Chapter 4
Jade Rivers
My captors hadn’t drugged me again, but I could taste the slight undertone of wolfsbane in my food at every meal. They were keeping Nalia contained and it was driving me insane. I felt like myself again, but there was something missing in my soul. A gaping, missing piece right out of the center of my heart. I had learned that the man being held captive with me had been here for years. He had also been turned against his will but he never got the chance to meet his wolf. He wouldn’t tell me why. I pushed my tray across the table and looked at him. He had said his name was Lucas but I wondered if it was true. There was a bit of wrongness on the tip of my tongue.
It was the only part of me that reminded me that Nalia was still with me. We didn’t talk while we ate. We just spooned about as much food into our mouths to keep us alive before we sat and watched the others. The others that weren’t prisoners, but they were. They walked around like they owned the place but there was something off about it all. They didn’t bother to look in our direction or even acknowledge our presence. The guard that had been stationed at our door unshackled us from the table and led us back to the room. They didn’t seem to care that we could memorize the long winding hallways. There were no numbers or markers on the doors either. Everything was white and it reminded me of jail, without barred open cells.
When the guard left us shackled again within our room, I turned to Lucas. “Have you tried to get out before?” I whispered. The door was closed and I knew the guard was stationed on the other side, but his hearing was enhanced by his wolf.
Lucas leaned back against the wall. “Yes, and that’s why I’m stuck with you.”
“What do they have planned for us?”
Lucas raised a shoulder. “My guess is as good as yours is. Right now, all you need to worry about is staying alive and avoiding wolfsbane to keep yourself and your wolf strong.”
It was the same mantra every day. Don’t drink too much or eat too much. Everything they gave us was laced with wolfsbane. The longer we stayed on it, the harder it would be for our wolves to come back. I laid down on the bed and watched the man on the floor. We had only known each other a few days but I felt bad that he was stuck on the floor.
“Why don’t you have a bed?”
His brown eyes flicked up to mine and a shadow passed over his face. “I tried to free you.”
I sat up. “Why would you do such a thing?”
He shrugged up a shoulder then sunk down to the floor. “Why not? You don’t deserve to be here.”
“And you do?”
He pressed his lips together and turned away from me. So much for getting to know him better.
