Chapter 86.
Chapter Sixty: Echoes of Captivity
Phera POV:
Consciousness greets me not as a friend, but as an adversary, dragging me back to a reality I’m not ready to face. Disorientation is the first sensation that washes over me, followed closely by a dull, pervasive ache centred around a burning on my neck. It’s a cruel reminder of the last moments before darkness claimed me: the ambush, the struggle, and the sharp, unexpected pain of acid. Crap! Even thinking about it wants me to curl in a corner and hide.
Blinking against the dim lighting, take in my surroundings with a growing sense of dread. The world has shrunk to the confines of a cold, merciless cage, its bars as unyielding as the reality I’m forced to confront. F*ck! How’d I get here and by who? This isn’t just a physical trap; it’s a mental one, designed to break spirits as much as bodies.
utside my prison, the room stretches, shadows clinging to its orners like spectres. There’s nothing familiar about this place, nothing comforting to latch onto. It’s a void, a space devoid of warmth, of life, of the pack, of my mates who no doubt probably know by now that I had royally f*cked up. The realisation that I’m utterly alone, cut off from my mates, from my people, sends
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a fresh wave of panic coursing through me.
Desperately, I reach out with my mind, seeking the comforting presence of the triplets, Nate, anyone at this ponit, but the attempt fizzles out, stifled by the lingering poison in my system. Wolfsbane, the silent thief of my strength, has robbed me not just of my physical capabilities but of the deep, intrinsic connection to my wolf. The isolation is complete, a chasm that yawns wide and threatening, filled with the echoes of my own fears.
Grabbing hold of the bars of this sickening cage I test the limits of my prison, fingers eurling around the cold metal, pulling with a strength that feels as if it’s been syphoned off, leaving me weak, vulnerable. The lock mocks me with its silent presence, a symbol of my current impotence.
The sound of approaching footsteps tears me from my reverie, heart hammering against my ribcage, a desperate drumbeat in the quiet of my cage. My body tenses, every instinct screaming to fight, to defend, but the wolfsbane coursing through me renders my efforts futile, my body uncooperative. F*ck! This is bad! Really bad! I just had to stay alive. I knew the triplets would come but I needed to be smart right now.
e door creaks open, admitting a figure shrouded in the ambiguity of backlight. I strain against the dimness, trying to make out features, to find something recognizable in the silhouette that now holds my fate in their hands. But the face that emerges from the shadows is a cipher, an unknown variable that adds a new layer of fear to my already fraught
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“Witcheremy My voice, though weak, carries the weight of my dafianos willingness to succumb to the terror that seeks Tolentine
The strangerestopsys just outside my reach, a smirk playing across his banditenturuseththat are unfamiliar, yet undeniably hostile EvereththuaighHavave no clue who the hell the guy is, for some reasomit’st’ssas vevecseeh him. He’s tall maybe around six feet and three inchese heses ad muscular as an alpha but not just there. His olivevskikarahdadark brown eyes hold so much anger that I’m surprised stilatati shivering.
“Someone who’s been warning atong time for this moment,” he replies, his voice a cold/cacabeshtitatesends shivers down my spine.
His words are cryptic, his presendagaraarenigma, but the intent behind his gaze is clear and chilling.aramaiot just a random Nictim; bam here for a reasonpla payawin in a game whose rules I danot know Shit, could this be thechthird party Josh was talking bbout?
heecaeet the room, the stranger reachcis is oipiece of a puzzle I’m Scarbring to solve, each mornentnhataicksksyby a precious esources shipping through my fingers. Bullaveven as despair seeks saakeeboida a spark of sormething derceren rotetes within meNo way in meelwould leet this as*hole win. justnesseded to keep hirmaking and stay alive. The triplets wordd and me.
The man’s presence fills the cramped space, his silhouette a dark smudge against the sparse fight filtering through the dirty.
windows. Despite my situation, abger bubbles inside me,
pushing against the lethargy imposed by the wolfsbane. I won’t show fear, not to him.
“Who are you?” I demand again, injecting as much authority into my
voice as I can muster from my weakened state. “What do you want from me?”
He chuckles, a sound devoid of any real amusement, more a display of scorn.
“Oh, Phera, always so direct. Always playing the fearless leader, even when you’re literally in a cage.”
His words sting, but I refuse to let him see that.
“If you know so much about me, then you know I won’t be intimidated by a coward who hides in the shadows.”
The stranger leans forward, and the dim light catches his face, revealing a smirk that doesn’t reach his cold eyes.
intimidated? No, I wouldn’t say that. But you should be aware, Luna. Your pack, your precious mates, they’re scrambling. Financial ruin, physical threats, you name it. And here you are, caught like a lamb ready for slaughter.”
My heart skips, not from fear, but from the mention of my pack, my family.
“You’re lying.” I spit out, despite the seed of doubt that plants itself in my mind. The financial struggles, the physical threats-it could all be part of his game, but the precision of his words
unnerves me.
He laughs again, a sound that echoes mockingly around the stark room.
“Lying? Oh no, Luna. If anything, I’m more informed than you are right now. Your pack is on the brink, vulnerable. And you, their Luna, are here with me. Quite the predicament, wouldn’t you say?”
Anger flares, hot and fierce, battling the cold dread that tries to take hold.
“You won’t get away with this,” I say, my voice stronger, fueled by the rising fire within. “My pack, my mates, they are stronger than you think. And they will come for me.”
The man straightens, his amusement seemingly fading as he regards me with a calculating gaze.
Perhaps, but time is on my side, Phera. Every moment you’re here, is a moment your pack flounders. How long do you think they can last without their guiding light? Without their Luna?”
His words are meant to unnerve, to unsettle, but they also ignite something within me-a resolve, à determination that hardens my spine and sharpens my focus
“You underestimate them, and you underestimate me,” I counter, my voice steady despite the turmoil inside. “We are bound by more than just duty or blood. We are bound by a bond that you could never understand.
The stranger studies me for a moment longer, his smirk returning as if he finds my defiance amusing.
“Brave words, Luna. We shall see how long they sustain you here.” With that, he turns, leaving me alone once again, but not defeated.
As his footsteps fade, I take a deep, steadying breath. This man, whoever he is, holds the keys to my cage, but not to my spirit. My pack, my mates, they are my strength, and with or without a direct link to them, I draw on the bond we share, a silent vow that no cage, no poison, can break. The room feels smaller, the darkness more oppressive, but within me, a light flickers stubbornly, refusing to be extinguished.
