Thirty six
*Freya*
“Wake her up right now!”
“No. We should kill her and be done with it. She is obviously a stray from the crimson kingdom. You can see the sign on her body.”
“But she’s harmless. She may not pose a threat to us…”
“What should we do to her Alpha?”
The voices were getting closer and louder, making me stir with irritation from being disturbed from my beauty sleep. Or more like painful sleep. The moment I tried to move a muscle, pain shot through every where on my body. I groaned against the pain, trying to will it away. It felt like every part of my body was on fire and someone was adding even more fuel to it.
I tried to peel my eyes open but it felt too heavy. I felt myself slipping into darkness again. There were people in the cave with me, and by the looks of it, they didn’t seem like good people. I was scared for my life but I couldn’t do a thing about it. I tried to raise my hand up as someone walked towards me. I couldn’t make out their form as it was completely dark and my eyes could barely open.
“Please…” I whispered weakly. “Don’t hurt me…”
I couldn’t hold on anymore. My eyes closed and I feel into nothingness once more but not before I felt a pair of hard rock arms roughly lift me off the floor.
****
Searing pain shot through my leg as I regained consciousness, nearly causing me to black out again. I gritted my teeth, a groan escaping my lips. Unfamiliar faces hovered over me, their features blurry. Hands moved over my wounded leg, sending fresh waves of agony radiating outward.
Where was I? How did I get here? Questions swirled in my muddled mind. The last thing I remembered was running through the forest, pursued by… something. Then blinding pain and darkness.
I blinked hard, trying to focus. Taking a shaky breath, I attempted to sit up and take in my surroundings. Gentle but firm hands pressed me back down.
“Don’t try to move just yet,” a calm female voice advised. “You’ve lost a lot of blood.”
My vision gradually sharpened. I appeared to be in some kind of infirmary, but an odd one. Medical equipment and cots lined on the wall, while the opposite side contained a chalkboard and rows of desks filled with young people. They watched me with curious gazes, textbooks open in front of them. It looked like a weird combination of classroom and hospital ward.
“What is this place?” I croaked, my throat dry and raw. “How did I get here?”
The woman tending my leg didn’t respond, her attention focused on carefully cleaning and bandaging the ugly wound. I craned my neck, trying to get a better look at the students. They quickly averted their eyes when I met their gazes. Weirdos.
The pain made it hard to think straight, but one thing was certain – I needed to figure out where I was and how to get back home to the Crimson Pack. Rafe had to be searching for me by now. I couldn’t just lie here, helpless and disoriented. I had to get back… A growing sense of urgency filled me, momentarily overriding the pain. I had to find a way out of here, and fast.
Gritting my teeth against the searing agony, I pushed myself up to a sitting position. The woman tending my wound glared at me in disapproval but remained silent.
“Look, I appreciate you patching me up,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “But I really need to know where I am.” Still no response. The woman methodically finished wrapping the bandage, then stepped back, folding her arms across her chest. Her stony expression made it clear she had no intention of answering my questions.
Frustration bubbled up inside me, momentarily stopping the pain. I couldn’t just sit here waiting for answers that might never come. Bracing myself, I swung my legs over the side of the cot and stood up. White-hot agony lanced through my injured leg and I swayed unsteadily, nearly falling back onto the thin mattress. The woman moved as if to stop me, her eyes flashing with anger, but I held up a hand to ward her off.
“I’m leaving,” I announced, my voice rough with pain. “I have to get back to my pack, and I’m not waiting around for permission.”
Limping heavily, I took a tentative step towards the door. My leg threatened to buckle with every movement, but I gritted my teeth and pushed onward. I had to find a way out of this strange place, had to get back Rafe and the others before it was too late. Even if I had to crawl back to the Crimson kingdom on my hands and knees, I would make it somehow.
Behind me, I could feel the woman’s glare boring into my back. Let her disapprove all she wanted. I was getting out of here and nothing was going to stop me from getting back where I belonged – back my home. just prayed I wasn’t already too late…
I stumbled towards the door, my jaw clenched against the searing bolts of pain shooting up my injured leg. Just as I reached for the handle, the door burst open. Two huge, scary-looking men filled the doorway, their muscular arms crossed and their cold eyes fixing me with twin glares.
I pulled up short, heart pounding. “Let me pass,” I demanded, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’m leaving.”
The larger of the two men snorted. “You’re not going anywhere, girl. Not until our Alpha says so.”
A chill ran through me at his words. “Your Alpha? Where am I?”
“The Sunshade Kingdom,” the second man said with a sneer. “And outsiders don’t leave here without the Alpha’s permission. If they leave at all.”
The blood drained from my face as the horrifying realization sank in. The Sunshade Pack – one of the most ruthless, bloodthirsty werewolf Kingdoms in existence. Known for imprisoning and executing anyone who dared cross into their territory. And I was trapped right in the heart of their lair, injured and alone.
Panic rose like bile in my throat but I forced it down. “There’s been a mistake,” I said, fighting to keep my voice calm. “My name is Freya Hadid. I’m one of the candidates in the trials to become Alpha Rafe’s Luna. I didn’t mean to trespass. Please, I just want to go back to the Crimson Palace.”
The men exchanged an amused glance. “We don’t care who you are or where you’re from,” the first one said brutally. “No one leaves the Sunshade Kingdom without Alpha’s orders. And he’s very interested in meeting the little wolf who stumbled into our land.” They didn’t know I wasn’t a true werewolf at least. Fear knotted in my stomach at the malicious gleam in his eye. What could the Alpha of this cruel Kingdom possibly want with me? My mind spun with terrifying possibilities.
I swallowed hard, realizing I had no choice but to comply… for now. I’d have to bide my time and look for another way to escape. I couldn’t die here, not when I still had so much to fight for. I had to get back to Rafe,
somehow.
Letting out a shaky breath, I lifted my chin and met the guards’ smirking faces with a defiant glare. “Take me to your Alpha then,” I bit out through clenched teeth.
****