Chapter 84: What Will Come Of This?

Alpha Hemming's POV:

It felt like I had a terrible headache. All of a sudden, I started to feel tingling sensations in my extremities as I knew I was waking up again. The feeling grew increasingly clear that I was not in a regular position either. It was at that point that I realized I was bound by my wrists, which were hung up over my head. Whatever was going on here, I could tell this was not going in my favor, or so I thought. I wasn't sure what had happened while I was out of it. All I remembered was being held in place with all the other pack members surrounding me before everything went dark.

In the back of my mind, I do believe I recall that they kept me from breaking free of their grip. As for the one pack member who recognized me before this, he had his arm wrapped so tightly around my neck. One that I was more than willing to bet he succeeded in his goal. And that was to put me out. It's a good thing, too. That would have been the last thing I wanted. To attack members of my very own nation.

At that moment, I tried to open my eyes, which felt heavy in my predicament. When I finally managed to open them, my eyelids didn't want to work right. Were my eyes still closed, or was there a lack of light around me? It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, and when they did, I noticed I was in a large holding cell of some kind. It was old and musty, with a damp smell that burned your nose with each breath. The room seemed to have old stone walls, some of which were covered in moss.

Where was I exactly? What had happened during the fight? How did I even get here? Nothing about any of this made sense to me. It was a bit hard to see much of anything, as the lighting was very minimal at best. As I looked around, I noticed I wasn't the only one in this cell at that time. Some of the other Warriors I came here with were tied up right there, along with me. In fact, we were chained up to the wall, with some chained to the other side.

There was a decent amount of space between us, keeping us from reaching each other, or so I guessed. I guessed it was meant to prevent anyone from reaching the next to help free them, or even ourselves. That was when I tried to look around for Nathan. Was Nathan here, or did he somehow get away? I didn't know if he was among those captured. Could anyone else see in this dim light, I thought to myself?

Wait, suddenly it was like light was starting to brighten the space. There were no lights in this cell, so where could the light be coming from? I didn't notice any lit lanterns or other lights around in the areas. I was about to go mad at seeing the room brighten up, but not know the source of the light.

As I looked around, I saw a small path of light, but it was coming from outside the cell. Am I seeing this right? It's coming from the corridor outside this cell, I questioned myself. Just as I could see a bit better, I noticed the back side of the metal-woven cage gate. I also tried to focus on my surroundings.

That's when I started to hear some of the other men in here, as if they were a bit groggy themselves, trying to wake up as well. No one bothered to speak just yet, not knowing if we were being watched. This was unlike the day I was captured all those years ago. Back then, my cell was completely blacked out, and I could not see anything, or anyone around me.

This cell was, well, dark. There were no lights in here, but I could see a short distance around where I was positioned. It made me wonder exactly where we were. Were we in my own pack's nation, or somewhere else? To be honest, it made me wonder if we were all taken somewhere else entirely. I wondered why the wolves that came up to us and ambushed all of us did not make a sound until they were right on top of us. Something about all of this really seemed off.

At that moment, I noticed that I didn't even hear any voices in my head. It made me wonder if we were even in my home nation. Well, I guess I could try to use my Mind Link to see if I could communicate with anyone from my own pack. Damn, no one responded. Has it really been that long since I last used the Mind Link, and have I forgotten how to use it? Wait, my communications were usually made via my Wolf. So what could have possibly happened while I was out before I was brought all the way to this place? I had so many questions that I did not have answers for.

Well, maybe my Wolf, Hash, would know where we were, since it was obvious that I did not know the answer to any but that one question from earlier. Wolves had an uncanny ability to know things their other side might not know about. They were a beast, after all, and had other senses the person's side did not have access to.

'Are you there, Hash?' (I tried to ask via my own head.)

Nothing. I got nothing! What was happening to me?! Why was I not able to communicate with my own Wolf?! Wait, stop! I had to try to stop panicking and give in to fear. Calm down. I had to force myself to try to stay calm. There has to be a reasonable explanation for all of this. I know that being put out the way I was would not prevent me from communicating with my Wolf. So what could be the true cause of this?

All of a sudden, it was as if I was starting to hear voices coming from down the corridor just outside the cell where we were all being held. Were the voices actually getting louder or moving farther away? In these old tunnels, it was really hard to tell the difference. I tried to focus on my surroundings as I continued to listen to pinpoint where they were coming from, since Hash was not here to help me determine their direction.

I looked over toward the gate of this cell and noticed some of the others here with me were looking in the same direction, no doubt having heard the talking too. I looked around once more, and I could tell the voices were getting a bit louder now, suggesting they were actually getting closer to our location in this cell. That was when I heard an unfamiliar voice speak up, breaking the silence of this dark, dull place.

"Ahhh, here we are," I heard the voice say.