I shake uncontrollably and when Isaac reaches out to comfort me, I back away. How could he do this? I'm his mate.

"Iz -"

"Don't you DARE call me that!"

Jack pushes for control and I give it to her willingly; I don't know what to do, how to react, she does. He notices the eye colour change, growling, and she snarls back.

"Jack, give her back control."

"No, she gave it to me willingly. Why would you allow that? Do you care for us at all?"

"What? Of course I care for you, you're my mate for goddess' sake."

"Then don't lock us up."

"I don't have a choice."

"You of all people have a choice. If you decide not to lock us up, who's to stop you?"

"You don't understand. As Alpha I'm expected to be the example; how can I do that if I'm disobeying the very laws I and my fore-bearers created?"

"You could let us go."

"No, we're mates. If we want to keep our sanities we have to be together. And that will only happen if you accept this and move on. Then we can be together and we both keep the respect of the pack."

"Correction: you do. What's in it for us? A mate who only cares about influence? A mate who cares more about laws than friendship? Good to know I can rely on you to remain loyal to me," she snaps.

Pain wipes over his face but it soon vanishes and he releases a low growl.

"Stop criticising laws you don't understand."

"Are you saying we're dumb? We heard the law the first time you said it. We understood it alright. Or did you think we'd forget?"

"Take her away."

Someone lays a hand on our shoulder and we spin around, turning to strike them. Isaac grabs both our wrists and holds them behind our back, severely restricting our ability to fight. "Calm down."

"No."

We continue to struggle as three guards enter the room, all robed in black, each marked with, I assume, the insignia of the pack, a blood red sun. One of the guards injects us with some sort of serum and our body collapses instantly, black spots beginning to overwhelm our vision until we fade into forced unconsciousness. Isaac's face swims before mine, then that too is lost to the dark.

I switch between consciousness and sleep continuously for the next few hours; sometimes Isaac is there when I wake, but he mostly isn't. The bastard's probably too busy attending meetings, I think bitterly.

When I escape to consciousness after wallowing in the darkness of my mind for so long, I discover I've been chained by the wrists attached to the wall on so short a set of chain links, my movement area is minimal, unable to do much more than lie down and stand.

Pulling against the silver is painful, causing multiple burns, and in some places, cuts, but I ignore the pain, constantly tugging at the ties which bind us to the cell wall. The wounds are not an issue, only leaving small blood clots over and shallow injuries that will form scars at some point later when they heal. Escape is more important than tiny scratches. I've been through worse.

Our cell is small and there must be sound proofing in the walls and doors because no one appears to torment or yell at me. The constant, unending silence is very helpful in allowing me and Jack to reconsider our thoughts on Isaac.

I hate him.

I want to agree but I can't. I've been trying and I can't.

It's the bond. You've met his human side so you're already under his compulsion. However, I haven't properly met his wolf so I don't feel the bond nearly as strongly.

Good to know at least one of us has some sanity left.

I'm giving you control again. You have to talk him out of this.

I'll try.

A slam of a door and heavy footsteps indicate the approach of someone, and by the scent, I judge it's Isaac. He steps into our cell and we growl at him.

"Iz -"

"Why are you here?" I snap.

He sighs and chooses to ignore the question, his hands going to the hand cuffs, unlocking them without gloves, despite the fact his fingertips are going scarlet from the burns inflicted by the silver. He frowns at the blood on my wrists and arms.

"You've been fighting the cuffs. Stop, you're only hurting yourself." It's a statement, nothing more and I stay silent. "Iz, please don't ignore me." I continue to ignore him.

He cradles my face in his hands, creating sparks, and I jerk my head backwards, out of his reach so he can no longer touch my cheeks. I retreat to the other side of the room, being careful not to touch him. I mustn't feel the mate bond or I'll not be able to resist him.

Too late I realise I've backed into a corner, I'm trapped. Isaac draws nearer and I shrink against the wall, all the memories of my father coming flooding back, all the memories that I suppressed for so long.

My body trembles and breathing becomes hard, my lungs squirming for oxygen. However, before the attack gets too major, he places a gentle hand on my arm. I whimper in alarm at the sudden contact, but sparks race through my skin, reminding me of where I am, who I'm with.

"Iz, ssh, listen to me, it's okay. You're safe. No one's going to hurt you. Iz, it's okay, it's okay." He carefully pulls me into his arms, stroking my back, my head resting on his chest. He eventually pulls away and cradles my cheeks, and this time I don't have the will to resist. 

"You have to tell me what's wrong. Why are you scared all the time if I move suddenly, or raise my hand, or approach you the wrong way? You have to let someone in." I shake my head frantically; he doesn't need to know what Jack did. If he does he'll reject us and cause us more pain than my father ever could. "Iz, I can only help you if you tell me. Please Iz."

"I can't! I can't. Please Isaac, don't make me."

"Oh Iz." He hugs me again, my body recovering due to the constant sparks racing through me at his touch. I sniffle and Jack rises inside me to take control.

What are you doing?

Jack, I can't hate him. I'm sorry.

It's not your fault.

Thanks.

I offer her a weak mental smile and she sinks to the back of my mind. Isaac withdraws from our embrace.

"I promise you'll only be in here for another week then I can release you and we can put all of this behind us."

"Wait, I've been here a week?"

"A week and a day to be exact. You were drifting in out a lot. It probably only felt like hours between opening and closing your eyes but in reality it was days."

"What was in the serum?"

"Opium."

"You gave me drugs?! What is wrong with you people?!"

"It's very effective at putting someone under quickly."

"You literally poisoned me!"

"It wouldn't harm you. Wolves' metabolisms are too fast for it to damage you."

"You - argh! You're so annoying."

"I know." He smirks and I can't help smiling back, his easy good humour irresistible. "Am I forgiven?"

"Sure, whatever. Just don't you dare do that to me again. And no more drugs ever. Promise?"

"Promise."

We pause for thought.

"Isaac? If we're mates surely as a she-wolf I will ..." I trail off but he knows what I mean.

"Your heat could come any time in the two weeks. I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do to get you out of here before the end of this week when it is most likely to come."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." I hope. I'm not sure how much pain I can go through anymore. And if it's as bad as people say ... I'm not sure if I can face it.

Heats. The bane of female wolves. The agonising reproduction cycle that makes periods seem like pinches in comparison, that drives us to mate as quickly as possible. It can be resisted by both of us but it tends to be too strong for wolves. A deep rooted fear rises inside me; the heat makes us mate regardless of if we're ready or not. I don't want to mate with him.

He must be able to accurately interpret my thought process using just my facial expression despite the lack of verbal communication. 

That or his intuition is even sharper than I originally thought.

"Hey, Iz. I promise I'll find a way to get you through it. Without mating you."

He rests his forehead on mine and I close my eyes. I want to pause this moment right now: now, so I never have to face the terror that is a heat, or hear him reject me, or face the pack I fled after Jack tore apart my father. Alas, it can't last forever. We pull away, his hand trailing down to mine and he offers me a small smile which I return.

"I'm sorry Iz. I have to re-cuff you."

"It's okay." I stroke his cheek and follow him as he fetches the chains. I stay silent while he locks them, more loosely than last time, allowing small wrist movements. We share one longing look then he leaves without a word, not looking back.

Is this what my life has come to? Chained to a wall by my own mate with the impending doom of a heat incoming? For once, I wish I had never found him. All he's brought me is pain. And there's only more to come.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Isobel's going to get her heat soon! Do you think she's going to get out before it strikes, or will she have to suffer in the prison? And what about Jack? Hope you enjoyed.
WORxxx

P.S. I feel like I have to put this in. DON'T DO DRUGS! You are not a werewolf, opium will do more than just knock you out. It could kill you or get you addicted. Just say no.

25