Under A Latent Moon (A Werewolf Tale)

Chapter 33

Harley

"This won't be enough...need more."

There was a sharp pinch at the skin of her upper arm. 

She groaned and turned her head the other way. Her brain felt heavy, and simply turning her head was exhausting.

Where was she? Had she fallen asleep?

Reaching for clarity was like scooping water. It slid through her fingers and absolutely nothing felt solid. Not her body. Not her mind. Not her thoughts.

Distantly, she wondered if she should be afraid. Though all her murky brain could scrape together was confusion.

"...done four tests already...need time..."

"...don't have time!"

Someone was frustrated. The tone was forceful, though still didn't help clear whatever fog she'd been stuck in.

"If you don't give her time, you'll have no subject," a deep voice hissed. "You're smart enough to know that."

She faded out again.

~

The next time she awoke it was because the aching in her wrists made it feel as if they were on fire. She pulled them up, only to groan at their sudden stop.

They were...tied down?

Grogginess was a second layer on her skin but, somehow, she opened her eyes. Above her, a muted yellow tarp served as a ceiling. It swayed as the howling wind outside raged against it. 

A tent. She'd been tied on some makeshift table in a large pukey yellow colored tent.

Her head felt like a cement block as she lifted it to look down at her body. She was naked, a large red and white blanket pulled over her and tucked under her armpits. They'd let her keep her butterfly necklace, and the smooth silver was a tiny comfort against her collarbone. Skinny plastic ties strapped her wrists to the table and, at some point, she'd had an IV stuck in her arm.

When her mind caught up on the situation, her blood froze in her veins. It all hit her quickly, brutally--like a freight train. The mall, Blackthorne, Bailey...

Bailey.

Her heartbeat raced. How could Bailey--one of her first and greatest friends in the pack--have given her away like that? Without any indication, she'd handed Harley over to the people who'd kidnapped Ben.

Ben. Was he nearby? Strapped down on a table in another tent being prodded? What the hell did they want anyway? She had no use as a test subject, which is what it appeared they wanted her for. She wasn't even a wolf!

Unless...she was here for an experiment...

She yanked and scratched at the ties cutting into her wrists. There had to be a way out of here.

The tent flaps opened. A tall, blonde woman in combat boots and a lab coat strolled in. When she saw Harley awake, she stopped. "Up already?"

Harley didn't respond. Her insides might feel like unsteady jello, and the fear and anguish might consume her, but she refused to outwardly show it. Whoever these people were, whatever they wanted, they wouldn't be getting it from her. 

Not willingly.

These were most likely the people responsible for her family's death. They were the reason she'd never see her father again. The reason she'd never get a chance to connect with her mother. They had trapped her brother in a prison of a beast.