8_Delivery From Darkwood
1411 Words
Nia POV
I sit motionless on the narrow cot, my bruised wrists resting in my lap, doing my breathing exercises when footsteps come my way.
I do not have to wonder who it is – it will be Dean. He has been visiting me daily, taunting and torturing me. I swear, I would have been dead by now if it were not for the warriors stopping him every time. Honestly, I am so tired of the beatings that I have been hoping that he would kill me.
Today will not be any different. It has been four days since he last beat me, and my wounds healed just enough so he can beat me again.
My cell door swings open and Dean leans against the frame, a smirk spreading across his face.
"Well, look at that," he drawls.
"A whole week since your eighteenth birthday," he clicks his tongue. "And still no wolf."
I ignore him and stare at the floor – he hates it when I show no emotion. Of course, he just beats me harder, but hey, I take every little victory I can get. I refuse to give him the satisfaction of breaking me.
"That's got to be embarrassing," he continues, his grin widening. "I mean, every child in this pack spends years dreaming about the day their wolf emerges, and then there's you."
He grabs my chin painfully hard and forces me to look at him.
"Eighteen years old and absolutely nothing," he says, his eyes glittering with cruel amusement. “Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd think the Moon Goddess herself was making a point."
I grind my teeth and look down when he lets go of my chin. I do not want him to see my pain. I am acutely aware that my wolf did not emerge on my birthday. I was counting on her appearance to escape this hellhole, but now … now I can only hope that the orphanage had my birthday wrong. Maybe it is in a month or two. I still might get my wolf.
"It serves you right," Dean interrupts my thoughts. “For killing Leonard. This is your punishment from the Goddess."
I can hardly refrain from rolling my eyes. Seriously, he has been beating that drum consistently for a year, and I am bored. He is going to praise Leonard, and then he is going to exercise his fists on me, and then I can finally have peace … until tomorrow.
"But none of that matters anymore," he says, surprising me, and I look at him.
"What do you mean?" I ask, and a strange chill creeps down my spine. Has Alpha Daniel pardoned me? Or … did he change his mind and sentence me to death?
"Warriors," Dean calls, and two large men immediately appear. “Shave her head and prepare her for transport.”
“What?” I blink. Why must they shave my head to transport me? Am I getting the electric chair?
“You heard me,” he grunts as the warriors take my arms and pin me into a chair.
“Wait,” I say, fighting against their hold. “I demand to see Alpha Daniel.”
“Didn’t you hear?” Dean hisses, leaning closer to my face, his eyes cold and emotionless. “The Alpha’s too sick to see anyone."
His words make my blood turn to ice, and I instinctively know something is wrong. Alpha Daniel is the only reason why I am still alive. Goddess knows what Dean will do to me if something happens to him. But … the warriors gossip all day every day, and I know exactly what is happening. Nobody has mentioned anything about Daniel being sick. Dean is lying about something, but I do not know which part.
“Shave her,” Dean orders again as he steps away from me and walks away.
Declan POV
“Declan,” Adam says as he storms into my office. Once Adam heard what happened to me, he insisted on joining me at the border. “Delivery from Darkwood.”
“What?” I frown, looking up from the report I was typing. “At this hour? It’s almost midnight.”
“You heard me right,” Adam nods.
“I didn’t order anything,” I frown. “Are you sure it’s not a trap?”
“Positive,” he confirms with a nod. “It’s our men, and they said Dean sent you a gift.”
“Right,” I roll my eyes, reach into my desk, and retrieve my mask.
“You should call the bomb squad,” I say sarcastically, putting on my mask to cover my scars. “I wouldn’t put it past Dean to send an ‘explosive’ gift.”
I do not wait for Adam’s reply and walk past him, through the worn-down packhouse to the waiting truck. Two warriors from Darkwood walk towards us, a tiny figure dressed in a black robe like a monk, between them. With the person’s head bowed, I cannot see if it is a man, woman or even human. All I can see is a pair of naked, dirty feet.
“What’s this?” I bark, motioning to the figure.
“Your gift,” a warrior replies, pushing the figure towards me. “Dean thought you might be lonely.”
I grind my teeth and ball my fists to control my emotions. Since I have walked out of that hospital, my anger has been simmering at the surface constantly, and it does not take much for me to lose control.
“Take it back,” I snap. “I’m not interested in anything from Dean.”
“With all due respect,” the warrior says, and I do not miss the sympathetic glance towards the figure. “I do believe it’s in everyone’s best interests if you accept it.”
“Is that a threat?” I growl.
“No, no,” the warrior shakes his head. “It’s about … humanity.”
I stare at them for so long that they start shuffling uncomfortably. Humanity? I get the sense that there is something they want to say but cannot - either out of fear or loyalty.
Why would I care about the fate of this pathetic person? More importantly, why would Dean send me a gift?
“What’s Dean up to?” I ask directly. “Travelling here at night is suicide.”
“Honestly, we don’t know,” the warrior replies sincerely. “We’re only following orders, and Dean was adamant about the hour.”
I grind my teeth as I look at the trembling figure in front of me. Dammit, I do not have time for this. I have vampires to kill and Elize to find. Dean is up to something, and worse, he is risking lives to accomplish it.
“Did you encounter any vampires on your way here?” I ask.
“No, sir,” the warrior answers, shuffling uncomfortably. “We … uhm, kind of went against Dean’s orders and took precautions.”
“I shifted and stood guard on the back,” the other warrior admits. “Dean specifically told us not to, but after seeing the first vamp, I decided to take matters into my own hands.”
“Dean specifically instructed you to travel at night and not to shift?” I ask, frowning.
“Yes, sir,” the reply at the same time.
“But sir,” the second one continues. “If you want to report to Dean that we defied his orders, please tell him it was just me. There’s no need for Fred here to end up in the dungeon for something I did.”
Flabbergasted, I stare at the warriors. What the hell is going on in Darkwood? Dad would never imprison warriors for staying safe. This is all Dean, that bastard.
“You two will stay here,” I say firmly. “I’ll inform Dean that you’re safe and staying the night on my orders.”
“Thank you, sir,” they nod.
“Adam,” I call, and he is instantly at my side. “Show these men to a room on the first floor.
“And,” I continue, pointing towards the figure. “Take care of this. There’s room in the basement.”
“Yes, sir,” he replies, and I turn around and walk away.
- Writer
