Page 9 of Alpha Chained

Who would bother trying to make a home in this godforsaken place?

A flicker of hope swirls. Maybe it’s someone I could talk to, someone who might know more about this place. Would they be worth approaching when they get back? Or maybe they, like the others in this place, have given up hope of ever getting out.

The thought makes me seethe with anger and indignation. How dare they treat us like this?

“Hey!” I shout. “Hey, you can’t keep us locked in here like this, you assholes!” I know it’s fruitless. There’s nobody listening.

My fingers curl into fists at my sides as I glare around the cells. A low growl rumbles from the back of my throat, startling even me with its intensity.

I have to get out of here.

Have to find a way to escape before Parker can start working on me. If I don’t… If I don’t…!

I run a hand over my face and force myself to take several deep, steadying breaths.

Calm down.

I’ll do myself no good by panicking. I have to clear my head. I take another deep breath and walk slowly around my cell, examining every square inch of it.

No windows.

Solid walls.

Solid ceiling.

Heavy metal bars run along the front of the cell. When I touch one, the hot tingle beneath my fingertips has me snatching my hand away.

Silver. The steel is infused with it.

Those fuckers!

What worries me most is the fact that they know we’re vulnerable to it. And that this facility has been designed to keep us in. Which means there are a lot more of us going through here than just me and the few others I’ve seen.

Again, I’m struck by how bad things are. I take another slow circuit of my small cell, although this time, it’s to settle my nerves. I barely notice that I’m pacing until my calves start to ache and my thighs burn.

Time passes without me being aware of it as my mind rushes in a thousand directions, trying to figure out what to do next.

The metallic screech of the door opening at the end of the cell block cuts off my thoughts.

There’s the sound of footsteps approaching, heavy boots scuffing against concrete. I tense, pressing back against the wall of my cell.

Oh, God! Are they coming for me?

As much as I hate being stuck in here without answers, I’m filled with dread at why they might be coming back. Why? To interrogate me or…worse?

The footsteps draw nearer. I peer through the bars, straining to see. Two guards appear, flanking a figure between them. It’s a man, by the looks of his build – tall and powerfully muscled beneath a thin white tank. As they draw closer, propelling him forward, I suck in a sharp breath.

He’s a shifter, like me. I can sense it, that inexplicable pull…the wildness wafting from his toned skin.

The guards shove him abruptly into the pristine cell next to mine that I’d been eyeing earlier. It’s a rough move, but he doesn’t fall or even stumble, standing tall before spinning to face his captors. Huge, muscular shoulders roll and he swivels his head slightly, cracking his neck, daring them closer. There’s something in his stance that screams of danger – pure, vicious animal rage. The guards sense it, too, because they back away quickly before slamming the door shut.

I catch a glimpse of his face then – a chiseled jawline, high cheekbones, and…his eyes. Holy shit, those eyes! Pale and piercing as arctic ice. They flick toward me for the barest instant, and I’m frozen, transfixed by the intensity of that gaze.

Oh. My. God!

My pulse kicks up, and my skin flushes hot as that hypnotic stare locks onto mine. I can’t look away, can barely breathe. It’s as if he’s reaching right into my soul, laying me bare. I feel stripped down, vulnerable…and yet blazingly alive in a way I’ve never experienced.

Every nerve ending in my body is crackling with an electric charge, centering low in my belly. A primal, molten heat that has nothing to do with fear and everything to do with the raw, visceral power rolling off him in waves. The scent of the wild – of untamed forests and midnight skies – surrounds me, thick enough to taste.

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