Chapter 7

((EDITED 5/16/2016. There have been some adjustments and minor additions to the fight scene, continuity fixes, and minor dialogue changes.))

A/N:

Here you guys go, a nice long chapter. Please let me know what you think, it was quite difficult to write. This story is really taking off now and I'm so excited; PLEASE keep voting and commenting!

MULTIMEDIA:

Picture of Skylar's Dad >>>>>>>>>

Sorry in advance for any spelling/grammar errors, I tried to edit but it's late!

---

I opened my mouth to howl as the agonizing pain shot through my body but no sound came out. I felt the vampire's hands release my shoulders as I slowly sank to the ground, blindly clutching the wound as my eyes streamed with tears of pain.

Dimly I could hear the vampires conversing about something but all I could focus on was the burning sensation spreading throughout my body. Was I dying? Was a vampire bite fatal to a werewolf? My blood was screaming in my veins and my Wolf was howling in fury in the back of my mind, urging me to get up, to fight it. She wanted me to Shift but the pain of the bite and the sensation of the venom in my veins distracted me and distanced me from her. I wasn't sure I would be able to Shift at all; maybe that was one of the side effects of vampire poison. My stomach plummeted as I realized that if I couldn't Shift, I couldn't contact my friends; and there was no way I could focus enough through all of this pain to contact my family members from this distance.

It was the worst pain I'd felt in my life, unlike anything I'd felt before, worse even than the touch of silver to my skin. I drew back my lips to expose my elongated canines, snarling my fury as I focused on the two vampires in the alley.

One of them was gesturing at me as they discussed something. I tried to struggle to my feet but immediately collapsed back down, breathing hard and clutching my neck as if that would help. At least the vampire venom didn't cause immediate paralysis. Although part of me was certain I was going to faint from the pain at any moment, my Wolf urged me to retaliate before they could do anything else to me. I tried to suppress a deep whine of pain, knowing they would only get satisfaction out of that.

I took a deep, shuddering breath as I tried to control the pain. I gritted my teeth as the wound burned; I could feel blood trickling down the side of my neck. How dare those creatures bite me! How dare they attack me from behind!

Caught up in my furious thoughts, I drew all of my energy together as I focused on the vampire that had bitten me. I let my anger flood into my mind. It dominated all other coherent thoughts as my fury suffused me with heat. My eyes were watery with the pain, but I made every effort to suppress it, honing in on one target. I wasn't going to just sit here and let them kill me.

Attempting to ignore the searing agony, I crouched for a split second, angled myself at the vampire, then lunged.

My body uncoiled and flew through the air at a werewolf's speed. The vampire turned, eyes widening, and tried to dodge my attack but was not quick enough. My body hit his at full force and he flew backwards twenty feet, landing on his back with me on top of him.

I snarled, eyes still tearing up with the pain of the bite and prepared to sink my teeth into his pale throat. Then I sensed slight movement from behind me and I was being picked up by the neck and thrown backwards.

Twisting in the air I angled my position so I rolled as I hit the ground, quickly climbing to my feet to see the first vampire directly in front of me. I mentally cursed as I wobbled slightly; I had to get these damn heels off of my feet! The vampire was snarling as he drew his fist back and aimed a fast punch at my face.

But not fast enough. With lightning speed, working on sheer instinct and adrenaline I spun away from the blow then swung a roundhouse kick at his head with every ounce of force I had left. The vampire was either slower than I or not expecting my speed and ferocity; the blow struck him in the side of the head and he flew backwards, his body and head hitting the wall on the side of the alleyway with a loud crack. He slowly slid down the wall, looking dazed.

I was slightly off-kilter from the roundhouse kick due to the fact that I was still wearing these stupid shoes, and did not have time to regain my balance before the other vampire was on me, his body colliding with mine as he tackled me against the opposite wall. My back struck the wall and I groaned with pain. The pain from the bite itself had lessened slightly to a nearly bearable level. By the look on the vampire's face, just inches from my own, he knew the pain was abating and planned on biting me again. He snarled grotesquely, lips peeling back to reveal his pointed canines as he pinned me to the wall. His entire body was pressed against mine and I shuddered with revulsion at his cold touch.

"You werewolf bitch," he breathed. His breath smelled like a rotting corpse and I winced. His teeth were dangerously close to my face and I knew he was about to strike.

I began to thrash left and right as I attempted to break his grip. Although his hands were strong as they grabbed my arms, and although he had me pinned tightly, I felt him shift slightly as I continued my struggle. With that small change in pressure I instinctively knew that in terms of brute strength, I was stronger.

With one more swift jerk I freed one of my legs and threw my knee upwards in the same instant. I felt my blow hit its target between the vampire's legs and he released me, hissing in pain. I resisted the urge to smirk; apparently there was one consistent weak spot for males of all species.

I took advantage of his distraction by reaching forward and grabbing a handful of his shirt. Then, utilizing every bit of my returning werewolf strength I threw the vampire towards the far end of the alleyway where there was just a dead end, a solid brick wall. I heard a dull thud as he struck the target.

I could feel the distance between my Wolf and I rapidly shrinking; the bite's venom was wearing off. Shift! She commanded in my mind as I felt her consciousness reaching out towards mine.

Narrowing my eyes, I tried to fight off the last waves of pain so I could merge my consciousness with my Wolf's. Unfortunately it was as if there was a thin mental barrier hovering between our minds. Try as I might I could not shatter it with my mental force. I was prevented from shifting entirely, only having my canines and claws, until the venom was out of my system completely.

Growling lowly at this realization, I bent down and unbuckled each shoe as quickly as I could (lamenting the fact that I hadn't worn my more basic slip-on heels), dropping them next to me against the wall of the alleyway. The last thing I needed was to break an ankle. Barefoot, I approached the vampire I had just thrown. He was slumped at an awkward angle in the shadows at the bottom of the wall and I had no doubt that I'd broken something when I threw him. Still, something told me he would heal fast enough and I needed to kill him before he could.

Once again I didn't get a chance to strike. I felt a rush of air and heard a low snarl behind me that signified the return of the first vampire. Apparently they healed pretty rapidly, as I'd definitely heard something crack when I threw him against wall. I spun around quickly in time to dodge two fast punches aimed at my face and chest. I retaliated with a left hook of my own but he dodged to the right, aiming a kick straight at my stomach. I winced as it collided with my midsection. The air was completely knocked out of my system, causing me to stumble backwards a few steps. These guys just don't give up! I snarled mentally, recovering my balance quickly before he could press the advantage.

I coiled and sprung, knocking into the vampire and sending us tumbling to the ground. We rolled over and over as we each attempted to punch and kick the other. As our momentum slowed the vampire tried to pin me to the ground with his weight on my upper half. Maneuvering the part of my body that he didn't have pinned, I managed to wedge my feet under his middle before he could trap me entirely. With one big shove and a grunt of effort I extended my legs, throwing him off of me and into the wall nearby.

In an instant I struggled upward and leapt towards him, grabbing him while he was winded. His body had slumped off of the wall but I grabbed his neck with one hand and slammed him right back into it. He hissed in pain. I decided to take a page out of the vampire's book; snarling, I bared my canines, yanked his head to the side and buried my teeth into the junction between his neck and shoulder.

The vampire roared in agony and fury and I felt a primal sense of satisfaction as my Wolf howled triumphantly in the back of my mind. My teeth easily broke the skin and sank deep into muscle. His blood tasted bitter and was somewhat acidic; my victory was cut short as I had to withdraw my fangs when the blood rushed into my mouth and began to cause a burning sensation.

Coughing and spluttering I released him, spitting his life essence out on the pavement and wiping my mouth with one hand. I could smell the fresh blood pouring out of his shoulder as he snarled in pain, sinking to the ground. I mentally reminded myself NOT to let vampire blood touch me again, as my mouth was burning like I'd eaten a pile of jalepeños.

The logical side of my brain kicked in then, reminding me of the other vampire on the far end of the alleyway, the one I'd kicked in the family jewels and then thrown like a rag doll. These vampires certainly weren't as physically strong as I was, although they were fast. I spun around to see him slowly clambering to his feet. I crouched, bracing myself for his next move. He looked down as his comrade, the one I had bitten, then bared his teeth in fury. Once again moving surprisingly fast, he leapt towards me. I dodged neatly to the side and he spun around, throwing a fist at my face. I threw my arm up in time to block it then countered with a punch of my own, hitting him square in the ribs.

The vampire grunted in pain but recovered quickly with a move I didn't expect: he faked a left hook that I blocked, whirled to the side, then brought his leg around and kicked my legs straight out from under me.

I barely recovered in time to prevent my face from connecting with the pavement, landing heavily on my side. The vampire then grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking my head back painfully. I snarled with the pain but as he wrenched on my hair, my eyes fell on something nearby. An unconventional weapon, but it would work.

I twisted around slightly to gain leverage and elbowed the vampire as hard as I could, which caused him to slightly loosen the grip on my hair as the blow connected. I took this opportunity to abruptly reach forward, grabbing one of my shoes. My eyes watered as my scalp screamed in pain; I was pretty sure some of my hair had been pulled out with my rapid movements.

All of this had happened in a mere second, and I wasted no more time. In the same motion that I grabbed my shoe, I twisted back around again, gathering every ounce of my strength, and threw my arm forward, driving the heel straight into the vampire's abdomen.

Who knew if humans had ever tried this trick, I thought dimly. They may not have the strength to make the heel into such a lethal weapon. But hell, at least these pointy shoes had been good for something tonight, I thought wryly, as the vampire screeched in agony and stumbled back. I quickly leapt upward again.

Growling ferociously, I rushed over to him with werewolf speed and slammed him into the wall, baring my teeth.

He put up a struggle, blood darkening the front of his shirt, but I gripped him tightly, my claws digging into his arms. I was considering the best way to leverage myself to break his neck when I was caught off guard for the second time in mere moments.

I heard something above me a split second before a heavy weight landed directly on my back. I staggered and collapsed to my knees from the force of it. I heard a malevolently dark chuckle from the entity on my back before something sharp and cold plunged into the side of my neck.

I bucked furiously, throwing the intruder off, and staggered to my feet as I tried to focus on him. He stood there, a couple inches taller than the other two but clearly another vampire. Just how many were around here, anyways? He obviously had not bitten me; the burning pain had not returned. So what had he inserted into my neck?

Without thinking, I raised one hand to my neck. I could feel a miniscule puncture wound. A sense of foreboding washed over me an instant before the dizziness hit me. I staggered yet again, suddenly exhausted. The world started to tilt on its axis and I collapsed, breathing heavily.

A sense of calm was beginning to wash over me despite the dizziness. I felt as if I hadn't slept for a week. My body was beginning to shut down and my eyes drooped. My Wolf urged me to get up, to keep fighting, but I was just too tired. Dimly I registered that he must have inserted some drug into my system, but there was nothing I could do about it.

The last thing I heard was the two vampires arguing before I keeled over and my world went dark.

---

It could have been mere seconds, or it could have been days, before I began to regain consciousness. I floated in the dark place between awake and asleep as I tried to comprehend what was happening. I dimly registered that my hands and feet were bound and I was lying horizontally on a fairly uncomfortable surface. I could hear voices muddled in the background but I did not have the presence of mind to understand them or even open my eyes. Something nagged at me; something was wrong, but my mind was too tired to try to figure it out. Groaning slightly, I gave into temptation and returned to the darkness.

---

This happened a couple more times before I truly regained consciousness. I vaguely remembered being dragged on the ground before being propped up and tied to something. I even thought a needle had been plunged into my neck a second time, although I wasn't sure. I remembered a sharp burning pain at my wrists, and multiple instances of hushed talking. I wasn't sure what was real and what was a dream anymore. My body constantly craved the dark, dreamless sleep, and I gladly sank into it. After a while, however, the sleep became less peaceful. I began to register a dull, incessant pain and voices. The agitated voice in my mind became increasingly agitated, shouting at me to wake up, to fight. My body throbbed and ached and the darkness behind my eyelids gradually transitioned into a bright light.

I truly knew I was awake when I finally opened my eyes and winced; there was a bright fluorescent bulb directly above me.

I made no noise as I finally woke up. Some semblance of caution forced me to hold my tongue. Squinting against the beam of light, I glanced around to take in my surroundings. I was alone in what looked like a warehouse or storage room, although it was fairly small. The room was almost completely bare except for a small table and a couple of chairs set against the corner near the only door. The door itself looked like it was pulled open from the bottom, somewhat like a garage door.

As for me, I was tied to a chair in the middle of the room. I was currently alone. My wrists were burning, and I realized the pain must have brought me to consciousness. They were tied behind the chair and as I glanced over my shoulder, I realized why they hurt so badly and I swore.

Silver. The kryptonite of werewolves. Silver sapped our strength and drove a mental barrier between us and our Wolves, preventing us from shifting and leaving us almost as weak as humans. It even made communication with direct family members more difficult in human form. As long as it touched me, my wounds would not heal and I would not be able to Shift.

Nobody knew why silver was such a weakness of ours. It had been this way since the first wolves roamed the planet, and as far as I knew, there was no way to develop a tolerance to it. We were immune to so many things that caused humans harm, yet they wore silver jewelry on a daily basis. The irony was not lost on me. My father had said it was best to understand the effects of silver as making our inner Wolves ill, which isolated them from us, while the skin irritation was more of an allergic reaction.

I tugged at the silver chains that bound me, wincing in pain. I wasn't going to be able to break them with my reduced strength. The chains were locked together and one of my kidnappers had the key.

Trying not to panic, I attempted to contact my Wolf. I could still sense her agitation and her pain, but I could not hear her voice. I could tell she felt the same frustration at the lack of contact, but for now we were stuck. I shuddered, feeling frighteningly alone.

How was I going to get out of here? I wasn't strong enough to break free. I had no idea how long I had been here; my pack was probably having a heart attack by now. Had my friends noticed my absence at the club? Was my family searching for me?

Thinking of my family gave me a moment of surprising clarity. The silver created a barrier between my Wolf and I, meaning I couldn't Shift and converse with the rest of the pack. However, I didn't need to be in wolf form to converse with my immediate family or the Alpha.

The problem was, conversing at this great of a distance from them required both strength and concentration. I'd been in too much pain and too distracted during the battle to contact them, but now it might be possible. I had no doubt that they could be trying to communicate with me, but with the silver-induced barriers in my mind, they were having no luck. If I could just lower my barriers for a few seconds to send a quick message....

It would be difficult. I knew that much. I would have to conserve every last drop of energy I had. Even if I did have enough strength to break through the silver-induced haze and lower my barriers I would only have a couple of seconds before my reduced strength gave out. It was definitely not a guaranteed plan, but it was the best I had.

With a glimmer of self-deprecating amusement, I realized that this would be easier if I were Mated to Gabriel. Mates had a bond so strong that the strictly external touch of silver couldn't break their mind link. It required a silver bullet or silver in the bloodstream to disrupt that connection. Thinking of Gabriel brought a fresh rush of pain and I turned my head to the side, gritting my teeth. Did he have any idea where I was?

I did not have time to dwell on these thoughts for I heard footsteps outside, fast approaching. Not knowing how to handle the situation in my unfortunate state, I pushed back the pain in my body and allowed my head to loll to the side, closing my eyes. Perhaps I could catch them off guard or learn something about them if they thought I was asleep. What had they drugged me with, anyways?

Forcing my breathing to be even and relaxed, I kept up my act as I heard a loud, rusty grating sound. The door slid upwards and I heard two distinct sets of footsteps. I tried to breathe through my nose to better understand what I was up against, but all I got was a faint whiff. Once again I was struck by the subtlety of a vampire's scent.

"She's still asleep?" Came the incredulous voice. I recognized it as the vampire that had bitten me, then later called me a 'werewolf bitch'.

"I'm not surprised. I gave her enough to kill a vampire." The voice was calm, collected, coming from the vampire that had drugged me. I heard the door slide shut again, connecting with the ground with an ominous thud.

"Still, it's been more than eight hours. It's nearly sunrise!" I tried not to let my obvious shock show. Eight hours? Surely someone was searching for me by now. My father would be going out of his mind with worry.

"Yes, the timing of this was most unfortunate. Antonio can't come meet us here until this evening. He was too far away to make it here before sunrise."

So the vampire Antonio didn't want to travel during the day, then. Was it true vampires were weakened by the sun, then? And what the hell did the vampires want with me?

"I don't see why we can't just kill her now," the first one said, sounding a bit petulant.

"Orders are orders, although we disobeyed them by capturing her so soon. We weren't ready yet but we'll have to make do." His voice had grown hard. "You two almost fucked everything up. You're lucky I was there."

"It wasn't our fault! We were just trying to have an evening snack. How could we have known that werewolves would be nearby? YOU were supposed to be watching her!"

What the hell? Watching me?

The other one hissed. "Silence, Marco. Do not disrespect your elders. Especially when I'm the only reason your neck wasn't broken." He sighed irritably. "I was watching the club from the front, I didn't expect her to go out that way. I didn't know you two idiots would be munching on a human nearby."

Marco huffed and there was a moment of silence. "I've never met a werewolf. I didn't think she'd be that strong."

"You're too young to be a match for a fully-grown werewolf. Don't forget that." I heard the noise of a chair being pulled out as the vampire sat down.

"Can I at least wake her up? She bit Angelo. She deserves some sort of punishment." I wondered if my bite had killed Angelo or just wounded him. Knowing my luck, he was still out and looking for blood.

"Be my guest. Just don't injure her too badly, Antonio wants her in good condition."

I automatically tensed, my breathing coming out faster than I'd intended. I heard footsteps approach me as Marco neared. I should have known it wouldn't be that easy. I braced myself for a hit, knowing I had to conserve my energy in order to have any chance at communication. I fervently hoped the vampires didn't know about my ability to mentally communicate with my family without being in wolf form.

"Rise and shine," Marco snarled, and I felt a breath of air before the back of his hand collided with the side of my face. My head snapped to the side and my eyes opened instantly, fixating on his face as I bared my teeth in a snarl. In the back of my mind I registered the fact that he looked different from yesterday. More human, for lack of a better word. His fangs were no longer visible and his eyes were not the black pits they had been yesterday. Instead, his pupils had shrunk to make his unnaturally bright green irises visible. I glanced down, noting that he had a clean shirt on. I hoped the wounds I inflicted still hurt like hell.

My cheek stung from the blow and I felt my Wolf's anger that we were being attacked in our helpless state. Gritting my teeth, I positioned myself to face Marco.

"Good morning, bitch," Marco snapped. I ignored the insult, shifting my gaze to examine the vampire that had drugged me. He had white-blond hair and his eyes were blue, unnaturally bright like Marco's. He had an amused expression on his features as he watched us.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you." He drew back his hand and slapped me on the other side of my face. Once again my head jerked to the side. I bit my lip to keep from making any noise as pain lanced through my face. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

Growling in irritation, Marco curled his hand into a fist then punched me, part of his fist connecting with the side of my mouth. This time I visibly winced as his punch forced my teeth into my lip. I tasted coppery blood as it filled my mouth. I knew without hearing her that my Wolf was howling her fury at this despicable creature. If I could get free I would tear him to shreds.

I forced myself to take a deep breath. If I was going to get out of here I needed all of my energy. I fervently hoped my pack would find me.

The vampire's nostrils flared. "I can smell your blood, dog. Good thing it smells disgusting and repulsive. Otherwise I'd make you into breakfast."

I snorted before I could help myself, knowing it was obviously a bluff. Their boss, Antonio, needed me for something so I doubt he'd let Marco 'make me into breakfast'.

My reaction seemed to infuriate him, for in a second Marco was in my face. His hand reached out and grabbed my neck. He began to squeeze, his grip crushing. I could feel bruises forming on my throat as he gripped harder, his face contorted into a snarl. I struggled despite myself, attempting to get air into my lungs.

"Release her!" The blonde vampire demanded, an edge to his voice. Marco paused, his angry eyes still boring into mine. "Marco!" The other vampire barked, and with a growl of reluctance the vampire released my neck. I sucked in the air gratefully, my neck bruised and tender.

"You need to go cool off. Now, before sunrise. Antonio will punish us if she's too bruised; she's his leverage, after all."

I wheezed, trying to catch my breath. Leverage for what? I had a sneaking suspicion, but hoped I was wrong.

The two vampires stared each other down for a moment more before Marco stalked over to the door, tossing me an angry look over his shoulder as he went. "I don't see why we have to stay in this place before he gets here." He muttered darkly as he hauled the door open. "We could just meet him at the mansion."

"We can't risk leaving the city. As soon as we get away from all the humans her pack will be able to find her scent and they'll track us down."

So did that mean they were looking for me now? I wondered. At least it told me we were still in the city, although I wasn't sure where. If the vampires kept me here to mask my scent it would make sense if they were closer to downtown where the population density was higher.

Marco lifted the door to the facility open. It was dark outside, but the sky was beginning to lighten slightly and I knew sunrise wasn't far away. I tried to inconspicuously observe the surroundings outside. Fortunately there were a few dim lights outside so I could make out certain details. Directly across from us was another door that looked identical to the one Marco had just opened. From the quick glance I obtained before he shut the door behind him, I tried to memorize all I could. If I was going to try to contact my father or Alpha Brett later, they would need all the clues they could get. Unless they found me first, which based on my luck so far was highly unlikely.

As soon as the other vampire left, the blonde one relaxed in his chair and pulled out a phone. He began clicking away on the device, ignoring me completely. Left alone with my new bruises and burning wrists where the silver touched, I finally allowed my mind to wander to Gabriel. I pictured his flawless skin and dark eyes. Trying to get away from thoughts of him had landed me in this mess in the first place; maybe that was a sign. I thought over our interaction in the clearly and the husky way he had declared me as his.

Was I going to die without ever having touched my Mate? My situation seemed pretty hopeless at the moment. If I wouldn't have been so pathetic and confused, maybe he would have wanted me. He had been cruel in the past, but my hatred of him had dimmed after meeting these horrid vampires.

My mind wandered in circles like this for quite some time. I attempted to distract myself from the dull physical pain with thoughts of Gabriel and my family as the minutes trickled by. Another hour passed in silence, then another, and I lost track of time. I had just begun to contemplate my growing hunger when Marco returned. He created quite a racket, throwing up the storage room door and slamming it as soon as he was inside. Looking out, I realized it was because tendrils of sunlight were beginning to stretch across the sky.

Thankfully, Marco ignored me as he pulled out a chair and sat at the table next to the blonde vampire. He had brought a sack of items with him and he pulled out a book from the sack, facing away from me and promptly beginning to read.

Another hour passed by and I began to grow increasingly uncomfortable. My stomach had started to rumble and my throat was incredibly dry, but worst of all was my need to use the restroom. I hadn't consumed much liquid the night before but my discomfort persisted. Surely the vampires wouldn't let me soil myself?

I cleared my throat, and icy blue eyes quickly snapped to my face. The blonde vampire stared at me with a blank expression.

"I need to use the restroom." I said coldly, my voice raspy from my thirst.

"How is that our problem?" Marco sneered, glaring at me over his shoulder.

"You're the ones trapped in here with me," I replied. "If I just let it go, you'll be the ones smelling it all day."

The blonde one raised an eyebrow, looking bemused. "Marco, give her that bottle you brought and untie one of her hands. Only one, we don't need her Shifting."

A bottle? Was he serious?

Marco was scowling but apparently he had no desire to smell my urine for he approached me, grumbling and clutching an empty Powerade bottle. Meanwhile, my mind was racing. If he untied one of my hands I would have a bit of my strength back. I had remained motionless the last three hours, trying to relax and store my energy as much as possible. Did I have enough to send a message to my dad? It was as good a time as any to try. I wanted to be long gone before Antonio arrived.

Marco stooped behind me and I felt him insert a key into the padlock that held the chains together. He tugged the chains off of my left hand before re-locking them. I flexed my hand, glad to be rid of the burning sensation for even one moment. I also felt a bit of my strength return, although not much.

A large plastic bottle was placed in my lap. "Make it quick, dog. No sudden moves or tricks," Marco snapped before returning to his chair.

Part of me felt extremely uncomfortable trying to do this while they were in the room, but I had no choice here. Still, my cheeks burned at the thought of that immodesty. I knew it was petty to care about that at a time like this, though. Who knew if I'd even get out of here. I took a deep breath and attempted to ignore my embarrassment; it wasn't as if they were watching me anyways. In fact, they had entered a heated conversation about something and I knew this was my chance.

I began to go about my business, attempting to arrange my clothing with one hand so I could relieve myself (which was pretty dang difficult, for the first time in a day I was actually thankful that I had a skirt on), but my mind was preparing energy instead of focusing on the task at hand. After I finished using the restroom, still feeling immensely awkward, I made a big show about readjusting my clothing. Really, I was preparing to send the message. Fortunately, the vampires were still in a fairly intense discussion and paid me no mind. I knew I had thirty seconds, at most, and probably not even that.

I dipped into the reserve of energy I had stored all day, taking a deep breath. It wasn't much but I had to hope it would work. With all the force I had, I roughly broke through the haze of pain that was causing my mental block and focused on my father. I closed my eyes, narrowing my vision to just him. I felt my energy quickly draining and I had to act fast.

"Vampires have me. Somewhere near downtown, warehouse or storage unit." Even these few words left me with my energy nearly gone, I could feel it seeping away as I tried to maintain my concentration. With one last bit of effort I projected the image of the building I had seen when Marco opened the door. I kept this image in my mind for as long as possible, hoping against hope that my father could see it.

Then the last vestiges of my energy left and I drooped, exhausted. The image faded from my mind and I felt my mental barriers return as my concentration vanished.

I could only hope it would work.

---

"I still don't understand why we can't just question her." Marco said. He had started pacing about two hours after I had sent my mental message. Meanwhile, I was growing increasingly worried. Shouldn't they have found me by now? It had been well over two hours, and by my guess I had left the club thirteen or fourteen hours ago! Where the hell were they? Did my message not go through? That last thought was extremely disheartening. I tried not to give up hope. I had to make it through.

"The Master trusts Antonio with questioning. Not those of our rank." I made a mental note that Antonio was not the Big Boss after all.

"We could still ask a few questions. Just basic ones. We captured her after all, we should get to participate in the fun."

"He wouldn't like it."

"He doesn't have to know, Brutus." Marco snapped impatiently. I took another mental note. If I ever got out of here I wanted to know who these vampires were so I could get my revenge.

Brutus sighed, leaning back in his chair. "She could take a couple more hits, I suppose," he said coolly, a slight smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. "I've grown bored, too. I wasn't hired to babysit a she-wolf all day. If it weren't for her relation to Gabriel we could've killed her already."

I jolted upright in my seat at the mention of Gabriel's name. So this had something to do with him? It made sense, given the timing of all of this. What did they want with him?

My mental questioning came to a stand still as Marco approached me, strolling with the grace of a predator. I did not like the hateful and angry expression hovering on his features. With a burst of speed he appeared in front of me and struck me in the face. I gasped slightly, reeling with the force of the blow.

"All right, I'm bored so you're going to answer a few questions for me. Where is your Mate?"

I bit my lip, not liking the fact that he was asking about Gabriel and that they knew he was my Mate. This solidified my suspicion that they had been watching us in the forest that day. That faint scent I'd caught in the woods must have been that of a vampire following me. It had still been before sunrise, after all.

Regardless, I had no idea where Gabriel was at this second. If the vampire had half of a brain he'd know that. I remained stonily silent.

Not liking my silence, Marco grabbed my cheek roughly and glared into my eyes. "I asked you a question."

I just watched him coolly. Like Hell they were getting any answers from me.

Marco sneered and backhanded me again. I winced from the pain of the blow, although at this rate I wouldn't even notice my newest bruise.

"He has something we need. I'll ask you again: where is he?"

There was no way to win here, either by staying silent or by telling him the truth, which I would never do. Not that I knew the answer to his question.

I felt a surge of frustration. "Something you need? Like a breath mint?" I snapped cheekily before I could help myself. My Wolf would be proud. Immediately I knew I should've just stayed silent, as the next slap was much harder.

The questioning continued for four more rounds, and each time I did not answer in any way other than to glare at him or make a snarky comment. Each time I received a slap to the face. One of my cheeks was going numb, although I could taste blood in my mouth from where my teeth had cut into the inside of it. I spit most of it out on the floor, but apparently the vampires really didn't care for werewolf blood because they didn't even glance at it.

"We need to be more rough with her," Marco snapped, but Brutus was shaking his head. "I told you. Antonio wants her undamaged."

Marco turned on me again, expression taut. I thought his eyes had darkened somewhat and I was worried his fangs would come out any minute.

"Tell us where he is," he hissed, leaning in close to my face.

I spit on him. The globs of saliva, and even a little bit of blood, splattered his face and he roared with rage, punching me directly in my side and cutting my satisfaction short.

I cried out in pain that time despite myself as I felt a definite crack. I hunched over, gasping in agony. My side was on fire. Breathing heavily, I winced. It seemed as if he'd broken a rib.

Marco roughly grabbed me and shoved me upright. I whimpered in pain, screwing my eyes shut as I anticipated the next blow. I had no way of defending myself.

"Marco!" Brutus snapped, sounding angry.

Marco snarled in fury again, seemingly ignoring Brutus' protests, but his snarl was drowned out by a mighty roar.

My eyes snapped open as the vampires spun towards the source. I heard a loud screeching noise and then a grating sound as the door was pulled up. Sunlight flooded part of the room, causing the vampires to hiss in pain and flee to the back corners of the building, but I didn't care about them. My eyes were fixated on the blinding light.

Four werewolves stood there. Maria, Will, and my father, all with worried and furious expressions, but my gaze quickly slid to the fourth werewolf, the one who had roared and opened the door.

Gabriel. My Mate, was here. Saving me. I sighed with relief as I heard the vampires snarl in fury behind me.

And then all hell broke loose.