Chapter 26 The Place They Locked Me In
Tasha POV
I did not know how long I had been unconscious when I woke up, but the first thing I felt was restraint.
Not just physical restraint, but the kind that pressed inward, heavy and suffocating, the kind that made every breath feel like it was being monitored. My wrists were bound above my head with glowing restraints that pulsed faintly against my skin, and the moment I tried to move, a sharp ache spread through my arms and shoulders as if the chamber itself was warning me not to try again.
There was something wrong with my magic.
I could feel it inside me, restless and angry, but every time I tried to reach for it, it slipped away, dulled and muted, like someone had wrapped it in layers of thick cloth. The demon stirred instinctively, pushing forward out of habit, but the moment it did, a deep pressure clamped down inside my chest, forcing it back.
Containment magic.
Not the kind meant to hurt, but the kind meant to suppress. The kind designed to confuse instincts, blur power, and keep whatever lived inside me from fully surfacing.
My wolf whined softly, disoriented and afraid, and for the first time since my resurrection, neither of them could take control.
The floor beneath me was cold stone, polished smooth, carved into a wide circular chamber that dipped slightly at the center where I was restrained. Silver-lined runes spiraled outward from my feet, layered on top of each other so densely that they blurred together, each one humming with old, patient power. Thick stone pillars rose around the chamber, evenly spaced, their surfaces etched with containment seals that glowed faintly whenever I struggled.
This place was not built to imprison someone temporarily.
It was built to hold monsters.
I pulled against the restraints hard enough that pain flared down my spine, but I welcomed it because pain meant I was still awake, still aware, still capable of fighting. The chains held firm, glowing brighter as I strained, and a shock ran through me that forced a sharp gasp from my throat. The magic did not burn. It numbed. It pressed inward until my limbs felt heavy and my thoughts slowed just enough to keep me from breaking free.
“Easy,” a voice said calmly from the far side of the chamber.
I snapped my head up and saw them standing there, spaced out deliberately, watching me like I was a problem they had already decided how to solve.
Elder Ron stood closest to the inner circle, careful not to cross the boundary lines carved into the stone. His posture was stiff, his hands clasped tightly in front of him as if he were bracing himself for something to go wrong. Elder Sara leaned against one of the pillars to my right, arms crossed, her weight balanced and ready, her sharp eyes tracking every shift of my body. She looked like she expected violence at any moment.
And at the center of it all, directly in front of me but safely beyond the runes, stood Elder Korran.
My great grandfather...once my favourite...once who said I was his favourite wolfess.
The sight of him twisted something deep in my chest, and for a brief moment, confusion dulled the rage enough for disbelief to surface.
“You brought me to the council chamber,” I said, my voice hoarse but steady enough. “You think this place will hold me.”
Korran’s gaze did not waver, but there was no warmth in it either, only a heavy kind of resolve that made my stomach tighten.
“This place was built for beings stronger than you,” he replied slowly. “And weaker than what you are becoming.”
That was enough to make the demon laugh inside my head, low and dark, and the sound nearly spilled past my lips.
“You dragged me here without my consent,” I said, testing the restraints again just enough to feel their response. “You attacked me in the forest and called it help.”
“We brought you here to stop you,” Elder Sara said sharply, pushing off the pillar and stepping forward. “Because every pack is afraid of what you are doing, and they are not wrong to be.”
I turned my head toward her, meeting her stare without flinching. “Afraid because I exist, or afraid because they cannot control me.”
“Afraid because humans are dead,” Elder Ron said quietly, his voice strained. “Afraid because you killed a human woman in the city, and the consequences of that are already moving faster than we can stop them.”
The words landed harder than I expected, not because they were news, but because of the way he said them, like the world had already begun to turn against me.
“She was the doctor’s fiancée,” he continued, his jaw tightening. “The one you stayed with.”
My fingers curled instinctively as my chest tightened. They spoke her name like she was a detail, like she was an event instead of a person, and it made something inside me snap.
“She was in my way,” I said flatly, forcing myself to breathe through the surge of heat rising under my skin. “And I did not kill her for pleasure.”
Elder Sara’s eyes flashed. “That does not matter to humans, and it will not matter to the scientists and authorities once they start looking.”
That was when understanding settled in fully, cold and heavy.
“They are afraid their cover is blown,” I said slowly, looking from face to face. “You are not worried about me. You are worried that humans will trace this back to you.”
Korran’s grip tightened on his staff. “We are worried that your actions will expose us all,” he said. “And we are worried that the doctor you are attached to will lead them straight to us.”
The demon surged violently at the mention of Neel, rage flaring so fast it nearly blinded me.
“Do not speak about him,” I snapped, pulling hard against the restraints again as magic crackled along my arms. “You do not get to decide his fate.”
“You already have,” Elder Sara replied, her voice hard. “By involving yourself in his life.”
The chains flared brighter, reacting to the spike in my power, and the chamber hummed with tension as I pushed harder, ignoring the pain tearing through my shoulders.
“I will not stay here,” I said through clenched teeth. “And I will not let you put him in danger because you are afraid.”
“You are already a danger,” Ron said, his voice breaking slightly. “To yourself and to everyone else.”
I laughed then, the sound sharp and bitter as my control slipped further. “You only say that now that I cannot be ignored.”
The door at the far end of the chamber opened quietly, and every part of me went still when I smelled her.
My mother stepped inside slowly, her hands trembling as she held them together in front of her chest, her eyes already red and swollen like she had been crying long before she reached this place.
“Tasha,” she whispered, her voice breaking on my name.
The demon recoiled instinctively, pulling back just enough for my chest to ache with something dangerously close to grief.
“Do not come closer,” I said immediately, my voice cracking despite my effort to steady it.
She stopped where she was, tears spilling freely down her cheeks as she took me in fully, the restraints, the runes, the marks of struggle on my skin.
“I am so sorry,” she said, her voice shaking. “I should never have turned you away when you came home. I was afraid, and I chose fear over you.”
Her words hit harder than any spell.
“We thought you were cursed,” she continued, sobbing quietly. “We thought we were protecting everyone. But we abandoned you when you needed us most.”
My throat tightened painfully. “You already made that choice.”
“I know,” she said. “And I will regret it for the rest of my life.”Her sobs got louder and I scoffed.
“What have they done to you,” she whispered, shaking her head. “What have we done to you.”
The words hurt more than any spell.
“They brought me here to tame me,” I said quietly, my throat tightening. “Just like before.”
Her shoulders shook as she covered her mouth, and when she spoke again, her voice was raw and desperate. “We are trying to save you.”
“From what,” I demanded. “From myself.”
“You are not yourself anymore,” she said, her eyes pleading. “I can see it. I can feel it.”
The demon snarled, pushing forward again as panic and anger collided, and my control shattered under the weight of it.
I screamed as power ripped through me, the restraints cracking and flaring violently as I slammed my magic against them again and again, the chamber shaking as cracks split the stone beneath my feet. Elder Sara shouted orders, wolves rushed forward, and containment spells layered over one another in a desperate attempt to hold me in place.
“Get away from her,” my mother cried, reaching out before someone pulled her back.
“I am leaving,” I roared, my voice echoing through the chamber as the demon fully surfaced. “And I will burn this place down if you try to stop me.”
Pain exploded through my body as the restraints tightened further, forcing a scream from my throat as my strength faltered under the combined magic of the council. I fought until my vision blurred and my lungs burned, until exhaustion dragged at my limbs and the world tilted dangerously.
Korran stepped forward then, his presence heavy and final as the room slowly settled.
“Enough,” he said, his voice calm but edged with something cold and unforgiving.
I glared at him through tear-filled eyes, my chest heaving as the demon snarled in frustration.
“You will not leave this place,” he continued. “And you will not harm anyone here again.”
“Or what,” I demanded weakly, still pulling uselessly at the restraints.
His gaze hardened as he leaned closer, lowering his voice so that every word landed with brutal clarity.
“If you try to escape again,” he said slowly, “if you harm even one person within these walls, or if you turn against this council, we will kill the human you are protecting.”
The words sliced through me, sharp and final, and the world seemed to stop breathing.
“You will not,” I whispered, horror flooding my chest as my strength finally gave out.
“We will,” Korran replied without hesitation. “And you know that we can.”
The demon went silent for the first time, retreating into the depths of my mind as fear replaced rage.
My first thought was Neel, alone and unaware, and the second was a promise that burned brighter than anything they had bound me with.
I would survive this.
And I would get back to him.
No matter what it cost.