Secrets Behind the Betrayal

Chapter 8

Time has ceased to exist in this cell. I have no idea how long I've been chained up. I can't feel the burn of the silver anymore, but I know it's bad. Nobody has been down here since Neo locked me up. I can hear the other prisoners moving around, growling, and even the occasional scream. I have no idea what's going on here. What kind of pack has a lockup like this? There's something terrible going on in this pack. I should have gotten away while I could. I should have listened to Rae.

"I'm so stupid," I mutter, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"You're human."

My head snaps up and I lock eyes with Neo who stands at the cell door, watching me with a sad expression.

"What do you want?" I snarl, my heart aching.

He crouches down to be eye level with me. "I just wanted to check on you."

I look away from him, pulling my legs up to my chest. "Why do you care?"

He sighs. "You may have rejected me, but I still care about you. I genuinely enjoyed the time we spent together and I wish things could have been different."

I feel the tears roll down my cheeks once more at his words.

"Z," he murmurs.

"Don't call me that," I growl, glaring at him. "You have no right to be saying any of this. You're the reason I'm in here. Or did you forget that?"

He shakes his head with a chuckle. "You did this to yourself. All you had to do was play nice and accept our bond, but for whatever reason, you chose to push me away. You have nobody to blame but yourself."

"Are you even hearing yourself right now?" I all but yell at him. "Your father is the reason I'm here."

His eyes go blank for a moment before refocusing once more with a shake of his head. "Alpha Cory just gave orders. You're a threat to our pack considering you spent so much time around me and you know how the pack operates. It's not safe for us to just let you go without knowing you'll keep all of that to yourself."

He doesn't remember exactly what happened.

I just stare at him, not knowing what else to say.

He smiles at me as he stands straight. "You just do what you're told and you'll be let go in no time."

With that, he walks away.

< < < > > >

The next few days are just a cycle of being alone, Neo checking on me, and being tortured by a couple of burly males who I hadn't met before. They cut me with silver knives, letting me bleed until my struggling body finally knits the wound closed to the best of its ability. Wounds made from silver may heal, but they take a lot longer than normal wounds and they will scar. In my weakened state, even normal wounds take much longer to heal.

I'm lying in my cell, curled up on the cold concrete as the wounds on my arms and legs still seep. With the silver collar back around my neck, all I can smell is burnt flesh. I have long since run out of tears. Rae refuses to speak to me and has put up a block so I can't reach out to her. I'm utterly alone. It makes me almost look forward to Neo's small visits, even though there is no longer a connection between us. I almost regret my choice to reject him, but if this is how they treat those they view as enemies, I have no desire to be a part of that.

"You look miserable," a voice says from behind me.

I don't recognize the voice, but I don't bother to turn either. My body aches too much for me to even try to move right now.