Howl

Family Rivalry

Back to Riley POV

It was hard keeping track of time when you were kept in an underground bunker with no windows. I had no idea how long we've been hanging there - an hour or two? Maybe it was almost sunrise. No, that was too long. My arms would've broken clean off if we were hanging for twelve hours. But there was no denying the fact that my shoulders were killing me, my wrists were completely numb from the cuffs, and I doubted that I'd have any feeling left in my arms if I couldn't feel them already.

Derek and I stopped talking long ago. I could tell he was exhausted, and as was I. So we just sent each other waves of comfort through the link. I figured it out; as long as I remained calm, it automatically manifested in him as well. Coming from both ends, well, I was as calm as a person doing cocaine. Though there was this tiny seed of worry inside of me, and the more I thought about it, the more it grew. Did Dad and Stiles have any idea I was gone?

Then, out of the blue, I heard a faint howl coming from the world above. It was barely audible, but Derek managed to catch it with his enhanced hearing. His head snapped up as he listened.

"Peter?" I asked half hesitantly.

"No." He paused before muttering, "Scott."

I sighed in relief. The last thing we needed was Peter finding us here like this, helpless and vulnerable.

"I have to let him know where we are." Derek glanced my way, "But there's a very big chance that Peter will also know. He'll have us all then."

I repeated his words in my head, trying to think of other ways to let Scott know of our location. When none came to mind, I nodded in defeat, "We'll just have to be fast."

Derek held my gaze for a moment before his face suddenly shifted. I could only hang there and watch him shift partly into a werewolf; his fangs growing about two inches and his eyes flashing blue. The moment he howled, I screwed my eyes shut when my ears nearly exploded. It was loud, shaking the walls and causing dust to fall on us. The wired fence to which we were chained to, vibrated roughly, causing the cuffs to cut even deeper into my wrist. Luckily it only lasted about ten seconds. I assumed it was enough to let Scott know where we were.

Now we only had to wait.

My mind-celebrations started too soon. The metal sound of the door sliding open bounced off the walls and in came a man with a bald head, wearing dark, leathery clothes and carrying a steel baseball bat. He grinned at both of us, but a little creepier at me.

"Don't worry." He grimaced at me, "I'm not gonna hurt you. But him..." He turned to Derek, "Him I'm gonna mess up real good."

I gasped when he brought his fist back before colliding it with Derek's jaw. The force nearly sent my own head whipping to the side, my cheek stinging at his pain. The torturer rubbed his knuckles with a satisfied glint in his stare. Then he threw the next round of punches. Derek didn't utter a sound as his face kept being bashed in, but I was certainly not appreciating the way my face took the damage. He could heal while I'll suffer from a headache.

"Feeling that yet, sweetheart?" The man took a step back, breathing and panting from his exercise, "That Argent lady said you would get a good hit out of this too - she called it two for the price of one."

"That bitch got her currencies mixed up." I snarled, "Tell her to crawl back to whatever backstabbing, corrupted country she came from and die in a hole!"

He chuckled darkly and took a dangerous step closer to me while cradling the bat in his hands. When he spoke, I could smell the alcohol on his breath and feel his perverted eyes gazing into my dress, "Damn, you're a fun one. If I'd knew about you an hour earlier, I would've brought other toys."