Amber

I was carried through the forest by the intimidating beast who had been holding me captive now for hours. The sun had reached its zenith and was moving downwards again by the time we reached what could be considered anything resembling civilization, a scattering of modest dwellings. The grey-eyed beast carried me down the main road.

Though I could not see anyone looking, I could feel the gazes of the other beasts on me. No doubt they were wondering who the strange woman was who was being carried through their town by their alpha. Or maybe they knew and just thought me pathetic.

We continued on until we rounded a corner and a larger building stretched up before me. It was plain, but it reminded me of the hunters' main offices. I wondered if they would figure out I had been taken by werewolves. I wondered if they would come after me if they did know. I wondered if I would even want them to.

It would probably be better for me to stay here and be eaten by wolves than to fall back into Jasper's grasping hands.

He strode up to the building and through the front doors as if he owned the place. Perhaps he did, with the way he had been controlling the other werewolves.

We were watched by a couple of people as he carried me down the hall and then down a flight of stairs. A turn, another hall, a cell, and then I was placed on a narrow cot.

I understood I had reached my final destination. From here, they would shut me behind the cold iron bars and do what they wanted with me.

The beast shifted on the cot behind me and my wrists were finally released from their bindings. My fingers pricked as proper circulation returned. He got up, walked to the door of the cell, and shut me inside with a resounding clank.

—————

I was left to wait and wonder what they were going to do with me. My fingers eventually stopped tingling. My ankle still throbbed. There was still a gag on my mouth and I could obviously take it off, but was it a test to see if I would comply with their orders?

I left it on. Better to bear the mild discomfort than to risk possible wrath.

My wait was quickly over. Footsteps came down the hall towards my cell. A werewolf stood there, his black hair wavy and one strand of it was falling towards his eyes. He reminded me a bit of the one who had carried me the final leg of the journey.

I noticed he had a folded chair under one arm and using the other he opened the door to my cell and walked inside. He set it down a short distance away from me and sat down facing me. He looked me over quizzically as if he was trying to figure me out. "You can take off the gag."

I pulled it down.

"What's your name?"

"Amber."

"I'm Oliver."

I waited to see what he would say next and kept my gaze lowered.

"Let me see your ankle."

I held my breath while I extended my leg towards him. He peeled off my shoe and sock. It hurt and I flinched.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's fine."

My ankle was rather discoloured. Wouldn't have been able to cover this one up with makeup.

"Hmm. I'll get Doc to look at it."

I did not argue. I didn't want to see anyone, but what did it matter? I had no choice here, any more than I had with the hunters.

"Well, I'm going to ask you some questions and I hope you answer without a fight so that we don't have to use harsher measures."

I nodded.

"What are the hunters planning?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"No."

"Would you tell me if you did?"

I considered. I didn't care about the Lyndons, I didn't care much about the other adult hunters, but I did not want to see the hunter children harmed. But even then, I did not owe them anything. "Yes."

"Really?"

"Probably," I squeaked.

"Where do they keep the prisoners?"

I thought about it. "I don't know. Maybe the centre of the town, if they have any?"

"Where are the other hunter bases located besides your own?"

"I don't know," I confessed, hoping that they weren't going to start trying to beat information out of me that I did not have.

Oliver went on and on asking me for detailed information about the hunters, but I had little information besides what I picked up at meetings, generalized glorified nonsense. I was sure it was not going to be much help. I was torn between relief and dismay at the arrival of another person, presumably a werewolf.

He looked to be about in his early thirties and smiled a dazzling white smile at me as he entered the room, carrying a bag in his hand. I tore my eyes away. What were they going to do to me?

"Hey, Doc."

Doc? Oh, please, not a doctor. Going to my checkups with the hunters had been pure torture. The doctors there hadn't been especially cruel or anything, but I hated needles and there always seemed to be some booster or supplement I needed.

"Amber, I'm here to check out that ankle of yours. He came closer to the bed and I forced myself not to scramble away. I wanted to scream and hit them but there was no way I was getting out of here by fighting them. I needed to be cautious.

He took my foot and I did not fight him, moving it back and forth painfully and asking what hurt.

"It's just a sprain," he finally concluded. "I'll wrap it and stay off of it until it gets better. Keep it elevated"

He turned to my werewolf interrogator. "I'll send her down some crutches, Oliver."

"Great," he agreed, and turned back to me. "I need you to give me some useful information, Amber. If someone else comes to talk to you, it's not going to be so easy on you."

I shook my head helplessly.

"I'm sorry then, Amber." He left the room, taking the chair with him.

The bars of my new prison shut behind him with a terrible clang.

—————

It felt like forever, but also not long enough before someone came. To my surprise they only brought me food and crutches. I wasn't sure why I needed crutches since I was probably going to be in here longer than my ankle took to heal.

I ate what I was given, hoping that there wasn't anything bad in it. It tasted fine, some sort of thick meaty soup. I put the bowl on the tray and hobbled over with one of the crutches to set it neatly at the entrance of my prison.

My wait was not long after I finished. More footsteps sounded, probably someone coming to take my tray, but a second later I realized it was the grey eyed brute who had carried me here.

The sense of authority was thick and cloying and I shrunk back away from him, hoping he would decide I was scared enough without actually harming me.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked, his voice gravelly and stern. He held himself like a man with authority. I would have to tread carefully with this one.

"The alpha?" I asked.

"That's right. And I'm going to ask you for the answers you would not give."

The door of my cage opened again with an ear piercing shriek, and I winced. I remembered Oliver's words. He was here not to be easy on me like Oliver had.

"I want to know what you know, Huntress."

"I don't know anything you'd want to know," I pleaded, hoping that he would believe me. Or maybe they were like Mrs. Lyndon or the boys and would hurt me no matter what I had to say about it.

"I don't believe that."

"It's the truth. I'm sorry, I'm useless to you."

I glanced at his face long enough to see the muscle tick in his jaw and I swallowed hard.

"What's your position among the hunters?"

"Servant." That was sort of true, right?

He did not look convinced. "You expect me to believe that when you're wearing their uniform?"

"There was a meeting I—we all had to attend."

"What was it about?"

"Just general stuff, kind of like a rally to raise spirits, I think. He did talk a lot about coming victories against the supernatural world, but it was not anything specific."

"What do they have planned for the wolves?"

"Well, probably to destroy them, I guess. I think that's always the plan?"

He inhaled deeply and I could practically feel his fury in the air around me. My heart pounded. I usually acted more afraid than I was, but there was no need to pretend right now. Would he beat me? Torture me? Kill me?

The silence stretched between us. My hands were shaking.

Finally, he broke the silence. "What did you do there?"

"I told you, I was a—"

"I'm aware of that. Who did you work for? What were your tasks?"

"I worked for the Lyndons, cooking, cleaning, that sort of thing."

"Who was the hunter you were with?"

I had a flash of memory of Jasper pawing at me and hurting me. That was the worst thing any of them had done to me and it was only purest luck that I had escaped as unscathed as I had. In a convoluted way, being abducted by werewolves had actually saved me—at least in the short term. My throat constricted, but I managed to croak out, "Jasper. He's the eldest Lyndon son."

"He was the eldest Lyndon son."