Alphas daughter

Chapter 43

I let out a deep sigh as I lay across the floor. My head rested on Zach's chest and his arms were tightly around my waist. The cage was dark and cold so his embrace was much appreciated. I felt safer and braver in his arms and I noticed how much he relaxed when he held me.

"Are you ok?" He whispered softly. I had heard that question so many times over the past few weeks and my answer was always 'I'm fine' and I was becoming very sick of hearing it, but right then I needed him to ask so that I could answer.

"I'm scared," I admitted in hushed tones. I hated to admit out loud that I felt scared but it felt good at the same time.

"Me too," he replied, taking me by surprise. I pulled away from his hold and sat up, twisting my body so I faced him.

"Really?" I asked incredulously and he smiled sweetly and nodded.

"Yeah." He reached his hand out and cupped my chin. His thumb brushed across my cheek comfortingly and his other hand played with the ends of my hair.

"What do you think they are going to do to us?" I barely whispered, my voice quavering.

"I don't know." He shrugged and ran his fingers through my hair, raking each and every lock while his other hand left my cheek and clasped both of my hands. "I won't let them hurt you, ok?" He assured me and I smiled.

"Ok," I whispered, gripping his hand tighter. He let go of me completely and then snaked his arms around my waist, tugging me back against him in our previous position. I giggled as he nuzzled his face into my neck.

I pressed my ear to his chest and listened to his heart beat as I closed my eyes. My one arm was wrapped around his waist while the other hung at my side, my fingers playing with the material of his shirt. He continued to stroke my hair and hold me against him as we waited for something to happen.

Not long after, something did. The man, John, reappeared at the door. I went to sit up but Zach's grip tightened and I was trapped in his grasp. I watched as John dragged a chair to the cage door and sat just out of our reach.

"Now, I'm going to ask you questions, and unless you want to be poisoned again, you will answer," he instructed, a cocky, authoritative tone lacing his words. I hated that he had an advantage over us and felt Zach tense underneath me at the clear threat.

He tightened his hold on me. "What do you want to know?" I watched as the man scowled slightly before tilting his head and observing us like we were animals in a zoo.

"How many of you are there?"

"Only us," I answered before Zach could and I felt him squeeze my hand in approval before I continued. "We have never found others."

"It's just you," he repeated and Zach nodded.

"Yes, we have been searching for others our whole lives but have never come across another wolf," Zach said.

The man narrowed his eyes, confusion clouding them. "So who bit you?" He asked and I couldn't help but smirk at his question.

"We weren't bitten, we were born with it," I explained, biting my lip to hide my amusement.

"So what about your parents?"

"Human," I said with a shrug.

He turned to Zach who shook his head softly. "They died before I knew what I was," he said, emotion flooding from his words. I looked to our joined hands and brushed my thumb over his knuckles softly.

The man studied us for a moment, searching for something. "Ok," he finally said, "and what are your weaknesses?" A small smirk played on his lips while Zach and I both let out a deep growl until his hand moved to hover over the button. "Are you going to answer?"

"You already know, wolfsbane," I snapped and his hand lowered slightly but not enough.

"And the others?" He raised his eyebrows in a daring manner as he waited.

"Fire and silver," Zach grumbled, squeezing my hand tighter as the man wrote them on his notepad.

"Now," He started to say as he rose from his seat. Before I could blink, his hand pressed the red button.

"No!" I screamed. "We answered your questions!" I yelled before muffling my face in Zach's chest to stop the inhalation.

"I know but I need a sample of your flesh from one of you and I need you weakened," he stated. I felt the tears prick my eyes as the burning flooded through me. I let out a blood curdling scream and dug my fingers into Zach's palm.

The torture continued until I was near black out when suddenly I felt something grasp my leg and drag me out of Zach's arms. I let the tears fall as the scorching fire became more and more overpowering. I screamed for Zach as our hands parted and soon I was out of the cage.

This would've been my chance to fight, my chance to escape but I was too weak. Every bone and muscle in my body throbbed and ached, my blood boiled, incinerating my flesh. I couldn't tell whether it was sweat pouring off me or my melted skin.

I allowed myself to be dragged along the floor, my head spinning and eyes blurring. I didn't stop the screams and cries that escaped my searing throat. I felt myself get hoisted up onto a table before my wrists and legs were chained down. The cold metal brushing against my skin acted as a relief so I twisted my wrists and pressed my veins against the cool steel, feeling my blood temperature lower.

My eyes felt heavier and heavier as I lay on the table. I could barely see what was happening until a cold, sharp blade slashed through my skin. I could only make out a blur of my olive skin, the silver blade and a mass of bright red pooling around me. I let a small whimper escape me but the pain was barely anything compared to the fiery pit that spread throughout my body.

Instantly, I was unchained and I collapsed into someones arms, my eyes only open a slither. I was dragged roughly back down the hallway and thrust back into my cage, hitting the ground with a thump. I could just make out Zach, lying across the floor in a heap as the room started to blare white.

Beside me, a small bowl was slid into the cage and I grasped onto a handful of the small black berries, consuming them as fast as I could. After a few seconds, my vision focused and I could see that there were fewer berries than last time. I took another small handful before passing the bowl to Zach who began devouring them.

Unlike last time, the agony didn't subside, it just faded into a tolerable pain. There were only a few berries left and I knew I had eaten most of them so I pushed them to Zach.

"You eat them," he insisted.

"I had more than half, you haven't had enough," I croaked out between breaths.

"You need them."

"So do you!" I argued exasperatedly.

"Ella, eat them, please," he begged. His tone changed to something I had never heard from him. He sounded weak, dispirited, powerless.