Page 50 of Pack Captive

Maybe the Caller's touch had done more than numb the pain. She'd inflicted the light of the moon on me; the runes didn't burn, but...could she have made me effectively invisible to Tiny?

I peeled myself off the cot and made my way to the bars of the cell, my head bowed.

This time, instead of just draping myself over them, I tried to wriggle an arm through. Worst case, my theory was incorrect, and Tiny would take my arm off.

If he did, Fenris would just make me a new one.

But the construct guardian did nothing. The wolf's head cocked, and those blind, milky eyes searched the cell bars as though something were disturbing him, but he didn't look directly at the fingers that were scraping over the floor or the shoulder I'd managed to thrust through.

I laughed hoarsely. She'd rendered him blind to my presence, the light she'd given me obscuring the corruption.

Foolish little Caller.

Sweet, mistrusting Caller.

She'd been right to be suspicious.

I pulled my shoulder out of the bars. Escape wasn't that way; I didn't have enough of her touch left in me to make it through the bars and both doors without alerting Tiny, who would raise the alarms.

But I could return to my original plan—the one I'd made upon imprisonment, before the old, withered Caller at the Alpha's beck and call had strengthened the runes on my cell.

I pushed my cot out of the corner, revealing the deep gouge I'd made between the stones of the cell.

This was a project I'd had to give up on once the old Caller placed new runes in here, but now they were manageably bright.

I shifted, allowing myself to take the powerful form I'd missed so much. The cell felt cramped as my form grew bulky and powerful, and my legs longed to run, but I forced myself to focus on the task at hand.

It hurt to dig at the stones with my paws, but as my claws began to tear chunks out of the wall, the gravel scattering underfoot, I knew this was a pain I could endure.

As I worked, the voices grew louder again, swirling around me. I half-expected to see the female wolf from my memories sitting in the cell behind me, but I knew she wasn't there.

You don't have to be what they make you, Merikh. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

My paws were bloodied. Red gravel scattered on the floor.

Kill the half-breed and his mother.

Their voices drove me harder.

15

Ayla

I woke up feeling...rested.

I blinked as the first bright rays of dawn streamed in through my window, covering the bed in bars of light.

I was still snuggled under the warm, thick fur I'd grabbed last night, but I had the distinct impression that I hadn't been alone. Calian had given in and laid in the bed, but it wasn’t the same as having the pack’s warmth cuddled around you.

It was terrible to be alone as a wolf. You got so used to being surrounded by your pack that the concept of sleeping in an empty room felt like something close to torture.

But there was no one else in here now. Calian probably left right after I went to sleep, and I must’ve dreamed my pack’s warm arms around me.

It had felt soreal. So comforting.

I sat up, rubbing sleep from my eyes, but I was definitely alone.

There was a slight indentation on the bed behind me, and I placed my hand on it palm down. It was cool.

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