I woke to the rustling of movement around me. My eyes felt heavy, and my body ached as if I’d been pricked all over. It felt like I was being moved, but I couldn’t piece anything else together.
“How is she?” a voice asked, concern evident in its tone.
Through the fog in my mind, I could faintly hear two people talking.
“Her situation is still unstable, Master. She’s fading in and out of consciousness,” another voice replied nervously. I tried to recognize them, but the effort sent a sharp pain shooting through my head.
“That is hardly an answer. I demand to know what’s going on, Lydia!” An angry voice bellowed.
Who was this? Where was I? Was I alive or dead? These questions echoed through my mind before I blacked out again.
********
The sound of the wind rustling through the trees was the first thing I noticed when I woke up again. My body felt heavy, every muscle aching from the strain of the recent battle. But there was something else, a feeling I couldn’t quite place. It hovered on the edge of my consciousness. I blinked, my eyes slowly adjusting to the soft, dim light of a candle.
Where am I?
I tried to sit up, groaning as pain shot through my limbs. The memory of my kidnapping rushed back, making me gasp. Did Ryder succeed? Was I really captured? Where is Brian? These questions hammered in my head, causing it to throb with fierce intensity.
I wanted to scream, but then I noticed something strange, I wasn’t bound. My hands were free, and I was inside what looked like a tent. I could hear two people discussing something nearby. Strangely, I could make out their conversation clearly.
“Did you catch him?” a cold voice asked.
“No, Alpha. That bastard hid among his own people. He used them as shields to escape,” another voice answered.
“That sick coward. That’s what he does best,” the cold voice sneered.
“But Alpha, we raided his pack. Surprisingly, there was nothing of value. It’s almost like he planned it,” the other voice said.
“Fuck that son of a…” The sound of someone cursing and striking something echoed through the night.
I froze. I recognized the voice. It was Brian. He had survived the attack, but how? I clearly remembered him being surrounded. More unanswered questions swirled in my mind.
Brian’s voice darkened, laced with bitterness. “Ryder’s not the type to let go of a grudge. He’ll tear down everything I’ve built.”
What does He want Alpha, what is his motive for Kidnapping Cara”
“The Ryder I know always pursue what he wants until he gets it. He probably wants Revenge” His voice sounded distant
“What do you think he’s planning?” The other voice, I recognized it now as Garreth’s, asked, though I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear the answer.
Then it hit me: Ryder was still alive. He wasn’t dead.
I clenched my fists, the memory of Ryder’s last attack fresh in my mind. The scars on my wrists from the silver chains burned, reminding me just how helpless I had been in his hands.
Brian’s gaze hardened as if he were piecing everything together. “Ryder’s always been dangerous, but this is different. He’s more calculated, more focused. He’s building an army, and I don’t think it’s just about coming after me. He wants something bigger.”
“Has she woken up?”
“No, she’s still unconscious, drifting in and out,” Brian replied, his voice tinged with frustration.
“Alpha, Ryder coming after her feels suspicious. If he wants revenge, he could have attacked us directly with all the allies he amassed. Maybe there it is related to Cara, he wants something from her, something more than her being…”
“Enough!” Brian snapped, cutting him off. “I don’t want to hear any more theories. Find Ryder’s whereabouts and destroy everything tied to him. Burn it all down. Let’s see if he dares crawl out of his hiding hole.”
“I’ll make the necessary arrangements, Alpha,” Garreth said, saluting before leaving.
I sat in the tent, my mind swirling with confusion. What was it about me that had Ryder coming after me? What did Brian mean when he shut Garreth down? None of it made sense.
“You’re awake,” a soft voice said behind me, startling me.
I turned to see a young woman standing there, her hands full of medical supplies. “I’m Lydia, your doctor,” she introduced herself with a warm smile.
“I… yes, I’m awake,” I stammered, embarrassed to have been caught eavesdropping.
“Don’t worry. You need all the rest you can get. I won’t tell anyone you were listening in,” she said, smiling as she motioned for me to lie back down.
“How’s your head? Any pain?”
“There’s some, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” I replied, the dull throb in my temples making me wince.
“Sorry about the ambush. I heard you were pretty badly injured,” she said apologetically.
“It’s fine. I’ll heal,” I managed, though the exhaustion was evident in my voice.
“You’ve been out for three days,” she informed me. “Maybe you had a concussion. But don’t worry, you’ll get better.”
“Three days?” I gasped. “What happened? How did we get here? What about Ryder?”
“From what I know, Ryder escaped,” Lydia replied, her expression grim. “But that’s all I know. You’ll need to ask Brian or Garreth for more details.”
“let me go and inform the master that you are awake”, she said rushing out of the tent
I lay back down, my thoughts in turmoil. Ryder had escaped, and Brian had survived. But how? How did Brian fight off an entire pack alone? None of this made sense. It was like a puzzle with missing pieces, and I had no idea where to begin.
As I lay there, the weight of everything crashed down on me. Ryder’s presence loomed over me like a dark cloud, suffocating and inescapable. He had made it clear during my kidnapping. This wasn’t over. He had plans that went far beyond killing Brian or capturing me. His agenda was bigger, far more dangerous. And I feared I was at the center of it all.
I swallowed hard, Garreth words echoing in my mind. Ryder’s obsession with me wasn’t just personal. It was tied to something deeper, something connected to the strange power that had awakened inside me during the battle. But what did Ryder know that I didn’t? why did he go through all the trouble just to kidnap me?.
I shivered as the cold night air nipped at my skin, the hard truth settling in. I had broken silver chains laced with wolfsbane, something no werewolf should be able to do. And then, that burning sensation inside me, it felt like something was about to explode.
That explained the exhaustion I had been feeling, the strange sensation of power coursing through me. But I couldn’t ignore it any longer. Something had awakened inside me, and no matter how much I tried to push it aside, I knew this was only the beginning.