Finding The Alpha

Chapter Four:

Shane:

"We're all afraid of something," the ice cold voice crackled through the speakers on the fading grey walls. I was in some sort of room, tied to a chair and no matter how many times I struggled against the bonds, they wouldn't budge. There was a metaphor in there somewhere. I had no idea where I was, the last thing I could remember before waking up here was the scent of Skylar’s blood as she fell to the floor in our brand new house. That was supposed to be our fresh start, the journey of our new life beginning and it had been taken away from us. The anger I felt from losing that made my muscles tense and strain even harder against the savage bonds that trapped me but they still wouldn’t budge.

My black hair hung limp in front of me, drenched in blood and sweat. Every so often, great, muscly men would come in, whip me, throttle me and prod at me. Like I was some sort of animal. The room was dull and dreary, I didn't even know where the door was to gain access. My chair was placed in the middle of the room, a large black grate covered the whole floor and floodlights lit the room, the walls were a solid grey, wet with condensation, on every wall, right in the middle there was a large black hole that seemed to suck all the hope from the room.

"I'm not afraid of anything," I spat, keeping my head low. It was bullshit. I was shirtless and the only thing covering my body was a pair of tight denim shorts, my feet were bloodied and scarred, they ached from lack of use. I was scared of one thing and one thing only. I was terrified of losing her. The thought used to keep me awake at night as I stroked her hair as she fell asleep. She was mine and I was damn well going to make sure I got the hell out of here and back into her arms once again.

"I think you're lying to me," the voice sung. Skylar's face. Her voice. Her laugh. The only thing capable of stopping me from slaughtering everyone in this forsaken building. I was holding on for her, she was my priority and she shouldn't have to live with the fact that I'd wasted human life for nothing.

She'd hate me for it and that was the one thing I couldn't live with.

"I don't give a s**t what you think," I shouted. I could feel the blood rushing to my head so I threw it back and grinned manically. I would get out of here, and these people would pay for what they'd done to me. What they were doing to Skylar. I hoped, yearned, desperately lusted for her to not be hurt. I knew it was impossible but I hoped, more than I’d ever hoped for anything in my entire life, that something had gone wrong when they’d captured her and that by some miracle she’d managed to escape. I also hoped that they hadn’t laid a single finger on her, because if I found out that she had been harmed in any way, I would kill every single person in this place.

"Wrong answer," the voice boomed. The sound of clanking metal filled the room and from above I heard the sound of rushing water. I looked up just as ice cold water was forced out from the circular black opening above me. The water cocooned itself around my body, flowing into every crevice of my skin, invading me, freezing me to the core. There was a metaphor in there somewhere, too.

"There are some new rules, Shane. Every time you disappoint, or aggravate me, Skylar will pay the price. Starting from now." The deep, gravelly voice sounded smug yet desperate. Nonetheless, my head shot straight up to the speaker, I could feel my blood boiling despite the iciness from the freezing water that had just drenched me.

"No!" I shouted, the words forcing their way out of my mouth. My eyes were turning dark and my fangs were at a precarious risk of elongating. "Please! No! Not her!" I bet I looked pathetic to them, dark eyes, soaking naked body, pleading for the life of a girl; another animal to them. I bet they were all taking pictures right now, laughing over a cup of tea. I dreaded to think of that voice giving out the order for someone to hurt Skylar, I couldn’t take it.

Screw them, screw them all. Screw waiting. I was getting out of here, I was saving Skylar and making sure she'd never leave my side again, not for anything. I would protect her with my life. Throw myself in front of the bullet every single time. I let my fury go, burning with ferocity in the air around me. My muscles tensed and pulled against the rope. I heard the twang as I finally broke free from my bonds.

I held back the primal wolf, for to let him free would leave disastrous consequences for anyone in the next room, including myself. I let forth a inhumane snarl, my face scrunching up, passion and anger fused together. My love for Skylar, my hate for these people. Kicking the chair to the other side of the room, I scoured the edges of the walls, banging on them. "Open the door and face me, you cowards!" I shouted.

I waited. Silence. Nothing stirred, not a sound was heard. Then, in the corner of my eye, I could make out a disturbance in the air, presumably that was where the door was located. Even if it wasn’t, I had nothing to lose by trying. I leaped over the fallen chair, and barrelled into the steel wall. Time froze as my body plummeted through the wall, rogue pieces of plaster flying everywhere. I let out a low howl as hairs erupted on my arms, I was mid shift – not quite wolf and not fully human. My veins were growing dark, my fangs had elongated and my claws had come out yet I had not fully turned. I was too preoccupied with finding Skylar to wonder why I couldn’t shift.

I landed on my feet in the next room. Darkness encased me, but the green lights from the many consoles attached to the walls glowed and hummed. Computer screens lined the walls and they showed a black and white image of the cell I had been kept in. The consoles were filled with flashing lights and multicoloured buttons. The steel, racked floor beneath me dug into my feet, but I didn't care. All that mattered was her.

My dark eyes scanned the ominous scene before me. I sniffed the air heavily, my chest moving up and down faster than ever before. My blood gushing, my heart pumping. My body, alive. I was waking up to senses I'd never had before. My whole life was taking on a new definition. Only she mattered.

I would find her.

I would stare into her mesmerising green eyes, pull her close to me and watch silently as the life flowed out of her. The knife, which I would hold in my hand, bringing to her the silent hand of death.

There was various shadows in the dark room, some sat at the consoles staying as still as they possibly could. I sense a line of shoulders pointing guns at me, they all stunk of fear apart from the man who stood in front on them all, he stunk of pride and resentment.

"My soldier," a cold voice announced – the same voice that had boomed through the speakers in my holding chamber. "You are ready." A man, walked slowly out of the darkness, at first a body. No one of any significance, but then... As he stepped closer I could see the lines of wrinkles on his face, the way his jaw was set. The rags he once wore were gone, replaced by the sheer greyness of a uniform.

Shiny black boots, encasing his legs. A black cap, the words 'leader' engraved in gold. A salute, to me. A cold smile and an offer to shake his calloused hand. Smooth skin and a lanky figure, eyes older than he actually was – there was only one person he could be.

I stepped forwards, reached out my hand and grabbed his. "Hello, Derek," I said as we shook hands.

"Soldier." He nodded. "What are your instructions?"

This was a test, I was the test subject and the tested. I struggled to keep a hold of myself, not wanting to utter the words that screamed in my head. "A murder."

He grinned, turned around and spoke aloud: "the drugs have worked. His mind has been warped, the bond between Shane and Skylar has been twisted. Instead of love, he feels nothing but a pure, burning desire of hatred towards her. Every fantasy of them kissing, making love or even hugging turns into a scenario of death. Her death. We have done what no one has ever attempted before. The chemicals that influence their bond have been corrupted and manipulated, these creatures will destroy themselves once we are finished."

Applause came from all around. A spark of pride ignited inside of me, and although every single cell inside of me fought it off, I engulfed it. I was proud. I would kill her. She was mine.

"I am ready," I announced. There were two sides of me, one lusting for her death, one lusting for his death. Whatever Derek had done to me, he had done strong and good. Any thought of Skylar evoked a huge amount of passion to hunt, kill and eat her. Yet somewhere deep within me, I struggled against this thought, I was fighting a battle within myself and I was losing.

Behind me, a waft of cold air hit me. Bright, white light entered and blinded me. Turning around, I saw that I had been given my freedom back. Every nerve stood on end, I must do the deed.

"Kill her," that voice. "And bring me back her corpse."

Everything inside of me screamed no. I would rather be stuck in that room, enduring every type of torture than to feel like this. I would rather anything but this, anything but my body moving, picking up speed and running towards the outcrop above me to complete my mission.

Entering the bitter cold air felt good, I stopped for several seconds, closed my eyes and just enjoyed the taste, the sense and the smell of freedom, of fresh air. There was nothing more liberating than nature. Whatever plague Derek had infected me with was quickly working its way throughout my whole body and I was struggling to stay awake in a body that was constantly fighting against my every will and command. I couldn’t see a way out of this.

Unless… I thought. As I was right now, I was useless to Skylar, there wasn’t anything that could stop me from doing what I really didn’t want to do to her. Apart from death.

If I could regain control for even a few seconds, I could stop whatever was happening to me, if you killed the host, you killed the disease too. It was desperate and probably illogical, and with time then perhaps I could have found another way to stop this killing machine, but time was one thing I was seriously lacking and if killing myself was the only way that I could protect her then I would do it every single time without a doubt.

As my body started to move again, my eyes opened. The frigid air whizzed around me as little snowflakes began to fall to the ground. We were on a mountain, the facility I had been held in was concealed in a large mountain, its top covered with a blanket of snow. The perfect disguise.

The mountain was a lone one, perhaps so that no one felt the need to climb it. As I looked down all I could see was a white haze, there was nothing in the distance that I could make out. I didn’t know how high up the mountain was but judging by the pressure in my ears, it was quite a far way up.

This was the perfect opportunity, if I could just take back control for a few mere seconds, I could throw myself off the mountain top and save not only Skylar’s life, but my own sanity and destroy any status Derek had gained through this unholy affair. He was also a werewolf so why was he doing this? He knew that the mate bond was the most sacred right of werewolves, the most sacred belief and yet he was tampering with it and working with a group of humans nonetheless.

As my body began to move towards the edge of the cliff, presumably to start the descent down the mountain, I concentrated all of my thoughts and efforts on moving my right hand. Slowly, yet surely, my right hand started to twitch and move up towards my face. My body growled in response and my hand froze halfway to my face, quivering as if it was battling itself – which it was.

This was my body and it sure as hell would respond to my command and my will. I would not let an imposter take over my identity.

Next, I concentrated hard on making my left foot take a step forwards and then my right foot, and again, and again until I was on the edge of the mountain. I hesitated, feeling sick at what I was about to do. An image of Skylar flashed in my mind. I could feel the poison within me fighting back and the moment of hesitation I let myself feel was all it needed in order to force me to the back and take control for itself.

No, I grumbled, straining to push myself back into control. My body stepped back from the mountain edge, as if I was doing a dance out in the open like a mad man. It seemed that my moment of weakness had ruined my chances at stopping the other half of me that wanted to destroy the woman I loved. No matter how hard Ii tried, the poison that flourished through my veins only grew stronger and stronger until I felt myself growing weaker and further away from my body.

It was as if I was getting small and smaller whilst the poison grew larger and larger, I had missed my only chance and resistance was now futile, I had lost the battle that had taken place inside my body.

I felt myself blink out, like a light had been switched out – there was only one thing I was sure of… I would find Skylar and I would kill her.