Hunting the Hunter (Second in Lone Wolf series)

Chapter Eight

Ella dressed in a dark green gown of satin and lace that showed off her figure and the pale skin of her chest. She slid on her boots and tied them slowly before pulling her hair back in a braid and tying it at the base of her neck.

She stared at herself in the mirror and noticed that she looked paler than normal, something she didn’t think possible, and her eyes were surrounded by dark circles.

The knowledge of what she was going to do tonight was weighing heavily on her. Life mates were supposed to be a gift and she was going to destroy hers.

The words ‘return to sender’ flashed through her mind and she laughed. It was a hollow sound that echoed sharply off the walls around her. Her body felt heavier somehow as she moved slowly across the bedroom and grabbed her thick black cloak. She draped it over her shoulders and left her room. She was going toward the front door when she heard a cry from downstairs.

“Help us!” a feminine voice yelled. Ella rolled her eyes. The sound of the screaming was muffled enough deep beneath the earth that no human ears would hear it but it was enough to drive her crazy. She hated the sounds of desperate, trapped screams.

She had screamed her share of them when Faugrimm had first captured her. For a long while the sound of screams had filled her with fear, now they simply filled her with annoyance. When would prisoners realize that screaming was useless? That no one was going to come help them simply because they called for help? No one had ever come for her.

Ella walked to the trapdoor that would lead to the cellar and moved the rug that laid atop it. She grabbed the thick iron rung handle and pulled hard, the heavy door creaking as it opened and the cries for help growing louder.

Ella made her way down the long, curving staircase. The first half were made of wood and then they simply became ledges carved into the dirt as she went deeper and deeper underground.

Warren liked to ensure that his ‘pets’ wouldn’t be found or heard by mortals.

“Would you shut up?” she stated irritably as she entered the damp, dark cellar. Her eyes needed no time to adjust to the lack of light thanks to her vampire vision and she saw the women, dirty, sweaty and appearing quite miserable in their cages.

“Warren never locked us up like this before!” one of the women cried out accusingly.

“Yes, well he also never left you here with me when he went away.” Ella stated. Always before he would erase the memories of his pets and send them away until he returned.

“Why can’t you erase our memories and let us go?” one of the women asked as she shivered in the corner. Ella shrugged.

“It’s not my place.” she replied. Warren would punish her soundly if she ever did something like that. If he hadn’t erased their memories and let them go it was because he hadn’t wanted to.

“When will Warren be back?” The dark haired woman who had entered her room the day before asked. She was still naked and shivering since Ella had not wasted time in dressing her.

“Tomorrow.” Ella replied with a shrug. “The next day. Whenever he chooses.”

“Can we have some food?” the blond asked with another shiver. Ella was irritated. This was not her responsibility. Then again she had once been a prisoner and understood that rumbling, burning, aching gnawing in your gut that came from days without food, whether you ate bread or blood. She did not wish that desperate feeling on anyone.

Without bothering to speak, Ella walked over to a cabinet in the corner of the dark and dingy room. She pulled out a couple of new candles and a pack of matches and lit the candles around the room to offer the women a bit of light.