Chapter 5: What Did My Touch Take?

SERYN POV

Elena barely spoke as she led me down the hallway. Every few seconds she glanced over her shoulder to make sure I was still following.

Where exactly did she think I would go? 

I didn’t know the layout of the building. And even if I somehow found an exit, I had no idea how many of Kael’s men were standing between me and freedom.

The hallway smelled faintly of flower and looked painfully clean. There were no pencil marks on the walls or any cheap shoes scattered across the floor. 

Everything here looked expensive without trying to prove it. 

“So,” I said, trying to keep the panic rising in my chest out of my voice, “does everyone here get taken to a room when they annoy him?” 

“No, ma’am.” 

“Oh. Then I suppose I should feel special.”

The corner of Elena’s mouth moved like she was about to smile. “I wouldn’t recommend that.” 

We stopped in front of a massive double door made of blurry glass with wire inside for God knows what. Elena pressed her palm against a scanner beside the entrance. The doors opened smoothly, revealing a large room filled with soft blue light. 

“The Moonwater Room,” she murmured, stepping aside. 

I stepped inside slowly, my mouth opened in shock as I saw how the room was. 

A massive bed draped in dark blue sheets sat against the back wall, facing a sprawling floor-to-ceiling glass that looked out over the glittering city lights of Mandara’s City.

A wardrobe stood near a full-length mirror, and a comfortable-looking chair sat beside a small table. Everything was arranged so neatly that I was afraid to touch anything in case I accidentally broke something worth more than everything I owned.

Then I noticed the stone table in the center of the room.

Resting on top of it was a wide, shallow basin filled with a liquid that didn't look like normal water at all. Its surface was a thick and shiny silver that seemed to move on its own.

When I stepped closer, the light leaned towards  me for a second before settling again.

The air above the basin felt cooler than the rest of the room, and it carried a strange sweetness that reminded me of vanilla.

“What is wrong with that water? Why does it look like liquid mercury?”

Elena walked past me toward the bathroom. “It’s Moonwater, ma’am. The liquid is charged with magic. It’s used to restore energy.”

“Restore energy?” My brow furrowed. “With magic water?” 

She nodded as if that were the most ordinary thing in the world. “I will prepare your bath with it now.”

I turned towards her sharply. “Huh? Please don't do that.”

Elena paused at the bathroom entrance. “You don’t want the bath?” 

“I’d prefer normal water, thank you." 

“Okay, but moonwater is recommended."

“That’s wonderful, but no.” I pointed at the basin. “I’ve had enough strange things happen to me today. I don’t need magical bath joining the list.” 

Elena looked slightly amused. But she didn’t argue. 

She disappeared into the bathroom, and a second later, the rushing sound of the water echoed through the quiet room.

I stayed by the basin, leaning down slightly to look at the liquid again. “Can I dip my hand inside?” 

“Of course, ma’am.”

I immediately lowered my hand. Not like I was actually going to. My life was more important than any magic water. 

Elena came back into view, wiping her hands on a fresh towel. “The medical staff will soon send ointment for the mark on your body.”

“Alright." 

She gave a respectful bow, and walked the entrance. “Enjoy your bath, ma’am.” 

She hit the wall keypad, and the doors slid shut between us, locking from the outside with a loud, heavy click. 

I walked over to the large mirror beside the wardrobe and looked closely at myself.

My eyes were the same dark color they had always been. My skin was pale from running double shifts, and my hair was a complete mess from the fight at my apartment. I even checked my teeth, almost expecting to see fangs or something ridiculous hiding under my lips.

Nothing had changed. 

“Survivor,” I whispered to the glass, “Eradicated.” The words sounded ridiculous coming from my mouth. 

Then, I looked down at my hands. They were small and completely ordinary. Yet a few hours ago, these exact hands had brought a full-grown man to his knees. 

A sudden, sharp vibration against my thigh made me jump.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. At the right top of the log, a text message from Isla; my best friend was blinking: Seryn, call me now!

Panic flared hot beneath my skin. My fingers trembled against the plastic casing as I immediately tapped her name and pressed the phone to my ear.

She answered immediately. 

“Seryn!” Isla’s voice was so loud that I pulled the phone away for a second. "Where the hell are you?"

“I’m fine.”

“That’s not what I asked.” I could hear the clatter of plates and voices in the background. She must still be at work.

“I’ve been calling you for hours! I went to your apartment twenty minutes ago to drop off some of my work leftovers and I found the whole place empty.” 

I swallowed the heavy lump in my throat, forcing my voice to stay entirely steady so she wouldn't notice the tremor in my chest. “Hey. Isla, breathe.”

“Breathe? Are you crazy?” she shouted. “Caius isn't even answering his phone either. If you don't tell me what's going on in five seconds, I’m walking straight into the police station to report this.”

“Don’t do that,” my breath catching as I glanced toward the locked glass doors.

What was I supposed to tell her?

That my brother had been taken by a group of werewolves? That I’d somehow knocked two men to their knees without touching them with anything except my hands? She would probably think I had lost it. 

“Isla, listen to me. We went for an emergency cleaning job for a private company downtown.”

“Is that enough reason not to pick my call?” 

“The security here is incredibly strict. They  won't even let us keep our phone active on the main floors.”

A heavy silence fell over the line. I could hear Isla’s uneven breathing on the other end. She obviously knew how I sounded when I was lying, but she also knew how desperate I was to pay our late notice.

“This sounds sketchy as hell, Seryn. Tell me the truth. Are you safe? For real?”

“I’m safe, I promise,” the words tasted awful.  “They’re paying for the whole weekend, plus an extension through the week. It’s enough to cover three months rent, Isla.”

She let out a sharp breath. 

“Please… just go check on Nyla and Elio at Mrs. Langley’s apartment after your shift. Tell them I love them.”

“Alright,” though she didn't sound entirely convinced. “But you call me the exact second you free. If I don't hear from you by morning, I’m calling the police station anyway.”

Before I could answer, the line suddenly crackled. The pale blue light in the room seemed to flicker, and a small red padlock icon appeared directly over the screen.

“Isla? Can you hear me?” I called out, pressing the phone harder against my ear.

“Call me the second you…” A sharp burst of noise swallowed the rest of her sentence.

The screen went dark. A text notification flashed across the display: SIGNAL TERMINATED. OUTSIDE SECURE PARAMETERS.

"Seriously?" I let out a frustrated breath, setting the smartphone down on the low stone table, careful enough from the moonwater. 

 What would Isla do when she can't reach me?

I needed to think. I needed to figure out how to contact someone outside this place without putting them in danger.

Most of all, I needed to get Caius back.

A sudden hiss echoed from the entrance cutting my thought. 

Verek stepped into the room without a single knock again. He was wearing a simple charcoal shirt, paired with dark trousers. His eyes scanned the corners of the room before locking directly onto my face.

I crossed my arms tightly over my chest, glaring at him. “Do you always barge into people’s rooms without an invitation, or are you naturally ill-mannered?” 

He didn't look impressed. “I didn't come here to drink tea with you, girl,” he said. “I came to check if the door is properly locked.”

I glanced at the door. “Liar.”

"Kael wants to ensure you don't cause trouble.”

“I’m already causing trouble just by breathing, apparently,” I snapped, taking a half-step toward the window.

A flicker of pure irritation crossed his face.  He moved closer. I instinctively took a step back, my spine hitting the wooden table. He was towering over me, his broad shoulders blocking out the light from the corridor.

"Stop acting like you aren't scared." 

 "I'm not acting. I’m trying to understand why I’ve been dragged into a world I didn’t even know existed.”

“You should be more concerned about what you've done."

The word made my stomach tighten. "What does that mean?"

He took a deep breath before continuing. "This isn’t to flatter you. Just know that right now, you are a danger to every single wolf breathing inside this building.”

“If I’m such a massive threat to your precious kingdom, why don't you guys just let me take my brother and leave? We’ll vanish and you’ll never see our faces again.”

Verek stepped even more closer. "You don’t even know what you did.”

“What?”

“Jace hasn’t recovered.”

I frowned. “Who is Jace?” 

“One of the guards you knocked down back at your apartment. You suppressed his rank.”

My expression changed, my hand went cold.  “His rank? Please explain." The confidence I possessed before cleared up.

“Every wolf has a rank. It determines their position in our society and is tied to their abilities. You didn’t simply knock Jace down. Whatever you did interfered with that rank.”

My mouth went dry. “Interfered with it how?”

“His rank has been suppressed. Until it returns, he can’t function as he normally would.”

I stared at my hands, my vision blurring slightly.

I looked up at him. "I... I didn't mean to. He was attacking me." 

“I don't give a damn about your excuses,” Verek snapped, his teeth clenched as he checked the clock on the interior wall. "Intent doesn't change the result." 

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I'd wanted to protect Caius. I’d wanted the men to stop grabbing me. I hadn’t known what my touch could do, and I certainly hadn’t intended to leave anyone unable to use their abilities.

But what if Jace never recovered?

What if the second person I touched suffered something worse?

My fingers began to tremble. I curled them into my palms, hoping Verek wouldn’t notice.

Whatever I just did I didn't even know if I could undo it. 

Verek turned around and walked back toward the door. He paused at the doorway, his fingers hovering over the security panel and gave me one angry look over his shoulder. 

“If you try to use that freakish power of yours to hurt my Alpha, I will ignore his order and kill you myself." 

The double glass doors slid shut between us.

I looked down at my hands again, my chest heaving rapidly as the full meaning of what I have done started recalling in my head. 

I needed to understand my power, and why my name had appeared in a registry that had supposedly been sealed for fifty years.

But if my touch took Jace rank. What has it taken from Kael?  

Author Note: My loves, Seryn’s power might be more dangerous than she realizes. Do you think her touch is a gift, a curse, or something else?