AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter1
Celeste
Holding Cell
???, ???
I shivered and placed my freezing nose even further under my tail as I tried to curl into a tight ball. My paws were tucked beneath my frame, and though my snowy fur was thick, the chill from the stone floor was pervasive.
I’d been left in this cell for days, possibly even weeks. By now, I’d lost all track of time. There were no windows, only four concrete walls and bright fluorescent lights that seemed to glare down at me no matter the hour. The low hum of them threatened to drive me entirely mad. I’d never noticed the soundslightsmade before, but trapped in this body, all my senses were dialed up times ten.
I tried to squeeze my eyes shut, yet I could still hear the slowtap, tap, tapof one of my guards casually strolling the hall. I was never left unguarded. Even when one of the vampires stopped walking or left the area, I could still hear the way they shuffled.
Is this what Fenris always feels like?
My heart squeezed at the thought of the Lunar Lord. I wondered if he was okay. I had no idea what happened to him when Sabine dropped in on Isla Caida and drop-kicked her way into my mind. I was only allowed to speculate in peace for a moment before my wolf came surging forward again, straining against my attempts to keep her under control. Just the thought of Fenris sent her into a near frenzy, and the last time she’d taken over, we’d spent at least twenty-four hours pacing and calling.
Isolation was awful, but it was even worse on a wolf. A pack animal wasn’t meant to be alone, and my wolf wanted someone—anyone—to answer her, even if it wasn’t the alpha she knew. He was out there somewhere, that much I knew. I could feel him—or I thought I could, anyway—in distant echoes. I felt him the strongest when I first woke up, when my wolf was at bay. It felt like looking through a smoky veil, catching only a glimpse of Fenris before my animal stirred and charged forward again.
That this was apparently the first time she’d woken up really wasn’t helping matters. It was hard to keep my thoughts together even when my wolf wasn’t wrestling for control, but when she started fighting me…it was all I could do not to turn into an animal. I knew I had lost at least a few days in her mind, but I was so tired and confused when she’d first surged forward, I couldn’t do anything to stop her. I didn’t even know if Icouldstop her.
She growled as I tried to keep her at bay. I groaned, exhausted. Fighting wasn’t making this any better, but I knew I needed to keep my wits about me if I had any chance of making it out of here.
Not that I was particularly sure where “here” was.
I knew it wascold, because the vampires occasionally commented on the poor weather when they shifted guard duty. Some were chattier than others. When Jillian, the only female voice I’d heard, and Matthew—notMatt—a male voice with a heavy Irish accent, came in for shifts, I always heard the most talking. Though the near-constant rain outside remained their favorite topic, they’d discussed Faulkner’s downfall more than once.
If I’d heard correctly, Matthew had been with the older vampire for several decades. They’d come from Ireland to Florida together. The pair were still loyal to Faulkner—or his cause—but I still couldn’t understandwhy. Maybe it was my wolf’s heightened emotions clouding my better senses, or maybe it was one of those paranormal things I didn’t know about yet.
Tap, tap, tap.
The slow footsteps approached, and I closed my eyes. I wouldn’t call the guardscareless, but they certainly seemed to talk more when they thought I was asleep. I heard the vampire pause outside my cell, and I tried to focus on my breathing.I am calm. I am relaxed. I am asleep.
My wolf growled and bristled, clearly worried about the presence of a vampire so close by. I took another breath and shifted my focus so I could restrain her before she gave away our cover. The metal door clicked and creaked as it slowly swung open. I tensed, still trying to modulate my breathing as the vampire stepped inside.
As I froze, I could hear the man snarl down at me. Somehow, my muscles managed to bunch up even further, and I twitched, fighting the urge to uncurl just enough to press myself further against the wall. There was nowhere for me to run, and I wanted to keep as much room between the vampire and me as possible. On this, at least, my wolf and I agreed.
Right now, pretending to be asleep felt like the safest option.
The sound of a metal dish clattering onto the slab floor made me jump, claws skittering across the smooth surface. Dog kibble bounced and rolled. My stomach gurgled as the scent hit my nose, and I found myself both salivating and recoiling. Dog food had a particularly pungent odor even when I was a regular human, and that part of my brain wanted nothing to do with it. The wolf in me, however, rumbled and quietly keened, our hunger like an animal pacing around our ribcage.
I still didn’t move, afraid of what the guard might do. He didn’t move, either.
“Pathetic,” he snarled. I didn’t recognize his voice.
Must be one of the guards who doesn’t talk much.
Not that this knowledge meant much to my wolf. Thinking about her as part of me just felt incredibly strange.
Even if I knew a little about some of the others, I certainly couldn’t talk in this form. I couldn’t communicate telepathically, either. I’d made a few attempts early on to summon a basic flame or maybe a bit of wind, the way Val taught me, but nothing seemed to work. It didn’t even feel the same. Being in a wolf’s body clearly changed my magic in ways I didn’t understand, and I wasn’t in a position now to work it out.
Suddenly, I felt a boot prodding my ribs. I couldn’t keep up the ruse any longer. My eyes flew open as I instinctively tried to curl up and protect myself.
The vampire looming over me sneered. “I have a hard time believing you’re actually the Lunar Lord’s fated mate,” he grunted, contempt in his eyes. “You’re so fuckingweak. We’d be better off just killing you now and being done with it.”
I swallowed hard, and in that moment of fear, my wolf pressed forward once more. My ears pressed tightly against my skull as I felt her hackles rise, my skin prickling as she tried to make us look a little bigger. My tail swept around my legs, and I bared my teeth. I just wanted him to goaway, and if my wolf could make that happen, I wasn’t inclined to stop her.
Suddenly, as if the universe sensed my wish to be set free of this man, a scream rang out from further in the building. The man jumped and spun around, slamming the door behind him as footsteps hurried away from me. Someone else screamed, and a chill ran down my spine as I pricked my ears, straining to listen for clues.
