Chapter 3

  

  A horrific, breathless scream tore from the very bottom of my lungs, shattering the silence of the basement.

  No!"

  The word was ripped from my throat, raw and breathless, as the stale scraps of bread slipped from my numb fingers. They hit the dusty floorboards of the sub-basement with a dull, hollow thud. My knees buckled, sending me crashing hard into a sticky, spreading pool of fresh crimson. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't process the horror unfolding before my eyes.

  Toby was lying perfectly still on the lundry floor . The only person who had thrown me a lifeline in this hellhole was drowning in his own blood.

  Shaking violently, I gathered his frail, limp body up into my arms, pulling him tightly against my chest. My tears fell hot and fast, cutting clean tracks through the layer of grime on his pale cheeks.

  "What happened, Toby? Look at me, please, look at me," I choked out, my voice cracking into a desperate sob as I rocked him. "Who did this to you? What happened?"

  "It's... it's the Angela," he said weakly as coughed, his chest rattling. The small effort caused a dark trickle of blood to ooze from the corner of his lips, staining his teeth. He winced, his fingers weakly clutching at my collarbone. "She..she came with two guards, they kicked me on my chest over and over, after the beta he dragged you away for punishment.”

  A freezing, paralyzing silence settled over my mind. Angela and Lukas. Those brutal bastard hadn't just beaten me into the dirt, they had also targeted my only friend, punishing him for the crime of showing me mercy. Rage, cold and absolute, sparked deep within my chest, but it was instantly swallowed by utter helplessness. We couldn't go to the pack doctor. Omegas of our low standing were strictly denied medical access, left to rot or die in the dark. And without my wolf’s active healing power, I couldn't transfer any strength to Toby myself.

  I smoothed his tangled hair away from his face, my hand shaking violently as I caressed his skin. He was getting paler by the second. Frantic, I peeled his tattered shirt upward, and my heart shattered. There was a deep, jagged, gash-like wound tearing across his torso, right over his ribs where the guards heavy boot had struck.

  How dare he touch our only friend?! Lillian’s voice suddenly thundered back to life within my mind, a terrifying, feral growl that shook my subconscious. I will rip his throat out! I will fucking end him!

  Calm down, Lillian! Please! I pleaded, trying to anchor my own spiraling thoughts. We have got to find a way to get him healed first, and I don't know what to do!

  Lillian went abruptly silent, evaluating the deep damage. Toby had always been a low-ranking Omega, physically smaller than the other wolves, his body worn down by years of grueling pack labor.

  Let's try it, Lillian urged, her tone shifting from rage to fierce desperation. Sit him up against the wall. Now.

  I moved quickly, gently lifting Toby's limp upper body and leaning him back against the rough wood to keep his lungs clear.

  That's it! Lillian said. Tell him to communicate with his wolf to help him heal. I am sure that will work. He's an omega, but the survival instinct is universal.

  "Toby... listen to my voice," I whispered, cupping his face in my blistered palms.

  "Fiona..." He forced his heavy eyelids open, his eyes glassy and unfocused. He tried to offer me a small, heartbreaking smile. "I feel so woozy," he whispered. "Am I going to die? Am I going to leave you alone here?"

  "No! Absolutely not!" I shook my head violently, the tears blurring my vision. "You are not going to die. You are going to live for me. You will be completely okay. We are getting out of this place together.”

  Angela walked into the laundry room with her arms full of dirty clothes and when she say Toby trying to sit up on his own. She laughed," Pathetic omegas.” She hissed before walking out.

  Toby sniffed, a lonely tear cutting through the dried blood on his chin.

  " Hold on for my Toby. They won't laugh much longer." I took his face in my hands, looking straight into his eyes. "I want you to do something very important for me right now. I know you can do this, Toby."

  "What is it?"

  "I want you to talk to your wolf," I said to him. "I want you to tell him to help you heal."

  "Okay... but he feels so tired, just like me."

  "That is exactly why I want you to try, so you wouldn't feel tired anymore. Force him to the surface."

  He nodded bravely and went silent, squeezing his eyes shut as he reached inward. Soon enough, I saw his body straining, his chest tightening as he pulled the healing forward. I raised his shirt up again, watching the wound with bated breath.

  To my absolute wonder, the jagged edges of the gash began to close up gradually, knitting together line by line until his skin was completely whole.

  A massive, breathless smile broke across my face, my tears turning into pure relief. "You did it! You did it!" I shook his shoulder playfully, laughing softly through my tears. "Now, I want you to cough for me. Let me see if there is blood."

  He coughed, a clear, sharp sound. There was no sign of blood at all.

  "You see..." I hugged him tightly against me, burying my face in his shoulder. "You are okay."

  He rested against me, his voice dropping to a tiny whisper. "Fiona? I am so hungry. I haven't eaten since yesterday."

  My face fell instantly, and I looked back toward the empty floorboards. The bread was gone, and the pancakes from earlier had been stomped into the dirt by evil Angela’s boots. "I don't think there will be any food for him tonight."

  "I understand," he said softly, leaning his head back against the wall. "I will just go to sleep now..."

  "I will get you something to eat tomorrow, I promise. Just rest."

  "Yes," he nodded, his eyes fluttering shut. "And one day, Fiona... we will live somewhere far away from here. A place where nobody can hurt you. It will be fine, and we will finally be happy." He said.

  "Go to sleep, Toby." I watched as he closed his eyes, falling into a peaceful slumber. I sat there for a while watching over him.”