Cameron
"Wake up," someone said while shaking me with no mercy. "Come on mutt, get up!"
"What the-" I mumbled, before opening my eyes to see Leon on top of me. I tried to remember what happened to me, before I realized what position Leon and me were in.
"Dude, get off me," I shouted, before kicking him in the stomach. He groaned, as I stood up from my spot in a daze. My eyes felt too heavy and it felt like someone just bashed my head in with a hammer. I remembered then that it was Lucius who did so with those freaky powers of his.
"You bastard...This is what I get for waking your fat ass up?" Leon mumbled, before he too got up from his spot.
I was about to retort back, when a soft cry was heard on the other side of the room. My eyebrows scrunched in confusion when I saw Leon's face immediately show anger and pain.
"What happened?" I asked in alert, turning my head to see where the cry was being heard from. I froze in shock seeing the scene that was unfolding right before my very own eyes.
"What did he do to her?" I whispered hoarsely, trying to get my breathing in check.
"From the smell of it and the bruises on her arm and back, I'm guessing it was liquid silver again," Scott replied, standing beside me. He sounded exhausted but I could hear the anger clear in his voice.
"What happened?" I asked again, my eyes still fixed on her. She was sitting on Orion's lap while her back was exposed to us. Orion was holding her tight, while whispering soothing words to her. But that wasn't what caught my attention.
There was blood. So much of it running down her back that I was surprised that she didn't pass out yet. The smell was nauseating and even I had trouble keeping my tears in check.
"She didn't say," Scott replied grimly.
"Jason, Ayden, and Adrian," Trenton replied, and I was finally able to remove my eyes from the gruesome sight.
"What?" I asked, seeing Trenton on the floor looking at Ariel with a stoic expression on his face.
"Jason, Ayden, and Adrian," Trenton repeated, tearing his eyes to look at me. "She kept mumbling those names for a while now."
"The name, Jason. It sounds familiar," Scott replied while closing his eyes. "Where did I hear it again?"
“The future Alpha of the Silver Fang Pack," Arlo said, appearing out of nowhere. "Jason Martinez."
"You know him?" Scott asked, in a surprised tone.
"Not personally," Arlo replied sounding smart again. "But I did see him in one of the pack meetings when I went along with my dad. He's a smart kid, kind of cocky but still sharp."
"Look who's talking," I muttered to which he ignored.
"I guess Ariel really is from the Silver Fang Pack," he said, while closing his eyes and leaning on the wall. "And I guess that the reason why they took her and not Jason is because of what she is."
"What exactly is she?" Trenton muttered in anger, his eyes trained on her. He was examining her like she was some sort of lab rat. I had enough of him and his weird mood swings.
Before I was able to tell him to keep his mouth shut, Orion's voice interrupted us.
"She's finally asleep," he murmured, and all eyes were on Ariel again. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was ragged, as she slept on Orion's lap.
We walked to them in silence and saw that tears were stained on her cheeks.
"Did she say?" Leon whispered, his eyes only filled with concern.
“Lucius forced her to play to a game of hide and seek," Orion muttered, while his eyes started turning black. "He won and she got her punishment."
"What?" I shouted, horrified of what happened.
"He's insane!" Scott yelled, disgust clear in his voice.
“Keep your mouths shut," Orion hissed at us. "She's trying to sleep!"
"Sorry," we muttered in unison.
There was silence in the room as we watched her sleep. Her eyebrows were scrunched together, and sweat was beaded on her face.
"There's really nothing we can do now," Arlo sighed, before laying on the floor once again. "I checked every corner of the basement and tried opening the door multiple times.”
“I practically broke all my nails trying to pry that door open,” Trenton muttered, showing his bloodied hand.
I ignored him and slumped down onto the floor, worn-out from this entire fucking day. My head hit the cold wall hard and I welcomed the pain.
Already, I've known that there was no escape but Arlo confirming it, made it more real.
Minutes surely turned to hours as everyone was lost in their thoughts, no one willing to say anything to break the tense silence.
The rest of the wolves and Leon were staring at walls, their eyes clouded with sadness and worry. I knew the same emotions were reflected in my eyes as well.
I had no idea what my pack was going through right now and that was killing me slowly on the inside.
My parents and even my annoying little sister, Sara... would I ever see them again?
I bit hard on my tongue, refusing to let my emotions take over me.
This was fucking hell.
"You feel like you're in hell?" Leon hissed from across from me. I realized then that I spoke out the last words aloud. "Imagine her, you idiot!"
He didn't need to explain who the "her" was and instantly, I felt horrible.
"Sorry," I muttered, realizing he was right. Our pain couldn't even light a candle to what Ariel was going through through.
"Whatever," Leon muttered, before turning his eyes toward Ariel. He was watching her like a predator stalking his prey. If not for the gentle way he treated her before, I would've thought his actions were strange."What exactly is liquid silver anyways?"
Arlo was about to open his mouth to answer him when Scott cut in.
"Don't you dare tell him anything about our weaknesses, Arlo!" Scott hissed, eyes narrowed on Leon. "I don't trust this bloodsucker."
"Still?" Leon growled, frustrated with Scott's comment. He swung his head to look at Scott and blasted him with a glare. "What do you want me to do, mutt?"
"Maybe crawl back to your coffin six feet underneath," Scott retorted back with an ugly smirk.
"They're starting to get annoying," Arlo muttered, letting out a sigh.
"You're one to talk," I shot back, still watching Scott and the vampire go head to head with each other.
However they were interrupted by a giggle that caught everyone's attention. My eyes flew wide, as it found the source of the sound.
"Ariel?" I asked, surprised she was awake, let alone laughing. She didn't answer me, but kept giggling, as she remained seated on Orion's lap.
Orion tilted his head down, looking at her with concern but a tinge of amusement.
"Shit, are you okay?," Leon asked in guilt, the anger that was in tone a moment ago now completely gone. He jerked his head toward Scott. "Did this idiot wake you up?"
"Who the hell are you calling idiot, idiot?" Scott retorted back but he too lost the bite in his tone.
"You two remind me of my brothers," she replied instead, pointing at Leon and Scott. "They always fight over dumb things."
"What did you say?" Scott and Leon shouted back at the same time, but we could tell that they were joking. Their eyes were soft and there was a smile playing on both their lips.
I'm sure, just like the rest of us, that they were just happy that she was smiling.
Ariel again giggled at him, and slowly the tension in the room lifted. Even though we knew she was most likely still in pain, this was a good distraction for her.
For all of us.
"There's still blood running down your back," Orion interrupted from behind her. "I'm sorry we can't do anything to help it."
"It's alright, Orion. It'll heal eventually and right now, my back feels numb," Ariel spoke softly, while standing up from Orion's lap. I didn't know if that was a good thing or not, but if she found some way to ignore the pain, then so be it.
Ariel turned to look at all of us slowly, and we couldn't help but be awe-stricken by how beautiful she is. She was so dainty and small and without her wolf, she seemed so delicate to the touch. "There's some things about myself that you all should know."
My heart leaped at her words. Does that mean she now trusts us?
"Are you sure Ariel?" I asked, not wanting to force her to say anything.
She slowly nodded, giving us an unsure but gentle smile. "You were right before, Orion. If we want to even have the chance to escape, we need to learn to trust each other."
"We're sorry about prying into your life before," Orion added softly. "It was not our business in the first place.
"Well, I'm not," Trenton muttered in the background.
"No... I'm sorry for losing control before. My wolf can be very powerful sometimes but she's always there for me," Ariel murmured with love in her voice.
"But she is one hell of a wolf," I said, thinking of the power she exuded before.
Ariel sighed in sadness. "My wolf is the reason why the man with the scar and Lucius took me."
"What do you mean?" I asked, wondering like hell what secrets the girl before us held.
"My wolf is special," Ariel paused, while lowering her gaze to the ground. "And because of it, I have powers that are different from any other supernatural creatures."
"You mean like the healing?" Leon asked, eyebrows scrunched together in anticipation.
"Exactly like healing," Ariel said while staring straight at the vampire. "That's one of my powers."
"Wait- you can do more?" Scotty exclaimed, his eyes growing wide. "No way."
"Yes way," Ariel smiled at Scott. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the rest of us in the room."I can control the elements of nature as well."
"What?!" I exclaimed, pinching myself to see if I heard correctly. When I felt the pain, I knew I heard right.
"Elements of nature?" Arlo asked, also not believing his ears. “Like air, water, fire, and earth?"
Ariel merely nodded.
"You're saying you can control all that?" Arlo whispered, to which she nodded again. "How's that even possible?"
"Wait, if you used your healing powers, then why couldn't you use your other powers to beat those bastards up?" Scott demanded, his curiosity shining like a beacon. For once, I wondered the same thing as him.
"It's Lucius' power," Ariel explained, sitting down across from us. "He did something to this house so that I won't be able to connect to the nature. Without the nature's energy, I can't conjure up any of my powers."
"Then what about the healing?" Leon asked, looking confused. "How were you able to heal me and not yourself?"
Ariel sighed in frustration, "I told you before Leon...I can only heal other people, not myself."
"Oh right," Leon muttered, embarrassed.
"And the reason why I was able to heal you was because I used Spirit," Ariel explained after in a soft tone. "The other four elements come from the nature. Spirit comes from-
"Your body?" Arlo finished for her. Ariel merely nodded, and he sighed. "Doesn't that mean that you used your energy to save Leon?"
Ariel bit her lip, but still nodded.
"What?!" Leon shouted in shock, not expecting this anger. "Why would you do that? And especially for a stranger?"
"I don't know," Ariel whispered. "You got hurt trying to defend me. It's the least I can do."
"And what about you?!" Leon growled. "Look at how hurt you are now!"
Ariel flinched back from his anger. "I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for," Leon yelled in exasperation, pulling at his hair.
"Shut up Leon!" I growled, angry that he scared her with her words. I was right. This girl was too delicate.
"Just be grateful that she even healed you, fang boy!" Scotty added, shooting glares at Leon as well.
Leon realizing his mistake, took a deep breath to calm his nerves. "I'm sorry but just don't do it again."
He looked at Ariel, guilt plastered onto his face. "I don't want to see you get hurt again. Especially because of me. Okay?"
Ariel was shocked by his kindness but still smiled, "I'll try." There was silence after that, as everyone digested what we just learned in this short time span.
I watched as she rested her back on the wall before bringing her knees to her chest to wrap her arms around them. She was watching everyone with a solemn look but I can see the pain in her eyes that she was trying to hide.
So delicate but so fucking strong. What exactly was she?
"So what are you?" Trenton demanded, stealing the words right out of my mouth and probably the rest of us too.
Ariel yawned softly, and closed her eyes in tiredness. "I'm a silver wolf."
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