The Golden Cage

My eyelids fluttered, heavy, resisting. The last thing I remembered was that unsettling smile, the cold touch, and the creeping paralysis. Now, a profound silence enveloped me, a stillness so absolute it was deafening. My arm throbbed with a dull, persistent ache, a stark reminder of what had transpired.

I opened my eyes fully. The darkness was gone, replaced by a soft, diffused light, emanating from unseen sources. I was lying on something impossibly soft, a bed, by the feel of it. Silken sheets, cool against my bare skin. My clothes were gone. Great. Just great. Kidnapped, drained, and now naked in a strange bed.

A wave of dizziness washed over me as I tried to sit up. My body felt heavy, sluggish, still reeling from the magical sedative. My wolf was a dull ache within me, a distant, whimpering presence. It was still there, but muted, like a trapped echo.

Then I saw him.

He was sitting in a high-backed chair across the room, bathed in the gentle light. The man with the white hair an