FERAL

She lay curled up on her side on the cold, grimy floor, naked, shaking and shivering occasionally. Her torturers were gone and she still quivered from the onslaught of their blows. Blood pulsed sluggishly through her veins and she felt the electric hum of dormant power beneath her fingertips.

Her torturers were getting careless. It'd been almost a week since her last shot of intravenous silver and she could feel the drowsy stirring of her sleeping wolf. She grimaced. Her jaw ached from being broken several times and healing far too slowly without the help of her wolf.

She took in a deep breath and perceived the sharp tang of residual silver on the torture instruments, the metallic scent of her blood, and the antiseptic smell of raw salt scattered all over every surface, the floor included. The salt served a dual purpose of burning fiendishly on her open wounds and leaving no room for infection.

Today was the day, she thought. The pack had a visitor. She'd heard from a loquacious guard saying too much. That was probably why they had been too distracted to pay much attention to her torture. A distraction that she would utilize to free herself.

Groaning, she placed her palm hard against the salted floor and pushed herself up to a slightly sitting position. The movement jangled the silver cuffs on her wrists and the smell of sizzling flesh filled the room.

Gritting her teeth, she pushed around in the back of her mind, looking for that throb of power that she so desperately needed. Her hands fisted as brute strength coursed through her, breaking her wrist cuffs with one tug. She bared her now elongated canines and morphed into some sort of wolf-human hybrid, that being the closest she could come to shifting. Her wolf-like ears twitched, listening for any signal that she was heard. When she found nothing, she proceeded to rip off the ankle cuffs that bound her feet, ignoring the silver burns on both her ankles, wrists, and paw-like hands.

Her heart beat at twice the usual rate, and adrenaline reluctantly pulsed through her veins. She could hear the bustling of the packing house above her and slowly got to her feet. She knew this place like the back of her hands. If she could somehow get out of this basement and out of the house without being seen, she was certain she could make a run for it.

Suddenly, she felt a pounding in her head, and a ringing in her ears. Her eyesight dimmed, reducing to pinpoints of focus. Her whole body shook uncontrollably and she wondered what luck had made her have an episode now. She couldn't complain though. She could only use this as a means of escape.

Doing something she had never done before, she tuned in to the strange electric hum she felt, drawing in the power. It seemed to s*ck energy right out of her environment and into her. She glowed like a fluorescent light bulb, suddenly feeling as though the months of endless torture had never happened. Using this strange power came naturally to her. She didn't need to move, only focused on what she wanted. The door blasted outwards, with the force and noise of a windstorm, crashing against the opposite wall and splintering into a million different pieces. She smiled. Her broken jaw was completely healed now and she felt no trouble with it.

Alpha Marcus was an arrogant man. He was also a pervert. It was his perverted nature that made him have his basement soundproofed. Adrienne had no doubt that the crash she had made would not be heard by the inhabitants of the floors above. Her only problem was the guards standing right outside.

She walked almost leisurely out the ruined doorway, the salt and remnants of silver not even giving more than the barest of stings on her bare, bruised feet. One of the guards was already unconscious and bleeding, no doubt as a result of her power blast. The other guard looked at her glowing body in fear. She saw his eyes begin to fog over and immediately reached out with her mind. Twisting tendrils of light shot out from her and seeped into his eyes, making them fall shut. He immediately fell with a thud, stone-cold knocked out. She stepped over him, not even blinking. Somehow, she wasn't herself, but she didn't feel possessed. This was a part of her that she'd never seen, never allowed to bloom, always suppressing it in the hopes that she wouldn't feel so alienated from the rest of the pack members. Now, it came to her rescue, where even her wolf couldn't. Her instincts led her to a barely used way that led right into the woods that she didn't even know existed. Her steps were light and swift against the rough wood floors.

All was silent and the only light in the dark passageway was from her. Now that she had time to study it somewhat, she saw that it ran in snaking tendrils like curled vines all over her skin and glowed in a bright but fading golden light. As her light faded, so did her sudden burst of strength. The passageway was long and now, she occasionally stumbled and her glow flickered with each breath. Finally, she saw a far-off light that she knew was sunlight. That seemed to give her tired body a fresh burst of hope and energy.

She staggered towards her freedom, her power supply finally out. Excruciating pain from her various wounds seemed to come back doubled.

So they weren't healed completely, she thought. They were only numbered. The ringing in her ears resumed, temporarily impairing her hearing, which was why it took her a while to actually hear the sounds of pursuit coming from far back.

They were after her.

With her last reserves of strength that shouldn't have been present, she raced through the passageway, out into the blinding light of the sun and tore through the woods at an alarming pace for someone in her condition. She heard the sounds of pursuit getting louder and continued plunging blindly into thick underbrush that grabbed at her, poking thorny fingers everywhere, and making fresh blood run.

She ran like her life depended on it - which it did, dodging little rocks in her way, and leaping over low branches that threatened to trip her. She was fast, but no match for the pursuers, who were slow, were at least healthy, and she knew that. She had to leave the packed land, and fast. They wouldn't dare follow her uninvited to another pack lands and risk getting caught. It meant she was going rogue, but she couldn't care less, as anything was better than waiting for your death painfully.

A gunshot rang out behind her and she could only gasp as a silver bullet embedded itself into a tree trunk right next to her as she sped past it. Her feet were bleeding from stepping on thorns and her vision was blurring. Finally, she ran past a line of trees and felt the lines that bound her to the pack cut loose. She was free. Not stopping to breathe, she continued her excruciating journey that was now no more than stumbling and staggering in any direction that wasn't backwards until she felt warmth under her feet. Looking down, she saw she was on granite, no longer dirt and dead leaves. A road. She swayed. The world was spinning, and spinning fast.

She heard a low hum, and the squeal of brakes. A car. The door opened and the driver rushed out, yelling in alarm. She couldn't make out the words, only saw his mouth move. She was falling. Her eyes remained open as she hit the ground, the harsh contact barely jarring her, so far gone she was. She saw a face loom over hers, one she didn't recognize, meaning he wasn't from her pack, and forced her mouth to work, even if her voice wouldn't.

"Help."

Adrienne POV

Pain. That was the first thing I noticed as I went through it. Hot, blinding pain. My limbs felt like metal and my blood pumped as sluggishly as molten lead. I heard voices talking softly but was too foggy to make out what was being said.

My lips were dry and cracked, my mouth felt drier than the Kalahari. Where am I? I tried to move my fingers and felt some sort of restraint against them. My heartbeat spiked dangerously as I struggled against them. My eyelashes felt glued together and it was with great effort that I pried them apart.

The room I was in was so blinding, I was forced to shut my eyes again and open them more slowly. White walls. Bright lights. I moved my head slowly, taking it all in. My eyes felt on a heart monitor that was beating loudly and there was an IV drip that was dripping steadily into my arm.

"You're awake", a voice said beside me. I jerked, almost twisting my neck off as my eyes fell on a woman I hadn't noticed before.

I stared.

"Hi, my name is Abbie, and I'm a pack doctor".

I kept on staring as questions raced through my head at warp speed. What pack? How did I get here? Did I get captured again? How far away am I from my old pack?

"Do you remember anything?", Abbie asked gently.

Yes, I thought. I remembered everything. Pictures began to flash, memories from before and I broke out into a cold sweat. I'm not going back to that pack. I couldn't.

She must've seen the panic on my face and the heart machine beeped even faster and she struggled to reassure me.

"Oh, don't be scared", she rushed out. "You don't have to stress your mind remembering. Just relax and focus on healing".

She frowned. "Your wounds are healing at a remarkably slow pace."

I licked my lips uncomfortably. Even my tongue wasn't good enough to wet them.

Water, I wanted to say. Instead, it came out as an undignified croak.

"Oh dear. You must be thirsty."

She hurried away from me, filled a glass with water, added a straw and brought it back to me. Sighing gratefully, I raised my head and she helped me up with her arm under my head. I sipped the liquid greedily, almost wishing the straw was gone so I could take bigger gulps. I can't remember the last time I'd had water offered to me by someone who wasn't trying to dunk my head in. The glass was almost empty when I finally took a deep breath and let the straw slide out of my mouth.

I nodded my thanks to her, but no doubt it looked like I had an epileptic seizure, I was shaking so badly.

"W..where?...", I managed to croak out.

"Where are you?", She clarified. "I'm sure you have lots of questions honey, but don't worry, they'll all be answered in good time. In the meantime, you should get some sleep".

I watched fearfully as she grabbed a needle and approached me. Gasping, I angled myself backwards as far as I could go. She paused. "I'm not going to stick this in you", she assured. "I'll just put it in the bag." She gestured to the IV bag hanging above me.

I remained tense as she carefully injected a clear liquid into the bag, immediately turning it a slight yellow. Only when she disposed of the needle did I relax, somewhat.

Whatever she put in must have had a very potent effect as, seconds later, my eyelids began to droop shut. In another second, I was sliding back into the world of unconsciousness.

***

When I woke up again, the sun was seeping through the slits in the window blinds. I noticed this quite easily because my somewhat lengthy bangs had been pushed to either side of my face. Somewhat panicky, I tossed my head fitfully until they came loose from their prison behind my ears and once again shielded my eyes.

The soft murmuring I hadn't noticed earlier stopped abruptly and I peeked out at them from under my hair.

It was a woman doctor and a male I didn't know. They were both staring at me, and for some reason, it unnerved me. Not Dr Abbie. The strange man. He had the most compelling aura, one that made me quiver when he took a step towards me. Quickly, I shut my eyes, not wanting to give myself away, but my heart rate picked up considerably.

Dr Abbie murmured something to him as he came even nearer, but I couldn't make out what she said. There was a faint ringing in my ears that grew to a steady pounding as chaos erupted in my head.

I gasped out as air seemed to escape my lungs and I fought for breath. My head seemed to be on the verge of exploding as I heard the man yelling something incomprehensible at Dr Abbie.

I felt a warm hand on me and struck out instinctively, my back arching off the hospital bed.

"Hold her down, she's getting violent!", I heard Dr Abbie scream as it registered to me that I must have struck her.

That didn't seem to matter to me though, as my limbs rebelled against all rational thoughts on my part and I continued to trash, almost delirious with the pain coursing through my veins like hlavarva.

I heard myself groan as the chaos in my brain seemed to extend to the room I was in. More voices were yelling and more hands trying to restrain me. I felt something cold and a metallic clamp on one of my wrists and it was pulled down firmly, restricting my movements. The same was done to my other wrists and ankles. Soon I could do nothing but arch off the bed. However, that was soon taken care of as a thick band found itself across my torso, effectively holding me immobile.

My eyes shot open and zeroed in on the determined but frightful gaze. Dr. Abbie or more specifically, on the needle in her hand. All my pain seemed to pale them in the realization of what she intended to do. I let out a bloodcurdling scream, jerking my head about as she approached with what I had come to see as one of my worst fears. This time, I knew there was going to be no IV bag to save me. She was going to stick it at me. I couldn't let that happen.

All of a sudden, the brute strength I had thought disappeared came rushing back and I tore my wrist, its right wrist. Before I could process what was happening, another hand shot from nowhere, holding me captive once more and stopping me from knocking the doctor to unconsciousness. The needle plunged and I let out another scream as it pierced the skin and released its contents. A screech slowly dwindled to soft moans as the drug began to take effect. I struggled to hold on to my consciousness, even as I knew it was a losing battle.

Not again.

Lucas panted as his feet pounded the treadmill below him, as he pushed himself, ignoring his aching muscles wanting it to hurt. He wanted to feel even a fraction of the pain his mate must be going through now. Not only that, he wanted to destroy everything and anything he could lay his hands on, so large was his anger. However, his office was already suffering from the aftermaths of his rage and since he could barely set a fire to the pack house in his blind rage, he decided to work it out by exercising brutally.

He'd been on this treadmill for four hours and counting, with the machine at its highest speed. If it was a mere human, they would've collapsed from the strain on their bodies, but he wasn't any mere human. He was a wolf, an alpha for that matter. The Alpha, as far as the werewolf world was concerned. He could run until he broke the damn machine.

Sweat was pouring steadily out of every one of his pores, even the ones in his feet. He'd been like this since the episode in the pack hospital. Seeing one's mate as damaged ashes were, was enough to send any wolf on a rampage to kill whosoever was responsible for their pain, let alone an Alpha as powerful as he was.

Lance, his gamma had come to check up on him but after a curt bark from his alpha, he retreated. Lucas would much rather be alone because there was no telling what he could do to anyone with his wolf so close to the surface.

"She's awake, Alpha", D.r Abbie's voice said in his head through the pack mind link.

If he wasn't so used to having people's voices in his head, he probably would've flown off the machine in startlement. He stumbled a bit but didn't reply to D.r Abbie's report. After slowing down the machine and finally getting off, he grabbed a small towel laying on a bench and wiped the sweat from his heaving body. Without stopping to grab a shirt or take a shower, he almost sprinted to the pack hospital, earning him surprised glances from his pack members who didn't know that he'd found his mate. And he intended to keep it that way. At least until his mate was well enough.

He burst into the hospital at a very high speed, startling nurses and visitors alike, not stopping to answer the greetings of his pack members. He'd made it known to the hospital staff that he wouldn't appreciate any word getting out about his mate. Not that he was ashamed of her. Far from it. He just wasn't ready to share her with anyone or scare her in her fragile state. Although she might be the one doing the scaring. He remembered the earlier episode in her ward when she'd managed to get out of steel constraints just by ripping her hand through.

That wasn't normal for someone in her supposed condition. Yes, a healthy werewolf would comfortably do that, but according to D.r Abbie, either her wolf was dormant or she had no wolf but it was most likely the former. She was healing at an almost human rate, meaning she had no help from her wolf. On the other hand, she suffered severe silver burns, and there were traces of wolfbane in her system. Silver and wolfbane don't affect any other supernatural creature apart from werewolves.

Lucas growled as he considered the implication for the umpteenth time. The obvious explanation was that his mate had been tortured with enough silver and wolfbane to force her wolf to go dormant. And it took the worst form of torture for a wolf to go dormant.

Different scenarios rushed through his mind as he imagined meeting his mate's torturer. A sick grin found its way onto his face at the thought of all the fun events he already had planned out. Such a person would wish he had never been born. He didn't care if his mate was the worst sort of criminal to have warranted such torture. She was his mate. The soon-to-bee werewolf Queen. No matter what she did, nobody had the right to torture her, even if the law happened to be in support.

The werewolf world may have false visions of a democratic rule, but the truth was that it was a monarchy. If he so chose, he was the law. He could bend it to suit his needs, no matter what the council or anyone thought. This was torture against the person who would soon be the second most powerful and respected creature in the werewolf world. He would make an example of the very unfortunate fool.

Yes, silver was a common instrument of torture that most alphas employed to deal with the worst of rogues and criminals, Lucas included. But to use it intravenously and coupled with wolfbane? That was the cruelest of cruel. If an alpha did such, he would be stripped of his title or even killed, depending on who he happened to offend with his actions. This time, it was Lucas who happened to be offended and any alpha with a bit of sense would disappear from the face of the Earth. Which was another reason why Lucas decided to keep his mate's arrival a secret. Let it be known to his pack and to the other packs the circumstances of her arrival and the mastermind would know the game was up. He would either kill himself or run. Lucas wanted the pleasure of taking that life all for himself.

Again, he rewound the events of that fateful day in his head. Lance had returned from the meeting in the Blue Moon Pack, immediately messaging him that he needed to see something at the hospital. He'd arrived from the pack house to see Lance carrying an unconscious, naked,d and badly bruised woman in his arms and inside the hospital.

His wolf had immediately gone on high alert, sniffing the air and growling "mine". He'd immediately snatched the unconscious body from Lance's arms and rushed her in himself, yelling for Dr Abbie. Lance told him he saw her a small distance away from Blue Moon's pack lands and that he was pretty sure she was a member of Blue Moon since she had that underlying pack scent. That made matters easier. He knew which pack to begin his search from once his mate was well enough to give him enough information about her torturer. But for now, he would focus on the present and on helping his mate get better.

Then, he would make who dared cross him rue the day they were born.