Chapter 33: Captivity
314words
He walked to the door, then paused. "Oh, and Charlotte? Don't count on your Alpha coming to rescue you. This facility is lined with mountain ash and silver. Even if he could find you—which he can't, thanks to the blocking agents we've administered to you—he couldn't get in."
After he left, I tested my restraints again, finding them unyielding. The room was small and windowless, with a single door that was undoubtedly locked and guarded. My only hope was that Liam had seen who took me—that he and the pack were already searching.
Hours passed, or what felt like hours in the timeless underground chamber. Eventually, the door opened again, and a young woman entered carrying a tray of food. She was perhaps a few years younger than me, with the same piercing blue eyes as Richard.
"Your dinner," she said, setting the tray on a small table. She approached cautiously to release one of my hands. "Grandfather said to make sure you eat."
"You're my cousin?" I asked, studying her face.
She nodded. "Sophia Hayes. I've known about you my whole life. The half-breed daughter of the family traitor."
Despite her harsh words, there was curiosity in her eyes rather than malice.
"Is that what they told you?" I asked. "That my mother was a traitor for falling in love?"
"For betraying her heritage," Sophia corrected. "For choosing a monster over her own kind."
"Have you ever actually met a werewolf, Sophia? Spoken with one? Or have you just been told they're monsters your entire life?"
She hesitated. "I've seen what they can do. The violence they're capable of."
