In a small room dimly lit by torches sits an impatient man with a cold expression. His brown eyes stare coldly at the circle with symbols drawn in chalk in the middle of the room. He successfully drew the enchantment earlier and now he's getting more agitated the more time it takes for the spell to be activated.
Six guards—four werewolves and two vampires— stand at attention behind him, waiting for the moment the target is expected to arrive. The two vampires both have a brooch with a ruby emblem on her collar.
"Is there no news from the mole yet?" The witch asks impatiently, tapping his index finger on the suitcase he brought.
"None yet, Gee," one of the werewolves responds.
"Are you sure you are the best witch for this job?" a vampire interrogates, her eyes throwing daggers at the witch's fretful state. "Won't it be more advisable if you double-check your spell?"
Gee narrows his eyes at the vampire with his teeth gritted. "I've used this spell more than I can count. I know it works." Though, what worries me is if the mole drew the circle properly using the enchanted chalk. If she did, the plan would be successful and I don't need to get my head cut off by Aunt Rie and Kay.
"I have been sent by my master to make sure that your mission here goes well. Do not anger me, witch," the same vampire hisses.
"Via, stop," the vampire on her left interrupts before Gee could utter a reply. "Whether we like it or not, we were sent by the mistress to protect the witch, not pick a fight with him."
The woman glares at Gee before nodding at her partner.
Gee approaches the circle and concentrates on sensing the magical energy emitted by it. Its magical energy is strong, especially because it has not been used yet. Once used, its magical energy will slowly vanish into thin air.
"Once our target arrives, make sure to inject her with this." Gee opens the suitcase and hands each of the guards a syringe filled with wolfsbane. I would have used yonnae as well, but it has never been used as a parenteral sedative before. Plus, the risk of inhaling it along with the others here is too big. Wolfsbane, however, immediately weakens werewolves and has been used injected into werewolves whenever they are out of control. "Only one is enough, but it won't hurt to be prepared in case she fights back."
The circle suddenly glows light blue and the werewolves put on a silver bracelet and they immediately turn invisible.
"Prepare," Gee instructs. He immediately chants a barrier spell between their group and the upcoming target.
In a matter of seconds, the target appears inside the glowing circle. What they did not expect was there were two others along with the intended target. The werewolves guarding the witch injected wolfsbane into their necks out of confusion and panic. The three lose their consciousness and are brought inside their own cells one by one.
"Well, this is a conundrum," Gee comments, his closed hand resting on his cheek with the index finger pointing upwards. I was informed only one would be performing the ceremonial dance. How come there are two more? Moreover, who among these three is the one the Alpha was looking for? It would have been better if they showed us a picture.
Gee tilts his head and observes as the last one being dragged into the cell had a distinct hair color among the others. Yep. Definitely this one. I've watched enough anime to tell.
"Make sure to handle them gently. We want them all alive, not dead."
In a blink of an eye, two of the werewolves tasked to bring the girls inside their cells are sent flying with a loud bang. This catches Gee by surprise. He grabs another one of the wolfsbane syringes and throws them at the remaining two werewolves.
"Shit," he curses under his breath. She was supposed to be unconscious!
The girl's eyes glow a golden hue as she stares at Gee menacingly. She suddenly shifts into her white wolf and starts attacking the other two werewolves, her fangs sinking deep into their flesh. Blood stains the ground as one of the werewolves' limbs' is severed and the other's eyes are clawed.
"SHIT!" the other one curses.
"What are you standing there for?! Help us sedate the woman!" Gee yells at the vampires.
"HOW?"
"Distract it while I cast the spell. You can grab those chains back there to trap the wolf!"
He rummages through his bag of syringes and casts an enchantment that affected all of the werewolves. He does not want to risk using yonnae on someone that might be the person his employer is looking for. He grabs two more wolfsbane syringes since the others were rendered useless after the two guards were attacked.
The white wolf staggers and continues to growl as it senses something threatening its life. It closes its eyes shut as the ringing inside its ear grows stronger, causing it to lose balance.
The vampires were quick on their feet to put on the silver cuffs around the wolf's legs. Gee immediately injects the wolfsbane onto the wolf's neck.
The wolf closes its eyes and does not move a muscle.
"We're not getting paid enough for this."
---
I open my eyes as I feel cold water dripping onto my face. Where the hell am I?
My back feels sore as I prop my elbows up. The feeling of fire touches my wrists causing me to yelp and cry in agony. Cuffs? Why are there cuffs on my wrists and legs? I yank them to see where they are attached and the clanking of the chains echoes throughout the deserted room. Tears threaten to fall from my eyes as I try to tolerate the burning sensation.
This is even worse than getting blisters on my feet.
The room is dimly lit, its only source of light coming from the torches inside the different cells and two other torches on both ends of the small room outside the cells. The walls aren't normal, too. They look like walls coming from the medieval era.
This doesn't look like the dress I was wearing last night, too. Where's my white ceremonial dress? Why am I in a different shirt?
I'm pretty sure this wasn't part of the inauguration. The last thing I remember before passing out was performing the ceremonial dance, seeing pack members fainting, and then this blue light from the ground beneath us.
"Valerie! Sandy!" I call despite the scorching pain on my skin.
This must be silver.
"Nikki?" A faint voice answers. "I'm sorry. I feel so weak."
The pungent smell of blood fills my nares. I can feel my heart pounding loudly in my chest as I scan the room for its source. My eyes land on the dried blood outside the cell I'm in. Whose blood is this?
"Valerie... You're not hurt, are you? This isn't your blood outside the cell, right?"
My heart rate begins to increase at the thought of our enemies scouring the area. For sure, we need to come up with a plan to escape here. This is far more difficult than that situation in the woods behind the school. We're locked behind cells. Valerie is weak and the silver chains are weakening my limbs.
"I'm fine, Nikki. Don't worry. That's not mine. I think they administered some sort of weakening agent when we got here."
"Where exactly is 'here'?"
Valerie pauses before she responds, "...I don't know.
"Where's Sandy?"
"She's still passed out. They've been injecting us with wolfsbane every time we start to muster up a bit of strength. I don't know how long it has been since we were kidnapped."
Silence envelopes the two of us as I try to nudge on the cuffs on my wrists. They definitely are not comfortable and sting more each time I move my limbs. Valerie did tell me silver alone can weaken werewolves if they aren't exposed to them on a daily basis. Since I'm a new werewolf, maybe this is why they hurt so bad.
"Nikki... I heard them talking earlier. Apparently, they're trying to figure out which one of us is the former Alpha Rickart's daughter."
Of course, it's just exactly what I needed–more problems caused by the werewolf world I just got dragged into.
"Was he that bad of a man that these people would try to kidnap his daughter?"
"I think... I don't..." Valerie starts but constantly pauses. She is probably having trouble deciding on what to say, especially because we're talking about my biological father here. "Mom and dad told us he wasn't, and that he did everything he could to protect his family and the pack."
Well, he for sure did not do a good job at protecting his life and his wife. I should stop this train of thought. What is wrong with me today?
"Why..." a small voice starts talking, "why do I feel like shit?"
"Sandy!" Valerie and I call in unison.
Sandy groans. "I'm sorry. I have a terrible headache. I've been gaining and losing consciousness lately."
"Wait... what? How long have we been here?" I ask, seeing a small plate inside of Valerie's cells.
Have they been feeding us? Their boss must have considered us important if they went out of their way to provide us with meals—excluding the fact that I've eaten anything yet.
"I think we've been here for two days? You've been shifting in and out of your wolf form, Nikki. How could you not remember?"
"Huh?" I react, dumbstruck at the new information. "I've been turning into a wolf? How do I not know any of this?"
Valerie grunts and leans back on the cold brick wall. "Oh, Goddess Selene. You have Nystria. Of course, this had to happen to you of all people."
"Valerie, cut her some slack. She's just getting used to everything," Sandy piped in, hoping to ease the helplessness in Valerie's voice. "Nystria is the condition in which the werewolf—that's you—is disassociated with their wolf spirit. It means you can neither control your wolf properly nor can you communicate with her."
Is that why Elina and Jace were reacting weirdly when I told them I can't communicate with my wolf spirit? "Well, how do I fix it?"
"I'm sorry, Nikki. I've never met anyone with that condition before. I've only ever heard that condition from one of the pack guardians, but they never mentioned a cure whatsoever."
Just my luck.
I thought the only problem I'd be facing right now would be deciding if I go to college or not. How did it turn into this giant maze where supernatural beings are located everywhere?
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
In front of our cells stands a man in a black t-shirt and jeans with his arms crossed over his chest. A smirk is placed on his lips. None of us heard his footsteps. Just how much wolfsbane did he inject us with for us not to notice?
"Good to see the three of you are awake. Let's begin the interrogation, shall we?"