HEY, LITTLE WOLF

AMARIS POV

“Ahm…you cannot harm or kill Amaris. They’ve become linked.”

“If she dies, Amoria dies,” said the voice of the man who had run into the room like there was an earthquake happening outside.

My eye, which had been closed for the longest while, sprang open when the gravity of his words finally set in. My vision narrowed on the man with wild glasses hiding behind his beautiful face. His attention was on me. Not only his—Zevian’s neck had now snapped in my direction, his eyes flickering with confusion.

Then he turned back to the man and said, “You must be joking, right?”

“You could shoot her to test,” he said, his words causing me to flinch. “But I don’t think causing Amoria pain is something you’d want to indulge in.” He shrugged.

Zevian paused, as if in thought, for a long while. Then his hands clenched into his fists, the veins on the back of his hands becoming prominent.

Then he stormed out of the room after giving me one long, threatening glance that made the hair on my body stand erect.

The man he had left behind walked up to me, then pulled me up with the chair.

“Hey, I’m Lucas, Alpha Zevian’s beta,” he said, offering his hand for a shake.

“Oops,” he mumbled when he realized my hands were still bound behind me with ropes.

Lucas loosened the ropes, pain erupting from the bruised parts of my skin as they came into contact with the rope again.

“Sorry,” he muttered, then stepped back and began observing me like I was some kind of fascinating phenomenon.

After a long while of silence, I decided to break it by asking the questions that had been on my mind since he came in.

“What…” My voice cracked, so I cleared my throat and continued, “what do you mean Amoria and I are linked? How does that happen?”

“That, I do not know, but it already has my interest, so I’m definitely going to be researching it.”

“Can it be removed?” I asked.

Not because I was bothered by the fact that we were connected, but because I knew it was the only leverage I had. The only thing that was going to keep me alive. And if it could be removed, I knew Zevian was somehow going to stop at nothing to make that happen.

Lucas smiled like he could read my mind.

He did read my mind, as he didn’t answer. Instead, he walked to my side and helped me up.

“Some things are best not knowing, my dear.”

No wonder he was Zevian’s beta. Regardless of his nerdy personality, which was a striking contrast to Zevian’s, he was sharp-witted. The only other huge difference was that Lucas felt warmer for some reason. He didn’t emit the coldness Zevian carried around, even sometimes toward Amoria.

Lucas led me outside the basement until we stood in front of a room, which he opened and helped me into.

“This would be your room for the meantime,” he said as he placed me on the bed. “Please and please, try not to get hurt. I need to figure out ways to help my patient first, so I don't need to be worrying about two people.” He chuckled and walked away almost immediately, like he couldn’t wait to dive into another world of discovery.

I adjusted myself on the bed, taking a careful glance at the entire room that lacked any other color except white and the few grey materials scattered around. But despite the bareness, it was somehow less depressing than all the rooms I’d stayed in since I was a child.

I placed my head on the pillow, laying flat as I stared at the ceiling, flashes of my childhood memories sneaking in.

Yet, all I could do was let out a bitter smile before closing my eyes and letting the familiar darkness envelop me.

My eyes shot open to the surrounding darkness when I heard a screeching sound coming from outside my door. I closed my eyes again, intending to ignore it, but then it came again—not hushed sounds, but more like screams muffled by the closed door.

Slowly, I got out of bed and opened the door.

When I peeked out, there was nothing but darkness and the single light coming from the hallway chandelier.

“Hello?” I whispered as I took a step into the darkness. But there was no response, not even from the earlier screams.

I turned back, wanting to go inside, when the door suddenly faded. My heart skipped in my chest.

What was happening?

I panicked as I looked around the surrounding darkness. At the corner of my eyes, a flickering light emitted from a room whose door was slightly ajar.

My feet moved toward it like they had a mind of their own.

When I reached the door, I paused when I heard the hushed voices coming from inside. My eyes moved toward the people inside, and when I realized who they were, my pupils dilated as I clasped my hands over my mouth to prevent any sound from escaping.

“What are we going to do to her now?” said the lady standing beside the tall man.

“We can try using the blood route…” answered the man, who was now standing at the center of the room. “But we’d need a lot of blood from her.”

“We might lose her if we do so,” the woman answered.

“Then so be it…We didn’t go through all that trouble stealing her from the hospital just to leave her alone while she finishes our food.”

“That’s true. I’ll go get the extra anesthesia,” the woman said, walking and leaving the man standing with his back to me as he stared at the bed.

My gaze trailed to the little frame lying peacefully on the bed. When I looked closely at the face, a loud shriek escaped my mouth.

The face staring back at me was mine.

He heard me.

The man standing at the center heard me as he turned in my direction. The face of my adoptive father stared back at me.

Step by step, he approached me. I tried to run, but my legs remained rooted to the ground.

My screams became inaudible.

Soon, he was by my side. His head tilted, then a grin escaped his lips, one that felt so disgusting.

“Hey, little wolf.” His lips curled higher.

Finally, I broke through the weight that had weighed me down as I let out the scream strangled in my throat.

My eyes shot open.

My hands wrapped around my neck as a series of coughs escaped my mouth. My eyes settled on my surroundings. I was still in the room Lucas had left me in.

I tried to calm myself down by taking deep breaths, but my chest kept getting heavier.

The room suddenly felt stuffy. My eyes trailed to the large window overlooking the pool and lights.

I climbed out of bed, dragging my limp body toward the door. I opened it, peeking gently and making sure I wasn’t in another kind of dream.

Once I was sure no one was there and there was no sound, I quietly located the pool, even though it took me more than fifteen minutes of running into dead ends and doors that I was too scared to open.

Once I reached the edge of the pool, I stood there, gazing at the still water and how the lights shimmered on its surface.

Just as I was about to bend down and sit beside it, a voice, strong yet soothing, echoed behind me.

“What the heck are you doing here?”

Startled, I turned quickly but regretted my decision as my foot slipped, sending my body down by gravity until it collided with the chilling water.

And the only thing I could make out was the sound of Zevian grunting.