I awoke to the sounds of something swishing loudly above me and to the feeling of sweat trickling down my back.

I shot open my eyes immediately, inhaling deeply as I silently wished for my heart to stop pounding so quickly.

Fear and uneasiness came in like waves throughout me, before complete irritation soon settled in as I looked around me and at my body.

My hands rested upon and were tied to the arms of the chair I sat upon, and my ankles were bound with rope to the legs of the chair as well.

I frowned at the sight of red bruises which had formed around my wrists, and attempted to adjust my slightly hunched form in the wooden chair that creaked at my movements.

I grimaced, neck throbbing with pain when I shifted it, eyes narrowing when I looked firstly at the Alberrechian man sitting on the edge of a table before me, his arms folded across his wide chest, and then at the grating noises above me which had yet to cease.

The noises came from an oddly hanging lightbulb on the ceiling, which didn't entirely look as if it had been situated correctly. It was jerking strangely, drifting back and forth with the wind that blasted through an opened window.

My gaze returned to the man sitting before me once more. A cigar was now held between two of his fingers, and he watched me as I did him.

He wore a black eyepatch, was bald, and although I sat, which made me obviously shorter than him, I knew he was tall.

His muscles seemed to bulge uncomfortably under the brown uniform he wore, and his head lowered as mine raised higher.

"Some of my men witnessed your abilities." The man eventually said. His voice was throaty and hoarse, as if his vocal chords were strained. "They saw you heal a lycan."

My expression became blank, but my gaze flickered down to his cigar once more. My father often smokes, and memories of him were beginning to surface at the sight of it, but I pushed them away.

"You could be useful for us." The man carried on talking, drawing my attention away from his fingers and back to his face, noticing the scars on his cheeks.

I watched as he straightened, allowing the cigar to roll from his hand and fall to the table.

His footsteps were slow but echoing as he walked towards me, and my fingers twitched as I felt my frustration at being bound and unable to move.

"Do you know who I am?" The man asked, his voice dropping low when he stood before me. My head remained high and tilted so I could maintain eye-contact with him.

The creaking of the light bulb above was all that could be heard for several seconds as I ground my teeth together, irritated by the cocky and proud smile on his lips.

"An Alberrechian." My voice was as low as his own, but my exasperation leaked through it. My eyes lowered to the words stitched into his uniform.

Rhyan East was his name. He was not only an Alberrechian, but a commander as well. I had heard of the Alberrechians a few years ago, and had been told of them and their goals, one of them being to eventually wipe out the entire species of lycans, by Athena.

The man seemed pleased by my short response. I sighed noisily through my nose when he leaned down, bracing his hands against his knees and appraising me for a short moment.

His gaze went to my necklace but then dragged back to my face when I leaned backwards in the chair.

"I need you to work your magic on an Alpha." The man, Rhyan said, straightening again, taking the strong scent of cigar smoke with him. I arched an eyebrow and scowled, demanding,

"And then will you release me?"

His cocky smile widened. "Is there somewhere else you would rather be, little witch? Did you have any plans for the day?" His voice was slathered with sarcasm, but my mind nonetheless briefly went to what I'd like to do, what I had planned to do for the day.

My first plan had been to eat breakfast; porridge topped with sliced bananas to be specific.

Rhyan gave no genuine reply to my question. Instead, he circled back to his desk, lifting back up the cigar and propping it into the side of his mouth, grunting as he sat on a large office chair.

The smoke that came from the cigar and his mouth seemed to blur some of his face when he spoke, and I could feel my throat beginning to itch.

The sounds of doors opening behind me could be heard abruptly, and I stiffened as several uniformed men came to stand on either side of me.

I particularly eyed the large gun one of them wielded, and was silent as another began slicing through the ropes that bound me to the chair.

"They will take you to the area in which we are keeping the Alpha." Rhyan told me nonchalantly. "And you shall then soon after be shown to a room in which you will stay, until I determine what other use I will have of you."

My fingers immediately sought out to soothe the bruised skin of my wrists and neck as I stood, and I sighed noisily once again when one of the men pressed his gun in the middle of my back, urging me to walk.

I did as they silently demanded, and noticed absent-mindedly that not only had my bag which had contained the empty vials and dagger had been taken, but so had my boots and socks.

My walk was brisk as I walked past several closed doors and people, most pausing in confusion to watch us before resuming walking once more.

My fingers swept to my neck as it throbbed when I turned my head, and I scowled at the male who pressed the muzzle of his gun further into my back at my action.

Our paces quickened, and the soles of my bare feet slapped noisily against the cold tiled floor as I maintained the fast pace they demanded of me.

The lights above on the ceiling flickered when we neared the end of the stretch of the long hallway, passing by many closed doors.

We eventually came to a halt at the last one, and one of the Alberrechian men casted a long look at me, as if gauging my reaction, before side-stepping my body and pushing open the door.

My eyes immediately latched on to the shirtless male lycan, who was also evidently an Alpha, tied to what looked to be an operating table.

Metal covered the lower half of his face, hiding his mouth, and I could see that his eyes were closed. His dark brown hair was dishevelled, and a bruise was by the corner of his left eye.

As I walked closer, my gaze lowered to the tattoos on both of his arms, and then to the deep wounds on his stomach.

His body was large and well muscled, and it also was far too long for the table he rested upon. I could only imagine the discomfort he would feel once he awoke.

"Stop that." My hiss to the Alberrechain male bounced off of the walls and I felt the poking of the gun against my back lessen.

I moved silently further into the room, as I had no choice but to anyway, and I stopped by the table, inhaling deeply as I examined the male before me once again.

My head tilted as I noticed the small creases between his brows. He was alive, but was unconscious.

My eyes travelled to the ropes which bound his wrists, and I pressed my lips together as I hid my amusement. Once the lycan recovered, it would be easy for him to snap them off.

"Get to work," The man with the gun spoke from behind me. "Heal him."

Obediently I began to do as asked, aware that the gun in which the Alberrechian held was still aimed towards me.

My fingers hovered over his wounds, thrumming and shaking as I silently called upon my magic, willing it to help the lycan awaken and heal his deep gashes. The wounds and gashes I saw looked to have been recently inflicted.

My fingertips lowered until they were millimetres away from his skin, and a surge of heat, which was not very uncomfortable but strange, crept down towards my palms.

I concentrated on healing the Alpha however, and watched as his skin knit back together, wounds disappearing but blood which had dripped down his stomach remaining. That would have to be washed away.

My breathing became louder as my fingers abruptly began to tingle as I finished off the healing, and when my attention went to the alpha's face, I became mildly surprised at the sight of his dark blue eyes watching me, darkening with each passing moment and then glittering with frustration as he seemed to realize that he was unable to move.

I pulled my hands away slowly from his stomach and rested them by my sides as I suppressed my magic, gaze remaining fixated on the lycan warily.

The room was quiet for a long while, but the lycan's chest began to rise and fall rapidly, and I saw his bound wrists shift.

Darkness stirred in the lycan's eyes when he finally looked to those around me, and his deep voice was muffled as a result of the metal covering his mouth.

Something akin to panic and rage leaked into the alpha's eyes when his gaze swivelled back to me as I stepped away from him.

I frowned deeply as I watched him shift his body against the table, pulling harshly at the ropes.

Things were going to escalate.

"Am I finished here?" I finally found my voice, and turned my head to the Alberrechian with the weapon, ignoring the sharp pain that resulted in my neck from me moving my head so quickly.

In response to my question, a hand was placed not so gently on the back of my neck, and I was thrusted in the direction of the door.

A soft pained noise came from my mouth, and my fingers itched with the need to curl into fists and pummel the man.

However, all hell broke loose behind me and the sounds of a loud struggle ensued. Persons burst through the door, and I managed to see a glimpse of the Alpha being barely restrained by the Alberrechians.

The lycan's primal eyes were now of an obsidian color, and were fixated on me as I was pushed urgently towards the door of the room, my feet squeaking against the tiles as I was moved.

The ropes which had once bound the alpha was gone, and monstrous looking claws were beginning to form on his hands.

The door slammed closed behind me just as I saw his large body begin to shake, but the closed door did little to hide the reverberating muffled growls and snarls that erupted from inside the room.

The alpha's roar shook the hallway I was forced to walk down, and I began to rub my temples as I settled my racing heart, sending the Alberrechian female, who was reprimanding me for not moving quickly enough, a withering look.

She frowned, but kept close to my side, ensuring that I knew she had her pistol withdrawn.

"Commander Rhyan will speak to you later this evening." The woman's voice was clipped when she eventually showed me into a room.

All that I saw was a plain dark bed and a glass window. I walked to the window immediately, hearing the woman close and lock the door soundly.

From looking through the window, I knew I was not on the ground floor, but was high enough that if need be, I could jump.

However, painful injuries would be sustained if I chose to, and I soon decided that I would seek another way to leave.

I remained standing throughout the next few hours that passed, healing the bruises around my neck and brushing away the red marks around my wrists.

I could hear every now and then the familiar roars from the lycan; I was apparently close to where he was being kept, and each loud sound from him seemed to increase the pounding headache which had been forming.

It did not take long before another chaotic, yet fortunate occurrence to happen.

With the assistance of the window, I was able to see several Wildeland warriors approaching the building, along with other unfamiliar lycans. They moved with ease and concentration was etched into most of their expressions.

Minutes passed by as I watched them slowly begin to invade the building, and when they no longer were in sight, I walked to the locked door, arms behind my back and eyes focused on the handle as I waited to be, hopefully, found.

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