Hunted

Chapter 5 - Memories, part 1.

The moment I relaxed was the moment Elena started to talk. Her tone had gone from the lighter tone to something more business like.

"Jeremy asked me to give you the rules. He's tending to your friend. Before you ask- she's got a fever. I can't tell you more than that. He'll let us know in an hour. The rules are simple. First change is in the cage downstairs for safety reasons."

"I can control it."

Elena shrugged, I felt her hands lifting slightly as she did, her attention still fixed on treating the skin carefully. "I'm not saying you're lying, but with my kids around, we're going to be careful. You know what the signs are before a change?"

I nodded.

"Then let any of us know. You're not allowed to leave the property for the time being unless you're leaving and not returning- and if that's the case, we'll take you somewhere to lessen scent trails. The forest itself is off limits unless you're with a pack member. Nick has already volunteered to escort you around. Jeremy agreed."

I tensed at that. Of course he did. "When did he do that?"

“Antonio and Nick called us up while you were asleep. Nick claimed to have known you previously. Reece will probably be doing it when he comes back for Christmas, as you're both Australian, he's one of our younger newer pack members, and Nick is known for getting lost. Next rule is to not skip a single meal- it's not safe when you're so newly bitten- it shouldn't be a hard one to follow." Elena sat back. "I won't worry about covering your back. It's already healing."

I tugged my shirt over my head again as she went to sit in front of me, beside the fire, her incredible silver blonde hair reflecting the red of the flames.

"The only other rule is to not contact anyone outside the pack. No family, no friends, that includes no email or anything else using the internet. The werewolves in charge of your kidnapping probably are good enough to know about how to watch those." Elena looked a bit sympathetic then, as my face flashed just the briefest emotion, a twist of something darker from the emotions I'd felt before. I knew that. I wish they hadn't had to rub that in. "We'll check up on family for you as soon as we can. But it isn't a priority, I'm sorry, we've got bigger problems."

"I guess they can wait a bit longer." I said, trying to relax my tense muscles, and she sighed. Didn't answer me. I had wanted to contact them, email my sister, just look at facebook, see what had changed. Let them know I was okay. But I wasn't going to go against Elena's rules. Something in me refused to, flat out, and I wasn't going to push it.

"I'll get dinner and then we'll talk." She left for a moment, bring back plates heaped with spaghetti and some kind of pre-made sauce, slices of meat and garlic bread beside it, sliding one to me across the table. We ate in silence.

When the plates were empty, Elena slid back, sighing out a long sigh. I did the same without thinking, an emptiness in my stomach gone, feeling a little less emotional, a little less unbalanced.

We started to talk then. It started off in the most non-threatening way possible, I suspected it was planned this way, discussing logistics of the areas I'd been held rather than what I'd experienced. Things like layout, were there windows, security cameras, could I draw a map in the next couple of days, what kind of meals, what kind of people were allowed in and out. Was it warm or cold? Was there heating or air conditioning? Any visible vents? I described the place, trying to ignore the sense of panic that came with it, my hands clenching and unclenching on my thighs. Dirty old warehouse, smelling of disinfectant, scrubbed and still looking filthy. There were only windows up high and out of our sight, video cameras positioned everywhere, and only the same faces in and out. Doctors. Security guards. Heating and air conditioning, if they existed, hadn't reached the large floor the cages had been set into. We were hot or we were cold and that was the least of our worries.