When the Stars Align

Chapter 9

'Urgh, my damn head' thought Luke as his mind finally started to awaken from the drugs pumped into his body. He slowly began to feel the rest of his body awaken. His legs and arms felt smaller and the item he lay upon was ice cold. The bitter cold was causing his body to have a numb feeling with pins and needles piercing him as he tried to shift into a more comfortable position.

A soft growl caught his attention, making him turn his head to look at the cheetah with a muzzle over its mouth. It shook its head so he tilted his head as he tried to get the fog in his brain to dissipate and he could begin to think clearly.

"She doesn't want you to move," a male whispered. "It will hurt you more to move right now. My name is Jackson."

As much as he wanted to move, to start gathering details to formulate a plan of escape, he knew realistically that the other shifters here had vital information on the survival quantity and strategy. It seemed like the others listened to the cheetah so that is what he will do...for now. He hated being still but if that was what he needed to do to gain trust amongst the others then that is what he would do. Besides, he would just pull a page out of Kota's book and gather information from them. So he forced himself to remain still as he whispered, "Where are we?"

"Hell," said a female in the far left corner from where Luke was located. He couldn't see her since he was obeying the cheetah's command. He was slowly starting to feel better yet not by much.

"Do you know what state or location we are in? Buddies of mine will come looking for me and if I can reach out to them, then I can get us all saved! I need to know as much information as possible," Luke explained as he shifted slightly closer to the bars next to the cheetah. He felt a calming presence coming from it. As if they had known each other for a while and were reconnecting. It was throwing Luke for a loop as he hadn't experienced this feeling since he got his brother from Greece.

"Woah, calm down there lad. No one here knows of our exact location. Molly, who spoke to you a moment ago, believes we might be in Kansas but isn't positive since we only get a glimpse of the sun when bathed outside. If you want to protect your friends, you won't give them any information. It will only get them killed or imprisoned here. Now why don't you get some more rest while you still can," Jackson explained telepathically. Luke didn't even realize his mind was so foggy that they weren't moving their mouths this whole time.

"How did we create a telepathic link already? I have barely known you for a few minutes?" Luke couldn't help but question as he looked back at the cheetah that was lying right behind him. It was a gorgeous creature, Luke thought. He took in the fur color of gold with black spots littering the coat. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard the most velvety soft female voice.

"I added it since I am the strongest here. Once the drugs in your system wear off, we will see who is stronger and they will carry the pack link. That is what we call ourselves since most of us have been trapped here for a very long time. Now, no more questions till you get some rest before the she-devil returns," Diana softly explained as she nestled herself into a ball form. She was very cold and wanted to get as much heat from her body as possible. The fox shifter definitely intrigued her as a sense of calm and safety blanketed over her entire body.

Luke tilted his head slightly as he watched the cheetah curl up even more. It shouldn't be possible to create links quickly and without consent, yet she could pierce through his walls. Just who was this girl and why did the sound of her voice send delicious shivers through his body? She had the scent of cupcakes coming from her and it made his mouth water. He could easily find himself becoming addicted to this mysterious creature and he didn't even know her name yet. If she was able to create a link with him, was she able to reach out to his family?

He tried to reach out to his family but every time he did, an intense throb pierced behind his eyes. What the fuck was going on?

"Quit trying to reach anyone," Jackson whispered. "Whatever they injected in you to knock you out severed any links you had so you can't tell anyone where you are. All you are going to do is give yourself a migraine, it's no use, whatever links you had are gone."

Luke felt the dread creep in him even more, was that true? Had he really lost his connection to his family? He tried sending out another plea yet all he heard was silence. 'Fuck! How the hell am I going to get out of this situation? Bet if I get out of here North with chain me to his side forever! Damn it! All isn't too lost though as I have found rare shifters being held against their will. No matter what, I will see to their escape from this place.' Luke thought as he looked around the room the best he could. Finally, with his resolution on the matter he succumbed to sleep.