Heart Of Stone. [Book 1]

Chapter 2 Half My Soul

Hearing Mercury tell me she was the other half of my soul only made me think this all had to be a dream or maybe another nightmare. Wouldn't be my first, far from it really she thought sadly. This had to be my brains way of playing another sick joke of hope on me. Hope of an end to my dark existence, hope to wake up and not be forever alone. And most importantly the hope that the last 10 years just never happened. All that wishful thinking had grown smaller with each passing day waking to the stone walls of my never ending nightmare. Shaking her head Layna needed to wake up. Surely a quick slap or pinch will snap her out of all this.

"please don't, i assure you that you are not dreaming. Layna, we don't have much time before you wake up. I've seen your memories i know you are suffering. But you will never again be alone. As im half your soul we share a mind. I know that you were taken before you were told but you have to believe me when i tell you, you are a werewolf." Seeing my sudden head shake of disbelief she stopped me from speaking before i could object.

"Layna i know this is a lot but i need you to trust me so we can get you back home. Now that your 18 and we've merged, our mate will sense us and come looking. I sense that the men holding you are human. But they must know of what we are. They will hide you from our mate and we must escape before they do."

Mate? What? "I don't understand Mercury, im already hidden. If you've seen my memories then you know I've been locked away for years. And what or who is a mate? I don't get any of this. A werewolf? That's insane. I cant be im just.... me".

"I will explain everything i promise you. But right now i need you to listen. When you wake up ill be there. I need you to do exactly what i tell you to do. We must get out before they move us. Even if what i tell you seems impossible, trust me and know that I am here to protect you and keep you safe." Terrified but willing to try Layna nodded in acceptance, unable to speak her fear. If she woke alone her heart wouldn't survive the disappointment. Mercury bowed her head and walked toward her. Layna stepped back unsure of what was happening.

"its ok Layna trust me"

Standing her ground she watched as Mercury got closer. Wow she really is beautiful. Much bigger then she realized. Standing over a foot taller the Layna. Wide eyed she watched Mercury lower her massive head, touched her snout just over Layna's heart then disappear onto her chest. All the warmth that had wrapped around her whole body now centered into her chest, warming her from the core. In her mind Mercury spoke.

"My soul to yours and yours to mine together we are bound. Never will you be cold and alone. Never will i leave your side. Two halves now made whole."

With a flash of light the darkness began to fade, just then Layna heard another voice.

"Be blessed my daughter".

Waking Layna sat up. Her vision blurry, she tried to rub her eyes to clear them, only to find she couldn't move her hand far. Looking down she saw large thick chains wrapped around her wrists. Glancing at her feet she saw the same chains at her ankles. Panic set in. She had never been restrained before. Pulling at the chains frantically she felt a sudden burn start at her ankles and wrist. Which only scared her more.

"Calm Layna, its ok. Those are silver chains and it burns werewolfs. Don't struggle it will only cause more damage and weaken us both. Calm down and check our surroundings"

Hearing Mercury's voice was a huge relief. She actually wasn't alone. It wasn't all a dream.

Calming her panic Layna looked around. She was still in her stone cell, nothing changed save for the chains restricting her movements. Her books still stacked neatly by her mat. Standing she tested the limits of her chains. She couldnt go more then maybe three feet. Morning light from the window showed that the chains were bolted to the floor rather then embedded like the water spout in the far wall.

"Those bolts and anchor are not silver we should be able to break those."

Mercury's observation had Layna testing the metal. Moving slowly to not cause the chains to burn her more, Layna gripped the anchor and tugged not feeling any burning. Layna got a better grip and pulled. The bolts moved a bit but not enough to break. Seeing that it just might be possible, Layna sat down planted her feet against the wall for leverage gripped the anchor again and pulled with all her strength. For a few seconds nothing happened. Then with a loud crack the anchor tore from the wall and Layna fell back. Holding the anchor up she saw it bent in half and the bolts shattered. With a new perspective of her strength Layna set after the next one. Repeating the process she freed herself from the wall. The chains will just have to wait till she could remove them without hurting herself.

"Well done Layna. Our strength is 20x that of a human. Soon we will discover all the great things we are capable of. But for now. its time to go. The humans may have heard everything and may be coming. Now look up to the window set high in the wall. Climb up to it and just like the anchor pull the bars from the wall."

Layna suddenly had flash backs of the many times she had tried and failed to reach that window. The bruises and cuts she has gotten from the fall back to the floor. Sensing her doubt Mercury assured her this time she would not fail.

"Get a running start Layna use the walls to push yourself high enough to reach it. Brace yourself though you can jump higher then you think now. With your new strength comes agility. Now Go!"

Backing up to the far wall Layna braced herself. Running the short distance Layna jumped up pushed herself off the side wall and up to the window seal. Gripping it tightly, Layna glanced down in shock. I did it. I cant believe it. Suddenly she could hear footsteps pounding her way. Sounded like a lot of her captures were coming for her.

"Layna now, we are out of time!" Shaking off her terror Layna grabbed the metal bars and began pulling them from the stone. Three down, two to go. As the last bar cleared the stone. Her cell door bust open. Four men stood there shocked. "How did she break free?" one of them shouted. Another grabbed for the gun at his waist, swinged it up to aim it at her head, but another man knocked it from his hand.

"Are you insane the boss wants her alive! Grab her now!" All four rushed forward. Layna looked out the window and noticed she had to be at least two floors up. What now?

"Layna Jump!" No! I'll never make that! Panicked this was all for nothing she looked back seeing the men jumping to get to her.

"Trust me you will make it remember what i said we are capable of great things. Now jump!"

Terrified but with no other option Layna jumped. She expected to crash to the ground, breaking her body completely. But to her surprise she landed easily on her feet absorbing the impact perfectly. Shocked she stood frozen for a second. Thankfully Mercury snapped her back quickly.

"RUN!" so she ran. Gathering her short chains she took off. Layna never looked back. She flew toward the tree line ahead. Seeing the dense forest ahead gave hope that she could lose any of her followers and just maybe get out of this place once and for all.

After running for what felt like hours Layna began to grow tired. She had already been surprised at how long she could run for. But Mercury had assured her that our stamina was extremely high. And we could run long distances before growing tired. Layna slowed and stood quietly. Rubbing at the burns the chains were making at her ankles and wrist. Looking around she listened for anyone following her. But she heard nothing but the soft chirps from the birds high in the trees. The soft pads of forest animals roaming the woods. She stood for awhile closing her eyes and just breathed in the air. The smells of grass and wood. The faint sweet aroma of wild flowers floating on the breeze that blew through the trees. To be outside again after 10 years of dark and dirty walls. To feel the fresh air on her face Layna let her tears fall. "Thank you, thank you so much Mercury. I never imagined id ever see the world again. I had given up on hope."

"We did this together Layna, I will always be here for you." Smiling Layna began to walk through the woods hopeful for the first time in so long. After a couple more hours Layna stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten in who knows how long. Unsure of how to find anything to eat in the middle of the woods, she asked Mercury.

"What are we going to do about food?"

"Stand still Layna, close your eyes and feel the forest. What do you hear?" Listening carefully Layna could hear water running in the distance. A lake maybe or river? Turning a bit to her left she followed the sounds of water. After a few minutes she came to a wide but shallow river. She watched as fish swam back and forth. Now what?

"Catch one..." What? how? "Use your speed to catch one. It wont be amazing but it will sustain us till we can find help" Just then Layna's stomach growled louder and Layna shrugging her shoulders set to work. At first it seemed impossible, just as she would get close to a fish it would slip right through her hands. The chains continued to get in the way. She slipped over rocks and landed on her butt multiple times. All the while Mercury giving her words of encouragement. Refusing to give up and starve she kept trying. By the time she was victorious she was soaking wet head to toe. Water pouring from her hair and clothes but she smiled none the less and made her way out of the river. Sitting down at the edge of the river she contemplated how to eat the fish. A twig snapping behind her made her drop the fish and spin around. There stood a man, dark hair cut short on the sides and combed back on the top. He was huge atleast 6'2". Handsome face with a almost perfect jaw.Tight black shirt streched over broad shoulders and muscled arms. Black jeans hung low on his hips. Dark blue eyes steady and deadly leveled at her. Terrified that the men from her prison had caught up to her. Layna's heart sped up contemplating to run or try and fight her way out.

"Don't move." He ordered, His voice deep and commanding. She could sense something coming from him, almost a force pressing into her. "I wont hurt you but you need to be calm". Taking a step back Layna watched as he came down the bank of the river toward her. As he landed on the river edge Layna turned and ran. "Wait!" No this cant be happening, i thought i had gone far enough, though i had for sure lost anyone following me. I would not go back to that cell alive. Now that i had tasted freedom i didnt want to lose it all again.

Mercury was saying something but i couldn't hear her over the pounding of my heart and the panic racing through my veins. Layna ran but she could hear his footsteps pounding closer and closer behind her. Oh God no please! i cant go back. She tried to move faster but he grabbed her arm, tucking herself in she hoped to roll them over and break free. But she only ended up pinned to the ground. She fought and screamed at him. Slashing her nails across his face. She tried to swing her chains into his head but failed as he gripped her arms. "Im not going to hurt you. Calm down!" "No, i wont go back! You will have to kill me. Im never going back" she screamed as loud as she could in his face. Tears streamed down her face as she tried again to break free. He only wrapped is arms and legs around her tighter. She realized more men were coming up on them. She was horribly outnumbered. "Please i don't want to hurt you" he spoke slowly. His face inches from her own. The look on his face flashed with pain. Almost as if he was hurt to see her like this. But no that's impossible. Her captures had never had a problem watching her suffer before. They had left her alone and terrified for years. She bucked against him, screaming as loud as she could. He seemed to see she wasn't going to give up. He looked at one of the men near by and nodded his head. She watched as the man drew what looked like a needle from his pocket and came toward her. Shaking in terror she began to beg. "Please don't! Please i cant go back. Just kill me, anything but the darkness!" Shaking her head back and forth. The man held her head to the side and plunged the needle into her neck. This was it. She was going to be dragged back and she couldn't do anything about it. Sobbing she reached out to Mercury. "Help me please. You promised you would keep me safe. Help me!"

Mercury's response before whatever they pumped into her took over shocked Layna.

"Its okay Layna he's not going to hurt us. He's our mate". The darkness took over her sight and again she fell into oblivion.