•Ryder's POV•

"Absolutely not!" I growl and step in front of Mara in a defensive manner.

Cam shrugs, "Fine, Torah?" He looks to her.

She smirks and moves to suffocate Mandy.

"Wait!" Mara screams.

Cam holds up his hand to Torah and she rolls her eyes as she loosens her grip a little.

I turn to look at Mara.

"You're not going to kill her." She says, her voice strong.

Cam laughs, "And why not."

"Because I said so." She replies.

"Aw, I don't have to take orders from you. You're nothing but a weak little human." He replies.

In a flash, Mara is in front of him with her hand clasped around his neck. The smirk completely wiped off his face now.

I step forward but pause when I hear her speak.

"You've hurt everything I care about Cam. My friends, my family, my mate. You think you're just the most unstoppable thing ever, making people's lives hell and getting revenge on something you did." She sneers.

Cam gasps, "Y-your eyes."

I know that Snow is starting to take control just from the sound of Mara's voice, but now her eyes are starting to change and that's bad.

"Don't you have anything to say Cam?" She asks.

He just smirks again, which vanishes soon after Mara tightens her grip on his neck.

"I regret nothing." He replies.

"Not even killing Claire?" She asks.

His face shows pure anger as he blows air out of his nose.

"I mean, you obviously care about her. Or should I say, cared?" She cocks her head.

Before I can even see what's happening Cam twists her around and holds her arm behind her back in a painful position, the crowd around us gasps.

"You say one more thing about her and I will kill you." He says harshly.

"What's stopping you then?" Mara cringes in pain.

I shake from seeing her in pain, my hands ball into fists and I start approaching them.

"Because I need you Mara, you're perfect for me." He replies.

"Get you're hands off my mate now." I demand, getting very close now.

Cam looks up and me and smirks, "As we speak Alpha, I have a giant pack of rouges surrounding us right now, make one bad move and they attack."

I try to mind-link Mara, but I can't get through.

"Wondering why you can't mind-link?" Cam asks.

"I knew you had something to do with it!" I growl.

He chuckles, "I have my ways. Now, I hate to be a party pooper, but I must be off."

"You're not going anywhere with her." I feel Caleb take control.

"Follow me and she dies. Goodbye Ryder." He smirks and starts to turn around.

I catch Mara's eye and she changes her eye colour to her tiger ones, giving me a nod. I pick it up as a silent message. She has an advantage that Cam will never see coming, she wants me to trust her and that's exactly what I'm going to do.

•Mara's POV•

I've been blindfolded for what feels like the last two hours, I have no idea where we're going but I guess that's exactly what Cam wants.

I was glad when Ryder didn't come after me, he obviously got my message. I didn't want the pack to be attacked, there were too many women and children there and I think Ryder knew that too.

I feel myself going down and realise that we are descending down an elevator. When we stop, we come out and I hear something like metal-against-metal and then I'm pushed forward and thrown to the ground.

"Did I not tell you to be careful with her you idiot!" I hear Cam's voice boom.

Footsteps approach me and someone takes off my blindfold, my eyes don't really have to adjust to the light, since there isn't much down hear.

Cam appears in front of me and caresses my cheek, "You need to stay here for a while beautiful, but once it's more safe I'll let you out."

"I can go home?" I ask.

He frowns, "No, you'll stay here with me and we will become mates, happily living our lives together."

"You're sick." I hiss.

"And you're fiesty, but you'll calm down, you just need to learn." He says and walks out of the bars.

Bars?

I look around and see he's locked my in a prison cell, cement walls behind me and to my sides with old metal bars running along the front.

I run up to the bars and wrap my hands around them, "Please don't do this."

He shakes his head, "You need to learn."

"Learn what?" I ask.

He just turns around and the guard that must of thrown me in here follows after him.

"At least tell me why I can't mind-link with my mate!" I shout to Cam.

He stops and turns around, thinking about his options.

"I have been studying different types of vegetation in this area, testing the effect I could have on certain things. One plant I came across, I realised could cut off mind-link if it's used in a certain way. For about half a year, I have been inserting the plant cells into my bloodstream and any werewolf I am around instantly can't mind-link anyone, as anyone can't mind-link them." He explains.

"But why?" I ask.

He just smirks at me and walks into the elevator, disappearing behind the steel doors.

I sink to the ground and let a tear fall, this wasn't supposed to happen, he wasn't supposed to lock me away.

Now Ryder is probably just waiting for me to return and he doesn't realise that I am actually stuck here now.

"Are you okay?" I here a weak voice ask.

I look around and a girl appears in the cell in front of me, the darkness hiding her when she's near the back wall.

I check for injury and nod, "I'm fine. How long have you been in here?" I ask.

She shakes her head, "I have no idea, but it feels like a long time."

"How old were you when he took you here?" I ask.

"Sixteen." She replies.

"And you're a, werewolf?" I ask.

She nods, "Yeah."

"Did you ever meet your mate?" I ask.

She purses her lips, "That's the thing, I woke up here and couldn't remember really anything."

"That's horrible, I'm so sorry." I say.

She frowns, "Are you sure you're alright, you look a little pale?" She asks.

I blink a few times when my eye focus start going blurry, I feel light-headed and feel around the ground to make sure it's still there.

"Lay down." The girl orders.

I do as she says and rest my head on the cool ground.

"He is sick." Is the last thing I hear her say before it all goes black.

•Ryder's POV•

"It's been an hour, shouldn't she be close?" I ask as I pace around the living room.

"Give her time Ryder, she might need to figure out a plan or something." Layla replies.

"We should be there, I should be there. Why are we not doing anything?" I shout.

"Ryder, calm down." Mandy says, standing up.

"Calm down? How can I calm down when I know that my mate is out there somewhere with that son of bitch?" I yell.

"Ryder!" Mum snaps.

I look at her.

"What Mara did back there was full of courage and confidence, she put herself before the pack and that is her job. As far as Cam knows, he thinks she's human. As we've been saying for the past hour, she has an advantage over him that she can only use once and she needs time." She says.

I sigh and flop into the nearest vacent armchair, "I'm sorry, it's just my instinct to worry and I'm seriously worrying right now."

Mum sighs too, "I know hunny, but it's also your instinct to trust each other and we all trust Mara. She's strong and smart, she'll get out of there when she knows the time is right."

Everything that just came out of my mum's mouth is one hundred percent true, I just need to trust that she is doing the right thing.

Mandy's phone rings, breaking the thickening silence.

She pulls it out of her pocket and answers.

"Hello?" She asks.

"Oh, Katrina hi." She says, emphasizing her name.

We all come in closer and Mandy puts it on speaker, even though we probably could of heard it normally.

"I just called Layla's home phone and no one picked up, Mara forgot her phone and so I was wondering where you are?" Katrina asks.

That's right, Mara told her mum that she was staying at Layla's house with Mandy to have a 'girl's night'.

"Oh, Layla's parents decided to go out for dinner, just for a change." She lies.

"Can I drop it off to her? She's had multiple calls from a guy named Ryan, I didn't know if it was important or not." She replies.

"Uh, hang on a second Katrina, I'll just talk to her." Mandy says.

She covers the microphone with her hand.

"What do we do?" She asks.

"Just say that Layla's parents will come pick it up because they have to go past their house to get something on the way home. Layla drove the girls there." I say.

She nods and repeats that to Katrina.

"Alright, that works out good. Is everything okay Mandy? You sound a little panicked." Katrina says.

"Everything's fine. Layla's parents will see you soon." Mandy replies.

"Okay, bye." Katrina says.

"Goodnight." Mandy replies and hangs up.

We all let out the breath we didn't know we were holding.

"Well, I better go find mum and dad then." Layla says.

Mum stands up, "I'll get them something to change into so they look a little more casual."

I look around and realise everyones still in their formal outfits.

"I'm going to take a shower." I say and leave the room.

I go up into the bedroom that Mara was getting ready in, it still smells like her jungle scent, fresh and floral.

I see her overnight bag sitting still in the corner and I tear my eyes away from it to walk to into the en suit, when I get inside I put the clothes I grabbed on the way on top of the bench and turn on the water.

When I step into the steaming shower, I make sure it's extra hot so my mind doesn't keeping racing to her.

But that's all I can think about, only Mara.

This is all my fault, I should have done something when I first noticed her acting up.

I should have done something that night she got tied to a tree.

I should have done something when I first saw Cam.

I should have done something when she came dragging a dying Trent in her arms.

It's my fault she's gone. Gone with him, she's now in the hands of my sister's murderer.

I'm so stupid!

I feel a tear slip out of my eye but I rinse it away under the water, keeping some of my pride.

Mara's going to be fine.

I just think back to what Mum said before, making me feel a little better.

•Mara's POV•

I flutter my eyes open and push myself up slowly.

"Careful." The girl says as she eyes me causiously.

I sigh and look around, "I was hoping it was all a dream."

"Wait, you can still remember?" She asks.

I frown and nod, "Yes, everything's crystal clear. Why?" I ask.

She wraps a fragile hand around one of the metal bars, "You're not supposed to remember anything after you pass out, that's how it always happens."

"So, Cam should think that I've forgotten everything, right?" I ask.

She nods, "Yeah."

I hear a 'ding' and the sound of automatic doors opening, knowning it's the elevator, I sit up and pretend to look confused.

Cam suddenly appears in front of me, "Good morning." He smiles at me.

I frown at him, "Who are you? And why am I in a cell?"

He looks pleased and smiles, not a smirk, a smile.

"I'm Cam, you need to stay in here for a bit, just until I know it's safe. You must be hungry Mara, would you like something to eat?" He asks.

I nod, "Yes please."

He smiles again and glances at the girl in front of me, before walking back into the elevator. When I certain he and no one else is here, I lean forward to the bars.

"Are we the only ones in here?" I ask.

She nods, "Yeah, but sometimes he brings others. They don't stay long, I have no clue what he does with them, the scary part is they're always girl werewolves."

I smile, "I'm Mara Banks by the way, you are?"

She smiles back at me, probably happy to get off the topic.

"It's nice to meet you Mara." She says.

But it's the next words that catch me off guard.

"I'm Claire Jackson."

___________________________________________________________________________________

Hello!

Ugh, I have a brand new season of Vampire Diaries sitting in front of me, but I am not going to watch it until I finish my homework and this chapter.

It's actually quite annoying, procrastination is very easy for me and I do it far too often.

But I'm happy that I got this chapter up because now I'm one step closer to that lovely first episode :D

Please vote and comment!

And until next time, bye!

Thank you! xx