An Unwavering Promise--Completed

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Eleanor’s POV

There were 270 tiles that made up the ceiling. I knew this because I counted every single one of them. Three times. I had to make sure. If I was committed to counting them the first time, then I might as well do an exceptional job by ensuring that I had the exact number. Why bother putting effort into something if I couldn’t see it through until the end?

I thought it was day three. It felt like it could be day three. Time meant nothing. I had tried to count the minutes and hours passing, but had lost track after I’d fallen asleep for the first time. I had never known boredom such as this in my entire life. The room I was kept in was bare. Everything was white. Hospital white. My sweatshirt and sweatpants. The walls. The cot. The sheets. Even the bland food. I was losing my mind. I knew it. Mr. Smith knew it. The guards that cuffed me to the wall to ensure I couldn’t attack them knew it too.

It was an effective process. I knew exactly what Mr. Smith was doing. He wanted information from me, so he was making my life hell until he got it. Every day, I received promises of freedom, money, whatever I wanted. All I had to do was divulge all the information I had about the dragons to him. It was a simple exchange. But, I had made a promise. I had attempted to help Mr. Smith understand this by explaining why I would tell him nothing and that he should just let me go. However, he was relentless and unshakable in his decision to detain me until I gave him what he wanted. He had cut all contact with Alexander and with Rae to force me to cave. I hadn’t spoken to either since I first realized I was stuck in this tiny, white room.

Alexander had entered the room with Mr. Smith. He looked ashamed of himself and pleaded with me through his eyes to not give in. He was also in handcuffs when they brought him in. He was wearing an identical outfit. I assumed that they were doing the same to him as they were me. Mr. Smith was using our love for one another to cause one of us to give in. But, Alexander’s look was all I needed to see to know that neither of us could do such a thing.

The real question I had was why Mr. Smith wanted the information so badly. Why treat us this way instead of milking us for information through other means? There had to be something bigger at play here that I had first anticipated. Another question that irked me was why they were treated Alexander in the same manner. He was a trusted agent, wasn’t he? He had been working for this agency for years and had dedicated his life to it. Nothing was adding up, and I only had time on my hands to contemplate these unanswerable queries.

Footsteps down the hall sounded, letting me know that my daily visit from Mr. Smith had arrived. I sighed before swinging my legs over the edge of the cot. I decided to not cause trouble today. I was already tired of Mr. Smith’s lectures. Walking over to the wall, I pressed my arms against it just as the lock turned and the door swung open. Mr. Smith’s smirk greeted me.

“Ah. Following directions before we even have to ask, I see. You’re learning from past mistakes,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t have the energy for your patronizing today. Just get on with it. Ask me the questions in rapid fire, wait the five minutes as I stay silent, then threaten violence before ultimately locking me back up.”

“You certainly know the routine, don’t you?”

“You’re the first to lock me up, nor are you the scariest. So, let’s just get on with it.”

Mr. Smith eyed me as he walked in. The two guards he brought then approached me and chained me to the wall. The silver barely stung anymore. My brain was already pushing the pain to the recesses of my mind. I was numb to it all already.

“You know, in the file the agency keeps on you, I expected you to be much more of a fighter. You seemed feistier in the file. I’m rather disappointed in this lackluster version of the great Alpha Eleanor,” he began.

“I don’t care. It’s not my job to impress you.”

Mr. Smith chuckled. “Hmm. There it is. But only a small dose. It comes out in bits. I’d like to get more out of you.”

I shrugged and remained quiet.

“You have lived a most interesting life for the past year, but I can’t help noticing that the best parts are left undocumented. Tell me about the gap in my notes. Tell me about the dragons.”

“No.”

“You said earlier that I would only threaten you with violence. Do you not think I'm capable of inflicting it?” he then asked with a raised eyebrow.

Scrutinizing the man in front of me, I saw how he was trying to bait me. His tactic was obvious. He wanted my information but was unsure about how to get it from me. He had first tried to be kind and gentle; however, he was now realizing that it wasn’t going to work. Now, he was gauging my reaction about actually getting tortured. My response would tell him to proceed or not.

“Since every damned fool has a file on me, you’ll have already known that I’ve been tortured before. Do your worst. If I die, my knowledge dies with me. I’ll have done my duty to keep my word. It makes no difference to me if I die doing what I said I would. It’s rather amusing to me that you think you’re so tough and menacing. I’ve seen true horror. I’ve experienced it. Nothing compares to it,” I snapped.

“Is that so? Well, I suppose I’ll have to give it my best shot,” Mr. Smith grinned.

With a nod of his head, the guards promptly unlocked the handcuffs and backed out of the room. My arms dropped to my sides, and I watched as they locked the door behind them, shutting me inside the white room once again. They did not leave a tray of food this time. I frowned, wondering what he meant.

I climbed back onto the cot and laid on my back. Hunger was gnawing at my stomach, and I did my best to ignore it. I began counting the tiles again until my eyes closed on their own accord.

Several loud bangs on my door roused me from my slumber. I turned my head to see Alexander burst in. He looked frazzled.

“Let’s go! We have to go now!” he shouted in a whisper.

“What?” I asked, still groggy.

Pulling my arm, he half carried and half dragged me to the door. “We don’t have time to stall. We’re getting out of here.”

“What? How?”

At this point, my feet were acting on their own accord. My body was responding before my mind even had a chance to catch up. We were out of the room in a flash and were now running down a mundane hallway. Nondescript doors were on either side of us as we ran towards the end of the hallway.

“Where are we going?” I hissed.

“Just trust me. I’m getting us out of here.”

We then stopped in front of a door. Alexander tried the handle, and surprising both of us, it opened.

“How did you get out of your room?” I asked as we stepped into the new room.

Alexander quickly closed the door and looked around the room. It was also pretty bare. There was another door in the corner, a two-seater couch, a desk, and a chair. My mate went straight for the desk and began rifling through the contents.

“Alex. Tell me how you got out,” I demanded.

“Ella, I know people. I work here. One of the guards helped me escape. You didn’t tell them about the dragons, right?”

“Of course not,” I said, watching him closely. “A guard actually helped you out?”

“Well, yeah. What does it look like?” he said with an exasperated look.

“What are you searching for?”

A small smile graced his face as he pulled out a white keycard. “This,” he said proudly. “This is how we’re going to leave the building.”

He then gestured over to the door, waved the key card over the scanner, and we heard a click sound. Alexander opened the door into yet another hallway.

“Wait, if you needed a key card to open the door, why was the room unlocked? We didn’t need a key card to enter this room.”

“Why does that matter?” he asked.

“Because it doesn’t add up. This place is designed to confuse those who aren’t used to it, so why would a door be open for just anyone to get inside?”

“s**t,” a voice said behind me. “You make a good point.”

I turned around and saw Mr. Smith’s smug face. Frowning, I whipped my head back to ask Alexander what was happening, but he wasn’t there.

“Let’s try this again,” Mr. Smith said before everything went black again.

Several loud bangs on my door roused me from my slumber. I turned my head to see Alexander burst in. He looked frazzled.