The Moonlit Curse

Ch 38: Captive Audience

To say that everything hurt would be an understatement. Every muscle, every bone, every strand of hair ached. Even breathing took significant effort and every inch her ribs expanded to let in the air felt like they were stretched to breaking. It even hurt when she groaned in pain.

At least it was warm, and there was a tantalizing smell tickling her senses. Was that tea? Maybe some northern specialty to ease the post-transition pain.

Goddess... post transition. She was conscious, which meant she was alive. She survived her very first full moon as a werewolf.

When she opened her eyes, her first thought was that she was locked in a vision. Instead of the goddess shrine and a wide-open cavern, she was at the back of a much smaller cave, only just large enough for her to stand without hunching. A pelt was hanging from the ceiling, separating her sleeping area from the rest of the cave, which was her first hint that maybe this was real. There was nothing else with her behind the makeshift curtain. No supplies, no other people, nothing. Just her and the fabrics that made up her bed.

Touching her hand to the wall confirmed it. She was really there. But why? The plan was for them to stay in the caverns until the full moon had passed. So, what happened?

For a long time, she lay still and took stock of herself and her surroundings. The cave was silent. Not even the sound of someone breathing. Under the covers, she was naked. Not great, but there were enough blankets that she could keep herself protected from the elements if she needed to leave. Food would be a problem. But where would she even go? Where was she?

A mix of anxiety and military training silenced the complaints her body made while sitting up. She needed more information. What went wrong? Where was August?

Slowly, she pulled the pelt back and immediately came face to face with an enormous wolf. Its eyes snapped open and snarled, rising to its feet and advancing. Kiya scrambled back until she was flattened against the wall, clutching one of the blankets to her chest. The creature stopped inches from her face, its fangs on full display reinforced with a deep, menacing growl.

"Echo," a male voice called. "Enough of that."

The wolf, Echo, stopped growling but didn't back away. Their lips were still raised, and their eyes never looked away from hers.

"Echo!" the man snapped, and Kiya shuddered under the power in his tone.

The wolf snorted in a clear demonstration of disgust and turned away, revealing the man sitting against the cave wall on the other side of the pelt. Kiya knew who he was immediately. Whether vision or nightmare, the man haunted her dreams, and that voice plagued her mind.

The other alpha. The rogue. The fucking bastard that cursed her.

Echo settled down on the other side of the cave away from Kiya, his eyes fixed on her and daring her to move again. Only then did the alpha move, sliding across the small space to crouch in front of her. "I'm glad you're awake," he said with a charming smile. "How are you feeling?"

Kiya flinched away from his reaching hand, pressing herself further into the wall and pulling the blanket tighter around herself. "Where are we?" she demanded.

"Don't worry, Kiya, you're safe now. Here, I have some clothes for you."

He placed a stack of neatly folded clothes on the makeshift bed next to her and backed away, letting the pelt fall back to give her privacy to change. Kiya didn't move for a long while, desperately trying to think of some way to get out of this. Nothing. Even if the alpha left her alone, she would never be able to outrun Echo, and she doubted the wolf would be gentle when chasing her down.