I am Rogue [Book 1]

Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

               The continued pounding in my skull awoke me before the screams. My eyes barely had time to flicker open before they clenched back shut, the glare of the single hanging bulb against the overly white painted room only pushing the pounding into a dense throb behind my eyes. As a painful groan left my lips the screams began to reach my ears. Loud high pitched screams of a woman in some form of distress and the muffled replies of someone close by, perhaps in another room or maybe right outside the door to the room I seemed to be trapped in.

               The screams continued on no matter what was being said to the screamer, and just when I thought my skull might just explode, my eyes bursting from their sockets from the built of pressure, someone slammed themselves against the door to my little room. The bang reverberated against the too close for comfort stone walls causing me to jump into a crouched position, my claws extending out and tearing into the bedding I had been laying on. I felt a growl rise in my chest as the sound repeated, someone throwing something against the door to what I could only decide was my cell.

               More muffled voices came then, and the screamer was soon putting distance between themselves and my cell. Still, I felt on edge, unsure if that had been some form of new tactic to get me to drop my guard or not. Had that been a friend or foe out there? Closing my eyes, I attempted to contact Nyx, hoping he had some insight on what was happening.

               “Nyx… Nyx, you there?”

               For several minutes, I held my breath waiting for a response. Had he gotten away and unable to hear me? Was he alive? Wait, of course he was alive, I wouldn’t doubt his ability to survive.

               “Nyx? Nyx can you hear me? Are you nearby?”

               Nothing. I couldn’t hear him. Taking a deep breath, I tried to concentrate on my connection to the pack – Only there wasn’t anything there. It was as though the connection had disappeared. Inside my inner animal howled out in agony at the loss of the connection to our family. I felt my chest tighten and my eyes begin to water. Something had happened, something I didn’t understand. I was all alone again.

               I must have cried myself to sleep, because the next thing I knew, I was screaming. My throat grew ragged as each painful scream shuddered through it, my skin felt as though it were on fire. Moving about, I found myself hiding under my cell bed laying against the cold concreate floor, yet still the heat would not leave my flesh. I could barely hear the whines coming from the other side of my cell door as I pressed every inch of flesh I could to the floor in some kind of hope that I could cool off.

               Try as I might, I couldn’t concentrate on anything. My inner animal was whining inside my head so loud I almost thought she was in the room with me. I cried out until suddenly my ears caught the sound of an electronic motor, as though a vent system had been activated and my cell was flushed with cold air from the ceiling. Though the air felt wonderful, the noise was grating on my sensitive ears causing me to whine out loud right as the door to my cell was opened.

               Glancing over, unable to defend myself and thinking that this would be the end of me, I was shocked to see an elderly woman looking at me with kindness and sympathy as she shut the door behind her. Whining again, I nudged myself to the wall under my cot and wondered what some elderly woman was going to do to me.

               “Shh… There there, dear. I know you must be so very confused right now, and to be honest, so is everyone else. The council can’t meet with you until this is over. In fact, we are going to have to replace the guards at your door just to keep you safe from their baser instinct.”

               Baser instinct? Council? I didn’t understand what the hell was coming out of the old woman’s mouth, all I knew was my body seemed to be stuck in roast mode and it hurt like a bitch in-

               Realization dawned at me then, in that moment. I understood why the guards would have to be changed out, why I couldn’t be brought forth before the werewolf counsel to face my charges. I had gone too long as an unmated she-wolf. I was in my prime for pupping and my body had decided against my will, against the fact that I did not have a mate to help me, and forced my system into Heat.

               “I can see from your eyes you’ve figured out what’s wrong with you then. I apologize for keeping you from your mate, but I am under orders to sedate you through it rather than allow you to spend a few hours or days in the arms of your life partner.”

               My face must have shown my confusion, as the elderly woman suddenly sniffed the air around me and went very pale.

               “You’re unmated… How can you be unmated? Are you truly rogue?”

               At the last question, I snorted. Of course she was confused. Rogues were vile creatures, their women were treated terribly and were raped or became whores to survive according to the counsel. For my strength, the old woman had thought I was one of the Alpha’s personal mates. She had been ordered to refuse me time with Nyx.

               “I am rogue,” I replied softly right before a growl rolled out of me and my body bucked from the pain.

               Shaking her head, the elderly woman came closer and it was the first time I noticed the syringe in her hand, letting me know just how off I was from my surroundings.

               “This will take the pain away for a while. You’ve been in Heat for a while now, I would say, but you slept through the beginning of the final stage. This burning you are feeling should last for the next twenty-four hours then begin to subside according to the doctor.”

               “Thought you were-“

               “Oh no dear, I’m his mate. We couldn’t risk a male entering the room right now so he instructed me on what to do. Have no worries dear, I’ve given shots before.”

               Groaning, I crawled out from under the cot and nodded to her to go on and get it over with. Anything had to be better than the pain I was feeling. Smiling timidly, she came forward and jabbed the needle into the tender side of my left upper arm. It burned at first, causing me to whine, and then a tingling set in and soon I found myself feeling heavy, my eyes drifting shut just as she opened the door and started speaking to someone.

               “She should be out for a while...”

               “….council will decide what to do with her….”

               “….isn’t going to like it no doubt, the poor dear…”

               “….killed the alpha.”

               With my last thought being that Nyx had been killed, I felt warm tears slide out the corners of my eyes for my friend before falling into the dark void of oblivion.