Prisoner

Chapter 5

I close the door behind me. Immediately, all of the chatter stops, and the room goes silent. As I turn around, my eyes fall on the damaged bault. The bars were bent oddly out of shape, making a hole big enough for a man to slip through. 

Holy hell, I think, bending over to inspect them. He really did bend the bars.

Doll-eyes, locked in with Leo, comes forward. "Noelle! Are you--"

I whirl around. "Warden," I say sharply. "From now on you will address me as Warden since I am that and not your friend." My eyes narrow. "You," I say, pointing at Doll-eyes, "broke out of your vault, interfered with security, threatened my officer, and attacked me."

He pauses. "Noelle, I never would have used you if I hadn't known he wouldn't shoot you," Doll-eyes blurts.

I grab his collar and yank his face into the bars, nearly breaking his nose. "You used me!" I hiss at him. I release him with a disgusted look. "You're lucky to still be alive, Doll-eyes. Usually Wardens destroy those that pose threats."

"I'm sorry," he murmurs. "I didn't want to get shot. Survival instincts. I'm sorry." He reaches out and touches my shoulder. "I'm glad you're still alive, though." I scowl at him and pull away.

Leo looks up, showing some interest. His dark eyes meet mine. "You went inside? You saw him?"

I swallow and nod. "Yes, I saw him." And I hope I never see him again.

Kris' eyes glow red. "You went into Vault 120?"

"I had to!" I snap. "One of my men was trapped inside! If one of your packmates was in there, wouldn't you have gone in after him?"

At this, the rest of the pack looks at their alpha. Kris' brow furrows, and his teeth lengthen slightly. "Of course I would! But I'm a werewolf! You're just a human girl!"

"Weren't you scared?" Kai asks.

"Of course I was scared," I mutter. I sit on the ground and pull my knees up to my chest. N tilts his head and watches me while Ravi fiddles with something. I close my eyes. For even a minute I don't want to see werewolves or vampires or demons or monsters...especially ones with stitches for eyes.

I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder. I open my eyes and see Leo right by the bars. "Something is bothering you," he murmurs quietly. "Tell me."

"Not here," I say before thinking. I shake my head. "I mean--no. Not ever."

"In private, then?"

I blink as the stone walls melt away. The cell bars stretch and grow, becoming tall trees. I am curled up on the ground in the middle of a dark forest. Leo removes his hand from my shoulder and stands up, taking a deep breath.

I shoot to my feet. "Where the hell am I? What did you do?"

"You're still in the prison," Leo says reassuringly. "Just...not. It's as if you and I have gone into trances. They won't be able to hear anything you say, and we won't be able to hear them. It's one of my powers."

As I look around, I realize how quiet and peaceful everything is. This must be why he is so silent all the time, I think. He's constantly in his own little world...literally.

He folds his arms across his chest. "So," he says. "What's on your mind? It's obvious that something is bothering you."

"Only obvious to you," I say.

"That's because I watch you a lot," he says. "Not to sound creepy. I don't have much else to do."

"Because a demon with shoulder-length black hair and black eyes hiding in the shadows of a cell isn't creepy enough," I say drily.

He tilts his head. "Warden. You're avoiding the reason why I brought you here. You're afraid of something. Is it the creature in Vault 120?"

"Sort of," I say. "I was afraid of it. I was terrified. But..."

"What is it?"

"I was more afraid of Doll-eyes," I say softly. "It's hard to explain. You know what he is like. Whiny, creepy, strange... but he's always been very kind to me. When he attacked me..." I sigh. "I don't know. I felt...betrayed. Like he was a completely different person."

"I know what that's like," Leo mutters. "Being a completely different person..." He sits next to me. "Doll-eyes is very strange like that. He really didn't mean to use you. It was the first thing that came to his mind when he felt threatened. He knew nothing would ever happen to you."

"I know," I say. "I just don't understand why I felt so...abandoned."

"Doll-eyes was given an order to bend the bars to protect you," Leo says.

I look up. "Who ordered him?"

"I did," Leo says.

I frown. "Why?"

"Before your uncle died, he gave us an order to protect you," He replies.

My eyes widen. "What?"

"Do you know why you are so important? Why you became Warden at such a young age?" Leo asks.

I shake my head. "No. I thought all the Wardens started early."

"No," He says. "You were forced into being a Warden at such a young age because of the creature in Vault 120."

My brow furrows. "What does that thing in Vault 120 have to do with me? I only saw it for the first time today."

"Yes," Leo nods simply. "But today was not the first time he has seen you."

I gulp. My mind goes back to my childhood. As a girl only five years old, my uncle had brought me here. Some guard had left the door open when Uncle went to check Vault 120. That must've been when it saw me first...

Leo stares at me. "Your uncle gave us--Doll-eyes more specifically--an order to protect you from that creature. As prisoners, we could do nothing but obey. All of us, even the werewolves, have been watching over you since you were small."

"But why?" I ask. "What does Vault 120 have to do with my uncle or why I became a Warden at such a young age?"

"Because," Leo replies, "the creature in Vault 120 has killed the past four Wardens. Your grandfather, your father, your mother, and your uncle were all killed by the same creature."

"The creature in Vault 120," I whisper.

Leo nods. "And now he's after you."