Chapter 11

Desiree. I stared still for a second before I drew my back along the cold wall, feeling the chills down my spine. The shock of the last few minutes was still reverberating through me, every nerve was still shaking. My heart thundered in my chest, threatening to jump out in fear. The tension was still buried in my bones and it lingered in the air. Slumping down the floor, I tried to steady my breath first, anchoring myself on the wall as if to prevent me from falling from this whirl of emotions that was taking me by surprise. The dungeon light flickered ahead of me as if in response to my emotions. My mind was erratic, brown away and for the first time since Grandpa’s death, I was feeling something more than despair and sadness. I sat there, drawing my knees to my chest as if to hold my heart from jumping out, and traced my fingers mindlessly around my knees while my mind tried to make up answers for what had happened. From touching the mark to sparking the desire that surged through me like a thousand electrical bolts. The mark was the start of this, opening new realms for me to explore. It was like my body was no longer mine leading me down an endless path that had no meaning whatsoever. As I tried to make sense of it all, I only ended up in a bottomless pit of unanswered questions. The most conflicting question was why Maddox felt the same way I did. That question burned in my mind like a second skin. It had to be because of the bite, it connected us in a weird way that I didn’t understand. Like a bond. If only I hadn’t touched it when I did. He had warned me. His warning echoed in my mind and advised me not to touch it anymore and to spare us the encounter that had happened. But I had been so stubborn and unyielding. But I was confused too, I needed answers and that was the only way I was getting any reaction from him. I had touched it and awakened an emotion from him. But he was so strong. It was like he didn’t have self control anymore. And the way he had ripped the door away from in front of us. I stared at the cold rotten door lying at the end of the room and frowned. He wasn’t lying when he had said he was not human. He was really a wolf. The red eyes too. It all added up. I shook my head. I couldn’t believe this. 'But it’s real!' I heard my mind yell at me. This was really happening. I had been captured and bitten by a werewolf. And worst of all, he was an Alpha. From the little I knew about werewolves. The Alpha was like a leader or something of the people. And Maddox was the alpha. I shivered, remembering the inhuman strength and the animal within him. That was scary. I sighed, rubbing my hand through my hair and feeling the dirt and grease from it. It had been long since I had a bath and I was starting to stink. How he had managed to lick my dirty skin was something I couldn’t understand. But I guess he was more animal than human. And licking my skin was probably the least he would do. I didn’t know what he would do if he ever lost control like that again and I didn’t want to wait around to find out. He was the alpha, filled with the animal instinct of a wolf. Wolves weren’t friendly. They were dangerous and this was how they acted. They played with their food until it was time for them to kill and eat. The reality hit me like a bolt and I shook my head. It was probably not the desire he felt towards me. It was a feeling of a predator watching its prey and I was the prey. Locked in here for his pleasure. He was a threat to me. And I had to protect myself. That was the main reason I had come here, to heal and find myself. I didn’t come to be food for an animal. The bite was the first step; next, he’d be ripping off my flesh like biscuits any time he lost control. The broken bar stood away from me, a statement of his ferocious nature. And an opportunity for me to escape. I had to seize the opportunity before he came back or Willis did. And it was obvious Willis' guy hated me more than Maddox did. At least Maddox kicked my neck. Focus, Desiree! I stood up, my movement quiet as I looked around the dungeons. The air was heavy with dampness and decay leaving an oppressive atmosphere. The lights were dimly lit as they flickered continuously. I could hear an occasional drop of water from the ceiling. But it was mostly silent. The other cells were locked and some had blood in them. I shivered in fear, I didn’t want to end like that. I thought as I took the first step forward, grateful that Maddox had lost control enough to set me free. As I cautiously stepped out a surge of anxiety rushed through me. The cold stone corridors seemed to be an endless stretch and my shadow freaked me out as I walked carefully. My bare feet made the slightest bit of noise because the place was dead silent and I feared that they would hear. From what I knew from Nat Geo Wild. Thank God Grandpa watched that channel. Wolves had good hearing and instincts and I feared if I made more noise they would come in teeth blaring and kill me before I could make it out. The lights flickered above me as I made it closer to the exit marking it seemed like someone else’s shadow but I kept going on. My senses were heightened by the adrenaline coursing through my heated veins. Every step I took was a gamble of life and death and I walked faster. As I reached the exit, the faint sound of the forest filled my ears, the rustle of leaves drowned out my footsteps and as I listened harder I could hear the sound of owls hooting somewhere. I took a step outside, my feet growing warm at the soil under them and I looked up at the night sky. Under the canopy of trees, the moon felt surreal. It was not a full moon, just half but it felt like it had taken half of my soul. Its silvery glow glittered above me as I watched it. It was like there was a new feeling, a connection that came from the moon that filled me. The connection was different, but the sensual one I felt with Maddox. Instead, this was something larger, almost ancient like it had been a part of me for a long time. I frowned. Everything was slowly changing around me. Perhaps it was because I had been so sad for so long that everything seemed new again. But deep down I knew that wasn’t the perfect answer to this and while I wanted to stay to figure it out, I knew it was dangerous. Maddox didn’t have the answers to my new feelings. I was going to go back to the cabin, book a flight, go to the airport tonight, and head back home. I was going to call the cops to come investigate what the hell was going on here then I could register in a mental clinic because this wasn’t normal. I gave one last look at the moon, a new determination feeling me as I felt its ethereal embrace around me as if comforting me. But my mind was in conflicting emotions and I looked away from it. There was a life ahead of me, and it wasn’t here. I thought as I headed for the woods. The rustling of leaves caught my attention as I turned to leave only to find a young girl emerging from beside the stony walls. She didn’t look more than fifteen years old with cascading blonde hair that shimmered in the moonlight surrounding her small round face. Her green eyes were a split resemblance to Maddox’s except hers were filled with curiosity and a touch of awe. She wore a blue dress that fell to her ankles and in her hand was a bowl of food as if she had come to give them to me. A wide smile played on her lips but her eyes widened with shock upon seeing me. And she emitted some sort of warmth that Maddox didn’t. Her eyes took in my appearance with wonder. Like I was something new she hadn’t seen before. She didn’t appear frightened or scared; instead, she was curious about me and she walked faster towards me. “Oh my God! You’re her! You’re my brother’s mate!”