Chapter 38
**Roman's POV**
“Hey are you okay?” A soft and feminine voice helps pull me from the vast emptiness I have been floating in. Opening my eyes, I am locked in what looks to be an underground cell judging by the lack of windows and the only visible exit is a short staircase that leads to a door in the ceiling. The walls are made of cement that is covered with countless years of grime, there are several cells here separated by old tarnished silver. The only light source in here is a single flickering bulb hanging in the middle of the dank space making it hard to see much else.
The silhouette of a woman kneels in front of me, dabbing a damp cloth on my skin cleaning off what I can only assume is dried blood. I don’t remember much since I was taken from my home, there was nothingness, then I would barely scratch the surface of consciousness from being moved, and jostled around or by loud conversations happening around me but then the throbbing pain pulsating in my skull or a sharp pinch to my arm would pull me right back under.
Judging by the fact my skull is still pounding and the sluggishness and nausea I’m experiencing, I assume I have excess amounts of wolfsbane flowing through my veins currently. I need to be wary of any food or water that they try to give me, because I believe my previous doses were by injection, I could just as easily consume it if I don't proceed with caution. I need to flush the poison from my bloodstream so my wolf can wake up and heal me enough to escape.
“Oh good you're awake, I was worried that they killed you. Who are you by the way?” my attention is brought back to the woman tending me. A gravelly noise escapes my throat as I try to answer but not knowing how much time has passed since I was kidnapped. It could have been days that I have gone without water and I feel as though I have been eating sand.
Noticing my struggle the woman crawls to the other side of our shared cell, the shackle on her ankle dragging a chain behind her. She approaches with a cup of mostly clear water from a rusted sink hiding in the corner. She raises the cup to my cracked lips. All I want to do is quench my thirst but I muster up enough strength to push it away with my arm that feels so heavy I would believe the woman if she told me that it had been replaced with a prosthetic made of lead.
“Come on little guy, you need to drink something or you’ll dehydrate, it might not be clean but it's safe, see?” the woman takes a mouthful making a point of swallowing it loudly to gain my trust in the poorly lit space. The cup returns and after a second of hesitation I gulp it down till there is none left.
“More, please” I ask hoarsely and she obeys, seconds later another cup of the water that tastes of iron from the rust covered pipes is brought to my face but when you’re this thirsty, water is water. “Thank you”
“You're welcome, we gotta stick together if we have any hope of getting out of here right?” The shadows reflecting off her features hints at a smile that I try to return.
“I’m Roman Andrews, future Alpha of Silver Eclipse, I’m sorry I didn't quite catch your name?”
“Oh me? I’m Samira, nice to officially meet you” she reaches out to grab my hand and shake it. Still feeling too heavy, our handshake is more just her dragging my limp arm up and down a few times before she places it softly in my lap.
“Is there anyone else down here with us Samira?” I ask hoping to get any information on Greta or James. If I’m going to be stuck down here I might as well try to spend my time wisely and make an effort to save my friends.
“Not anymore, there were a couple of wolves, I think from your pack but the Alpha took them somewhere else shortly before you arrived a week ago” a week ago, I’ve been gone a week. My mate and my family must be so worried, or maybe they got hurt when I was taken. I blacked out and wasn't there to witness if anyone else got hurt when I did.
Greta and James were here though, but they haven’t been seen since before I arrived so the hope that they’re still alive is dimming. I need to escape this damn cell and find them. I try to muster up all the strength I have in my body to stand up but a short chain attaching me to the wall by a silver collar on my neck tugs me back with a strangled cry.
I hadn’t even noticed the dull burn of the metal against my skin, the pain in my head and heart so strong that it gets drowned out. Reaching my fingers up, they graze the metal and it leaves angry little welts on my fingertips. “If you don't try to escape or answer any of their questions they might take it off Roman, then you’ll just get an ankle shackle like me”
“How long have you been down here?” I query, I hope she hasn't been living in this hellhole for long but if she has, Samira might have some useful information.
“Three years now, My mate and child were killed by the Alpha and I’ve been alone ever since, but it's only a matter of time till that damn Alpha gets what's coming to him. Will you help me destroy him?” her face curls into a cruel smile and a determined fury blasts through me at the knowledge of the suffering and torment enacted by Dark Claw.
“I will help you even if it kills me Samira”