to watch out for the pack members closer to his age. After their father left, and their mother had withdrawn into herself, Trent had been the one to help Cleo care for her. While his friends would leave for school, he would stay behind and help Cleo get Roxy to her lower school. He was the one to drive them around to do the groceries or any commitments. A lot of the pack members believed it'd been the foregrounds for Cleo and Trent ending up together. Except Roxy had always been able to see that he hadn't cared for them out of duty, but the kindness of his heart. They'd become a small and peculiar tight-knit family.
And now Trent was at risk of losing them all, including his unborn baby.
Roxy pulled her knees to her chest, trying to keep as much warmth inside herself as her body began shuddering. She imagined being wrapped up in Isaac's strong arms, his high temperature warming her body as if it were a fire. A smile filled her face at the thought and huddled against Cleo. How she missed him; his rare smile, the green of his eyes and the way her body slotted into his in the rare moments they embraced. Even after everything had happened between them, she hoped she would be seeing him soon, tossing the lifeless bodies of the rogues around like rag dolls when he burst onto the territory. She had to believe that they would be together again.
The past twenty-four hours, or however long it had been, had thrown everything into perspective all over again. Isaac had hurt her, multiple times, and she was afraid of him breaking her heart again. But the fear of being made to be Abaddon's broodmare eclipsed it entirely. Isaac had said he'd wanted her on the last night they'd seen each other. He wanted what she always had. A life of them being together. Roxy grabbed the ball of hope with both hands, tucking it firmly into her battered heart which was reignited with the faintest glow.
It was the sound of a door being flung open that jolted Roxy awake. Isaac! After checking over a sound asleep Cleo, she made her way to the bars at the sound of hurried footsteps. She watched with curiosity when a small and skinny figure bustled towards the cell caging the witches. At the woman's arrival the three witches rushed towards the gate, throwing their slim arms through the bars.
'Evanora! Have you come to tell us we're finally free?' cried one of the witches. She looked to be of Arabic descent with long glossy dark hair, olive skin and large amber eyes. The dress she wore was plum with a matching shayla lined with golden stitching. Out of the witches she was the most beautiful. It was hard to believe she was such an evil creature.
'Only one more night, my sisters,' said Evanora. Long blonde hair cascaded down to her waist over the navy blue cloak she wore over her dress. With her back to them, Roxy could only imagine she'd look as youthful and beautiful as the others. The rogue Isaac had imprisoned hadn't been lying. So you're the one helping ruin our lives.
'But we've been in here for years!' wailed the witch wearing dark red. Being of Asian descent, her skin was porcelain white, almost glowing, and her jet-black hair cascaded over her shoulder in a matted braid.
'There's no point telling her, Allegra. While we've been down here being treated like rats, she'd been upstairs wining and dining with Abaddon. It would not at all surprise me if they were courting one another as she's fooled around with all of his guards since we got to this God forsaken place,' said the smallest witch wearing green. She shared the same hair as Evanora, her skin a lilac white and her wide blue eyes framed by thick lashes. Were they...
'Now, now, my baby sister.' Evanora moved along the cell to the small witch, confirming Roxy's suspicions. As if sensing that she was being thought of, the witch turned around to look at her with a face that matched the small witch. A smug smile was on her rosy lips. 'Now that we have caught them, Abaddon will want to start the breeding, then we will be free. Just like the old days.'
Leaving the witches behind, Evanora walked over to Roxy's and Cleo's cell. She was the image of perfection – in much better condition than her poor sisters. Long slim legs were shown by her sashaying walk through the split in her skirt, her posture perfectly straight with confidence. Roxy's eyes zeroed in on the chunks of colourful crystals dangling from a leather band between the pushed-up breasts in her corset. She felt her blood drain cold when Evanora smiled at her like a cat who got the cream. 'Recognise something, Roxy?'
'You took those from Miss Octavia.' Roxy's voice was barely a whisper. 'What did she ever do to you?'
Evanora threw her head back and cackled, a sound which sounded odd coming from such a beautiful woman. 'Oh, you stupid girl! These are my crystals! Oh, I know why you're confused! I'm in the wrong clothes!'
Roxy watched with wide eyes when the beautiful woman transformed into the speciality class teacher; blonde waves grew into bright red, her slim figure grew into wide curves and her eyes softened from their evil glare to ones of a nurturing teacher. The clear crystal which had been glowing around her neck dimmed as the transformation finished. She'd been possessing the real Miss Octavia this entire time? Roxy thought of how odd the teacher could be, Kayla had made a comment about it on her first day. The way she spoke of werewolves like they were disgusting and so highly of witches despite the horrid things they'd done to wolves. How she would sometimes forget the students' names or be unresponsive to her own name. Because her name wasn't Miss Octavia.
It was Evanora.
'Are you really the most powerful witch of all time or is that just what you tell everyone?' spat Roxy.
The eyes of Miss Octavia narrowed before they were replaced with the icy cold blues of Evanora. 'Of course I am the most powerful witch of all time.' She smiled sweetly. 'Did you really think two mythical historians could discover the witch's true history from centuries ago? I watched my stupid sister create those werewolves. I always told her it was a bad idea, instead of just catching and training a normal wolf from the forest, but she was just so desperate to be loved by a man.' She rolled her eyes. 'Selene was a stupid witch. No great loss really. Unfortunately, it means that we're now paying for her mistakes.'
'What do you get out of all this?' barked Roxy, her hands tightening around the bars. 'It must be something worthwhile if the strongest witch of all time is allowing a rogue to keep her sisters prisoners as leverage for years.'
'Abaddon and I know each other from the old days.' Evanora chuckled as if remembering fond memories. 'What a time that was for mythical beings; terrible for the humans. Anyway, after living under the radar for hundreds of years when the blood wolves were hunted, Abaddon had the idea of creating a small army of his own. He found my sisters and I hidden away in the Himalayan Mountains which is where we'd been living after being chased from our village by a pack of werewolves. Remember our lesson when I told you about four witches who'd gone into hiding? Abaddon had an excellent plan to revive the glory days of witches and blood wolves. To show the other mythical creatures, such as werewolves, who saw themselves as the supremacy that we could not be beaten.'
'Blood wolves?' asked Roxy nervously.
'Yes, darling, blood wolves. We were supposed to cover that lesson in class this week but we know why that didn't happen.' Evanora gave a piercing laugh. 'Well, I must be off. I need to make a potion for when Abaddon wants to breed with you. Not to worry though, you'll be made to love him just like you loved that angry Alpha of yours.'
Nausea twisted in Roxy's stomach as she watched the witch trot away. The slamming door echoing through the cells told them Evanora had left to live a more luxurious life in the manor. Roxy didn't know what a blood wolf was, but she figured it was something bigger than what she could've ever imagined.
The cackling of the witches filled her ears and she gave a menacing growl. The flickering of a flame torch burnt outside the cell. Roxy reached an arm through the bars before tugging it from its holder. Waving it through the bars, she gave a satisfied grin when the witches quit the cackling, now huddling together while their eyes followed the flame nervously. In one swift moment, she tossed the torch into their cell. The witches hissed like snakes before scurrying away, huddling in the corner of the cell.
'Kiss my fuzzy arse, witches,' muttered Roxy, resuming her spot next to Cleo who now stirred into consciousness.
Roxy's body buzzed with adrenaline. 'Cleo! Cleo, it's me. It's okay... well, not really. But be will be.'
Her sister gave a cough, her eyes slowing dragging open. She rolled over to look at Roxy, whispering through dry and cracked lips. 'Baby.'
'The baby is okay.' She took Cleo's hand and pressed it to her belly, thanking Moon Goddess when it gave a solid thump. 'See? You're both going to be okay.'
A relieved whimper came from Cleo, her eyes taking in the dark cell. 'Where are we?'
'Somewhere in the Swamp Lands Region.' Roxy helped her sister sit up. 'What the heck is a blood wolf?'
Cleo's face grew more impossibly pale. 'A creature which was never meant to see the years beyond the dark ages.'