"Silas?" A small hand slowly slid into my hair. "Please wake up. You're really starting to scare me."

I stayed silent as I tried to remember what had happened. It took only a few minutes for my hazy mind to clear. The man had held Lara at gun point and then I had felt the jab of the needle and then nothing. Lara!

My eyes snapped open and I shot up but hands gripped my shoulders and pushed me back down. I blinked up at the blurry figure hovering above me. I sucked in a breath and then relaxed slightly as Lara's sweet scent filled my nostrils.

"Where are they?" I croaked.

"I don't know," Lara whispered. "I woke up only a few minutes ago."

"They injected you?"

Lara didn't answer. I opened my eyes, thankful that my vision wasn't so blurry anymore. I had a clear look at Lara's face hovering above mine. Dried blood coated her temple with a few droplets on her cheek. I reached up and tentatively brushed my fingers along the wound.

She gave me a small smile. "He knocked me out soon after you—"

Her words were cut off when there was a loud peep. I was instantly on alert. I sat up and threw my legs over the side of the narrow bed. My body felt weak and nausea assaulted me the moment I climbed to my feet. Lara hooked an arm around my waist when I stumbled forward.

I glanced down at her with a frown. "Did you see what they had injected me with?"

She shook her head. I nodded and the glanced around. The floor was plain cement and the walls plain concrete. A cot was pushed into the corner on one side of the room and a toilet with a basin across from it. There weren't any windows and the ceiling was too high up to reach.

My eyes darted over to the doors. They were made of thick metal and only opened from the outside. I swallowed when I spotted two cameras in the corner near the doors. So they were watching us.

"Silas?"

I turned towards her and pulled Lara against my chest. She clung to me as a sob fell from her lips. We had nobody who would be searching for us. Nobody...Would we die here?

"It's going to be okay, sweetness," I told her. "We just have to work with them until we can find a way out."

"Nobody's searching for us, how are we going to get out of here?"

I hugged her tighter. "I'll think of something."

Pulling away, I led her over to the basin and opened the tap. Leaning down, I sniffed at the water before I straightened. "It's clean."

When I glanced at Lara I found her watching me in astonishment. "You can tell that by smelling it?"

I smirked at her but kept silent. The last thing I wanted our kidnappers to know was the fact that I wasn't human and that Lara knew about it. Unbuttoning my shirt, I tugged it from my pants and then shrugged it off. She stayed silent as I dipped it under the tap and squeezed out the excess water.

Stepping closer, I gently pressed it against the dried blood and cleaned her skin. When the blood was cleaned I got a clear view of the cut on her temple. She winced and jerked away when I touched it.

"It doesn't look too deep," I muttered, dropping my shirt in the basin. "It'll heal but I'm worried about it getting infected."

"I'll be okay." Lara glanced around the room. "We'll be okay."

I hoped so. My hesitation only lasted for a few seconds. I bit my tongue and leaned forward to lick her wound. Lara jerked but stayed still. When I was sure that it would heal from my blood, I leaned back and stared down at it as it started to heal. Picking up my shirt again, I wiped the blood away and stepped back from her.

"What did you do?"

"Heal you." I gave her a crooked smile. "One of the many things I inherited."

Before either of us could utter another word, the steel doors slid open. I spun around and pushed Lara behind me. A low growl fell from my lips before I could stop it. Instead of it being our kidnappers, a doctor in a white coat stood there with two men dressed in black with weapons, behind him. I didn't like the way the doctor smile at us.

"I've been waiting for this for years," he said. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for something like you to land in my hands." His eyes darted past me. "Now I have you and extra. Oh the things I could do to you."

"Leave her out of this," I growled at him. "You can do anything you want to do with me but you leave her out of this."

The doctor's smile widened. "Where would the fun be in that?"

Lara pressed a hand against the small of my back. I gripped her hip and stepped backwards and slowly backed Lara into the corner. Nobody could attack her from the behind. The doctor suddenly turned and said something to one of the men. He lowered his weapon and reached back. The man pulled out a smaller gun and unfortunately I recognized it too late.

There was a soft pop followed by a quick flash of pain. I glanced down at my chest at the red dart sticking out of my skin before everything faded into darkness.

***

They took Lara and moved me.

My eyes darted around the cage. Like the room it only contained a narrow cot and a toilet with a hose. The steel bars of the cage were too strong to bend open and try to escape. Thick chains kept the door locked. I tried breaking that, but it was of no use. I glanced down my body and growled again. They had removed the rest of my clothes and dressed me in a pair of stretchy shorts.

Movement from my left had my head snapping in that direction. I froze and watched as the man in the cage next to mine slowly rolled to his feet. He was a big son of a bitch and scary looking. My eyes trailed over him, taking in his long black hair and pale skin. He was tall and muscular but on the slim side. I glanced up when he growled and flinched.

The right side of his face had a jagged scar running from chin, over his eye and then disappearing beneath the strands of hair that hung over his shoulder. He was staring at me silently but I knew he was sniffing me by the way his nose was twitching.

His lips parted and he flashed sharp teeth at me before he turned around.

I glanced away when he walked over to the toilet. The least I could do was give the man some privacy. I walked closer to the steel bars and glanced at the cages across from me and next to that. The cage directly across from mine was occupied by an enraged man that was pacing back and forth. The cage next to his was occupied by a sleeping female.

Was it Lara? My eyes narrowed as I tried to get a better look. I sucked in a breath and then winced. It really wasn't a pleasant smell at all.

"Lara?"

The woman didn't stir. Who was she? Where had they taken Lara? I slammed the bars before I spun around. We needed to get out of here, but I couldn't do anything if they kept injecting me with those damn darts. My hand unconsciously lifted to rub the spot the dart had penetrated earlier. Whatever it was, was strong enough to knock me out. I glanced at the man in the next cage. Was he a shifter too?

My heartbeat increased when I heard the sound of doors being opened. I rushed towards the bars but paused when the stranger spoke.

"Move back."

I hesitated but followed his actions. He moved back until his back brushed the bars at the back of the cage. It only took a few moments for me to hear the sound of their footsteps as they approached. Lara was the first person to step into sight. I rushed forward but the bars kept me from reaching her.

When a man stepped forward and gripped her arm, I froze. He reached for his weapon but didn't remove it from the holster. Another man stepped forward with a ring of keys held in his hand.

"Move back," he ordered me. "Try something and he'll shoot her."

I hesitated, but one glance at Lara's pale face made me follow his order.

"Turn around and grip the bars. You move she dies."

Pursing my lips, I spun around and gripped the bars. It was against my instincts, but Lara's safety came first. I listened keenly as he unlocked the lock and removed the chain. The door opened and there were some shuffling before it slammed closed again. I sucked in a breath and slowly blew it out as I waited for him to lock the door and give me the go ahead.

"He's good."

I spun around and moved towards Lara who still stood in the same place staring unseeingly at the door. Her body jerked when I touched her shoulder.

"Lara?" I moved in front of her and bend my knees to get a better look at her face. "Did they hurt you? Did they touch you?"

She shook her head and slowly glanced up at me. Tears instantly filled her eyes. "S-Silas," she croaked. "It w-was so h-horrible."

Lara threw herself at me as a sob fell from her lips. Horrible? What had they done to her? Slipping an arm under her knees and around her waist, I lifted her against my chest and walked over to the bed. I took a seat on the bed and placed her on my lap.

"It's okay, sweetness." I pressed my lips against her forehead. "It's okay."

Lara shook her head as she looked up at me. More tears slowly slipped down her cheeks. Reaching up, I wiped the tears away but as soon as I wiped one away, another would fall again. Lara pressed a shaky hand against my cheek.

"These p-people are sick," she whispered. "I'm scared."

"Breathe for me, sweetness." I gripped her hand and pressed it against my chest. "Come on, Lara. You're okay. You need to calm down for me."

Our eyes locked as I continued to breathe with her. Relief flooded me when her breathing slowed and the panic faded. I turned onto my side and gently lowered her to the bed. With her body curled against mine and her tears dampening my skin, I promised her that everything would be okay.