Everything seemed foggy. It was like I was wearing super goggles that narrowed my vision tremendously. Everything was so dark. I felt so alone—so afraid. I can hear my heart beat pounding furiously in my body. My ear drums were drumming and ringing from all the silence. I can feel each cold lash of wind against my skin, only there was no wind. Everything was just so cold. There was no sun light. All I could see was darkness. Down in the deepest part of desolation I had ever felt in my life.

I heard metal shifting—someone was coming down. My ears zoned in on the footsteps. A man stood before me with a sinister grin.

"Good morning, Healer." He said in a gleefully cold voice.

I backed up all the way to the other side of the room. A dog like whimper past my lips and I whined when he started to open the door. He wore heavy steel toe boots. Somehow, I knew what was to come because I tried to run around him but he anticipated me fleeing. His feet rammed right into my side. I whimpered like a puppy and crumbled to the ground.

"Let's get started again today. The same question applies just like every morning. If you tell me where it is, I will stop torturing you. You have to just only say the word, Healer." He turned around and locked the door behind him to prevent me from escaping.

I watched him closely as he pulled out his torturing knife. Every day, a part of my body was tortured. Slowly sliced not to kill me but enough to leave me weak. They will leave me and come back the next morning to give another part of my body the same attention.

He turned back to me, "Shift, Healer."

I felt my head shaking.

"Shift or I will make bigger damage on you today."

Reluctantly, I shifted. My blurred vision cleared up a little. I can see the thick beard around his chin. The dark heavy curls that was tied up into a bun. He looked like a lumberjack.

"Good girl." He grinned. He walked over and yanked my weak body up by the arms. I stumbled and tripped as he pulled me towards the chains. His hands snapping the cold metal chains around my injured wrists.

"Tell me where it is, Healer."

I lifted my head weakly to look him in the eyes, "You will never find it. Kill me. Do what you need with me but I will never give you what you want."

His eyes flashed with anger. He backhanded me hard across the face. I felt warm blood spread throughout my mouth. I spit it out and looked back at him with my own grin.

"I am not scared of you. Kill me. Drain me. Do what you need to do but you will never get the amulet. It is gone and with my death so will it die along with me." I hissed with any strength I had left.

He snarled and slashed me across my chest. I cried out and thrashed against the searing pain. It was like a burning trail of fire against my skin.

"I like you better when you are screaming, Misha." He said huskily. "You don't know what it does to me."

"Sick bastard. You can go to hell." I spat my blood in his face.

Watching the scene unfold in front of me, my heart skipped a beat. Misha. I heard of that name before but I couldn't pin point where it was. I can feel how frustrated I was becoming. Everything seemed so familiar. The pain. The setting. I know this place but I can't remember.

For hours, I was tortured. For hours it seemed I watched him hurt the body I was in. I felt every single mark on my body. I felt everything as if I was there alive right now.

"Just kill me already..." I whispered weakly when he had given me another small mark.

"If you die, she will have my head. No, that can't happen. You will remain my pet. I will do whatever I want with you until I get the truth out of you. Her orders. I can and will do everything I can to make you submit, Misha."

Misha...

Misha....

~~

"Fvck! Misha! Get the hell up!" A male voice pierced through the hazy scene before me. My body stiffened.

"Listen to me, it is just a dream. It is only a dream. You need to open your eyes, babe. Open them." He commanded in a panicky voice.

"Misha?" I heard myself say. Suddenly, everything fell into place. I opened my eyes and saw a very worried one staring right back at me. It was Michael. He looked terrified.

"You're awake." He breathed and pulled me into a hug.

I cringed from his touch, only because I was still feeling the effect of my dreams. I still felt very scared. He stopped pulling me in, he lowered his head to meet my eyes with his.

"What's wrong?" He whispered. "What did you dream about? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay." I said weakly.

"What did you dream-"

I shook my head. I didn't want to think about it. It still scared me sh!tless. I pushed him away and moved to get off the bed but his arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back down to his lap.

"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?" He asked, concern mirroring his voice.

"It was a bad dream, Michael." I whispered.

"And?"

"It was just a dream."

"Did you know that telling someone about it, will make it less scary." He said. I looked up at him and he smoothed back my sweaty hair behind my ear. My body was full of sweat. I must have been out for a while.

His hand cupped my cheek and I closed my eyes, "I-I-"

Pounding at the door caught our attention. Frantic voices came from the other end. Michael released me immediately to walk over to the door.

"What happened?" Michael asked.

"There is an attack. At the border of town. Many wolves. Your father went out to stop them but there were too many. Back up is heading up there now as we speak."

Michael turned to me, his face grim with anger. "Stay in here. Do not leave, Laurel. Do not open the door for anyone."

I was about to stop him but he closed the door behind me. I heard his quick footsteps disappearing and the sound of clothes ripping. He must have shifted. I walked to the window and watched him run in his wolf form next to the pack warrior that came to inform him. They ran into the woods and disappeared.

A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. I walked halfway but stopped. Michael's words echoing in my mind.

Do not leave, Laurel. Do not open the door for anyone.

I stared at the door and waited for the person to go away but they didn't. They kept on knocking. Didn't they realize that Michael was gone? That the Alpha wasn't in the mansion.

"Laurel," Sebastian's voice came on the other end. "Open up. I know you are in there. You aren't in your room. I saw you walk into the Alpha's room. You never came out."

Sebastian? What was he doing here? Why was he stalking me?

I walked over and slowly moved to lock the door. He heard the lock click into place. The door knob shook as he tried to open the door. I heard him growling and huffing on the other end.

"Damn it, Laurel. Open the damn door. Why did you lock it?" He was very pissed off. "Open the damn door! I know you are in there. There is no use in not answering me."

"What do you want, Seb?" I asked from the other side, taking a step back.

I heard him sigh, "Can you just open the door? I feel stupid talking to you like this."

"I can't." I told him.

"Why the hell not?" He said angrily. "What the hell are you doing in the Alpha's room anyways?"

"Tell me what did you want to talk about." I threw back at him.

There was some silence before I heard him lean against the door.

"Laurel, I like you. I like you a lot. I know I should wait for my mate but you're amazing. In all my times of knowing you, you make me happy."

"I like you too but not the way you think, Seb. We are friends. I have always looked at you as a friend. Lucia-"

"I know."

"She likes you."

"I know."

"Besides, you should know that I am not made for you. You might be an omega but you are also a werewolf. That means that somewhere out there you have your soulmate waiting for you." I pushed further.

"What if I don't want to find her? What if you are enough for me?" He asked.

"I can't give you what you want," I replied honestly.

"Because you have given it to him," He stated but it came out as a question.

I bit the inside of my cheek, "It doesn't matter."

"He will hurt you."

I didn't answer him. I knew the truth. Michael will probably hurt me. Michael probably doesn't love me the way that I am falling for him. I knew that Michael and I might never be able to be together.

"He is a liar. He will hurt you, Laurel. You don't know what he is doing. You don't know what he has already lied to you about." Sebastian continued.

"Stop." I said quietly.

He stopped talking.

"It won't matter. What we do together—he never forced me. I know what I am going into."

Sebastian scoffed and I heard him gave a dry laugh, "You don't know sh!t, Laurel."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You'll know soon enough." He replied before I heard his footsteps disappeared down the hallway.