Hey!
Hope you enjoy! Sorry it's short!
~Lissa
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Everything hurt.
Opening my eyes, I felt the wetness on my cheeks as I squinted up at the harsh lights shining down on me. I groaned, flinching at the pain in my body - the most pain came from my head, which had smacked against the SUV, followed by darkness welcoming me. My lungs felt as if they were damaged by an endless amount of cigarettes because I was struggling to breathe for some odd reason. Oh, God. Sucking in a deep breath, I tried sitting forward, but I was held down by thick straps on my wrists and ankles. Panic overwhelmed me and releasing a small cry, I attempted wiggling out of the straps, using the little strength I had.
"Calm down," a voice came, startling me. I glanced around; my eyes skimmed across the white walls until they landed on a woman seated in a metal chair across the room. Her hair was brown, chopped off right above her shoulders. She was dressed in a tight, blue dress that contrasted with her black heels. She picked at her manicured nails as she watched me with her dark eyes, curiosity swarming in them.
Who is she?
Pursing her red lips, she rose to her feet, approaching me with her high-heels clacking against the marble flooring. Up close, I realized she wasn't any older than forty; she was probably thirty-two, give or take a few years. "The effects of the poison won't disappear for a few more days, but if you cooperate, I'll provide you with medicine to ease the pain."
"Poison?"
The corners of her lips quirked upwards as I stared at her, confused. Honestly, I was starting to feel a burning in my gums and I shifted on the table, annoyed by the straps digging into my skin. "We've been performing tests on you, Emma. For the last few days, you've been waking up for short periods of time, before returning to your unconscious state." I frowned, replaying her words over and over again in my head. She knew my name - how? Tests? Few days? How long had I been there? The woman pranced around the table to the other side, her eyes wandering up my secured body. "My name is Amanda Walcott and I'm considered a scientist. I've been working with the government on the recently discovered beings - a lot of people label them as 'werewolves'."
Werewolves, I thought, suddenly having memories rushing at me. Ryker. I remembered the battle that occurred where Jay and Laura died. Images of helicopters crashing down and of werewolves mauling at soldiers overwhelmed me. All of the blood and violence caused my stomach to twist inside of me. The last thing I remembered was Ryker leaping in front of me, taking a dart that paralyzed him. Tears prickled my eyes and worriedly, I looked at the woman. "Where is h-he?"
"Your mate?" she responded, surprising me. "We've learned a few things, Emma. Like, how three of the werewolves being locked in our facility are capable of magic. Did you know they killed at least thirty of my provided guards?" I gulped loudly, feeling some relief knowing that Ryker and his brothers were alive, somewhere. "And, mates - it's fascinating how werewolves are able to find their soulmate by one touch or even a glance." She rubbed her lips together, smearing some of her red lipstick. "And, you just happen to be the mate of a werewolf. And, not just any werewolf, but one of those with magic."
I gulped loudly. "Why a-am I - "
"Here? Alive?" she questioned, interrupting me. "Sweetheart, I'm studying the bond between you and your mate. I'm playing my part in this whole operation by seeing how strong the bond runs between you two." She tapped her nails on one of the straps locking my ankles down. "Humans aren't able to know who their soulmate is by a glance - hell, we even get our soulmate wrong sometimes and find ourselves in a divorce." She laughed, her laugh sounding between an evil witch and an extreme cigarette smoker. "Do you want to know what else I've learned, Emma? I've learned that your mate is able to heal you with his blood."
I licked my bottom lip. "Where is h-he?"
"You're feeling the need to be around him, am I right?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You feel safe around him - it's part of being mates."
"You're sick," I blurted, ignoring the pain in my head. I took the opportunity to glance around the room, spotting a door in the farthest corner. Stacks of papers were situated in the chairs lining the nearest wall, along with a tray of tools that sent chills down my spine. Amanda smirked, amused by the confusion and concern evident on my face. Was everybody else alright? Did they kill anyone while I was unconscious? Did someone else die during the battle? "I need to see him - I need to see t-them. Let me go."
"I'm afraid I can't let you go," she responded, cocking her head to one side. "You're very important to this operation; you're one of our subjects." I gritted my teeth together, feeling the mild ache in my mouth. "There's also Drew and Nora we've been testing. We've learned that Drew is an Alpha and the majority of those locked in our facility belong to his pack - we're also testing them to see how strong the bond between an Alpha and his pack members are. Though, we know packs run larger than five people, so we're trying to locate the rest of his pack."
I pinched my lips together. "They're going to kill you."
"They won't be able to land a finger on me," she said, venom dripping from her words. She dragged her manicured nail up my leg, stopping at my thigh. "Now, what we haven't figured out is why those three particular werewolves, one of which is your mate, are capable of magic. How they're able to control minds, send guards flying through the air, and boil blood." Her eyes narrowed as she became serious. "That's beyond normal, Emma. That's not safe; it's extremely dangerous. No one - not any creature - should be that powerful."
"If you think I'm going to t-tell you what I know, you're wrong," I stammered, keeping my words sounding fierce. "They're not the monsters here - you are."
She laughed. "You're betraying your own kind, Emma."
"No, I'm not," I argued, thinking about my brother who happened to be a werewolf. Lately, werewolves had circled my life; the only actual human friend I had was Noah. "You know nothing."
"Oh, I know many things," she countered, before walking over to the chairs lining the nearest wall. I kept my watering eyes locked on her as she rummaged through the stacks of papers, humming to herself. When she pulled out a folder, I gulped loudly with a sniffle. She exhaled loudly and flipped the folder open, revealing several papers containing words and pictures.
Lingering near my side, she pulled out a record of Tyler, the werewolf who had turned my brother. Squinting, I noticed a picture of him in the farthest corner, his blue eyes glaring into the camera. His dark hair was mess, sticking out in all sorts of directions. "I know Tyler is Drew's older brother; we know some unimportant things about him, but we haven't figured out why he didn't take the Alpha title, yet. He hasn't said a word since he's been here."
She dropped Tyler's record onto the table near my feet, before pulling out another record. Katie. "This werewolf just lost her mate - he was killed in the battle. I believe his name was Jay, wasn't it?" My chest tightened and I looked away from her for a long moment. "We're studying her, trying to figure out how she's coping with his loss and how it's different from when we lose someone very close to us. Not only that, but we've been studying her child - we believe it'll take less than nine months for the birth, maybe four. Incredible." She slapped the record down with Tyler's and I was struck with surprise.
"C-child?"
She smirked. "She's pregnant." My eyes widened as she pulled out another record. Katie was pregnant with Jay's child - and they were studying her. What if they killed the child? What if something terrible happened to Katie? More concern overwhelmed me and I took a deep breath, praying everyone was alright. "Then, there's Katie's brother, Brody. We were quite surprised when we discovered his mate was a man, Cole, Drew's Beta. We're curious of their bond, too." She slapped the record down on the table, causing me to flinch.
"Now, this one is a real kicker," she said, waving the record around. "Nora Myers. We're not sure what to do with her, yet. She's human, yet she's showing signs of a werewolf. Not only that, but we witnessed her using some magic when we were testing her. How is that? How come your mate and his brothers - and Nora - are capable of magic? Were they born with it? Are there more out there capable of it, Emma?"
I shook my head. "Figure it o-out yourself."
"I intend to," she responded, harshly. She grabbed the records and shoved them back into the folder, closing it. Tossing the folder back onto the stacks of papers, she approached me, her face twisting into a scowl. "I intend to find out everything you know, Emma." Fear formed inside of me, though I didn't show it.
Suddenly, a knock came on the door, startling me. Amanda smirked at me, her dark eyes gleaming underneath the bright lights. Before I understood what was happening, the door opened, revealing two men. Dressed in black from head-to-toe, my mind flashed back to the battle, to the men we fought against.
She gestured towards me, backing away. "Take her."
My eyes widened. "W-what? No!"
Panicking, I felt their fingers rubbing against my skin as they unstrapped me from the table. Instantly, I tried hopping off the table and running out of the room in hope of finding Ryker. But, the movement caused me to become dizzy and everything began to spin. No. Grabbing my upper arms, the men pulled me off the table and onto my feet, which ached. Amanda clasped her hands together and shrugged her shoulders. "I'll see you again soon, Emma." I gritted my teeth together and glared at her, feeling sick.
I was dragged out of the room, stumbling over my feet. The men tightened their hold on my arms as they started leading me down a wide, white corridor. Screams of pain filled my ears and I flinched, hot tears rolling down my cheeks. We passed several doors and turned down another corridor, one where I spotted someone familiar up ahead. Two men, larger than the ones holding me, were dragging Noah towards us. His head was hanging forward and his shoulders hunched. I noticed the bruises and dirt dancing on his skin the closer we got. His clothes were ripped, barely hanging onto his body.
"Noah," I breathed when he passed by me. "Noah! Noah!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, immediately feeling the pain in my throat afterwards. Slowly, his head lifted and whipped around - when his green eyes landed on me, they widened. He stomped his feet into the marble floors, fighting against the men holding him. He elbowed one of the men in the stomach, followed by a quick punch to the jaw. "Noah!"
"Emma!" He twisted his arms out of their grasps and turned around, heading straight towards me. But, he only made it a few steps, before one of the men locked his arm around his waist. Next thing I knew, he was being stabbed in the arm with a needle. "No! Noah!"
His body became limp, his eyes rolling to the back of his head. I watched in disbelief as the largest man lifted him up and swung him onto his shoulder, easily. Tears were streaming down my cheeks as I found myself turning down another corridor, away from him. He was alive - for now. I tried fighting against the men dragging me, but I didn't have enough strength.
Eventually, we stopped at a white door, one with a small window that allowed someone to peer inside. One of the men opened it and shoved me inside without a second thought. Instantly, I crumbled to the ground, moaning at the pain in my head. The door slammed closed, followed by the sound of it locking. Hesitantly, I lifted my head, glancing around the strange room in fear. The walls were white, along with the floors. There wasn't any windows, though there were two single beds pressed against the farthest wall. My gasp caught in my throat when my eyes landed on someone familiar lounging on one of the beds, tossing a bouncy ball into the air.
Tyler.
He raised an eyebrow at me. "I guess you're my roommate, Babydoll."
Great.