Chapter 11

My eyes slowly opened, revealing that the nightmare wasn't fake at all. As I adjusted to my temporary reality, I realized that I was no longer alone in the cell. Obsidian laid on the ground beside me, the bar still in his leg, but bent so it can't be removed. He didn't wear any chains, instead his hands were tied together with a rope. I could smell the combination of wolfsbane and silver coming from it, a silent warning to not touch it. I slowly moved closer to him, my aching muscles screaming against the sudden motion. 

"Obsidian?" I whispered, gently tapping him on the shoulder.

Nothing. 

I quickly checked his pulse and made sure he was breathing, I relaxed a little when both were there, telling me he was still alive. I carefully studied the bar, wondering if I could unbend it and remove it. If we are going to escape, we can't do it with a bar in his leg. I slowly moved my hand closer and gently grabbed the top of the bar, getting ready to try and unbend the bottom of it.

"Don't touch it."

I frowned, "Well, good morning to you too."

He let out a groan as he attempted to sit up, I winced when I saw him move his leg, knowing he was about to yell. He let a muffled cry as he attempted to hide it, but I could still see the pain in his expression. I immediately grabbed him, stopping him from moving his leg again. He was panting as he laid against my chest, his forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat. I didn't say anything and neither did he, we sat quietly while I ran my fingers through his hair. 

I know he doesn't like being touched and I know we aren't friends, but I didn't care about that right now. I was desperate to escape and keep him from dying at the same time, which meant stopping him from hurting himself further. When his breathing evened out and his body relaxed, I glanced down at his face, noticing he was asleep. Biting the inside of my cheek, I decided to keep holding him so he could get some rest. 

It felt weird to be holding him, I could feel each curve of his muscles, each breath, each beat of his heart. He fit to my body like a puzzle piece, nuzzled against me as I continued to comfort him. My heart rate picked up a little as the odd emotion encased me, confusing me. We're enemies, I shouldn't be holding him like I'm his lover. We should be arguing, blaming each other or whatever it was enemies normally did. And yet, we weren't. Instead, he was sleeping peacefully in my arms as we waited for whatever was to come. He was perfectly relaxed, no evidence of alertness showing on him. He felt safe in my arms for an unknown reason, I blamed it on exhaustion but deep down, I knew it was something else. Whatever it was that was seeming to form between us, I chose to ignore. I knew that once we got out of here, he would go back to ignoring me and I would go back to annoying and hating him. But even though I wanted to ignore it, my heart ached at the thought of him not wanting to be near me. 

"Well, hello you love birds. See, I knew something was going on between you."

My eyes snapped open as I came face to face with the boss again, my heart skipping a beat as he seemed to be eyeing Obsidian. I could feel my wolf stir within me, alerting me that the wolfsbane was finally wearing off. I could see the two hunters flanking him, each of them holding syringes. 

"Before we take you back so I can continue questioning you, I need to ensure you won't try anything," he stated. 

I swallowed my fear, reminding myself that I needed to be strong for the both of us. I unconsciously hugged Obsidian tighter, as if trying to shield him from the poison. The two hunters walked around their boss and forcefully separated us, ignoring my growls and screams. Obsidian instantly woke up to my cries, suddenly vigilant to what was happening. He snarled at the other hunter as he attempted to fight him, but with one kick in his leg he was screaming. My panic suddenly ceased as they stabbed me in the neck, pushing the golden colored drug into my system. 

"He is to be questioned, I want her to be our new experiment. Try the three new drugs, see which ones have the greatest effect on her," the boss commanded as they dragged me out of the cell. 

I wanted to yell at them to leave Obsidian alone, to not hurt him anymore but I couldn't. Once again, my brain had gone to complete mush, unable to form any sane thoughts. All I knew to do was study the halls again, memorize each path and to search for a way out. They began dragging me down a different hallway as the others continued dragging Obsidian straight. I looked around, growing pessimistic when I saw no exit. They suddenly dropped me and opened a door, bright light flowing out of the room. My eyes adjusted to the brightness, allowing me to see where they were now taking me. The room seemed like a typical hospital room, except the counters were filled with science tools, jars, liquids, containers, papers and other things I couldn't exactly figure out. They placed me on the table and strapped me down before grabbing a syringe. 

"Wait, no! Don't inject her with wolfsbane, we need to run some tests and then begin the trials for the new drugs," a voice ordered.

I looked to my side to see a woman walking in, her red hair wrapped in a bun and her brown eyes shielded by goggles. She wore a long, white lab coat over what seemed to be a nice blouse and a pair of black dress pants. I noticed she was wearing black heels, not looking like your typical scientist. Looking back up at her face, I noticed a strange color in her eyes.

She wasn't human. 

Panic suddenly flooded my sense as I began pushing against the straps, ignoring the pain from whatever was lining them. The woman simply ignored me and so did the hunters, though they seemed somewhat frightened. She began humming a tune as she put her gloves on and turned to face me. She didn't say a word to me as she began hooking me up to different machines, causing me to panic even more. Without warning, she suddenly slapped me hard across the face, yelling at me to quit it. 

"You're going to spoil my results," she snapped.

I narrowed my eyes at her, "You aren't human."

She smirked, "Nope, I'm not."

"What are you?"

"You wouldn't know even if I told you."

I winced as she began taking blood, "Try me."

"I'm an orc." 

I could feel the color drain from my face, the danger that I was suddenly facing had me frozen in fear. While many have heard of orcs from movies and books such as The Lord of Rings, I heard from them from the elders in the packs. They're very hard to find, some even assumed they were extinct. Many creatures have fought against them, including werewolves from all packs. They're incredibly strong and dangerous creatures, the type you don't want to mess with.

"Seeing as you look terrified, you know what an orc is," she suddenly voiced. 

I slowly nodded, "How do you look so.... normal? Like a human?"

"Magic is a wonderful thing."