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Jacin's POV:
Dashed hopes
As I struggle back into consciousness, the waking-world comes to me in pieces.
The feeling of the hard, cold floor beneath me.
The smell of vampires, fairies, werewolves and humans, all in a great, chaotic mix.
The cords binding my legs together.
My eyes snap open, and I glance down at my feet. Sure enough, there are the cords, keeping me bound and lying on the floor. I growl and writhe in their grip, but they're tied too tightly. I clam my teeth around them, but the metal refuses to give under my sharp fangs.
I snarl with frustration. Great, just great.
"Well hello there Sleeping Beauty." A cocky voice with a slight French accent says somewhere above me.
I growl and shut my eyes. Maybe if I ignore them, they won't be so annoying.
Someone kicks me sharply in the side. "Hey, no going back to sleep! We've been waiting around for ages for you to finally wake up, no way are we letting you fall back into dream-land that quickly."
"Yeesh Scarlet, take it easy." Another voice said.
"Take it easy? Kai, in case you've forgotten, this person tried to kill Cinder. No-way am I going to play nice!"
"Uh, I hate to break it to you Scarlet, but he's not going to be saying anything while he's in that form."
I cringe as another, too familiar voice joins the conversation. Selene. This is definitely not going to be pleasant.
Scarlet snorts. "Well it's not like he can shape-shift in his sleep. And there's no way I'm waiting around for another hour for him to wake up again."
She kicks me again and I snarl quietly. Stars, doesn't this girl speak any language other than violence? She's really ticking me off!
"True, but kicking him isn't going to help." Selene says.
"It's helping my mood." Scarlet retorts, and kicks me again. Okay, that's it! Her leg is going to be my dinner if she doesn't let me be. "And you can't say he doesn't deserve it. Attempted murder, remember?"
"Yeah, but we also need him to cooperate with us, and you kicking him isn't exactly helping matters." Selene says dryly.
Someone else speaks up, as if I didn't have enough morons to deal with. "Scarlet is right about us needing him awake though Cinder. Isn't there something we can do to get him to at least stop faking sleep?"
Selene (Cinder, what the hell am I supposed to call her?) doesn't reply. The silence drags on long enough for me to draw one definite conclusion: I'm not going to like whatever she comes up with.
"Maha, can you bite his tail?"
Yep. Called it.
Sharp teeth sink into my tail and I instinctively yelp and jump to my feet, my brain screaming at me to fight, to save myself from this new threat. But as soon as I stand up, the pain eases, and my attacker (Maha, was it?) pads around to face me, swiping at her muzzle with a dark-furred paw to try and dislodge my own blond hairs. She quickly shifts into a human form, revealing herself to be a short, frail-looking woman with sharp, dark eyes.
I growl under my breath. Of course. Maha Kesley, the standing Alpha Female, at least until Ran finally stops playing around and picks a mate. Why'd they have to get her involved in their little revolution? Now the Queen's going to think that all the werewolves are in on it, and we're all going to be in trouble.
"Do you recognise this guy?" Cinder asks.
Maha cocks her head to one side, studying me. "I believe so. Sir Jacin Clay. I know his parents. They're good people, some of the few favoured werewolves that aren't corrupt."
I can't help but snort. Favoured? Last I checked, they were struggling just as much as the rest of the werewolves!
Scarlet glares down at me. "Shame that he didn't inherit those traits."
"I know he's not exactly your favourite person right now, but he's certainly one of the better soldiers." Maha says, "He doesn't abuse his power and he doesn't strive to get the Queen's approval."
Kai frowns. "Hey… wasn't that new kid that went missing named Jacin?"
I roll my eyes. Wow, we've got a real detective here.
Iko narrows her eyes at me in a glare. "Yes, he was. And he was also one of the few people that knew we were planning a revolution."
"Why would you tell a total stranger about your plans to overthrow an entire government?" Scarlet exclaimed.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time! He could tell us about Levana's defences and maybe help recruit other werewolves!"
"I'm guessing that didn't work out?" Kai says.
Cinder nods, casting a dark scowl in my direction. "Yeah. Something tells me he had something to do with Sybil coming for us."
I meet her gaze unwaveringly, refusing to show remorse for my actions. Yes, I hate Levana. Yes, I want their little revolution to succeed (even if it's a stupid and downright fantastical idea) but my wants aren't as important as Winter's needs, chief amongst them being the need to stay alive. If I have to work against these people to ensure her safety, then so be it.
Cinder sighs. "This is getting nowhere. You know as well as I do that you can't answer any of our questions like that. At least, not until wolves evolve so their mouths can form words. So, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way."
I curl my lips up, exposing the points of my teeth.
"The hard way it is then."
All on its own, my form began to change. The bones click into place, the muscles stretch and contract into new shapes, and my skin prickles and aches as my fur retracts.
I grit my teeth, doing my best to fight Cinder's control, but it's no use. As my instincts quieten to a whisper, it only becomes easier for Cinder to carry on, and harder for me to fight. Annoyingly quickly, I'm in human form again.
I shoot Cinder my best glare.
She shrugs. "I did give you a choice."
"You said, the easy way or the hard way. You didn't specify. I wouldn't call that a choice." I retort.
"You knew you weren't going to like the hard way, that's why it's called: "the hard way"!"
"I thought it was called the hard way because it was harder for the interrogator."
Cinder groans and pinches the bridge of her nose. "You're stalling, and you know it. Just answer our questions, and we can get this stupid thing over with already."
"Sorry, Vampire." Says a disgustingly smug voice, "But I'm going to be the one asking the questions."
The group spins around to face the wiry man standing in the doorway. He smirks and walks forward. "Now come on, aren't you going to introduce yourselves? That seems like something ambassadors should do."
Scarlet curses under her breath. I'm very tempted to do the same. "Hello Alpha. Checking for extra rations?"
"Watch your tongue Sir Clay." He snaps.
I roll my eyes in response.
"Ran, this isn't what you think it is." Maha says placatingly.
But Ran only growls at her. "For the last time, Mother, you are to address me as Alpha! And no, this is exactly what I think it is." His face tugs back into that smug smirk again. "When a servant told me they'd directed some vampire ambassadors to you, imagine my surprise when you didn't mention a word of it to me. A mother shouldn't keep secrets from her son, don't you agree?"
"I did what I had to do-" Maha begins.
But Ran ignores her as he continues to speak. "I decided to find out what was going on and had some of the servants tail you. And it proved to be a good choice, because what did they tell me, but that my own mother was helping to organise a revolution!"
"We can't live under the vampires forever!" Maha cries, "We're suffering here Ran! I couldn't just sit around and do nothing!"
"That's Alpha." Ran snarled. "And the vampires have given us everything."
"No, they've given you everything." Maha snaps, "Don't you get it? The Queen cares nothing for you. You are nothing more than a puppet, and she will have no qualms about tossing you aside, whatever your ego might think."
Ran bares his teeth. "Well then. Such a shame that you don't have a choice in the matter."
I smelled them before they walked through the door.
Soldiers, filing into the room with cold uniformity. They glare at the group of hopeful revolutionaries and, despite myself, I pity them. They really thought their little plan would succeed. But here it is, crashing down all around them.
It's over.
A/N: Oh boy, this isn't good.
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