The Midnight Foxxx

Chapter 20

VIXEN

Everything is hazy and fuzzy. My mind feels like it’s swimming in mud with no idea which way is up. Limbs don’t seem to respond to my commands, they’re sluggish and feel like deadweight. When my eyes finally crack open, light burns my eyes and quickly squeeze them shut.

“Finally awake?” A deep voice rumbles somewhere behind me. A shutter runs down my spine.

“You with me or still high out of your mind?” The voice sounds disinterested. I try opening my eyes again, slowly this time. There’s a bright light hanging directly above me. Sharp pain strikes my skull as the harsh lighting hits my retinas. A groan slips past my lips as I force myself to sit up. My back aches, the muscles stiff from lying on the cold hard floor. There’s movement behind me, the rustling of clothes. I turn my head and peek over my shoulder at the man behind me. My blood runs cold when I see Alpha Maddox Drake looking back at me. Memories of the past couple of hours slowly start coming back.

“f**k,” I whisper. The Alpha smirks.

“Yeah. ‘f**k’,” he says smugly. I scoot myself to the far back corner of the cell and bring my knees to my chest.

“I want answers,” the Alpha leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees. I glare at him out of the corner of my eye, refusing to face him directly.

“Not gunna talk?” he taunts at me. I can’t help the smirk that curls my lips.

“What’s so funny?” His voice has a hint of a growl to it now, clearing getting frustrated.

“Why would I tell you anything when I'm going to wind up dead anyway?” At that I turn my head the other way, resting it on my knees.

“Who said I was going to kill you?” The Alpha asks.

“I’m not stupid,” I sigh.

“If you’re really screwed like you say, might as well tell me, right?” The persuasion is a nice try, but still refuse to talk. The chair loudly clatters on the floor when the Alpha abruptly stands up, shoving the chair back and knocking it over.

“Why were you sent after Wilder?” He’s mad now, the energy wafting off him in waves makes the hairs on my arms stand on end. I pull my knees closer to my chest.

“Answer me!” The command slams into me, the force of it knocking the breath out of my lungs. The urge to comply is overbearing, but I bite my tongue and slap a hand over my mouth. The Alpha growls behind me and slams a fist against the metal bars. They groan under the force.

“He f*****g deserves more than what he got,” I say under my breath.

“The f**k did you say?” The Alpha snarls. I finally turn my head to look him in the eyes.

“That piece of s**t deserved SO much worse than what I gave,” venom drips from my words.

“He’s crippled because of you. He doesn’t have one of his f*****g hands, and now he may never be able to talk again,” Everything comes screeching to a halt.

“Wait… he’s still alive?” A mean smile stretches across his handsome face.

“Oh, you thought you killed him?” he asks tauntingly.

“s**t!” I run fingers through my hair anxiously and hide my face in my knees.

“Your little games are-“

“If you’re going to kill me, just f*****g do it and get it over with,” the large male looks stunned, then confused.

“What? Is this some kind of joke to you?” he snarls.

“If he finds out I failed again… death would be so much better than going back to face him,” I mumble into my legs.

“Who’s ‘he’?” The Alpha tries to pry.

“I can’t,” I shake my head.

“What is he going to do to you if he finds out?” His eyes are looking directly into mine, but they don’t give anything away.

“What is he going to do to you?” he asks again.

“Why the f**k do you care?” I bite back.

“Maybe we can strike a deal,” he offers. I can’t help but laugh, though the look he gives tells me he’s dead serious.

“Like I would trust you,” I scoff, rolling my eyes.

“You clearly don’t like your employer. So why do you work for him?” The Alpha presses on, unfazed by my attitude. The collar around my neck suddenly feels heavy. My fingers run along the leather that digs uncomfortably into my throat absentmindedly.

“You don’t have a choice, do you?” Rubies meet emeralds. His face remains stoic and neutral, “What’s he got over you?”

“My soul,” I say simply, and the shocked expression on his face makes me smile half-heartedly.

“Why did he send you after Wilder?” I roll my eyes at him.

“I’ve already shared more than I should have,” this conversation is starting to become tiresome.

“Does he drug you often?” My breath hitches, “To make you obedient?” I refuse to look him in the eyes, instead finding the concrete wall more interesting.

“Our doctor said you were close to an overdose with how much he gave you,” he continues.

“Yeah,” I mumble, “often enough.”

“You’re a shifter. A coyote,” It’s a statement, not a question. I shift uncomfortably and choose not to acknowledge him.

“You don’t smell like one, and I’ve never seen you shift. Why?” His eyes burn holes into me as he stares. I turn my body to face the wall more, my back to the Alpha. There’s a loud frustrated sigh behind me.

“I’m trying to be diplomatic here,” the Alpha’s voice softens, ”I’m getting the impression you didn’t want to hurt anyone, but didn’t have a choice.”

“I didn’t care about any of the others, but Wilder? He’s the only one I wanted to kill. I took great joy in making him bleed. That bastard deserves a slow and painful death,” venom drips from my words. Maybe a smarter person would of kept their mouth shut, but the Alpha, acting like his precious Gamma is sweet and innocent, sets my blood on fire. The snarl I receive in response is so deep I can feel it in my chest.

“Watch your f*****g mouth,” he warns. I meet his gaze and hold eye contact, challenging him. The large muscled chest heaves as he takes deep, steadying breaths. We stay there for a long time, unmoving. The loud creak of a door being opened startles both of us out of our stand-off.

“Madds?” a male voice calls out.

“Yeah,” the Alpha grunts. The large blonde walks up to the cell next to Maddox.

“Oh good she’s awake,” there’s an awkward silence, neither the Alpha nor I speak.

“She talking?” He asks and Maddox only gives a nod in response, “Alright… well, anyway, I just want to update you on Wilder.” They step away from my cell to talk in private. They’re whispering, and I can’t make out what they’re saying. I notice the door the blonde entered through is cracked open. The two males have their backs to me and the opening. Idiots. I try a small illumination spell. It’s weak from the lingering wolfsbane in my system, but should be able manage a small teleport. I peak over at the two men again who are still deep in conversation. It’s now or never.

It’s a bit sloppy but make it to the other side without alerting the other two in the room. I creep to the door and slip through the small crack. On the other side is a set of stairs leading up. The first step is taken slowly, waiting to see if the old wood will creak or make any type of noise. By some miracle, it doesn’t. I take the next step with a little more confidence, though my legs are still a little weak and tremble under my weight. The ascent up the stairs feels like an eternity, and at the top of them is another door. It's unlocked. I peak through the door cautiously before fully opening it. There's no one in sight.

"f**k!" the Alpha roars from below. I quickly push through the door, then slam it closed and turn the dead bolt. Heavy footsteps come stomping up the stairs. I'm not sure if the door is strong enough to keep two large shifters contained, and I don't want to stick around the find out.