In the parking garage, there was no sound, no taste, and no smell. The longer I focused on my phone, the harder it was for me to see.
Deprived of oxygen, black specks crowded my vision. The pain in my body shifted, my joints crackling with fatigue. Of all the things to notice right before death, this had to be the worst.
I’m so sorry, Val. Tears bit at the backs of my eyes. I should’ve listened to you. She was right. I wasn’t ready for work. I should’ve stayed home. She would’ve been there with me. She would’ve called for help. She would’ve—
Someone’s here.
The thought wasn’t mine. I mean, it obviously came from my panicked subconscious, but I couldn’t sense anything.
Whatever sounds reached my ears were severely muffled. It was as though I was underwater and the person approaching me miles away.
The click of heels on concrete was unmistakable, but considering where I was, would she even see me?
My voice refused to work, and the bit of air I managed to pull into my lungs burned as much going out as it did going in.
“Over here,” a woman said with a sense of urgency in her voice.
The click of heels was faster now until another woman joined the first. With my back turned in their direction, the best I could do was listen to their words and fight back the fear now crowding my mind.
“Get her in the car before she has a chance to run,” the second woman said, her voice calmer than the first. “We can’t risk her being seen.”
“And then what do you propose we do? She’s human. Just leave her here and let her die. We don’t need one of them snooping around.” The first woman’s words came out in a terrifying growl.
“She’s one of us now, and unless you want a rogue wolf running around the city, we need to get her back to the compound.”
“Yes, Alpha.”
Alpha? Wolf? Confusion flooded my mind as I tried to speak. My mouth opened but no words came out. A moment later, gentle hands touched my skin but I never had a chance to look at her face, the one called Alpha. Her words were kinder and far more gentle, but there was a touch of sadness to them as well.
As much as I wanted to help, as much as I ached to meet her gaze, my body still wouldn’t move. At least I can breathe, I thought as fresh air filled my lungs. My body still ached and there was a sweet smell I couldn’t place, but I was alive.
I’m still alive.
Chapter Three
My eyes fluttered open hours, possibly days later. In that time, the throbbing against my temples hadn’t improved.
Whoever these people were, someone really needed to show them how to treat their guests because a concrete cell with thick iron bars wasn’t it. Not that I was expecting The Ritz or anything, but a plush bed with warm blankets would’ve been nice. Especially considering how dark and cold it was down here. Wherever here is.
I lost consciousness before they could get me inside their car. I had no idea what they drove, what they had planned for me, or if we were even in the city anymore. But one thing kept playing in the back of my mind.
Wolves.
They’d mentioned wolves, an Alpha, and… me running through the city? It was a ridiculous idea considering the pain I’d been in, pain that was surprisingly gone. It was a distant memory, or the memory of a dream, but I still couldn’t figure out where I was.
After a bad dream, one usually wakes up in their own bed, not here. Possibly a hospital room if something really did happen, but not in a dark cell.
The area I woke up in was large enough to hold a single person and completely empty. There was no bed to speak of and no toilet I could use. It was a caged in square of space with everything sitting outside the bars, far out of reach.
On the other side of the bars was another, larger room made out of concrete. Light filtered in through a very small window to my right. Whether the light came from the sun or the moon, I couldn’t be sure.
The wall opposite of me resembled one belonging of a barn, the planks of wood built close together to drown out any other light that may have made its way in from outside.
Straining my ears, I couldn’t hear any birds, cars, sirens, or even wolves. I’d know if there were wolves. They had some of
the most beautiful and haunting sounds around.
A surge of panic ran through me as I looked back on the last