The Rogue Mate

Chapter Twenty.

My head was pounding and I had a very bad feeling. Opening my eyes I was greeted with the sight of a massive room, filled with silver barred cages, bolted to the floor, just tall enough for a human to sit. It stunk of piss, silver, blood and death. My mind was fogged, limbs heavy as my eyes darted frantically darting around the room.

A whimper escaped my lips as I saw both Yiannis and Maddox stuffed into a cage that just barely fit their bulky masses; neither looked good, covered in blood and unconscious. But the most horrifying thing was the familiar pressure in my head, the ache of something else inside of me; the monster was back. It was the thing I was most terrified of and I’d had hope that I wouldn’t have to face it again, the treatments had worked. I must have missed my shot and now it had returned. I guess I’d been wrong to have hope, I should have known better.

The screech of an opening door made me wince as I stared at my mate and my friend, praying they’d wake to help. Footsteps reverberated against the walls; people, they were coming, and not just one, but a big group. They were human but stunk of gun powder and silver, though maybe that was just the fucking cage I was locked inside.

“W-who are you people? Why’d you lock us in cages?” I cried when they came into view, at least a dozen of them; some I recognised. A few were people from town who I’d seen at the church or around the grocery store... and Ernest. “Ernest what’s happening? Please, help me! Help us!”

“Shut up!” Someone swung the butt of a gun down across the bars of the cage and I flinched, but my eyes never left the man I would have died for, the man I trusted with my life, who I’d known since I was a teenager and my life really began. But this wasn’t the man I knew, he was too cold, he didn’t look at me like he usually did; with disgust and hate instead of love and acceptance. He simply stood there, doing nothing while I was locked inside a cage like an animal, fearful and intimidated. He did nothing and my heart broke.

A big, brawny man who was armed to the teeth crouched in front of the cage, watching me with cold, hate filled eyes. That look filled me with terror; I’d seen that look in the eyes of killers and I knew this man wanted me to suffer, and then dead.

I licked my cracked lips as I focused on the man, refusing to look at Ernest. “Who are you and why am I and my friends locked in cages?”

“We’re what you’d call men of the common good; we hunt disgusting filth like you and cleanse the world of your evil. Your kind have slaughtered thousands of my kin, the way you masquerade as humans, when you’re nothing more than monsters revolts me. We took you while the rest of my men purified your farm; it seemed that you had quite the infestation… but you already knew that, didn’t you Evan?”

A loud growl escaped my throat and I felt fur ripple across my skin. “What did you do?” I roared, though I knew, I knew what he meant by ‘purify’.

He chuckled, resting a hand on my cage. “We killed them; every last one of those furred freaks... though I guess it takes one to know one. I was told they begged and screamed for mercy til the bitter end.”

“Why would you do that? We never did anything to hurt you!” I felt out of control as my bones cracked and I shifted, only to be wedged against those burning silver bars. My skin sizzled and burn wherever they touched and I screamed in pain as my body turned human to escape the pain. There was a growl across the room and I watched as Yiannis pounded against his cage, eyes filled with rage and desperation. Maddox lay as still and quiet as death though; was he dead as well? Was that why the room smelt of death?

“Because you monsters are gearing up for war and we’re the only thing that stands between mankind and you; but our numbers are low, all because of Jenna Knight. She’s responsible for the deaths of my brother’s in arms, so now we’re taking a stand; we’re sending her a message through the death of her beloved beta wolf, and cleansing this town of your filth at the same time. Two birds with one stone.” As the locks on Yiannis’ cage seemed near to breaking he turned and shouted orders at his men.