Chapter 7: A Rude Awakening

Alice’s Point of view

The first thing I feel is a terrible pain in the back of my head. I slowly regain consciousness and feel lost. The cold and hard ground quickly brings me back to reality and everything comes back to me at once.

The hunt with Cop. The arrival of the rogues. Our arrest.

I make sure not to betray that I have regained consciousness and realize that I am tied up. 

"There's no one with us." Cop whispers.

I open my eyes and see that he is facing me, tied up to a pipe on the wall. Our hands are bound behind our backs with heavy handcuffs. Impossible to break them. 

I look around and realize that we are in the ruined building but the room where we are held is closed by solid walls with very high windows. The door leading to our freedom seems to be armored.

"You came back." Cop whispers. 

I turn my gaze towards him. He seems calm and that reassures me a little.

"I swore on the Moon Goddess, remember?" I whisper while continuing my observation of the place. Although we seem to be alone, maybe they are behind the door, listening to us.

"That's not what we swore and you know it. Why did you come back?"

"Did you spot any exits? Have you seen the rogues?" I ask, trying to change the subject.

"I know what you're doing and it's not going to work. Like you, they knocked me out and I woke up a few minutes before you did. Answer me now."

"Any way out?"

"Saphira..." He exhales impatiently.

I sigh. He's not going to let go. 

"I wanted to be sure you wouldn't betray me. There's nothing to stop you from telling them everything."

A long silence follows. "I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want, I don't care. Are you going to help me think of a plan or not?"

"Tell me the truth."

"You can't be serious?! Do you really think this is the time to talk about this?" I get angry. "We're tied up in an old building by violent rogues who caught us red-handed. If they report that we're hunting here, at worst we'll be killed and our packs evicted. There are more important things than why I came back."

"Saph, we're probably going to die here. You know that don't you?" He whispers in a sad voice.

I swallow and nod. 

"So tell me why you sentenced yourself to death with me?"

But he is impossible to bear!

"Fine! I couldn't leave you, okay? I thought that if it was me in your place, I would have liked you to come and help me. I thought I could come back and surprise them. If I had known that reinforcements were coming, I would have done differently. I would have waited and set you free later." I say angrily.

"So at no time you considered leaving me." He says in a cheerful voice.

I look at him without understanding. 

"That means you accepted me. As a friend."

I am speechless. He is right. I laugh.

"What's so funny?" He asks me.

"If someone had told me that one day I would be friends with... someone like you," I say, looking towards the door so that he understands that we can be heard, "I would have laughed and taught that person a lesson." I say, shaking my head.

He laughs. "I understand! I'm the first one surprised. I never thought I could call someone like you a friend either. Especially not you!"

I look at him quizzically. Especially not me? What is that supposed to mean?

Seeing me lost, he points to something with his head. I turn my head and my gaze falls on my scarf. 

Oh, Goddess. 

I look at Cop, who is still masked and looking at me with a quiet look.

I, on the other hand, am in total panic. 

He knows. He knows who I am.

I search for my words, not knowing what to say.

"Don't worry. I swore, remember?" He tries to reassure me.

And I believe him. I have learned to trust him and I know he will not betray me.

I sigh with relief. "And why didn't they take off your scarf?"

"Yours fell off when you were fighting. They didn't take mine off so it would be nice if we got out of there before they came back. I tried to break the handcuffs but I don't have the strength. I can't hear my wolf anymore."

I then realize that Cassie hasn't come forward either. I try to call her but there is no answer.

"They must have injected us with something." I understand. "I don't think it's silver because I don't feel any pain."

"I don't either. What worries me is that we're still alive. I don't understand what they want from us."

Then we hear footsteps.

"Saphira?" He murmurs precipitously. "It has been a true honor and pleasure to hunt with you. I will cherish every minute of it until the end of my life which is, I grant you, not long from now."

I laugh sadly. "Me too Cop. Me too."

The door then opens to a group of about ten rogues. Only three of them approach us, the rest guarding the door. 

The group of three stops between Cop and me and the one in the middle lets out an evil laugh. He is very tall, has black hair that reaches above his shoulders, and has a large scar on his right cheek. 

"Look what we caught tonight, guys!" He says, making the others snicker. 

The other man, very short with yellow teeth, approaches me with a nasty smile. And I don't like the way he looks at me.

He reaches out to touch my cheek and I try to pull my head back as far as possible. 

"Pretty. Pretty Pretty. I want pretty."

He then starts to slowly move his hand down to my chest, making Cop growls.

"Don't touch her!"

While he's inches from my breasts, I hit his head with mine, causing him to jump back, screaming in pain.

"Lay a hand on me again and I'll cut your throat. And you!" I say as I turn to Cop "Don't act like you give a damn." I spit.

I hope he understands. If the rogues understand that we care for each other, they might use it against us.

The blond girl who completes the trio advances towards the yellow teeth guy and helps him to stand up. Her hair is very long and part of it is held in a bun, giving an elegant result. 

She looks at me from head to toes, without hiding her disdain.

"You have very bad taste." She says to her friend. "She's hardly a 7."

I raise an eyebrow. "7 is a good score."

She lets out a mocking laugh. "It's a grade out of 20, honey!"

I answer her in the same tone. "It's true that you're more of a 17. For a rogue, you are very refined." She seems very happy with my compliment. "Those heels, that manicure, and really that dress. Wow. It does have its advantages being the rogues' whore." 

She looks at me with her eyes and mouth wide open, giving her an owlish look that does not fail to make me laugh.

She lets out a scream of fury and throws herself at me. She hits me for a moment under the gaze of Cop who looks like he wants to jump at her throat. 

"It's okay Brenda. She understood." Says the first man.

She finally stops and walks away, somewhat disheveled. 

I'm bleeding and bruised all over. I have broken ribs and without Cassie, I'm not likely to heal right away.

She looks at me with a satisfied look without realizing that in the battle she lost a hairpin. 

"As you can see, we're desperate for answers, so I'll only ask you once. Which pack do you belong to?" He says, looking me in the eye.

Neither Cop nor I answer. He then takes it out on Cop who I watch being beaten up, helplessly. 

"Wait." Says the chief. "Why does he still have his scarf? Take it off him." 

Yellow teeth complies and rips off Cop's hood and scarf. I see his face for the first time.

He is the most beautiful man I have ever seen.

His hair is a reddish-brown, absolutely beautiful. It is short on the sides but long enough on the top for me to run my fingers through it to draw his full lips on mine. His face is masculine and yet his features are fine.

But it's those deep green eyes that hold my attention. 

They are the same color as Cassiopeia's and as I dive deep into his soul. 

I know who he is.

He is my mate. Elliot.