Winterlust (COMPLETE)

Training or Torture?

Violet

Violet is exhausted and freezing cold. Elder Davis won’t let her get dressed or have any water. The lights have been blaring for twenty hours, and her eyes even feel puffy.

“Call your Alpha”, Elder Davis says as he begins a new round of torment, “I want you to stop him from coming through that door with your mind.” What? “I don’t know how to do that”, she whispers. Whack! “Use your mind, child. Call him now”. Whack!

Violet links Travis, “Come quickly!” Then she begins to imagine a large silver barrier falling across the door. She imagines it in great detail, the braces and its’ hinges. Within minutes they hear Travis turn the handle to the door. “Light the handle on fire in your mind”, Davis prompts her. Violet imagines a burst of flames coming from the handle, and Travis on the other side. Travis tries again at the handle and they hear him yelp. They hear him begin to kick the door, “Violet!”, he’s screaming. “I’m coming!” Travis assaults the door from the other side and dents are pushing through. “Good”, Davis nods affirmatively. “This exercise is over, go back to what you were doing!”, he hollers.

“Bring me the girl”, Davis says darkly to Owen. Owen’s eyes widen in horror and he shakes his head. Whack! “BRING ME THE GIRL!”, he booms. Owen’s eyes glaze over and flip to black momentarily. He nods and then lands in his chair in a slump. “Remove the barriers at the door”, he demands. Violet is crying softly as she nods. “Leave”, he commands Owen. Hesitantly, Owen stands and makes his way out the door.

Vanessa

What’s this? Beta Owen wants to see me in the prison. Vanessa practically skips her way down to the basement. When she enters, Owen is standing in the hall looking dejected. He points toward the door. Now Vanessa is a bit anxious. “Now”, he commands in his Beta voice. Vanessa steps into the prison and Owen slams and locks it from the outside. Yikes. To her delight however, she spies Violet dangling from silver shackles, naked and crying. Vanessa feels positively giddy as she struts into the room.

“She can’t harm you”, Elder Davis says softly from inside the cell. Vanessa looks at the Elder and back to Violet. “I have subdued your competition. She will no longer stand in your way of having your Alpha”, the Elder says with a smirk. Vanessa ponders the scene before her for a moment. She looks like sh*t, it must be true. She has cuts and bruises on her. Sweet.

Vanessa throws her shoulders back and prances right up to the cell door. “What do you think now, Miss Wannabe Luna? You can’t stop me from in there”, Vanessa grins evilly. She rears back and spits on Violet, catching her on the chin. Violet’s head snaps up and her eyes are black with gold rings.

A cold feeling comes over Vanessa and she tries to step back, but it’s like she’s frozen in place. She can’t move or breathe. Violet’s eyes flash and the window behind Vanessa shatters, raining broken glass down on top of her. There’s a free standing mirror nearby and it begins to rattle. The room begins to rattle and the floor underneath Vanessa begins to quake, knocking her off balance. She lands on the floor with a thud, still frozen in place. Her body slowly begins to rotate and slide toward the cell door. She’s pressed up against it as the building rattles so hard that dirt and rock fall from the walls and ceiling.

Vanessa feels every fibre of her body begin to squeeze, like being clenched inside a giant fist. Her eyes widen and just as she feels like she’s about to pass out, the Elder shouts “Stop now, Violet!” Violet’s eyes flick back to brown and Vanessa feels her entire body release. The room is still as she sputters and coughs for air, gasping and choking. Vanessa gets up and makes a run for the door but Owen stops her. “You’ll be staying here for a while”, he tells her.

“Now you will heal her cuts from the glass”, Elder Davis tells Violet firmly.

Travis

Owen has assured him that it was all part of the training, but Travis can’t believe that Violet is alright down there. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he strokes his chin. Suddenly, the whole room begins to tremble and the pictures begin to rattle on the wall. What the… Travis tries to leave his room to see what’s going on, but the guards are back at his door, shaking their heads solemnly.

Travis has a sudden rush of anger surge through him and he understands that Violet is angry. Very, VERY angry. Ooohhhhhh.

Violet

Violet now needs to multitask by keeping Ellie locked up and healing Vanessa from a distance. She feels good. Strong.

“Tell us about the rogue”, Elder Davis says to Vanessa. Vanessa shakes her head, whimpering. “If you don’t tell me right now, Violet will kill you”, Davis warns her. Violet imagines Vanessa’s left leg snapping underneath her and Vanessa cries out in agony. “Okay, okay! I’ll tell you!”, Vanessa shouts. “He’s my mate. I’ve marked him but won’t allow him to mark me. We planned to subdue Travis and for my mate to take over the pack”, Vanessa says softly without making eye contact.

“Do nothing, Violet”, Elder Davis warns. Violet is so angry, she can barely think straight. What? This b*tch needs to pay! “I’m warning you, Violet. Do nothing.” Violet wrestles with her emotions and with Ellie. “Squeeze her just a bit”, Ellie teases in the back of Violet’s mind. Violet imagines squeezing Vanessa, and Vanessa begins to whimper. “You will stop NOW!”, Davis hollers. Whack! Violet releases her hold on Vanessa.

“You have more important work to do”, Davis says in a low voice, “Find your father in your mind”. Violet closes her eyes, she’s dangerously close to sleep. She concentrates on remembering the voice from her dreams.

Suddenly a vision of hundreds of marching wolves appears in her mind. “Hello Princess”, the evil voice pokes through. “I’ve been waiting for you”. Not sure how to respond, Violet stays quiet. “That’s right, Princess. Daddy’s coming and you should be afraid”.

Violet gasps as her eyes fly open. “How long?”, Elder Davis asks her. “Three days, maybe four”. “Good. You’re almost done. Now break free from your chains.” “You can’t be serious”, Violet groans. “Do you want me to bring Vanessa in here?” Davis asks with one eyebrow raised.

Violet heaves a massive sigh and shuts her eyes. She begins to tug and jerk on the chains. “No. Melt them off”, Elder Davis commands. Violet stops and is silent for a whole ten minutes until the chains start to glow red and shake. “Harder!” Davis yells. Owen rushes up to the door of the cell, “You’re doing it! Come on Violet! You’re doing it!”

Violet clenches her teeth together and balls up her fists so hard that her nails cut into her. “Aaaaaaaaagh!”, she bellows and the silver shatters, freeing her. Violet collapses to the ground and Owen starts fumbling for the key. “Not yet”, Davis waves his hand. “Are you kidding me right now? Look at all she’s done!”, Owen asks incredulously. “One more, Violet. You’re doing great.”

Violet barely has the energy to raise her head. Still, she nods. “Owen, I want you to tell Travis what Vanessa has done via mind link. Violet, you are to put a bubble of protection around her”. Vanessa has been silent, watching Violet’s training in awe. Her eyes look pleadingly at Violet.

Within minutes, Travis comes racing into the prison. “Is this another false alarm?”, he asks. When he steps into the prison and sees Violet, he howls and runs for her cell. “No. Not until you deal with Vanessa”, Elder Davis says firmly. Travis gapes at him, and then at Vanessa and back to Davis. Finally he nods and orders Owen to open Vanessa’s cell. Vanessa begins to scream. As suddenly as she begins, Violet clamps Vanessa’s mouth so she doesn’t have to hear her banshee holler. Elder Davis claps his hands and laughs, “Wonderful job, Violet!”

Travis attempts to take a step inside the cell but he bounces back as if he hit a trampoline. “Again”, Davis commands. Travis runs full tilt at the doorway and bounces back again with much more force. “Try, Travis. Owen, please help him. Try again with everything you have”

Travis and Owen try to bite, claw, kick and jump their way in to Vanessa’s cell to no avail. “Violet, drop the shield”, Davis says in a raspy voice. Violet drops the shield and Travis lunges into the cell with a roar.