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I watch the two brutes escort Cal away, through the dimly lit hallway. I grip at the cold bars, a silent witness to our sudden separation. I watch until Cal’s form disappears from my line of sight, leaving behind an echoing void of emptiness and terror. Although there are flickering torchlights, I feel like I have fallen into a dark hole, and I see no way out.
I let go of the bars, wondering what the next hour will bring. WillI also be taken, just like Cal? And more frighteningly, taken where?
I shiver in the darkness, but not from the cold. I tremble with fear, with an idea that this might be all my fault. Perhaps if I wasn’t at the village, Rock and Cal would have focused more and prepared better for the possible attack of the enemy bear shifter clan.
I sit down on the cold ground, burying my face into my hands. My body is awash in sorrow, in regret, in wondering whether my coming here was what ruined everything.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Cal
My body is in a tidal wave of pain, but I can barely feel it. I’ve gotten almost completely numb. The two guards are dragging me through the corridors, as the harsh clatter of metal against stone reverberates through the silence around us. I want to ask them where they are taking me, but I know it would serve no purpose. I will find out soon enough.
My body feels like a ragdoll, as if my limbs aren’t even attached to my body with tubes of arteries and capillaries, but rather a few pieces of thread that will fall apart at any moment and I will no longer be whole. However, despite this state I’m in, I still have a flicker of resilience inside me. They can destroy my body, but they can’t destroy my spirit.
As we navigate the tangled passageways of this place, my gaze keeps focusing on the surroundings, in hopes that I might find something to help me. I know that Rock will come for us. But Elena is still locked up in that dingy cell. What if something happens to her before Rock comes? I will never forgive myself.
The cold, unforgiving walls seem to close in on me, but I keep clinging to the few remnants of strengths that still course through my weary form. I doubt if I would have any strength to shift if I were given the chance for it. I am too beaten, too battered. My legs are barely keeping my body straight. However, despite these physical constraints, I focus my mind. I need it to remain sharp. That is the only thing I can use now to fight our enemy. Silent determination keeps fueling my thoughts, a quite resolve that whispers promises of resistance, that pushes me forward because I know there is someone who is counting onme. With every step that they drag me through, I draw upon my reserves of strength inside of me.
We finally stop at a chamber, and they forcefully push me into it. I land on the cool, hard ground, taking in my surroundings. I realize now that we’ve been underground this entire time. The cells, this chamber, it is all underneath the camp. I wonder how long it has been here. We never even knew of its existence. Then again, we don’t usually delve into this part of the woods, preferring to keep to ourselves.
I look up at the flickering torches lining the uneven stone walls, casting erratic shadows that dance across the ancient surfaces. The air within the chamber is thick with an earthy scent, hinting at the subterranean depths in which it is concealed. The ceiling, low and oppressive, adds to the sense of confinement, almost like a tomb. I wonder if that is what this place will become for me.
“Majestic, isn’t it?” I hear a voice, but it’s not either of the two guards. They have silently withdrawn and now, I am alone with this demonic voice.
A moment later, a figure emerges from the darkness. I immediately recognize it as the leader whom we saw during our first scouting of the camp.
“I’ve seen better,” I spit.
He looks around, as if he’s admiring the place. The chamber’s boundaries are defined by worn stone, bearing the marks of age and utter neglect. The uneven floor echoes with even the slightest of noises, the sound exploding in the enclosed space. In the center of the chamber, there is a solitary pillar, a weathered testament to the mysterious purpose of this hidden underground enclave.
“But have you seen this particular one?” he asks, nearing me, with his hands behind his back. I wonder if that is because he is hiding a weapon he intends on using on me.
“No,” I admit.
“Ah,” he grins, revealing a set of perfect teeth, with the canines slightly protruding from the even row.“And you’ve been living here for how long?”
“Not here,” I reply.
“But close,” he corrects me.
“Fine,” I snap back, getting up. Instantly, I become disoriented, but I manage to keep my balance. “What do you want with me, and with El?”
“The girl in the other cell?” he asks. “Is that her name?”
“Why do you care?” I snarl, a surge of protectiveness washing over me at the mere mention of El.
He shrugs seemingly indifferently, but that is all a ploy. “I should know the name of my mate.”
“Your what?” I growl at him, trying to break loose from the chains, but they are too tight.
“My mate,” he repeats, as his words drip with a veneer of friendliness that thinly veils a sense of foreboding. Even the shadows that dance on his face seem to add to his demonic quality.
“That will happen over my dead body,” I hiss at him venomously.
He nods, seemingly musing. “I have to admit, I was hoping that it won’t have to come to that. I was hoping we could… see eye to eye.” He pauses, then chuckles through his next words. “Or arm to arm.”
He finally shows me his arms. In the wavering torchlight, a scar immediately becomes visible, a jagged mark etched into his skin. I suffocate a gasp, which takes all of my conscious effort. It is a scar exactly like my own. The revelation sends a shock through me, freezing me in place as a chilling realization settles over him.
