IT WAS JUST A DREAM

ADAIRA

~

It felt like someone was trying to fry all my brain cells and I pressed my lips together so I wouldn’t scream. I couldn’t afford to alert the rogues that I was awake. The element of surprise may be the thing that lets me outsmart these rogues so I can make my escape. If it was someone else, I would have shut them out immediately, but I held on because it was Raed, and he may have something important to tell me. At least now I know that he’s alive.

“Raed.” I tried to speak through the pain.

“Ady.” His voice in my head was strained, that was how I knew that he was in pain too.

He may even be in more pain than I was because he was the one that initiated the mind link. I knew why this was happening, we weren’t members of the same pack, and we weren’t mated yet. He could only have access to me because he’s an Alpha, but the price of trying to form a temporal bond to be able to mind link me was the pain.

“Fuck! I didn’t think doing this would hurt so much.” Raed cursed.

“We need to hurry before the pain becomes too much to bear. Why did you force a mind link? What do you want to tell me? Do you already have a plan on how we’ll escape from here?” I asked.

“No, I don’t have a plan yet. I just wanted to know if you’re okay. They put me in a cage next to your other pack mates, they put you in a similar cage but took you away from my line of sight. I don’t really know the layout of this pack so I can’t even guess where you are right now. I was going out of my mind with worry.”

“I’m fine, just pissed off. I’m in a cage too, on my hands and knees, that’s the highest range of movement in here.”

“Same with mine, the bars are also coated with silver so it burns if I move and touch them by mistake.” He said.

“Mine isn’t reinforced with silver, it’s just a normal cage, but the bars are really thick and in this position, it would be hard to get any leverage to burst myself out.” I said.

“You have to try, you’re the only one that can do so. The silver on my cage is weakening my wolf even without bodily contact.”

“Why would they even put me in a cage without silver when every other cage and cell is coated with silver?” I asked.

“The rogue said their Alpha has been waiting for you, he doesn’t want you dead. My guess is, he also doesn’t want you in pain, the silver is pure, it hurts like a bitch.” He replied to me.

“It still doesn’t make sense why I would receive special treatment… well, as special as being locked in a  cage is.”

“He must want you for some reason, let’s not wait around to find out. It can’t be for anything good.” He said to me.

“So, what do we do? Have you tried to mind link anyone from your pack? It should be easier than trying to speak to me since you already have a bond with them.”

“I tried but it’s like static at the other end. The distance is too much and I’m not at full strength because the silver keeps sapping my energy. Even right now, I can feel my hold on our communication slipping. I may not be able to mind link you again after this.” He said.

“Okay, so we need a plan just in case we aren’t able to speak again.” I said as I looked around.

“I know where I am, the building behind the square you’re being held in is right in front of me and there’s no one here but me. There may be some guards hiding in the other buildings and watching me, but I highly doubt it, I don’t feel like I’m being watched. As soon as I have the chance to, I’ll break out of this cage and come find you.”

“We have guards everywhere, but I’m not in the thick of it. They put me off to the side, only two guards are within proximity to me, they should be easy to deal with.” He said.

“When we’re both free, we’ll leave immediately. There’s no use fighting when we’re so outnumbered. We’ll return here when we have reinforcements.” I said.

“Yes, that’s the best thing right now. I can’t hold on much longer, Ady, be safe. If you get free and you aren’t able to come for me, leave without me.” He said.

“No, I go, you go. I won’t leave you at their mercy. I’ll come for you once I free myself and we’ll leave together.” I said to him.

“It’s better for one of us to survive than for the both of us to perish here, Ady. What matters is that news gets to Grenshaw so they can send help here. Leave without me if it’s the best option available, I’ll be fine.” As he spoke, his voice in my head waned, we were losing the mind link.

“I love you, Ady.”

“I love you too.” I replied, just as the link snapped.

I really hoped he heard me. I tried to move around in my cage to try and find a weak spot on the bars of the cage. I would conserve more energy and save more time if I can find a weak spot. I pushed against the bars as I moved but none of them budged. I sighed exasperatedly. How did these rogues even get access to cages? Surely they couldn’t have made the cages themselves, and do they seriously just carry cages around waiting to capture someone? After determining that there was no weak spot on the bars of the cage, I returned to my original position.

I remained on my hands and knees, alert, just in case any rogue tried to ambush me when my guard was down. I knew I was just being paranoid, why would they try to ambush me when they had already captured me? But I didn’t relax, danger was everywhere and I would be ready for it when it comes. My wolf had not fully recovered from our fight earlier, and after the initial adrenaline rush from waking up in an unfamiliar circumstance, I could feel her need to rest.

I tried to stay awake, but I knew it was useless. Also, resting would give me an advantage later when it was time to break free. I lay down and curled into a foetal position so in case someone tried to attack me, my vital organs were protected.

*

I opened my eyes and immediately began to push against the bars of the cage. After waking, I felt so much stronger and the bars stood no chance against me. I heard the first creak and then one of the bars broke, followed by another, I pushed against the others till I had broken through enough, then I bent them and created a space for me to pass through.

My wolf was elated to finally be free of the constricting space and she howled within me as I began to shift. In seconds, I was on four legs instead of two and I howled out loud. I hid and concealed my scent as the sound called the rogue guards from the front and they discovered my broken cage. Just as I expected, they thought I went in the opposite direction that led to the forest because that was the most reasonable option for someone who was trying to escape. Once they all shifted to their wolves and began to run away from my actual position, I moved to where Raed had said he was being held. The rogues were stupid enough to not leave some guards here.

I freed Raed and Tyler began to call my name from his own cell, demanding to be released. I ignored him. Raed was weak from being exposed to silver for so long so I gave him a minute to regain a bit of his strength. His shift was painful because he wasn’t at full strength, and we both took off immediately in the direction of the entrance we had come through.

Our car was still where we had left it, so we shifted back to human form and got in. Running as wolves would be faster but we were both weakened so we wouldn’t last long running at full speed. The car would give us a head start while we regained strength, then we would run the rest of the way to Grenshaw.

After driving for about two hours, we had to hide the car and follow a different route just in case the rogues were on our trail. This would make it harder for them to find us. We both took wolf form and began to run. I almost collapsed with relief when the Grenshaw pack boundary finally came into view after running for so long. Raed actually collapsed when we were finally within pack lands, he still hadn’t completely recovered from the silver.

We both shifted back to human form and I ordered someone to take Raed to the pack doctor while I went to meet the Alpha. After narrating all that happened, I went to join Raed. He was already asleep so I just lay beside him and slept off almost immediately.

I don’t know how long I slept, but I was woken up by a hand stroking my hair. My wolf was purring and I rubbed my head against that hand, seeking the comfort it gave.

“Raed.” I called his name as I opened my eyes.

But instead of Raed’s azure eyes, the eyes I looked up to see were brown. The brown immediately got swallowed up by swirls of gold and red.

“Who is Raed?” He growled.