ALPHA GREY (Re-written)

Chapter 12

XANDER'S POV

Darkness

The smell of death clings to the air, my eyelids too heavy to pear through the veil of sleep. The eerie silence is deafening. I will myself to open my eyes, my vision gradually coming into focus. My sight is welcomed by the absence of light. I blink, willing the darkness away yet still it remains. Just then, the memories come flooding in. At their tail, a wave of excruciating pain. I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. I painfully swallow, hoping to ease the dryness in my throat.

"Good. You are awake." A voice comes at the far end of the room, echoing slightly.

A bright light flickers on, temporarily rendering me blind. Panic sets in as my breathing quickens at the sound of his voice. I caught sight of a pool of my own blood at my feet as my vision slowly began to sharpen. Bound to a chair in silver, my body aching in places I wouldn't have even thought possible, I struggle to free myself though knowing it was futile. My wrists burned each time I writhed, my pain mounting.

Somehow, he'd known the minute he laid eyes on me that I had had something to do with his mate's escape. I could tell from the way he kept eyeing me as I feigned my desire to assist in their search for her. An excruciatingly long hour later, his suspicions were confirmed when he caught me out in a lie. I had fallen right into his trap and now I find myself here.

"I was beginning to think you'd gone and met your creator."

How long was I out cold? The thought crosses my mind.

Blood splutters from my mouth as I cough, my throat clearing slightly.

"You don't deserve her." I spit, the metallic taste of blood lingering in my mouth.

A dry patronising laugh echoes through the walls of the small room. I was in the dungeons, tied down like a prisoner rogue, at the mercy of the king of terror. No one could come to my rescue, not even her. I had known the risk that came with what I did. Yet blinded by love I had gone ahead. Part of me wanted to resent her for dragging me into this mess yet a part of me, the part of me that would lay down my life to retain her pure smile wouldn't let me bring myself to regret the decisions I made.

"I must command you. You've got balls. If only you were as strong as you are stubborn. You'd make a great warrior." He continues.

I groan as yet another wave of pain shoots though my side. The silver was supressing my healing abilities and so I was subjected to enduring the excruciating pain.

"I think you are ready to talk now, yes?" He towers over me, awaiting a response I wasn't quite sure I was ready to give.

I only had two options. I could hold off on telling him what he wanted and risk dying a painful death or I could give up her location to save my own skin. One thing was clear, he would stop at nothing to find her. It was up to me to decide if I valued my life. The image of my parents' pained expressions at the mention that I had been found guilty of treason came to view. If anything, they were the main reason for my desire to remain alive.

"You either tell me what I want to know or we can go at this again. This time I think I will let Mason take the reins. I doubt though he will extend a hand of mercy, he has been known to be a little blood thirsty. Believe me when I say, this can become far worse than a few broken bones."

Swiftly, a punch comes at my gut, lunging the weight of my body forward. I draw my shoulders back in a single breath, attempting to shrink away from his sadistic touch as he painfully pulls at my hair leaving a painful stinging in my skull. I raise my bound hands in surrender, the silver burning at the flesh of my wrists.

"Call her. I want her to hear every pathetic scream that comes out of your mouth. You should count yourself lucky. If it weren't for the fact that you happened to come to her rescue when Michael tried to harm her, you'd be six feet within the earth's surface."

He hands me the phone, effortlessly breaking one of the silver chains that had my wrists and feet bound. Almost instantaneously, I feel myself begin to regain a bit of strength but it is not enough to break myself free of the other restraints. I will myself to dial her number, internally cursing at myself for giving in so easily.

***

My heart flutters in nervous excitement when I see Xander's name flash across the screen of my burner phone. I had begun to worry when I didn't hear from him this morning. Apart from my walks, there wasn't much to do at the cabin, no cable or internet. All day, I was subjected to my own thoughts. Hours ticked by, my anxiety mounting as I reflected on the aftermath of the carnage I left in my wake. I would wait anxiously as sand filtered through the hour glass, longing to hear from him. Hearing his soothing voice was the only thing that seemed to ease my racing mind.

"Hello love." My heart nearly stops at the sound of the voice on the other end.

A blood curling scream reaches my ears, the sound like a knife piercing through my heart. Agony, pure agony lays siege to my sound canals, shattering what remained of my heart into a million tiny pieces. My mouth goes dry and my body tenses up at the realization that we had been caught.

I can only listen as my hands tremble from the shock.

"Please stop hurting him." I finally sum up the strength to speak, my stomach churning at the sound of inflicted torture.

Silent streams of tears roll down my eyes, Xander's pain washing over every part of my body like it were my own. Knowing that I am the source of his pain, wrecks through me leaving an aching on its trail. Had it not been for my selfish desires, he wouldn't be in this situation. Why did I have to go and drag him into my mess?

Selfish

Now, at the mercy of the monster I seek to escape there is no telling what will become of him. I will never be able to forgive myself if my selfish decisions cost him his life.

"I'll do anything you want. Please just stop hurting him." I beg, defeated and shattered.

"I expect you here within the hour." That's all he says, voice devoid of any humane emotion.

"It will take at least two and a half."

"I'd already be on the road if I were you. I'd hate for you to have to bury a friend. Things aren't looking good on his end."

"I will never forgive you if..."

He hangs up cutting me off.

His threat sends me on my feet. I drive like a mad woman, my mind plagued with the worst possible imagery of the agony Xander was experiencing. My guilt slowly suffocates me with every moment I spend on the road, uncertain whether my best friend would live or meet his end. The pounding of my erratic heart drowns out the outside world, as I blur past, paying no mind to the countless road laws I was breaking.

I should have stayed.