(Read the prologue for the space between the last chapter and this one. I will go over it all again shortly if you don’t feel like reading it again, but it if you get confused you should cheek back to that.)
The room isn’t big enough, isn’t safe enough, doesn’t smell right and defiantly doesn’t calm her down from her rage.
No matter how hard she tries, Kiera can’t escape the burning fury of betrayal and prickling sense of fear under her skin. Exposed, so exposed, her wolf part snarls. Too close to the enemy. Need to warn the pack…
Hours have passed since she woke up in the tiny frosted glass room. No food has been brought to her, which is probably a good thing for the Revoker’s because she won’t pause before ripping them apart. She doesn’t care about the food though, doesn’t care that the beds uncomfortable or that the room doesn’t get dark enough at night for her taste.
Everything reminded her that she wasn’t safe. The white glass walls separating her from the Revokers; makes her uneasy. The blankets aren’t hers, and nothing smells like home or even remotely like wolf.
Despite the tiredness numbing her thoughts it can’t put out the fire burning in her.
The traitor, Chase, had come in once, only to watch her through the glass. It was like a slap in the face. He is walking around with the Revokers, while she remains caged, completely unprotected but for her claws and teeth; but they had a way to get around even that.
Kiera’s gaze snaps to the door on the far side of the room. Her skin prickles as the visitors wonder in, and she knows before she sees him, Chase is here. He’s nothing but a blur through the glass, blotted out with white streaks and veins, but the sight still makes her sit up with a snarl. She squashes the part of her wanting to give into her pack mate, the same part wanting to seek comfort him in while she felt so vulnerable.
The group that enters is small, only four distinct smudges.
To her surprise they don’t approach her tiny glass cage. Hesitantly she wonders to the closest wall, trying to figure out what they are doing as one plays with something grey beside the door that she hadn’t noticed.
After a painful minute of waiting something crackles loudly overhead. Kiera jumps and glances up. The roof stretches above her with only two grey dots in the whole white ceiling. “Kiera?” A voice echo’s from them.
“What the hell?” She snarls to herself, her fists clenching at her sides. She cringes as the sound of a voice echo’s again, this time slightly lounder, but with much more crackling.
“My name is Crevan, I’m the boss here.” The female says again. Other voices echo in the background, soft whispers.
Kiera pauses, unsure how to respond. Can they hear her? Hesitantly she asks, “…you mean like the alpha?” She only half expects an answer.
More whispers sizzle through the room, but it ends quickly and Crevan’s voice returns. “Something like an alpha. List-“
“You can’t be,” Keira retorts. Her blood stirs at the thought of being lied to, because it was obviously a lie. “Females can’t be alpha’s, only men”
There is a small pause before Crevan answers. “Our cultures are very different, Kiera. From where I am, I have just as much say as any male, even more sometimes. Do you want to know more? I’ll let you out if you promise not to attack, and I swear, for as long as you stay calm, we won’t draw our weapons.”
Indecision makes Kiera freeze. She squeezes her eyes close. Ever part of her refused to consort with the enemy, rebuked at the thought of even talking to them, but her human side grabs blindly for answers, for a reason why Chase would choose them over the pack, over her.
They had stopped her mum from ever shifting again, nearly killed Hunter, and had killed her father and older sister Casey nearly 3 years ago. She owed them nothing. She has no reason to listen to the lies.
“Kiera?” Crevan prompts carefully.
Kiera shakes her head. She can’t. Being so close to them, even with the glass wall, was hard, but to take away the protection…she could feel the wolf surging for freedom. It wasn’t the Revokers that her wolf was interested in tearing apart; it was Chase.
Over the static someone mumbles something, so low she can’t pick up the words, but enough she knows it’s Chase. Crevan grunts in reply, not pleased. Another thirty seconds slide by before Crevan clears her throat. “Maybe-“
“Fine” Kiera snarls. The words are bitter, and the guilt and claws at her insides. She tried not to imagine her mother’s horrified express. “You have five minutes, than…I hold no promises to not rip that lying bastard to shreds, and anyone who tries to stop me”
The silence is tense, but soon enough Crevan agrees and a panel in the wall pushes out to slide against the glass wall. For a moment Kiera stays where she is; unsure whether to ogle the door or get strait down to business. She steps out of the room hesitantly. Outside is just as plain as it appeared behind the frosted glass, the walls a dull grey, the floor and roof a matching shade of off-white. She doesn’t understand why her cage is been so small, when the room is so large. The glass room is nothing but a box in the middle of the room, exactly in the centre and reaching floor to ceiling in clear and white glass.
Crevan steps away from the door, the small grey square forgotten. The lady had darker skin then anyone Kiera has ever met; a warm brown shade matched with almost black eyes. It was the same lady from before, but Kiera hadn’t taken much notice of this so called alpha before. She isn’t particularly muscly, nor does she seem menacing.
A pair stands off to the side, both with blond hair, although the girl’s hair is much darker, with an almost matching set of eyes. It didn’t take a genius to realize they were brother and sister, the brother being the oldest, and more aggressive. He was also the one who’d stood in the circle holding the knife a few hours ago. The girl looked familiar, but Kiera can’t place the petite girl.
Taking a deep breath, Kiera finally narrows her eyes at Chase. He looks almost the same, with messy hair and a shirt that’s a size too big. His face is so void of emotion, that she has to advert her gaze to stop herself from snarling at the stranger hiding in her partner’s body.
Too Kiera, it seems Crevan waits for her to assess the situation for a moment before she steps forward. The move is only formal, a subtly demand for attention, but Kiera bristles at the movement. The lady stop’s, chin high. “Chase thinks you would be a good asset, and I don’t lie when I say, if not for him, you wouldn’t be here…and you certainly wouldn’t be home.”
Kiera clenches her jaw.
“Don’t take it personally, but we can’t just send you back home, especially after your little…performance. What we are working on is very delicate, and for one wolf to destroy that would be a big step back. You see-”
“What are you working on?”
The blond guy glares, but thankfully says nothing.
Creven doesn’t look fazed by Kiera interruption; instead she takes another slow step forward. “Before I tell you, I want to ask you to keep an open mind-“
Kiera growls at Chase, wishing she hadn’t promised not to attack. His snort was less then asked for.
Crevan continues like nothing had happened, “You have grown up on the Alcrest land, have lived there all your life, am I correct? It isn’t surprising that you don’t know what’s outside the walls they have caged you in.”
“Kiera, listen” Chase adds firmly before she can start a rather heated argument.
“No. You have no right to tell me to listen, not after-“
“Please,” he says softer. “If not for me, than for Hunter.”
Caught off guard by her brother’s name, Kiera can’t say anything. She glances at Crevan again, unsure where the defensiveness should be directed any longer.
The other lady waits a few second before resuming. “You don’t know the outside world, Kiera. You don’t know what a beach is, or what a cell phone is, or how to use a computer…you’ve been kept from everything…and I don’t blame you for any of it. I know that you think the Alcrest’s are good, I know you want to believe we are the bad guys and that everything you’ve ever been told is the truth. But it isn’t”
“Don’t go there! The Alcrest’s give us homes, food, they keep us safe-!”
“From what?” Crevan interjects quickly.
Kiera tenses at the woman’s tone, surprised by the sudden sharpness and determination. Within two seconds, the calm, patient woman had transformed into an alpha, enough so that even from someone not a werewolf, Kiera can almost feel the echo of a demand in it. Her skin prickles, her beast clawing at her insides. She stays frozen instead of challenging the other female.
“From us?” Crevan asks. “Kiera, they don’t protect you, you protect them.”
“It’s our job-“
“Why? Why is your job? When did you sign up for this ‘job’, when did you decide that you wanted to be unwittingly forced into something? When did you choose to fight us? Do you even know why you defend the Alcrests? Do you know why we keep attacking, even though every time we die, and we are pushed back? Do you know what you are really fighting against?”
Keira snarls, feeling cornered. Needing more space she backs away, heart racing and skin feverish as everything in her goes on the defensive as the words hit home hard. “No,” she hisses to herself, rearing back from the woman. Her muscles are trembling with the need to shift and defend herself, her pack and the Alcrests. Lies!
Creven doesn’t seem to notice the shift in Kiera’s persona. “Are you proud of fighting for the Alcrests? Do you like being their slave? That’s all you are to them, nothing but guards! Do they care when you die? No. Do you get a funeral? I doubt it! Stop kidding yourself into believing their lies-“
With a snap Kiera’s defensiveness twists into offensiveness. She doesn’t even get a chance to lunge at the liar, before Chase tackles her.
They hit the ground in a bundle of fur and teeth. Pain laces over her chest as he hits her, but it does nothing to stop Kiera from having a go at Chase. She gets a mouthful of fur as they smack into the ground, and as they fight blindly to land blows, she tastes blood. She jumps backward out of the fight, narrowly missing a paw to the face. She jumps forward again, but Chase is a male, much bigger and stronger, so with one snap at her almost tears open she shoulder. Without pause though, she barrels into his side, taking a wild snap at his thigh.
She stumbles as Chase twists away. Quickly Kiera sets her paws and pivots, almost slipping on the pale lino splattered with blood.
She meets Chase head on, growling in fury as she’s forced backwards fast enough she finds herself sitting on her hunches and not even a split second later she lands on her back. Her claws rake at his face, pushing him away from her as she claws make blindly for the eyes. She jerks away as he twists to take a bite at her ankle/wrists. A paw slips over her chest, and desperate not to be pinned, Keira rolls out from under him.
Before she can dart off Chase had pounced on her though, teeth sinking into the nap of her neck. She growls, fighting to pull away so she can strike him again. It doesn’t work though, because Chase’s weight forces her down, chest pressing into her back hard enough to buckle her legs.
Flat on her stomach, Kiera can’t do more than voice her disapproval. Weakly, she paws at the ground, and her muscles strain uselessly to lift her off the floor.
“I hate werewolves,” the blond guy suddenly snaps. The knife has reappeared, but the girl is trying to force it back into his pocket.
For a while no one moves, but Kiera continues to growl in annoyance, breathing ruggedly despite hardy doing anything worth making her pant. She notices instantly when the paw on her back turns into fingers, splayed on her shoulder. And another on the hip curve of her leg.
The other girl squeals, the knife forgotten as she shields her eyes. Kiera catches when she peeks between her fingers, staring dismayed at the naked male hovering over the wolf.
A tense moment passes where Kiera continues to grumble, claws deep in the lino.
“Are you calm yet?” Chase asks; his voice is unnaturally hard.
She snarls, but lowers her head onto her paws, the closest thing to surrender Chase will get. She whacks her tail against his legs in annoyance.
He takes her body language in easily and stands. The blond guy eyes her warily, as if he wouldn’t have let her up, but doesn’t question Chase who wonders over to a bag sitting beside the door. He rummages through the bag quickly, and a moment later finds what he wants. “Kiera, if you make me shift again, I will strangle you,” he turns around slowly, zipping the jeans up. His eyes meet hers from across the space, but it’s hard to look at him. He frowns. “What’s that look for?”
Jerking to her feet Kiera snarls, but turns away this time. She was sure her cheeks would be red if not for the fur covering her. Even when her mind screams he’s a traitor, deceptive and mean, she can’t help feel the animal’s desire being sparked at the sight of his naked body.
She blames the Revokers for the extra muscle; it was really too bad she liked it.
Choosing to prowl away rather than pick up the failed attacks, Kiera scolds herself. Why was she so easy to beat? It seems in every fight she gets in lately she’s only the annoying pup that’s puffed up with an ego and no skill. Every Revoker, and now Chase, can defeat her too. Part of her wishes he’d killed her; just to save the humiliation, but another part is happily surprised he hadn’t really hurt her besides a shallow bite to the shoulder. Sadly, she knows it’s only because he doesn’t want to hurt her; because there’s no doubt the male can kill her.
“She’s much more aggressive than I thought” Crevan remarks lowly.
“It’s because she’s more wolf than human, just like my mother in that sense” Chase replies almost sadly, the last part so low her ears prick to hear it.
Kiera pauses her pacing, suddenly feeling something similar to guilt turn her stomach over. In her head she starts remembering Chase’s flinches, the fear in his eyes at her anger and Sadie’s sharp voice. That weird feeling in her stomach is guilt, she realizes coldly.
Crevan either doesn’t hear the last part or doesn’t care. “Are you sure you want her, Chase? If we can’t sway her, she’s-“
“-Kiera. That’s all she is, all she will ever be. Despite her rather violent and rash outbursts, she has potential. All that anger you see, try to think of it as passion, hot, fiery passion that refuses to back down. She’s a wolf, a fighter, a survivor. And anyway, if her mum were to ever find out I let her daughter die, I’d be skinned and used as a rug; seriously.”
“There’s an idea…” The other guy mutters.
Kiera whines, but it soon turns into an annoyed growl. She pads back into the glass room, aware that she can be trapped in again, but she needed her clothes. A minute later she’s found more clothes and has shifted back. I’m not shifting again, she tells herself sternly. I’m going to ruin too many clothes.
The door isn’t closed in her face, thankfully, but they still looked alert and ready for any attack; except Chase who leans against the wall casually. He already knows she’s made up her mind.
She stops a few steps from them, forcing herself to ignore the defensive stance the blond guy has taken up. Before she can say anything Chase suddenly pushes off the wall, body tense. He growls. “Who gave you those bruises?” he demands, ignorant to the Revokers surprised expressions.
Kiera bucks at his tone and has to squash the snarl. She wants to tell him it’s none of his business, but instead holds out her right forearm. The bruises around her wrists are small, nothing but fading fingerprints. They are nearly gone, but she knows he’s spotted them just as easily as the other one. “Well, this one’s cutesy of you, from the meeting”
At first Chase seems surprised, than disappointed. The meeting seemed to be a bad memory. “And the other?” He motions to the one on her bicep, that can’t be seen as anything but a hand print. She doesn’t think about telling him about the bruises on her thigh with the addition of shallow nail marks.
Kiera shrugs a shoulder apathetically. It seemed unimportant to tell him about Kadar’s threats. But the reminder doesn’t help to keep her stomach settled. She can see his cruel eyes, the promise in his eyes. Suddenly her point of view suddenly turns around sharply and she finds the words crawling up her throat. Kiera looks away, unable to look at Chase or any of the others watching the exchange. “Kadar,” she admits quietly. The word is bitter in her mouth.
“Why was Kadar touching you?”
Kiera glances back, picking up the undertone of a growl in his voice. She’d never heard that before, at least not from Chase; it’s odd an odd sound. She sets her jaw and looks away.
“I’ll kill him” Chase snarls.
She lets out a startled breath but then schools her features, ignoring the weird pleasure she gets at seeing Chase’s protective side. “Unfortunately, it seems like it’s that…or he kills you…”
“What did you do?” Chase whines, sounding like his old self enough that she feels her defences lower slightly.
“Nothing!” She snaps, but then bites her lip. “I was just being my usual opinionated self…and Kadar didn’t find my words as amusing as other may have…”
“Kiera…” Chase groans.
She doesn’t let him start saying something else, because she’s already turning to Crevan, the conversation with Chase forgotten. This is a Revoker still, and Kiera has no trust for them at all like she does Chase. She can’t just lay down her loyalties.
“Perhaps you should start again, this time without the accusing part?” Kiera suggests, than glances at Chase sharply. “I want the facts, not allegations or side stepped truth. …And then maybe we can talk about this stupid suicide operation you’ve got going….maybe.”