Chapter Seventy-Two: Captive Among Strangers
The first thing Charlie registered when waking up was pain—dull, throbbing pain radiating through every muscle and bone in her body. It felt like she had been dragged through a battlefield, stomped on, and left to rot. The air around her was thick with the scent of damp stone, mildew, and something faintly metallic—blood.
She remained perfectly still, her breathing shallow, her senses sluggish from whatever drug they had injected into her. Every limb was weighed down, heavy and unresponsive, as if she had been submerged in thick tar. Her head lolled slightly to the side, and her cheek pressed against the cold, hard surface beneath her. Stone. The floor was stone.
Snippets of hushed conversation swirled around her, voices echoing off what she assumed were cavernous walls.
“Any trouble?” A deep, gravelly voice. Older, commanding. The sound of boots scuffing against rock followed the question as the man walked closer to where Charlie laid.
"None. We got in and out before they knew she was gone. Their patrols are lazy." This voice was different—sharper, nasal, filled with smug satisfaction.
“I am sure it helped that their patrols were distracted by the two packs that tresspassed on their lands,” the same gravelly voice that originally spoke says in a disapproving tone. “Don’t get cocky when others did half of the work for you by those wolves that we manipulated.”
Charlie kept her body slack, forcing herself to breathe evenly. Where am I?
More voices.
“Are you sure this is the one we’ve been looking for?” A different speaker. Male. Younger. His tone was doubtful, almost dismissive and disapproving of her appearance.
"She has two mate marks on her neck," someone says in shock, their voice sweet and melodic.
That observation sent a ripple of unease through Charlie’s chest. They didn’t know about the marks before, but now they know about Liam and Luther.
Her wolf stirred weakly in the back of her mind, sluggish and distant. The drugs were still affecting her, keeping Raven locked away, unable to push to the surface.
“They’ll have to be removed once the elders arrive.”
Charlie’s breath hitched. Her mate marks. They planned to remove them?
The thought sent a bolt of panic through her system, adrenaline surging despite her drugged state. Her wolf struggled harder, fighting the chemicals in her bloodstream. ‘Come on, Raven. Wake up.’
A whisper of sound stirred in her mind, faint and weak. ‘Trying… too much… poison.’
Her nails dug into her palms, barely resisting the urge to move. She needed information first, and then she could attempt to escape her captors.
A heavy sigh came from one of the men. “I don’t see what’s so special about her. She looks like any other weak Omega. Why do the Elders want her so bad?”
Charlie clenched her teeth.
“She survived the disease,” the gravel-voiced man countered. “That alone makes her special. And once we figure out why, we’ll be able to control it. Control the cure.”
Charlie’s blood ran cold. That’s why they took me.
They didn’t just want to study her.
They wanted to own her.
Charlie forced herself to remain still, even as anger burned through her veins. Her pulse must have spiked, because a moment later, one of them noticed.
“Little pup is awake.”
Boots stomped toward her. She braced herself, fighting the wave of nausea that swelled as she was suddenly flipped onto her back. A thick-fingered hand gripped her chin, tilting her face up toward the dim light of torches flickering against cavern walls. A scarred man with piercing gray eyes leered down at her. His breath smelled like tobacco and rotting meat.
“You were supposed to be asleep a little longer,” he mused, his grip tightening painfully.
Charlie narrowed her eyes but said nothing.
Beyond him, she caught sight of the others.
There were four of them.
The younger man who had doubted her worth stood off to the side, arms crossed. His wiry frame suggested speed over strength, and his face was long and angular, with sharp, calculating eyes.
A tall, dark-haired woman stood near a crude wooden table, her expression unreadable. Despite her silence, Charlie could tell she was high-ranking, possibly the second-in-command.
The fourth was an older man, standing just outside the glow of the torches, his presence barely noticeable—until he spoke.
“She doesn’t look impressive,” he murmured, his voice as smooth as silk.
“She doesn’t need to,” the scarred man gripping her chin replied. “She’s the key.”
Charlie’s stomach twisted.
The dark-haired woman finally stepped forward, tilting her head as she studied Charlie. “You’re immune,” she said. “That makes you valuable.”
Charlie met her gaze with steel. “I’m no one’s property.”
The woman smirked. “Not yet.”
Charlie’s wolf snarled in her head. ‘Enough.’
Charlie moved fast. Using the grip on her chin to her advantage, she jerked her head forward, slamming her forehead into the scarred man’s nose. He stumbled back with a roar of pain, clutching his face as blood gushed down his lips.
Charlie rolled off the table and hit the stone floor hard. Her legs buckled beneath her, her muscles still sluggish.
‘Move, move, MOVE!’
The wiry man lunged first. Charlie twisted, dodging his reach and landing a sharp elbow to his ribs.
The woman was next. Charlie ducked under her swinging fist, using the momentum to kick her legs out from under her.
The older man stayed where he was, observing.
Charlie turned to run.
She made it three steps before something cold and sharp wrapped around her ankle—a chain.
It yanked her back with brutal force, slamming her into the floor. Pain exploded through her ribs, stealing her breath.
The scarred man, still bleeding from his nose, stomped toward her.
“Big mistake,” he snarled.
Charlie struggled, kicking at him, but he was too strong. He pinned her arms down, his knee digging into her chest.
The dark-haired woman wiped blood from her lips, scowling. “She’s got fight in her. That’ll make things more interesting.”
Charlie gritted her teeth. “You have no idea what’s coming for you.”
The scarred man grinned, his blood staining his teeth. “Oh, we’re counting on it.”
A cloth was suddenly pressed over her mouth and nose.
A sweet, sickly scent flooded her senses.
Charlie thrashed, but darkness swallowed her whole.
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