The Black Wolf

Chaper Nineteen

Alice POV

CRACK! I suddenly jumped up onto my paws, smashing my head onto the fallen tree above me. I whined out in pain as I slumped back down to the ground. The sky was pitch black now, I must have only been asleep for a few hours. I let out a few more whines as i pulled myself back up onto my paws. With it being dark now, i could no longer see at all through my left eye, it was completely dark, no dark shapes. No shadows. Nothing. Anything could creep up on me from that side now I suppose. 

I went to settle down under the tree when a rustle in the bushes made my hackles go up. I narrowed my eyes or eye. Looking to where the noise came from. I sniffed the air wondering what it could be when panic arose through my body. 

I knew that smell anywhere. That smell would always stay with me. The smell of blood. Terror. Fear. Death. Vampires were here. How did they find me? 

Thea I need you!! I shouted out to Thea.

Still nothing. Where had she gone too. Without another moments hesitation I decided to run. Without Thea there was no darkness to protect me, I had no chance. As I jumped out of the hole from under the log, i jumped straight into a what I thought was a wall. 

It wasn't. It was another Wolf. A black one.

Something pricked at my neck but before I could see what it was, my eyes fell shut and i felt my body slump down to the ground.

----

"Alice," I heard someone hiss, they sounded close. Yet they sounded so far away at the same time. How was that even possible? "Alice!" They hissed again. Go away, I thought to myself. I curled myself up into a ball trying to get warm. I felt cold. Colder than I had ever been. Whats wrong with me. My head felt drowsy and my body ached. Where was I? I nuzzled my face into the floor except it felt weird. The piercing cold of the stone floor shot through my cheek which caused me to jolt awake.

"Oh thank god you're awake," someone in the room whispered. I could hear them but I couldn't see them. My whole body shivered and I went to curl back up on the floor. When I looked down to my fore legs, there was no fur. I was shaven! No wonder I was cold! I frantically looked and felt the rest of my body to notice I had no fur at all. I.. I.. I was human? 

I quickly ran my fingers down my face, taking in the features of my nose, my mouth. Running a finger along the scar on my cheek and eye. I shifted? How? I couldn't shift. This... this this isn't right. Where am I?

"Alice?" the man hissed again, "Are you okay?" Who was he? I tried to recall the events of what happened before I was here but all I could remember was seeing... seeing... seeing a black wolf? That couldn't be right?

Thea? Whats going on? There was still no answer. Had she left me for good? Was that why I shifted?

"Alice," the voice hissed out again, it sounded desperate, I could hear shuffling across the room but i couldn't see who it was.

"I...I I'm fi-fine," I shivered out. I pulled my legs to under my chin and wrapped my arms around them. Was I seriously just left in here naked? "Where..where am I?" My voice quivered due to the cold but it was croaky due to being unused for so long. My voice was so shrill when I was human last being only ten. Now it sounded so grown up. I wish I could enjoy it but now wasn't the time. 

"Candide Valentine's castle, the vampire king," he sighed. The room was pitch black. I could just about make out the cell bars which I guessed were probably made out of silver to house werewolves. 

"Who.. who are y..you?" I managed to shiver out. I tucked my face into my legs. Would I be allowed to shift back? I wasn't sure if I could survive like this. "Are you a v..vampire?" I sobbed out. Was he going to kill me? I recalled Mason saying that vampires were interested in black wolves. Just never said what they did with them.

"Zander," he replied quite bluntly. "And no, should be able to smell I'm not one of them. I'm locked up same as you." His voice seemed harsher than it was before, was he annoyed with me?

A pain stabbed at my heart as I recalled the events with my so called mate, what did I do to upset him too. I was never able to cry as a wolf, but I could feel the tears now pricking at my eyes. I rested my forehead on my knees and tried to make myself as small as I could.

"There's no use crying," Zander told me quite coldly, "I can smell your salty tears from over here."

"S.. sorry. B..but you dont know wh..what its like to have a..a mate, then have them r..reject you," I managed to mutter out, my voice was all croaky still and my body shivered at each word. I still couldn't believe he rejected me. Was he with Rosie? Was he always with her? I shook my head trying to rid my thoughts of it.

The cold made me body shiver and I would do anything to shift back into my wolf. I wonder if I could? He didn't reply after I said that. The eerie room stayed silent. The only sound was the wind whistling through the windows. What was going to happen to me now?

--

I'm not sure how long I was down in that cell for, but I didn't move from my position. I was cold. I was hungry. I was thirsty. I was no longer able to cry, my eyes were dry, I was dehydrated. I couldn't sleep, I wanted to lay down but knew the cold hard floor would pierce my skin like knives. I had always wanted to shift back, but now I longed to be a wolf again. Thea still hadn't returned. I wasn't sure if it was because of the heartbreak we endured or because of something the vampires did to me. Zander never spoke to me again either. He stayed silent. I felt truly alone.

It wasnt until the door flung open. It startled me and I jumped backwards looking up to see the entrance to the cells. I could see the moon lighting up the night sky and I longed to be running free underneath it. A figure stood there unmoving. He was hooded and I couldnt see his face. My body shook in fear and I hid my face.

"Fight them. Don't let them break you," he hissed at me. What did he mean, don't let them break me?

A cloaked figure seemed to float towards my cell, I could see the piercing red eyes looking down at me. A menacing smile appeared under his his hood, the cold stone floor froze my hands as I pushed myself further into the cells but was blocked by a wall. The coldness seeped through into my spine which sent a shiver through me. Fear shook my body and fear made me want to scream out but I keep my mouth shut. I had never felt so vulnerable. Where was Thea, why was the darkness not protecting me.

The vampire laughed from the clear fear evident from my actions. Pearly white teeth flashed in the dark and fangs protruded from his mouth. I had never learned much about vampires. It was never something they talked much about in school. The only thing I knew was that they fed on humans so what did they want with me?

I head the jangle of metal clashing together and he pulled out what look like shiny metal keys. His hands protruded from his cloak and I saw long pointed nails. They had claws too? I tried to recall the vampires I had killed when I first met them back when Thea first appeared, why was the darkness not helping me now?

The door swung open to my cell and the vampire continued to give me a toothy smile. I let out a quiet whimper and hid my face from him, I tried to use my greasy hair to hide from him. Who was I kidding, there was no chance.

A strong hand grabbed my ankle and dragged me along the cold hard floor which caused me to let out a high pitched scream. My head wacked the floor in such a way that I hoped it would knock me out but it just put me in a slight daze and gave me a bit of a headache.

He dragged me out my cell along the floor and I felt my back being scratched to pieces, if my body wasn't dehydrated I knew tears would be running down my cheeks.

For the first time I caught a quick glimpse off Zanders face as I was dragged past his cells his rugged black hair was laid scruffily down to his shoulders and I could see that it was matted with dirt. He had a scruffy black beard that was full of dirt and grime but this wasn't what caught my attention. No. What caught my attention was eyes. The brightness of his blue eyes that looked full of sadness and pain. But even through all all the suffering and misery that was there, they looked familiar, they made me feel warm inside like I had nothing to worry about when I should. It made me forget the pain I felt in my back slip away, the thumping pain going through my head. I recalled the words he said to me 'don't let them break you' and I knew right there and then that I had nothing to worry about. I needed to be strong. 

There was just one more obstacle I had to overcome. Where was Thea?