Rise of the Witch Queen

Into the Wolf Den

The first thing that I felt as I shook off unconsciousness was a piercing pain thrumming in my head. Prying my eyes open, I found that I was lying in a large plush bed. Wincing, I pushed myself up into a sitting position and surveyed my surroundings. I was in a dimly lit room with brick walls and a cement floor. There were no windows, and the only source of light came from dim lanterns on the wall. My pulse pounded in my ears, my panic increasing as I remembered the car crash. 

I bolted up, ignoring the agony coursing through my body. I ran to the heavy wooden door looking for a way to open it, but found nothing. Growling in frustration, I pounded on the door wincing with each blow. "Let me out bastards," I screamed. Tears pricked at my eyes at the futility of this situation. Here supposedly, I had a once in a generation talent, but I had no control over it. I sank to the ground, curling in on myself. 

I didn't know how long I sat like that. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours. Finally, the door behind me moved, and I scrambled away from it and crouched in a defensive position against the wall. Two large men entered the room, and I wanted to laugh at the wariness they seemed to carry around them almost as if they were afraid of me. "The alpha will see you now," the dusky-skinned man on the left said, stepping cautiously towards me as if I was a wild animal.

"You can tell your alpha to go to hell," I growled frustrated. If this Alpha thought I was going to respond positively to being attacked and kidnapped, he had another thing coming. 

"You best watch the way you speak about the Alpha. Some might not take kindly to it," the fair-skinned red-headed man said in a thick Scottish accent. He approached me with less caution than his counterpart. I tried to scramble away from him, but he moved remarkably fast. He grabbed me by my waist and flung me over his shoulder. I grunted as the wind was knocked out of me from the impact.  I flailed wildly but failed to inflict any substantial damage. I caught the dusky-skinned man chuckling under his breath, and I shot him a venomous look. Whatever kind of girl these men had expected, it wasn't the frail half-wild girl they found in that room.

The men carried me out of the room and into a modern-looking elevator that was in contrast with the dingy room I had been kept in. The button for the top floor was pressed, and we went up to the seventh floor in awkward silence. I was tempted to break it, but I couldn't think of anything to say that wouldn't sound churlish or pathetic. 

After what seemed like an eternity, the doors opened onto a spacious loft. I was carried into a large room with couches lining the walls and a large ornate chair on a raised platform. In the chair, Jace was seated, whispering to a man in a chair next to the platform. The man carrying me set me down and gave me a light push towards Jace. I stumbled forward caught off guard. Jace growled, "Be careful how you handle my mate, Callum."

My breath caught in my throat as Callum bowed his head in apology, "Forgive me, Alpha."

My blood boiled, and my face became hot with anger. I stomped angrily towards Jace, and he stood coming towards me, smirking. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I growled, poking a finger into his chest. I hated that I had to look up to meet his eyes and hated it even more that Jace simply looked amused at my fury. "That car crash could have killed me and countless others! Plus, I don't take kindly to being kidnapped," I said, my frustration growing at his amusement. 

"I am sorry, but I couldn't see another way to get you here," Jace said calmly, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close. He leaned down, sniffing my hair, and I tried to push him away. Eventually, Jace took a step back, but he kept his hands on my shoulders. "You were with the sorcerers and I had to rescue you," Jace said cupping my chin in his hand stroking his thumb against my cheek. 

"In case you didn't get the message I am a sorcerer and I didn't need rescuing" I growled trying to jerk my chin out of his grip.

"You're the oracle. You might be a witch, but you will always stand apart from them" Jace said as if he was trying to soothe a wild animal.

"They were my family" I cried.

"And you are my mate" Jace soothed "And that is a bond that makes us more than family."

"Just stop it," I said my anger giving way to sorrow. I had been through hell and back other the last several days. I was still injured from the crash and my last nerve was fraying quickly. "I can't deal with anymore freaky supernatural shit" I sobbed

"I know love" Jace said stroking my hair "I know."

"Stop it. You aren't my mate or whatever" I half sobbed half growled. This boy really wasn't getting it. "You're just a stranger I met in a bar" I spat and a look of hurt lanced across his face. What I didn't add was that Jace was a stranger who had risked his life to save mine. 

Jace's grip on me tightened and I realized how easily he could snap me like a toothpick if he chose. "I will forgive your disrespect this once since I know this all must be incredibly stressful" he raised my chin forcing me to look up as he toward above me "Let this time be the last."

He kissed my forehead before releasing me. I stumbled away from him half attempting to escape and the other half just trying to get as far away from Jace as I could. Callum and the other man caught me easily as Jace said "Take her back downstairs. I'll come visit her after I clean up the mess that your men left at the crash."

Callum scooped me up again and we headed back into the elevator. "Please just let me go" I whispered "My brother will want me back. He'll come looking for me. Please just help me get back to him."

"I'm sure that's true Princess, but they won't find where the Alpha has you hidden away..." Callum cackled and the man with him sniggered.

"No please" I begged feeling desperate "My family has money. Please just get me home."

"Darling there isn't enough money in the world to get any Were to steal away the Alpha's mate," The other man said solemnly.

"And how can you be sure that I am Jace's mate? I mean we only met once for like half a minute in a bar" I asked incredulously. 

"Because Jace killed the old Alpha in order to keep you safe. Only a true mate bond is strong enough to cause a Were to directly defy the Alpha" Callum explained as if I were a child "You should be honored to be the Alpha's mate. You now occupy an important part of Were society. You are our Alphas heart and his weak spot which means that every Were in this city will make sure you are safe and with your mate."

"And what if that's not what I want?" I asked bitterly as we reached the basement level where my quarters were.

"Your wishes only matter to us as long as they do not conflict with the orders of our Alpha," the other man said as Callum set me down on the bed in my basement prison.

I curled up against the plush pillows and pulled the soft fur blanket over my body. I allowed myself to take comfort in the soft fur against my bare skin and burrowed in attempting to forget the past seventy-two hours. I wanted to go back to the ordinary orphaned ballet dancer that I'd been when I moved to New York, but I knew that was no longer possible. There had been too much insanity for me to deny that there was something going on. 

The lanterns dimmed leaving me in complete darkness and I let my body surrender to sleep. I hated the helplessness of my situation and vowed that in the morning I would do whatever I could to take back agency in my life. If I was this Oracle that everyone claimed that meant that I held some kind of power. All I had to do now was figure out how to use this power to my advantage. I relaxed a little having found a new purpose that I could build a plan of escape around. 

I was so absorbed in my thoughts I didn't even hear the door open. It wasn't until I felt the shape edge of a blade pressed against my throat that I realized I was no longer alone. I opened my eyes startled.

"Surprise bitch" Kenna spat applying more pressure the blade "There's no one to save you this time."

Authors Note: Hey, Guys! Thank you so much for reading :) If you liked it, please vote, comment, and follow me to get updates. I will be giving shout outs to those who comment with their thoughts and feelings about the chapter. Huge shout out to MBGrey and chickenmonC thank you so much for your comments and support. Again thank you for reading and check out some of my other stories :)