Part of the Plan (Book 2 in the 'part of' series)

Chapter 39 Trapped

Chapter 39 Trapped

Karim's POV

We were outnumbered. Even if we shifted to our wolf forms, we'd be outnumbered. Harlow's hand was sweaty in my own. I glared ahead as we were forced to go onto their territory. I wondered where Lathen was. I wondered how Emi and Harlow got the courage to speak up. I wandered where we were going. It didn't take us long to get there.

When I saw where we were going my eyes widened. I recognised it from my childhood. It was a cellar in the outskirts of the woods. It was quite the walk away but we were closer to my aunt's house then I had previously realised. I didn't take my hand away from Harlow, Aiden was grasping onto Ralph's hand desperately as well.

We were taken down a few stairs. The wolves had to go single file through the door. I had to go through sideways as it was extremely narrow and I had rather broad shoulders. It was the same as I had last seen it. There was a set of bars which separated one side of the room from the other. Padlocks and chains were securely wrapped around it. It was just like I had seen it when I was eight.

"I'm sure some of you know what this is." A man said from the other side of the room. He had dark hair and he was wearing a suit. He didn't fit into the background at all. It was as though he was waiting for his colleagues to come in for a business meeting about trading stocks. It was Travis. He stood up from the chair that he was sitting in and stepped into the light. "Hello again."

Harlow moved closer to me in fright. Emi seemed to itch slightly towards me as well. I was painfully aware of the wolves surrounding us and the fact that this could get ugly any moment. "Where's Lathen?" Ralph asked immediately, worry etching onto his face.

"You'll find out soon." Travis trailed a hand down one of the bars. He was standing in the gap which acted like a doorway to the cage. "Depending on how obedient you are." The sadistic glint in his eyes made me tense up even more. "You are aware of the rumours of this place?"

"Everyone is." I nearly elbowed Emi in the ribs but I didn't want to startle anyone with sudden movements. "Nobody has been here in years." A chuckle came from Travis' lips.

"That's not true." He said sharply. "I've been here. You don't even know where it leads." He tutted at her. "Such a poor pretty little thing." My glare hardened. He was patronising her. I was waiting for the opportunity to do something. "Trust me sweetheart, you'll find out a lot more in the upcoming days."

"Days?" Harlow mouthed wordlessly as he shook. The place was cold and dark like any other cellar at this time of year. It wasn't too claustrophobic at the moment, evenw with the many people in it but that would soon change.

"Awe, I'm scaring the humans." Travis laughed slightly before he started to walk towards the door which was just behind him. "We'll be back soon. Come." He said to us before commanding the wolves to follow. Every wolf filed out of the room neatly. It was like it had been rehearsed.

The room got significantly darker as the door on the other side of the bars was closed. It was extremely awkward as we stood in stunned silence. "So we're stuck here?" Aiden sighed as he moved towards a wall.

"Until we find a way out." I muttered as I walked towards the bars. As I got closer, my eyes started to droop slightly and my head started to bang. "Nevermind, wouldn't suggest going over there." I said to the other werewolves as I slumped against another wall.

"Why?" Harlow asked quietly as he looked at the bars with a puzzled expression. I thought it was cute but I wasn't going to mention anything. Emi walked over with him and nodded.

"Yeah, that's wolfsbane." She yawned slightly. "It makes us tired and weak when we're near it. When it's out in the open that is." Aiden looked up towards Ralph.

"Do you think that this has anything to do with mam?" Harlow tensed up and backed away from the bars. I hadn't considered that to be a possibility. "How rare is aconite?"

"Not too rare."Ralph answered the question honestly. "Anyone can plant and grow it. Though the older it is, the stronger the effects." It didn't ease the tension in Harlow's shoulders as he turned around and walked back over to me.

"Doesn't answer the question." Aiden muttered to himself with a look of contemplation on his face. He shook his head with a sigh. "I guess that we should focus on one thing at a time."

"Probably." Ralph nodded in agreement. "I'm concerned about Lathen." Aiden and Harlow nodded. I didn't make any movement, I didn't know the man too well. Emi just awkwardly shifted from foot to foot. "What do you think he meant by, it depends on how compliant we are?"

"Well that's obvious." I snorted slightly, my voice deep and rough. "If we mess up something, he'll get the back end of it. If they've got acanite on them." Ralph's eyes widened in shock and alarm.

"Let's just hope they don't go that far." Emi said with a suggestive tone. "We just have to see what they want from us." I sent her a frown.

"What could they possibly want though?" Harlow asked as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand. "We haven't done anything. Apart from the things which any other human could do."

Aiden nodded his head. "Yeah, they didn't need to bring you guys into this. There has to be something else." I shrunk back into the wall. I tried to remember everything I knew about Travis. His pack split up because they didn't have an Alpha for the future. Travis was still rather young when the pack broke up. It would make sense if they just assumed that he didn't have a mate and felt like there wouldn't be an alpha. On the other hand, I would've been the alpha.

"I got nothing." I mumbled as I looked around. My eyes had easily adjusted to the darkness of the cell but now I was paying attention to what was in there with us. There was a bed and two chairs. I didn't trust any of the pieces of furniture in the room with my body weight.

"It'll have to be a waiting game."