Chapter 1
Blackness. That's all I could see. Nothing but blackness surrounded me. No light at all. But noises were there. I was surrounded with those. My ears could pick up the faint noise of murmuring from some unknown direction, a light dripping from a faucet that someone didn't fully twist off, some quiet snoring across from me –at least a good foot and a half away- that would be a good, quiet music to fall asleep to. My ears picked up many different noises but my eyes found nothing. One smell was indicating to me however. I smelt blood, and it was somehow strangely familiar to me.
My mind was quiet for once as my eyes sought to find something. I lifted my arms in an attempt to reach around me, to feel around my environment, only to be unsuccessful. I finally felt the tight ropes that dug deep into my wrists. Now I knew why the blood smelt so familiar. It was of my own blood. I struggled against the ropes, hoping for a chance to notice weakness in the strong bond these ropes held. I cried out in anguish as my pride was slowly breaking. I felt cold air breeze past me, causing goose bumps to run across my whole body. Another new fact hit me.
I was nude. I was nude and held up by ropes. Oh glorious day today was. What day was it anyway? Questions filled my head as I frantically looked around me. Cloth rubbed against my top lip, indicating to me the reason I was unable to see. Something was covering my eyes. I cried out loud in anguish as my pride started to cripple in front of me. Nothing was here to help me, wherever I was. If only I was given at least one piece of information of where I was, maybe I could figure something out. But with nothing to help me lead somewhere, I was helpless, completely and utterly helpless. One single tear was at the rim of my eyes but no one would notice, no one would ever know it was there. I never let it fall. Who ever held me captive wouldn't see that. Sure, they've exposed my body, yes they tied me up against a wall that felt cold and rough, and of course they've blinded me, but I wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of breaking this Alpha.
I've gone through worst throughout my life. I will not break here. I will not break ever.
The tear dried inside the corner of my eye, not once falling across my cheek and falling to the unknown floor that I couldn't see. Who knows, there could be a bottomless pit underneath me and I wouldn't even know it. My ears tried picking up the slightest bit of noise, other than what I've already heard. Nothing was different from what I've already heard. I growled in frustration. No animal likes being caged up, especially me. I was never good at cages, especially when I have no idea how big, small, wide, or deep it was. If I didn't have my eyesight, I was in trouble, and I was in trouble now.
Where the hell am I?!?
This one question nagged at me, biting at the core of my insanity as my wrists ached in pain. This time was a nuisance to me. I should be home, helping the Alpha with the business of the pack. I should be determining what territories of the pack I should check now. I should be spending time with my mate, I should be doing a lot of things now, but instead I was caged up like the animal I was. I growled in frustration and anger. Anger started to rip through me, wanting to rip out and devour me forever. My anger wanted me to start cursing up a storm and more. My anger wanted to rip off the head or heads of whoever did this to me. My anger wanted to do so many things but I held my tongue and closed my eyes tightly.
I now wished I had one of the most valuable emotions that almost everyone else in the pack had, patience. Patience would help me right now and let me clear my head and finally place this into a true situation and come up with something to get out. That's something my father, the Alpha, would do. That's something anyone would do…but me. I shook my head in agony of defeat. I had to admit. Who ever did this to me had the knowledge of my idea of a loss. I mean, who would cover their victim's eyes? Someone that either knew them closely enough for the victim to trust them –and no one in the pack would go against each other- or they spied on that victim for a long period of time. I sniffed around me, hoping to detect any smell that radiated off of my body that may tell me whoever did this to me.
Many smells came off of my body. The first smell hit me like a brick wall. Body odor. Bad body odor.
Yuck. I need a shower.
I quickly pushed past the body odor and shoved my way towards the next. I kept my eyes closed to help me focus onto my animal instants. The next smell that whacked me in the face was my own smell that was mixed with my mate's smell. Gosh that scent I could smell all day if possible. The smell of fresh wood burning and the dirty cold forest started to surround me into intoxication. My mouth watered for that one scent to be with me, next to me, on top of me, in me. I licked my lips trying to push back the images of him and I making love to one another. I had to focus on the present, not the hopeful future.
The next smell that seemed to come off of me was a cold harsh smell. The smell caused me to wrinkle my nose in displeasure. The smell was disturbing but unknown to my senses, frustrating me more. The smell belonged to someone but was so different it was as if they covered their scent by spraying something on themselves. A faint smell, a smell I recognized, was just out of my reach to fully distinguish whom it belonged to.
I wrinkled my nose once again in frustration. It's true that cats have the best noses but why just them? Why can't other animals have that best feature? That feature would help the pack a lot!! This smell was nagging at the back of my mind, wanting to be discovered. Once the smell entered my nostrils, it wouldn't leave them. I constantly smelled that scent. It wouldn't leave me. It wanted me to know. I could feel my curiosity burn in frustration. I wanted to know who belonged to this unknown scent. I bit my bottom lip in mere frustration. Aelfdane had tried to teach me to stop that habit but I couldn't help it. Gosh I wished for Aelfdane to wrap his loving arms around me, to hold me and kiss me with his sexual lips that I craved continuously.
I shook my head in realization.
Stop thinking about Aelfdane and start trying to get through that unknown scent.
I was right. I couldn't think about Aelfdane now. I had a task to defect the challenge that struck me in the face. I just hoped I could get through it, I mean with all of the blood I probably already lost, which knows anymore. I shook my head in annoyance as my stubbornness started to kick in. I wasn't going to give up on discovering that scent. I was going to stop thinking negatively. I was going to stop questioning myself and actually start fighting back. No matter how weak or defenseless I may be, I will not stop fighting back. I mean, why else would the Alpha place me as one of the guards for him if he didn't believe I wasn't strong enough? I will not give up. Ever.
