by Rain Itika
a Small town sprawled in front of her, the buildings were peeking out from beyond the trees. The sun was nearly setting, and she was hungry and thirsty, not to mention tired.
The place was packed, the street filled with cars and people on the sidewalk. She received some weird looks because of her outfit, dirty and torn, but she ignored them. She had to find a car and get away as fast as possible. The company would reach her soon.
Sirens sounded all around her as fire trucks sped past her. People were stopping to stare, she included. An elderly couple standing next to her started chatting about what happened and she could not help but listen in.
"I heard it is that house up north." the lady spoke.
"You mean that shady community?" the man asked.
Her ears perked up with what they were mumbling. Immediately she knew who they were talking about and her heart dropped. She was too late.
She had to find a way to get back to the house, and fast.
*****
Lara was able to hitch a ride with some cops, telling them some lie that she lived there and her car had broken down on her way back.
The closer she got, the more she knew that something was wrong. Black smoke rose in the sky as they drove through the town. People crowded the streets, some looking concerned and others angry. It was all her fault. She had waited too long before she left, and now they were most likely dead.
Before the car even stopped by the house, she was out. She ran past the police barrier, ignoring their pleas to stop and headed into the house.
She let out a silent cry. There was blood everywhere. Bodies lay scattered all around and the people alive were huddled in groups, crying and comforting each other.
She walked around, looking for one particular face. She could not find Roland, but she did see Mark.
He was assisting Elle as blood covered her and eyes full of tears. She stepped closer to them when she caught sight of the body next to them. Her hand darted to her mouth to hold back a scream. It was Jacob, Elle's brother, his eyes open, staring blankly up. She knew he was dead.
Mark saw her standing there and came rushing over, anger in his eyes.
"This is all your fault," he screamed, wrapping his hands around her throat. He was squeezing the life right out of her while Lara did not resist him. He was right, because of her, countless people were most likely dead.
"Mark, stop!" Elle's soft voice uttered. He turned around to look at her and he slowly lowered his hand, dangling by his side. Lara dropped to her knees to regain her breath.
"Don't you see. Lara led them here and now your brother is dead," he explained, his eyes black.
Elle stood up and placed a hand on his cheek, "You know that is not true. She left to save us from them."
Mark closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself.
Lara finally spoke, "Where is Roland?"
Mark was about to jump her again, but Elle pulled him back, speaking in his place.
"They took him. We do not know where, but they did leave a message for you." Elle pointed to the living room.
Lara followed her direction and slowly entered the room. She was fearful of seeing more bodies, but none were visible.
We have your mate. You have until midnight to come to us alone. Pinewood manor.
The message written on the wall was in blood. Who's, Lara did not know?
"What is your plan?" Mark questioned her as he came up from behind.
She turned around to face him, shame across her face.
"I have to go, otherwise they will kill him," she said.
"And when you show up, they will kill him anyway. I am not going to let that happen."
She knew he was telling the truth, but she could not risk it.
"We have no other choice." she implored.
"I do not give a flying fuck what you want. We are coming with to save our Alpha." he demanded.
She let out a sigh of relief, "Fine, but we need to come up with a plan. These people are highly trained from a young age and will most likely expect you." she explained.
That is what they did, and while they came up with a plan to save Roland, Lara felt a stone drop in her stomach. She truly loved him and she was the one who got him in this situation. She just hoped he would forgive her if they both came out of this alive.
CHAPTER 27
He gazed out into the night sky, angered that he had to be here. He was expecting his employees to drag her here, but she was nowhere in sight. The only thing good about this situation was the alpha he had tied up in his office. For the first time, he was able to get his hands on one and torturing him was going to be good.
Muffled words wailed behind him, and he turned around to look at the man, sitting on the chair with his hands secured behind him.
"It is about time you woke up." he announced.
Roland looked up at the man, a gag in his mouth. He was trying to say something, but nothing came out. He yanked on the restraints but was not strong enough to break it.
"I love how everybody thinks they can break out of the restraints. It is so funny to see them try. The best part is when defeat crosses their face." the man explained.
He walked up to Roland, stopping behind him. A blade pressed to his throat as the man yanked his head back, his hand pulling his hair, making Roland wince from the pain.
"I have so much in store for you." he murmured into his ear before roughly pushing him away.
The man walked around to face Roland. He stood in front of him, staring down with disgust. "Your kind is a plague on this earth." he yanked the cloth out of Roland's mouth.
"Who the fuck are you?" Roland spat at him.
"I am the savior of earth. Making sure your and every other creature is eliminated, but not before inflicting pain." he clarified.
"How did you find us?" Roland asked.
A small chuckle escaped his lips, "You can thank your little mate for that. She let us straight to you. That was her job, after all."
Anger rose in Roland, his eyes turning black, "That is not true. She would never do that." he screamed.
"Pathetic. You still trust Lara. Look at where you are. Where was she when you got attacked?" Roland's face dropped as he realized the truth in the man's words "Exactly, she was long gone."
The man kept walking around the room, examining everything, and Roland did the same. He was mapping out the area, looking for any escape routes. There were only two doors, the one an entrance and the other leading to the balcony. Next to him was a desk topped with useless trinkets, nothing he could use to escape. He was stuck and out of options.
The man kept moving around the room until he stood next to Roland again. The knife in his hand was glistering from the light when he moved it around, dragging it along his arm, the cold steel pressing into his skin.
The blade stopped above his elbow, the sharp tip piercing into him. A drop of blood pooled where his broke skin, so the man pressed deeper, cutting into him and yanked it down roughly. The cut rang along his arm, only stopping at his hand. Blood began to flow freely, dripping onto his pants and the floor. A scream erupted from Roland as the pain hit him.
The man bent down to examine the wound, pressing his fingers inside of it. The pain intensified, but Roland pushed back the new moan that wanted to escape.
"Well, well, well. You are definitely stronger than a normal wolf. The cut is already starting to heal." Roland spared a glance down, and sure enough, his skin was already closing up, the blood stopped trickling out.
The man kept cutting and slicing at any exposed skin as he would watch
it heal and then cut again. Roland kept screaming, but not because he wanted to, but because this man was forcing him to. He had an unexplained power over him, making him do whatever he wanted.
The man was about to slash again when shouts sounded behind the door, the ruckus drawing his attention.
"What the hell is going on?" he let out. He walked to the door and impatiently swung it open, letting it crash into the wall. Men in uniforms were scrambling around, orders transferring between them. He grabbed one by their collar, pulling him closer.
The guard stared up at him, fear in his eyes. "What the hell is going on?" he demanded.
The guard shivered, too afraid to speak.
"Now."
"The...the girl. She is here. She already killed some guards." the man finally whimpered.
He let go of the collar and the man dropping on his ass. A swift kick met his stomach and he buckled over, hands covering the injury.
"Then get up and fucking find her. I want her alive!" he yelled as the guard got up and ran away, and he swung the door closed, basking the room in silence.
He strode back into the office, a smile plastered on his face while looking at Roland.
"Now, it is about to get interesting." he walked to the desk, sitting on the chair perched behind it.
Abruptly, the noise ended and footsteps sounded behind the door. Seconds later the door was thrown open as two guards entered. Sandwiched between them was Lara, yanking at their tight grip. She stopped fighting them when she laid her eyes on Roland.
"Welcome, Lara." the man stood up, drawing her attention to him. He walked around the desk and to Lara, stopping in front of her.
"It is so good you could finally join us." he spoke.
She started at him with hatred in her eyes before she spoke one word, "Lucius."
"In the flesh." he smiled at her.
His hand darted up, punching her in the face. She lost consciousness before she could say anything else.
*****
They had come up with a plan. Lara would enter in the front, causing as much chaos as possible. She would distract all the guards and then they would enter from the back.
They were currently crouched behind some trees, watching the drama unfold. Mark and some of the warriors were waiting and watching. Gunshots and shouting rang through the air, signaling them that is was time to move.
A guard stood by the back door, a gun in hand. He glanced around concerned, the sound of fighting distracting him. When he wasn't looking, Mark silently stepped closer, staying low and hidden. He approached the guard from the back and swiftly grabbed him by the neck, a blade thrust into his back. The guard struggled for seconds before falling over dead.
Mark indicated it was clear to the others, and when all of them were at the entrance, they infiltrated the house.
The kitchen was first, dark and empty. The team drifted through it, not stopping to inspect it. The next room looked like the wine cellar, humid and dark. The wolf eyes adjusted to the darkness pretty quickly, and as Mark was about to leave the room, a movement caught his attention. He signaled the warriors to stop.
He turned on the flashlight adjoined to the gun and pointed it at the object. It looked like a cage with a small body huddled inside it. He had a feeling this was something important.
He turned back to his squad, "Go on without me, I have to check this out. Remember to stay quiet and low. Lara will give the signal when to approach. Kill anyone you encounter." he instructed softly. They nodded in agreement and started marching past him and out the door.
Mark turned his attention back to the cell. He stepped closer, trying not to make a sound. As he approached, the light revealed more of the body. He could see pitch-black hair sticking out from a blanket.
"Hello." he whispered.
The body stirring with the sound of his voice.
"Are you okay?" he tried again.
"Leave me alone." the voice spoke, and he could hear the pain in it. The sound pitched, that of a female.
Her voice unfolded a deep need in him to help her, and so he quickly moved forward, unlocking the cage.
"It is okay. You can come out now. I won't hurt you. You are safe." Mark encouraged the woman.
The body uncurled and crawled out. He gently grabbed around her arms, feeling the bones cutting into his palms. He pulled her up, helping her to stand.
Hair covered her face and he moved to wipe it out of the way, but she jerked back, his movement scaring her.
He let go of the gun, letting it hang by his side and lifted his empty hands in the air, a sign of surrender, "I won't hurt you. I promise."
He stayed still for a minute, waiting patiently for her to push the hair out of her face, staring up at him.
The light from the gun brightened the room, enabling him able to see her face with more detail.
Her eyes were a deep blue, an endless ocean he could get lost in. They hypnotized him, his thoughts in jumbles.
"Mine..." was all he managed to say.
CHAPTER 28
The pain in her temple throbbed loud, waking her up. It was a dull ache that indicated a headache was about to start. She lifted her hand to rub it but couldn't. She opened her eyes, confused, glancing down at her body, shocked to see she was bound to a chair. Her memories were muddled as she forgot how she got there.
Footstep drew her attention, and she looked up. As soon as she saw Roland, her memories came surging back. The phone call with Bill, the confrontation with Mark and blood. So much blood.
In that instant, shame flooded her. It was all her fault as she had caused all those people's deaths and most likely, Roland's as well.
Lara watched Roland, hoping to catch his gaze, but he refused to look at her. He kept his gaze on the clear space next to her. She waved her hand as much as she could while it was tied down, but still, he refused to acknowledge her.
The action did not attract his attention, but it did someone else's.
Lucius stepped out from the shadows, a smirk crossing his face. He still looked like the devil that has been haunting her dreams since she was small. His hair was cut short, to the skin, and the color was so blond that it could be considered white. His eyes were a dark color, emotionless and a reflection to his soul. His nose was bend at a weird angle, probably broken and never healed right when he was younger. His entirety of facial features screamed cold-hearted.
Lucius strolled around the room as his gaze remained on her. She glared back at him, refusing to back down from the silent challenge between them. He kept walking until he finally stopped right in front of her.
"Do you know how long I have waited for this moment?" he sneered at her.
She tilted her head to look up at him, not saying a word.
Pain exploded from her check when he slapped her, the sound bouncing off the walls. A low growl sounded behind him.
"You will answer me when I ask a question." he shouted at her.
She kept her eyes down, the sting on her cheek making her anger grow. She refuses to give in to his demands.
"Fine. Have it your way. I will just have to make you, then." he sneered.
She heard his footsteps walk away from her and a door opening. People came shuffling in, pulling something substantial with them as it scratched the floor. She was curious to see what he had planned, but she will not waver.
"Put him there." Lucius instructed. The men dropped the object opposite her and walked out, closing the door behind them.
Silence engulfed the room, the only sound was Lucius stalking around.
"Now let us try it again."
he spoke.
He kept scrambling around until he stopped. Moments later, screams pierced the air. Lara could sense the pain in them, but she could still not face it. She blamed herself for their situation and now she was stuck with him. Her plan had not gone as they hoped as she was never supposed to be caught. Roland's screams had distracted her for a second, enough time for them to grab her.
"Lara.." a voice whispered. She peeked up, the familiarity pulling her back to the present.
Tied down in front of her was Bill. He sat in a chair next to Roland, his eyes pleading.
"Bill." escaped her lips.
"I am sorry." he replied as his head dropped in disgrace.
"Yes, yes. We get it. You betrayed your daughter." Lucius stared down at Bill. "I told you years ago how this would end, but you still wanted to attempt it."
Lucius circled him, knife in hand. He returned his gaze to Lara, a smirk visible.
"You see, you were an experiment. When we killed your parents, I wanted to dispose of you as well, but Bill here felt terrible for hurting a child, so he suggested raising you as one of us and when you reached puberty, we would suppress your nature. It worked perfectly. The only problem here was Bill. " Lucius grabbed him by the hair, yanking him back. "He started to get feelings, to see you as his daughter and look where it got you." he yanked his face up to stare at him and said one word. "Death"
Lucius let go of his head and walked away. Bill eyed Lara, trying to detect her reaction. Remorse crossed his face.
"Is it true?" Lara's voice cracked. It was too much information to take in all at once.
"Yes." Bill gave a hopeless sigh. With that one word, her world collapsed. Her family murdered in cold blood, and the man who killed them had raised her as his own. The worst part was, he had kept her true nature from her. She was split into two, the other part hidden from her until now.
Anger began to boil to the top. Anger at this situation and anger at how her life had turned out. She could feel her muscle beginning to expand, her bones cracking. She eyed Bill, knowing her eyes were pure black.