Chapter 42

Fyre lies next to me in her own separate cage, her skin is burning steam, red with sores as she trembles while smirking at my own state.

I'm wrapped in all kinds of bandages and set down for recovery – left alone, except for the sweet company of Fyre.

We're bugs together in the military lab of Wolf Dominion.

"Good," Fyre whispers, "Good you lost a whole foot, you deserved it for abandoning me here."

"I couldn't do anything," I speak numb, but not in defence, I just tell her the truth.

"Now you die with me," Fyre, such a young child, tortured too, talks like a hardened warrior, "We'll die together in here."

"If we're not dead yet, we won't be dying together anytime soon," my cheek lies against the cold flooring, while my eyes don't leave hers. I read every scar in them. She's got a bright stare. An intelligent flare. But it's haunted. I still feel a responsibility to keep her safe, but I know once I've failed, I'll never regain that trust again, "They want us alive, Fyre."

"Fyre… Z… What did you call it – you woke up whispering Zyre," Fyre doesn't smile, she just wants answers while she hugs her knees to her chest, "It sounds like what my mother used to call me."

"I learnt it means you can bond to a Beast if you're human," I almost slip back under from the heavy drugs cautioning me toward sleep. Sleep was the best way to recover, after all, however, I try to stay awake, "Fyre, did Skye or Raygar or Vastian come to see me?"

"I don't know, I was in another experiment this morning. They inject me with something they call Fortify-X, something to make me more like them, stronger like Genesis… but it burns, and I've grown two inches since they started," Fyre's lip wobbles a bit, "So I'm not focused on you. I lost the ability to cry, Ryder, my tears don't work anymore."

"That's strange. Have you overheard what they want from us?" I whisper.

"Loyalty… I guess… they're making us into weapons," Fyre trails off for a moment, "Disposable weapons–"

"Hardly disposable."

Fyre goes silent, as do I, with the masculine drawl.

We had been talking in the dark.

But now a shadow rounds the cages, and Fyre hisses through the bars, while I go cold and still. Only my eyes move, to take in Vastian as he pushes back a military hood and he glances between Fyre, to me – where he holds my gaze.

I say nothing.

Fyre's complaint dies off into her teeth grinding in fear.

Vastian speaks again, "Ryder, I'm going to fix your foot. You're safe now. What happened exactly, can you tell me?" Vastian pulls out a stool from no where and sits on it casually, while looking into my cage and reaching through the bars, attempting to grab my hand.

I immediately find the strength to shuffle away, and it hurts to move, but I have to stay out of his reach.

One of my sides presses into the wall furthest from him, while Vastian looks in, his blue Alpha eyes are sad.

"Where's Skye?" I ask, dead inside.

"You'll be living here now," Vastian is careful but calm and knowing with his words, "It's safer for Skye to have a break from you, Ryder. You're too influential. It's a compliment – but it's also lethal, and so I need to keep you under lock and key."

"I do nothing but breathe your air," my whisper lowers to a hiss, and I feel my lungs contract as rage starts to bubble up. My cheeks flare pink, and Vastian seems to take in the mental damage as he surveys my breathing, my voice, my wide dry eyes and curled spine – I've become something contorted.

"…you've changed a lot since your first mission," Vastian shows no emotion, perhaps only caution, as he states what he is only witness too, "I know you won't understand or accept it, but I regret what happened to you, to that extent. No one could have predicted the humans would attack you – I guess that's just life –"

His nonchalant words boil my blood.

I cut him off, hard.

"Be quiet and SHUT UP!" I screech, as I simply can't control my rage with the memories his words bring to the surface.

Perhaps it's the mere mention of my own Kind, who I loved dearly and fought for, hoped for, those who tortured me and alienated me further.

Now. I. Belonged. Nowhere.

Like Fyre, especially how I failed her and broke a simple promise.

And now we both belonged nowhere.

In my mind now, Vastian wasn't allowed to talk to me about my Kind after what they did. What I went through. It's mostly a blank slate, the pain, the feeling – is all suppressed.

How it ravaged my state of mind is another thing all together.

Vastian takes in my screaming echo a few times around the lab, and even Fyre has leaned back in her own cage with fright and shock at my outburst. Eventually Vastian murmurs very carefully, while holding my crazy eyes, "…calm d–"

"Don't. Tell. Me. To. Calm. Down," I enunciate each word, losing the scream, but keeping my broken voice firm, "Or so help me – I will find a way to make you feel the pain I –"

It was my turn to be screamed at.

Half way through threating him, Vastian suddenly and abruptly slams the cage with his fist, and I watch his own temper unleash.

I latch onto his energy like it's needed to survive.

"You will stay here for years and make no mistake, Ryder, your only chance at such a dream to harm me, is purist loyalty to Wolf Dominion!" after he's done snarling over me, Vastian stands and stalks off, his entire polite demeanour is shattered in that moment.

The one thing I hear from my Alpha – is the truth behind those words.

They may be dirty and vile and wrong after what happened, but there was a painful warning.

Obey what's immediately in front of me. And that was Wolf Dominion.

I glance to Fyre, who is facing the other way, her eyes closed, her hands over her ears as she whispers to herself a self-made lullaby.

I don't interrupt her.

I focus on closing my eyes.

Getting back to sleep.

Hades explained to me that Wolf Dominion was the most corrupt Dominion because of its council.

Skye was the imagined Alpha. Skye was half human.

Vastian, the true Alpha, was in hiding.

Raygar was in love with the princess of the enemy – albeit Lemeri was now traded… for me.

Skye's family were still loyal to Wolf Dominion.

I was still Luna. Even in secret.

That is what Vastian reminded me of.

It's possibly the last bit of information I can hold and know is true. Their actions to retrieve me said it all. I was not disposable. And thank the moon Fyre was still alive.

Loyalty to Wolf Dominion. Maybe there was still merit in choosing this place as a home. It's where my final chance resided.

A chance for what?

I don't know.

A chance.

It's simply the last hope for me to hold in this uncontrollable hell.