Blood (Book Three of the Dark Lycans Series)

Chapter Thirteen: Ghosts

The darkness surrounds me, I can barely make out the walls of the cave. Strange scents fill my nose, and I can hear the sound of dripping water echoing through the stone cavern.

My steps are silent as I carefully walk deeper into the cave. I hear footsteps suddenly and my paws freeze. Ears twitching, I try to determine the source of the footsteps but they echo off the walls and seem to come from everywhere at once.

They get louder and I look around for the person but I can see nothing but darkness. Something suddenly blazes up before me and I jump back with a snarl. The flames light up the cave and I find that I am surrounded by men and wolves.

Growling, I look to the man holding the fire and my eyes widen in shock. I was in my Lycan form so I could talk, but decided to remain on four legs rather than standing up. The man smiled at me, and the once familiar face is contorted with malice.

"Loke? What the hell is going on? You are supposed to be dead!" I growl. My voice is deeper and sounds more feral, it was Ira's voice.

"Raven, how nice to see you. I knew you wouldn't be able to resist coming in to investigate this strange area on your territory. And how predictable, you came alone. You still don't trust anyone," he sighs, looking at me in what seems to be disappointment.

"You aren't exactly giving me a reason to start," I point out.

"How true. Well, I need to talk to you and this isn't exactly the best place so why don't you follow me?" he says waving deeper into the cave. I growl, baring my teeth, and the fur on the back of my neck bristles with anger.

"How about we talk in my prison?" I sneer and leap towards him. My jaws latch onto his arm and he grunts in pain but teeth grab my scruff and drag me off him. I snarl loudly and feel the ground shake slightly.

The wolf holding me lets go and I smash my paw into his head. I hear his skull crack and his head explodes when it hits the wall. Pink and red brain tissues spill out onto the floor, making several wolves slip and knock themselves out.

My claws slash the neck of one of the men and I rip out the throat of another wolf. Claws tear at my flank from both sides and a wolf bites down on my tail. I whip back and forth, killing the attacking wolves but more quickly take their place.

I watch wolves and men pour into the cavern, an endless stream from deep within the cave system. I shake when a wolf lands on my back but it does no good. My head turns and I manage to bite down on the wolf's paw. I hear a crunch as the bones are crushed and he howls in pain.

With him off of me I return to keeping the circle of attackers away from me. I am bleeding heavily from every part of my body. One of my ears is torn while the other is shredded, one of my back legs is crushed and claw marks cover my sides.

My breathing is ragged and my eyes glow a blood red. I feel Ira clawing to be let out, and with all of my strength going towards fighting, I do not have the energy to stop her. I let out a roar and all I see is red.

Blood starts to soak my fur as Ira kills them one after the other. I feel a man jump onto my back and my body rears without my control. I feel something pinch my neck just before I throw him off me, and my muscles start to go numb.

My attacks slow and my limbs move with a strange heaviness. Black spots start to flood my vision and the ground begins to tilt. I stumble towards Loki who grins at me. I growl lowly, draining the last of my energy. I feel my body hit the ground hard and I glance around drowsily.

My eyes catch onto a pure white wolf running into the cave before everything goes black.

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Freezing cold water hits my face and I sit up with a gasp. Laughter floats around me and I see multiple men. Memories from the attack suddenly flood back to me. I leap towards them only to fall back again.

There is a collar around my neck, made of bonded silver. It is a tight fit, and I can't even put a finger between my skin and the metal. It is connected to a chain that attaches to the ground. The chain is just long enough to allow me to stand, but not walk anywhere.

I sit on my butt and look around. We are in a cavern, the walls lined with torches. I see Loki push through the group of men that were laughing. My eyes widen and I start yanking at the chain, but I can't even crack the stone it sits in.

I drop it and stand up, turning to glare murderously at Loke.

"What did you do to me?" I ask, my heart pumping wildly.

"Oh nothing much, you'll figure it out soon. Right now though, I have an appointment with your cousin, I think Shade would be very pleased to see me, don't you?" he smiles.

"Fuck you! She is going to kill you when she finds out what you did to me!" I scream throwing my fist at his face. My hand collides with his nose and he stumbles back in shock. Blood flows from his face, and his nose is crooked.

My nostrils flare and I clench my teeth together until my jaw aches. He touches his nose and pulls his hand back with a small wince.

"Damn, still strong even now," he growls standing up straight. If looks could kill, he would be murdered a million times by now.

"Why are you doing this?" I grit out.

"I want Shade, and I needed you out of the way in order to get to her since you've become her 'bodyguard', so thank you for falling into my trap," he smirks.

I jerk against my chains again and he laughs at my futile attempts to free myself.

"Yeah good luck, there is no way you can escape now," he sneers walking away.

"What the hell did you do to me?" I scream trying to run at him. He just smirks and continues walking, the other men following him. They all leave, leaving me alone in the cave, only lit by a few small torches.

I slump down against the wall in defeat. I look down to see that I was wearing a pair of sweatpants and a long-sleeved shirt. At least I am not naked, I think with a sigh.

The cold from the stone wall seeps past the clothes and I shiver. My eyebrows scrunch in confusion, werewolves don't get cold. I lay down and try to ignore it.

Raven, please. Are you there? What's going on?  Shade's voice suddenly echoes in my mind.

Shade! Loki is looking for you, don't trust him! Where are you? What's happening?  I call out in my mind. 

I promise we will find you. Hold on tight, please, She tells me. I try to answer her but the link gets cut off.

She couldn't hear me, I think, suddenly feeling helpless.

Ira? Why can't Shade hear me? Why can't I break the chain?  I think to my Lycan. I wait but there is no answer.

Ira?  I call again as I sit up, but still nothing.

"Oh my god, they didn't!" I gasp feeling tears sting my eyes. I put my hands over my face and the tears fall like mad.

"They took my Lycan!" I scream. Rocking back and forth with my head in my hands, I scream until my lungs hurt. I scream in pain, and for the first time, fear. My screams echo through the caves, getting louder and they start to hurt my ears. But past my screaming, I can still hear the laughter that reverberates through the tunnels with a coldness that makes me fear for every living person in my pack.