Annabelle’s POV
I woke up on a concrete floor. It was freezing and highly uncomfortable. I looked around and noted that I was in a cage, in a basement; like where packs keep rogues and enemies. There were two other cages. Both empty. Surprisingly, I didn’t have chains on me, and there was a bed that looked semi-comfortable.
“Sleeping Beauty finally woke up” I looked around for the voice, but no one was in the room.
“Who’s there?” I called out.
“Look in the top corner of your cell” the voice demanded.
I turned around and looked at the ceiling. Where the wall and ceiling meet, there was a security camera. It pointed directly at me. I sweetly smiled at the camera and gave it the finger.
“I would expect more from the Queen” the voice stated with a light chuckle.
I rolled my eyes. “What do you want?” I questioned.
“I want my pack”
I got up and sat against the wall. “I don’t know who you are, so I can’t help you” I stated calmly.
The voice was quiet. I heard a lock, then a creaking noise. It must be a door. Light came through the left side of the room, and I saw two shadows. The door closed, and two men stepped towards my cage.
“I’m Alpha Thomas Ian” the brunette man introduced himself. “This is Beta Eric Hefner” he pointed at the man next to him. I nodded at them. My wolf wasn’t going crazy trying to get me out of here, so I stayed calm.
“Do you know who we are?” the Beta asked.
I shrugged. “Should I?”
The two men shared a look and chuckled. “I was the Alpha of the Forest Wanderer Pack. Eric is from Hollow Moon”
I stared at the men with wide-eyes. “The two packs that mated two alphas” I voiced my thoughts.
“So you have heard of us” Alpha Ian stated.
“I heard that you are power hungry ass-holes who killed an unborn child” I hissed.
Alpha Ian growled at me. “We were combining two packs. Nothing is wrong with that” he defended, but a frown appeared on his face.
“And we didn’t know that slut was pregnant” Beta Hefner added.
I ignored him and looked at the Alpha. “You killed your mate. You killed your child” I stated.
“She was weak” Alpha Ian said with a shrug. I could tell that it was getting to him. He was putting on a show- acting like he didn’t care about his mate. But it was obvious that he genuinely didn’t know about his child. “Enough about us, though. Tell me, Queen Annabelle. How is it that a beautiful girl like yourself gets rejected?” he smirked.
I put on my own emotionless mask. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”
Alpha Ian chuckled. “If you’re gonna lie to me, at least say something more original”
“My parents just died and my mate kissed a girl in front of me. I don’t feel like dealing with your shit” I sneered.
“Did I hit a nerve?” Alpha Ian teased while I glared at him. “Fine. Let’s talk about the other men in your life”
“What other men?”
“Well, I’m obviously not talking about your father, since I ripped his heart out” he stated.
I got up and stood in front of the men with only the bars of the cell separating us. “When I get out of here, I’ll skin you with a cheese grater. Then I’ll use wolfsbane and silver to write my name on what’s left of your vile body” I raged.
“See, now that’s original” Alpha Ian applauded me. I narrowed my eyes at him, then walked to the bed. I sat down with my back against the wall.
“Now, I suggest you cooperate with us” Beta Hefner said.
I shook my head. “Nope. That’s never gonna happen” I decided.
Alpha Ian neglected my protest. “We need you to contact the Royal Pack. The Head Alpha specifically” he commanded.
I scoffed and shook my head. “Not. Gonna. Happen” I refused.
“It will. You are the one inside a cage remember” I ignored the men. “Do you need some encouragement?”
Beta Hefner handed his Alpha a cell phone. Alpha Ian unlocked the device and tapped on the screen. He held the phone out with the screen facing me. It was Ford. He was tied up with duct tape. He had tears streaming down his face.
I would be ripping these men’s heads off, but I know that they don’t have Ford here. His scent isn’t here. And I’m in the background of the picture. We were still in the guestroom. Dumb asses. “Are you gonna cooperate now?” Alpha Ian asked. Much to his surprise, I shook my head.
“I know that you don’t have my brother here” I stated.
They didn’t ask how I knew. They just shrugged. “Smart girl” the Beta said. “I guess that we’ll have to give you another inspiration. Bring her in!” he shouted.
The door opened again, and a man walked in. He was dragging a girl by her arm. She had light brown hair. It was the girl that I bumped into at the pack house. They kidnapped a pack member?! The man dropped her on the floor and walked out.
“Now. You will do what we say, or this girl will be punished” Alpha Ian threatened. I ignored him and stared at the girl. She looked unharmed, so far.
Alpha Ian took two steps closer to the girl. He pulled her up by her hair. She winced and a few tears rolled down her face. “Please don’t hurt me” she pleaded.
“One more chance” he stated. When I didn’t respond, Alpha Ian grabbed the girl’s arm and pulled her towards my cell. He pushed her onto the cage, and she screamed. Her skin started burning where she touched the cage, it must be silver.
“Stop!” I shouted. Alpha Ian quickly pulled the girl off the cage.
“So you’ll cooperate?” he questioned. I looked at the girl who was now passed out and I nodded at the Alpha.
*****
Jonathan’s POV
“They jumped out the window” Ford informed me. He woke up an hour ago, and I started asking him questions again. Dr. Young, the pack counselor, wanted to be here. He said that Ford might suffer from PTSD, so he could help calm him down.
“Did they say anything to you?” Dr. Young asked.
“I don’t remember”
“This is really important, Ford. If they said something, then I need to know. It might help us find Anna” I told him.
Ford closed his eyes, thinking really hard. “Um… the guy that was holding her… he said that they only needed the girl”
The girl is Anna, obviously. “Okay. What else did he say?” I encouraged him.
“To tell the Royal Pack that he has her” Ford stated.
“Who’s he? Did he say what pack he’s from?” I asked.
“He said a name” Ford said. “Uh… It started with a J… or a T”
Those letters don’t even sound similar. How could he get them mixed up? I really need to learn how to be more patient. “Try to remember Ford. Was it a J or a T?” I urged.
Ford had a thoughtful expression on his face before he sighed. “I can’t remember!” he shouted, his eyes filling with tears.
“Close your eyes Ford” Dr. Young said. After calming down, Ford obeyed and laid back down on the bed with his eyes shut. “I want you to think about what happened. What did the men look like? Where was Anna? Imagine the situation in your mind”
I watched as Ford’s eyeballs moved from beneath his eyelids. ‘What’s happening?’ I asked Dr. Young through the mind-link.
‘He’s reliving it. It will help him remember’ he explained.
Ford’s eyes burst open and he shot up. “I remember!” he shouted. “He said Alpha Thomas. Alpha Thomas Ian” Ford exclaimed.
“Who the hell is Al-”
Dr. Young cut me off. “Are you sure?” he asked Ford.
Ford nodded his head. “He said ‘tell the Royal Pack that Alpha Thomas Ian has the future Queen.’ And… And….” Ford trailed off.
“What else did he say?” Dr. Young questioned.
“If we want her back, we have to go get her” Ford said quietly.
“Okay. Thank you for helping us Ford. You can rest now” Dr. Young said to my mate’s brother, then turned to me. “Alpha, a moment?”
I nodded and we walked out of Ford’s hospital room. I led the counselor into my office and we sat down. “Would you like to explain what happened in there?” I asked.
Dr. Young nodded. “Thomas Ian was an Alpha. He lost his pack and his territory” he informed me.
“What pack?” I asked.
“Forest Wanderer and Hollow Moon”
My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “He had two packs?” I wondered.
“Yes. He mated with the Alpha’s daughter from Hollow Moon. They combined their packs”
“How did he lose his pack and territory?” I voiced my thoughts.
“Ian and the Alpha’s daughter had mates. Ian’ mate was pregnant. When the two Alpha’s mated, they killed their mates and the unborn child” Dr. Young explained.
They killed their mates? The pain is that strong that it could literally kill someone. And I did that to Anna. I didn’t fully mate with Gabriella, but Anna still felt it. And the pain could have killed her.
I could’ve killed her. I shook the thought out of my head and focused. “Why would they take Anna?” I asked.
Dr. Young is a counselor and one of the wisest men in my pack. He knows almost everything, and he can strategize . He is a very important pack-member.
“I have no idea. I don’t understand why the Royal Pack would even have an interest in your mate, other than the fact that she is with the future Queen”
“Anna isn’t with the Queen” I told Dr. Young with a sigh. “She is the future Queen”
“Her parents died?” Dr. Young asked.
I nodded. “She saw their bodies. Then she went into a coma. Which is why I was absent the past few weeks” I explained.
“Well, at least she had you. It would have been a lot harder without her mate” he mused.
“What do you mean?” I questioned.
“She saw her parents dead bodies. If that’s not trauma, then I don’t know what is. She went into a coma, so it is more than likely that she has PTSD” Dr. Young stated.
I sighed. “I still don’t understand what that has to do with me” I mused.
“She needed you to get her strength back. When did she wake up from her coma?”
“A few days ago, but she fainted yesterday” I informed him.
“She hasn’t regained her full strength. She is fully healed, but her wolf isn’t. She shouldn’t be under any stress, or it could harm her wolf” he stated.
So Anna is okay, but her wolf isn’t. How’s that even possible? A person and their wolf are connected. They share feelings, physical and emotional. And I hurt her. I put her under stress. And if her wolf is hurt, can that still hurt Anna?
“What happens if she’s emotionally unstable?” I voiced my thoughts.
“Can you feel it?” Dr. Young asked.
“We haven’t completed the mate bond, but I know that when she was still here, she wasn’t exactly relaxed” I answered vaguely.
Dr. Young sighed. “Judging from the fact that she was in a coma and fainted yesterday, her wolf is extremely weak. Any more stress or trauma can potentially kill her wolf” he informed me.
“What?!” I exclaimed. “Can that kill Anna?” I asked.
“I’m not sure. But we need to find her” Dr. Young stated.
I ran my hand down my face and sighed. “How? We only have a name. And he doesn’t even have territory anymore”
Dr. Young thought it over before answering. “He wanted Ford to tell the Royal Pack. The Alpha must know where Ian is, or at least have some kind of lead” he suggested.
I nodded. “I’ll call Alpha Garfield”