Rogue Spirits

Twenty-Three

Footsteps descend down the stony stairs, the sound echoing through the large space of the dungeon. One footfall is light, the other heavy.

Libby huffs an amused breath, not bothering to look up. She can feel their presence reverberating throughout the stones covering the whole ground, especially the girl's.

"How nice of you to visit us, Mr. Alpha." She whispers, her voice cracking.

Her eyes portray death when gazed upon, yet none of them flinch. She'd expected Heloise to show a sign of sympathy at the very least, since she's a rogue with abnormal abilities. She couldn't have been used to the pack's way of living and their punishments.

"Why did you ambush us?" His voice rings out sharp.

"It was an order." Libby shrugs nonchalantly, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head against the wall so she can get a good view of them.

"From the Dark Silver Pack." He says, showing his understanding. "A pack I've only recently heard about. A pack of lunaous wolves."

"Fakers." Heloise mutters slowly. "I assume you got your powers through some sort of kooky ritual."

"We did." Libby replies coolly in a higher pitch. "Our alpha would love to meet you. Especially you, Hell Girl. You resemble him so much."

She leans her head down and eyes her with a creepy smile.

"You'll meet him."

"No thanks." Heloise responds, annoyance spreading on her face. "If this is how he wants to recruit us, how did he get you guys?"

Libby tenses and her shoulders move back one by one to press against the wall. Her stare drops to a calculating one and her lips clench.

"Hey, what's this?" Heloise smirks, clenching her right hand.

Libby stills as she takes in the tingly, hollow feeling in the pit of her stomach, suddenly escalating to a higher level of solidity, rising up to conceal her heart.

"You're going to make me throw up." She hears Leia grumble from her cell.

"He coerced you to join." Heloise concludes. "Otherwise, I would've sensed anything other than helplessness, hatred, and sadness."

"We'll protect you if you disclose everything you know." Chris offers, eyeing the four girls looking at him.

"You'll punish us." Tatia scoffs, rolling her eyes.

"It'll probably be an easy one, since he's all... mushy... and stuff." Heloise trails off reluctantly before beaming happily. "But I'm not."

"Joy, oh, joy." Raven exclaims dryly.

"You think we'll trust you?" Tatia giggles humorlessly. "We're bound to them! We can never escape them."

"Bound how?" Chris's eyebrows crease and he tenses up.

"Well, for one, he's got my mate." Tatia smiles, but her half-open eyes are empty. "And two, we're literally connected to him. Bound for the rest of our lives. We cross him, we die. It's a curse."

"How exactly did he bind you to him?" Heloise tilts her head.

Her eyes fly upwards as her mind begins reeling. Meanwhile, Chris observes each of their faces. Their hardened resolve has begun to crumble.

"Some weird rituals." Leia shrugs, leaning off of the side wall. "We don't know what it is."

"Maybe there's a book about it." Heloise says to Chris.