Chapter 40
Beca's POV
"I have a plan," I announce, placing my hands on my hips. Ashley and Jessica shoot each other a smile while Theo just shakes his head.
"Go ahead. We won't stop you." Theo laughs.
"During the next fight, I'm going to purposely let whatever creature I fight, rip out the wolfsbane device." The silence that comes next is loud and everybody stares at me wide-eyed.
"Are you insane?" Jessica cries.
"Why yes, actually. I am." I smirk. "Y'all can't stop me. This is what I have to do and I'm counting on you to help me."
"Okay," Theo whispers. "We'll help you."
"Excuse me," Ashley shouts, "you may be okay with this but I'm not. I can't just stand there knowing that she could die."
"That's what you do any other time. Why should this be any different?" I snap, my hands shaking so bad that I have to fold them into fists.
"I'm sorry," Ashley backs up. "You're right. I'm just worried."
"I know. What other choice do we have? I have to get out."
"Speaking of that," Theo starts, "I've been thinking of a plan. It requires me to leave for a few days and some information from you." He points to me and I frown.
"Like what?" Theo opens his mouth to say something, but his radio interrupts.
"Bring Sub 4 to the arena. It's time for the trial." Theo answers and grabs my arm.
"The arena? What happened to the room I've been using?"
"Well, we only use the arena when something is too big to fit in one of the rooms." Theo swallows audibly and I look away. Fear starts to creep it in, but I push it away. I can't afford to freeze, no matter what's waiting for me in the arena.
The arena turns out to be just a huge room with walls made of windows where scientists are lined up, watching. Chained near one wall is the biggest fucking creature I've ever seen. It stands to the ceiling, it's dark, slimy scales leaving smears on the glass. When it spots me, it hisses.
"Is that…?" My mouth drops as it hits me. No fucking way. "Those things don't fucking exist!" I shout.
"But here we are. You, a measly werewolf, up against a dragon." Dr. Fergus says through the intercom. I search the crowd until I finally look up and find him. He stands on a platform, protected by the window. I growl and then flip him off, turning my attention to the ...dragon. I will not get used to that.
"Ready?" Dr. Fergus taunts and instantly presses a button which releases the dragon with a click. The dragon shakes it's legs before looking at me. It's jaws open wide and when I see a faint glow of orange, I move out of the way, barely avoiding a stream of fire.
"Holy shit!" Is this seriously happening? I'm fighting a fucking dragon, a fire breathing dragon. What the hell?
The stream of fire trails behind me as I run. Using the wall, I flip up and over until I land on top of the dragon. It roars, extremely loud thanks to my hearing and I feel a pop in my right ear. Suddenly, everything is slightly muted and a trail of something wet trickles down my face.
Still in shock, the dragon manages to fling me off and into a wall. I bounce off and hit the ground. For a second, I lay there heavily breathing, trying to shake off the shock. A dragon. When the dragon attempts to stomp on me, I snap out of it and attack. Concentrating, I try to shift. Damn wolfsbane. With a frustrated cry, I force a shift. It's one of the most painful ones, my bones snapping multiple times and slowly instead of quick.
When I'm shifted, I stand as tall as the dragons thigh, just above the knee. It still towers over me and I let out a whine. When I go to run, I trip, my feet like led. What the hell? That's when I feel it. The emptiness, signaling that my wolf isn't there. Physically, I shifted, but the calm, strong presence is gone. What the hell did that wolfsbane do to me?
For several minutes, I stumble past the dragon, narrowly avoiding it's blows. Come on. Come back. Suddenly, the dragon clamps down on my neck and lifts me up. With a victorious huff, it flings me, tearing my skin away with it. I can feel the moment the device is ripped from its place. It's like a painful electric shock and my head spins making me nauseous. I lay on the ground, trying to find the strength to move.
A surge of strength suddenly rushes through me and I bark. My wolf is back and she takes over for me as I deal with the pain. We rush toward the dragon, lunging up and at its face. It opens its mouth to breathe fire, but it's too late. My muzzle clamps down on his throat, sinking teeth down through the scales and warm blood fills my mouth. When I fall, I let my claws peirce his chest and rip his stomach open until I hit the ground. Blood pours all over me and the floor. The dragon falls, dead before it hits the ground.
I stand back and look around. The scientists are all staring at me in shock and when I look up, I see Dr. Fergus frowning. Apparently my shifting isn't very popular here. The door opens and Theo comes in along with the girls.
"Mind if we take her?" Theo calls out to Dr. Fergus. "She needs medical attention ASAP." The doctor gives him the go ahead and I follow the girls, Theo staying behind me. Blood coats my fur, leaving a trail behind us. Every step feels like torture, sending shocks up and down my body. I can feel my wound trying to close but I'm not at full strength yet. Whatever wolfsbane was administered, it's still there.
The moment we get into the room, I lay down on the floor, letting the girls do whatever. I can't change until it heals more otherwise I'll die. A wound like this would kill a human, hell it would kill a grown wolf, but I'm stronger. I have to believe that this won't kill me. I'm so close to getting out of here and to Chloe.
"That was amazing," Theo shouts, voice slightly muted, as the girl's work to sew me up. "No one expected you to actually shift. You were standing there and the next second, bam, you were a huge ass wolf."
"Theo, calm down," Ashley says gently.
"We need to focus," Jessica says, not as nicely. "Do you want us to kill her?" I let out a yip, telling them to knock it off. They all laugh and we lapse into silence. In order to work on it, they have to take off the shock collar and I pray they wait to put it back on. Pain surges through me so I close my eyes picturing Chloe. Her beautiful face keeps my mind off the agony.
Chloe? Can you hear me? I get no answer. Oh well, it was worth a shot.
"There. All good," Ashley announces, patting my shoulder. "You can shift back or whatever." Standing up stiffly, I go over to the mattress and crawl under the thin sheet that they call a blanket. With a sigh, I shift back. Cold instantly hits me and I shiver.
"It's out," I gasp, the pain ten times worse now. "The device...I got it out."
"We saw," Jessica informs me and Theo holds up the crushed device. "Whenever Dr. Fergus wants to refill it, we'll lie and say it's there."
"I...don't plan on...staying here...that long."
"And how do you plan on escaping in your condition?" Jessica plants her hands on her hips, challenging me. "For now, we'll lie and say it's working good, but don't try to rush this. Your mate wouldn't want you coming back hurt." She has a point there.
"Okay," I yawn, exhaustion taking over. The pain is getting to be too much, causing tremors throughout my body. The girls notice and give me a guilty smile.
"Sorry, we don't have anything for the pain," Ashley apologizes and I just smile, reassuring her that it's okay. I've dealt with worse. The pain of losing Chloe for 3 months was worse than anything imaginable. A deeper pain that struck me in the heart and caused me to literally lose my mind.
I love you baby. Almost there. I'll be back soon, I promise. Hoping that will reach her, I close my eyes and fall into a long, dark sleep.
…
"You killed my dragon," Dr. Fergus yells, standing above me. "Do you know how long it took to acquire that thing? We weren't even sure if they existed and just managed to find the intact body of one. Spent years resurrecting it and now this!
"Was I… supposed to let it...kill me?" I pant, grumpy from being woken up. Barely fell asleep before Dr. Fergus barged in and started lecturing me.
"No, but…" The doctor scrambles at a loss for words. "Look, you aren't supposed to be able to shift. I'm going to have one of your caretakers adjust your dosage of wolfsbane. Obviously, the current one isn't enough." I shrug and instantly regret it for the wave of agony that comes after.
"I'll give you a couple of days to rest before I set you out with another experiment. Only a few more experiments to go before I turn you into a mindless soldier. Then, I'll figure out what exactly I want to do with you." With that, Dr. Fergus leaves the room and I sigh in relief.
Not much time left, baby. I won't let it get that far though. The promise burns like acid and I cry. I can't promise anything to Chloe. Not when I can't even get up. Not when she can't even hear me.
Why has life been so unfair to us? We were okay for a few months and then for some reason life came back to bite us in the ass. Did I do something wrong? My parents obviously thought so. Flashes of that day run through my mind and I sob harder. I was just coming to terms with my past, with creating a future with Chloe. Now, I just lie here, pathetic and-
Hey, baby. Another day without you. There is so much I wish I could tell you, so much I wish you could see. I thought that learning more about you and myself would help me move on, but instead I just feel lost and I'm not sure how to find my way back. Chloe's melodic voice stops and everything inside me screams. My chest aches with the need to be with her.
Before I can answer her, let her know that I'm here, pain surges through me like a tidal wave. It's so powerful that I pass out from the agony.