A Shifter Among Wolves

Chapter 27

---Paige's POV---

A groan escaped my throat when one of the many sore muscles in my back twitched. I scrunched my face when I felt something caked against my face, cracking along with my expression. When I tried to move my hand however, I couldn't; it was cuffed behind me.

My eyes darted open in panic while my heart worked overtime. Where was I? What happened? I looked around, hoping that my environment would give me some clues. I was in a round, stone room with absolutely no decorations, windows or furniture in it. The only light that came in was through a peephole in the door, giving me a visual of my battered body; bloodspots dried up on my legs, barefooted, chained...Chained?

"Jacob?"

No response. I couldn't even feel the rest of the pack. And neither could they I assumed. Even my normally heightened senses were dulled and I felt like I was slightly drunk.

Did they drug me?

Wait...who was they? Suddenly, the events of the past day flooded my brain, making me very aware of my condition; after that vampire had kicked me in the forest, another one darted out of cover as soon as I contacted Jacob. I tried to defend myself, but this one was faster then the other, choking me until I passed out from the lack of oxygen...that would explain the massive headache that I felt.

'Okay Paige, you can do this! All I need is to regain some of my strength, shift and escape before anything happens.' I reassured myself in thought while I tried to stand up, ignoring the pleading screams of every inch of bruised skin and abused muscle. I didn't make it to my feet, the pain and strain on my muscles was too much.

I fell back on the ground, sliding my back against the wall while the chains rattled harshly. 'Okay, plan B; if I can get these cuffs off, I could find a way out of here. If I could just-' My inner monologue was interrupted by the scraping sound of the door opening, which surprised me; I never heard anyone coming closer!

When the door opened, it revealed a muscular male, who absentmindedly brushed his hand through his curls while he muttered something to himself, shaking his head. When he noticed that I was looking at him, he scowled slightly before he took two long strides and stepped in front of me.

I growled warningly at him while I shuffled back, never losing him out of my sight. His scowl turned into an appreciative smile before his eyes became darker... the pupils flared out and a small silver eclipse surrounded it, luring me in until my mind became blank. I couldn't move an inch, no matter how hard I tried.

He smirked knowingly, slowly crouching down until he was on eye-level. "Nice to meet you soulshifter. I'm Cian. You might have noticed that I'm a vampire by now." His smirk grew wider, flashing his fangs in the process. I tried to move again but it failed once more. It felt like my body was coated with a thin coating of oil; my self-control just slipped away from me.

Cian shook his finger slightly at me. "Tsk, tsk... I wouldn't do that my dear. I've used our Compulsion on you; you won't fight me on this." I felt my head bob up and down slowly, followed by his low chuckle. "Good."

He started to remove the chains from my wrist and ankles before he froze slightly when he noticed the mark in my neck. "Is that..." he mumbled, leaning closer to my neck, which made me very uncomfortable.

A hiss echoed through the small room, making my pulsing headache throb even more. "You are someone's Beloved?" Cian snarled from between his teeth, the darkness of his pupils bleeding in the white of his eye. Fear clenched at my hearth while I gave him another nod, silently hoping that, whatever it was that had upset him, it would be painless for me.