Crossing Boundaries

Chapter 3 - Prisoner

I wake up feeling my head throbbing. Well, my head and everything else. Stupid Felix, stupid Hellwood pack and stupid, STUPID Chase. I sit up straight, looking around. I'm in a small room, resting on a bed with white covers. The room has scarce furniture: just a side table, a cupboard that looks like it would struggle to fit a pair of socks in, and the bed. There are two doors. One of them has to be an escape route. I climb out of the bed, ignoring the throbbing pain that fills my body and rush to one of the doors. It opens to a bathroom. Groaning, I head to the other door but it is locked.

"Come on!" I groan, trying to pull and push like my life depends on it. Which it actually does. The door finally gives way, making me overly excited.

"What exactly are you doing?" Chase chuckles. I step back, stumbling over my feet. Seriously, my butt is probably black by now.

"I was... I was... I was trying to..." I say, trying to think of something that wouldn't make me end up dead.

"Trying to escape?" he laughs, walking towards me.

"N... no" I say as he comes to stand in front of me. He grasps my arm, pulling me to my feet.

"Sure you weren't" he laughs, stretching out the first word.

"What do you want from me?"

"Haven't decided yet" he grins. He places his other hand around my arm, lifting me up as if I weigh nothing. Which to him, I probably feel like a feather.

"Let me go" I say, glaring at him.

He places me onto the bed, petting my head, much to my complete annoyance.

"Stay" he says, putting so much force into that word that it makes me actually think of complying with his demand. I nod slowly, making him smile once more.

"Humans are so easy" he chuckles, making me scowl.

"Go get yourself cleaned up" he says, heading over to the cupboard.

"Why?" I say, slowly getting off of the bed.

"You have to go meet the alpha."

My blood turns cold when he utters those words.

"Wha – what?"

"You have to go meet the alpha" he repeats, turning around. He holds up a t-shirt that looks like I'd drown in it and throws it at me. "Wear this," he says, tossing it to me.

"Why do I... do I have to meet the alpha?" I stutter, clasping onto the shirt as if it would somehow protect me.

"Because you're a prisoner?"

I take a deep breath, trying not to start crying. So it is official: I am a prisoner. A captive. Soon to be dead.

"Come on, get dressed" he sighs.

"Why can't I just stay in what I'm wearing?" I ask, knowing that the shirt will feel like I am wearing a tent. That same smirk appears as before, and he folds his arms. "You sure you want to?"

"Yes, of course. It's my..." As I glance down, I realise I'm in my underwear. My freaking underwear!

"What the hell!?" I yell, trying to cover my body with my arms. "Where's, where's my dress!?"

He shrugs, making my blood boil. "Where's my clothes!?" I snap.

"Left it at the boundary" he answers, as if it is the most normal thing in the world.

"Why!?"

"It was dirty and carried your pack's scent," he says. "Now get dressed, or do you want to meet the pack in your underwear?"

I shake my head, quickly getting dressed. It slips off my shoulders and falls to mid-thigh, but it is better than nothing. I look up, seeing Chase staring at me.

"What?" I frown, not liking the way he looks at me. He walks towards me, so I move to sit on the bed to get further away from him. He wraps an arm around my waist, and I am thrown over his shoulder.

"Let me go!" I scream, kicking at nothing but air.

"Calm down, human" he chuckles, the nickname getting on my nerves. I could deal with squirrel girl, Kiddo and various other names, none of which ever implied I was unable to shift. I stop kicking, folding my arms in anger.

I am placed on the bathroom sink. Still with my arms folded, I turn my face away from him. I swear I look like a toddler throwing a silent tantrum, but at the moment I don't care.

"Hey, what's going on?" Chase asks, trying to catch my gaze. I close my eyes, leaning into that toddler-tantrum vibe.

"Human?" he tries, probably not knowing my name.

I jump off the sink, moving past him toward the open door.

"Hey! Come on, what's going on?" he says, stepping to stand in front of the door.

This is silly. All so silly...

I try to get past him, but he rests both hands on my shoulders, leaning down so he looks me in the eyes. He inspects me as if I am a piece of art.

"What did I do? I mean, I know I undressed you and took you away from your pack, but you still talked to me then. Why are you like this now?"

I try to pull away from him, but he doesn't budge.

"The only way you're getting out of this is if you talk to me" he says. When I don't respond, he does the same thing he had done in the woods. His lips touch mine, making my eyes go wide. Slowly I close them, sinking into the kiss as if it were a drug. His lips are soft, beautifully sculpted to fit mine. Before I remember that I'm actually supposed to push him away, he leans back once more, a smirk on his face.

I probably look like a deer in headlights.

"Are you going to talk now?" he asks, grinning. I only stare at him, making his smile widen. I quickly change my facial expression to a scowl and shake my head. Chase groans, irritation evident in his eyes. "Fine, if you're not going to talk," he says, lifting me up like he did before — by the arms. He sets me back on the sink, staying as close to me as he always does. This guy clearly doesn't know anything about personal space. "Clean yourself up. Try and look presentable," he says. "There's a brush in the cupboard along with dental supplies and whatever else you'll need."

He moves away from me, heading to the door. It shuts, and I stare at it as I hear the familiar click of a lock.

Oh no... Rushing towards it, I try and push and pull, but nope. I'm locked in a bathroom.

Of all the things, I'm locked in a bathroom. I look around. The bathroom is almost as big as my room and has all the essentials: toilet, shower, actually a bathtub, sink and a window.

A window!

I rush towards it, excitement coursing through my veins. The window opens easily; it is probably too small for anyone else to get through.

And too high...

I am on the third floor of what looks like a real mansion surrounded by trees. Trees, my safe haven. My way to escape.

I push the window open wider, my eyes locked on the branch a foot away from me. I've jumped further than that. I wasn't called squirrel for nothing.

Once my feet are outside, I breathe in the taste of freedom and grab hold of the branch.

Time to get back to where I belong.