**Andreas P.O.V**
“You…” I gasp in disbelief.
“Hello again, Andreas.” The man who has been hunting me for the last five years stands and walks over to where I am handcuffed to a chair.
“You’re behind all of this?” I ask, looking around the room and at the six large steel dog cages lined up along one wall.
“I’ve been looking for you for a long time, Andreas,” he says, ignoring my question. “What made you come out of hiding?”
I glare at him, refusing to talk.
“It was Athena, right? She somehow found you, and you two were working together?”
A small growl escapes my throat at the mention of Athena.
‘*Keep it together, Andy. They can’t know she’s our mate*,’ Ares warns, and I take a deep breath to try to calm myself.
“You’re mistaken if you think she’ll save you. She isn’t even looking for you. As far as she knows, you’re dead.”
His icy grin sends chills down my spine, and my stomach drops, as I think back to the day that feels like forever ago. “You’re little show… The camera…”
The man just nods, keeping the cruel grin on his face.
“You’re sick,” I spit out as Ares howls in pain in my mind.
‘*She thinks we’re dead. Our mate thinks we’re dead*,’ he howls, heartbroken.
“Why are you doing this?” I ask, trying to hide the unbearable pain of her thinking we’re dead.
“I’m just doing my job, Andreas. It’s bad enough that we’re stuck with supernatural beasts like you,” his face contorts with disgust. “But then you freaks are thrown into the mix? How could I not accept the job of taking you all out?”
“You’re never going to get away with this,” I growl.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I am getting away with this. And I will continue to until you and your kind are dead,” he snarls.
“Then why don’t you just kill us? Why torture us?”
“Because you’re useful for the time being. The torture is to get answers. But once we feel we have gotten everything we can from you?” He trails off. “Well, let’s not spoil the surprise,” he chuckles.
“If I ever get out of these chains, I’m going to rip your head off,” I growl.
The man chuckles again. “Oh, Andreas. You’re never going to leave here. Not alive, anyway. And if I’m lucky, I’ll soon have Athena in a cage soon, as well.”
“She will kill you,” I growl.
Chuckling again, he instructs Wren to put me back in the cramped cage. It feels like my skin is ripping off when he makes me stand up from the metal chair that was soaked in wolfsbane. I try to escape Wren’s hold by head butting him in the nose, but he pulls back just in time. He punches me hard in the gut, and I gasp, trying to catch my breath as he throws me into the small steel cage and shuts the door, locking it with a padlock.
“Hose them down. I don’t want the wolfsbane to cause permanent damage. I need them intact,” I hear the man say to the others.
A moment later, a blast of cold water from a hose hits me in the face, washing the wolfsbane away, and I sigh with relief as the burning subsides.
‘*What are we going to do, Andy*?’ Ares asks, completely detached from his emotions.
‘*I don’t know, buddy. But we need to find a way out of here. We need to get back to Athena*,’ I say, looking around the room and cage to see any weaknesses.
‘*We should have marked her. We should have protected her. I’ll never forgive you for keeping us away from her if we die here*,’ Ares rages.
‘*I’ll never forgive myself*,’ I groan, as my heart aches. I rub my chest, trying to relieve the pain.
The lights in the room are suddenly turned off, and we’re plunged into darkness.
“Hey,” I hear a whisper from the cage beside me. “What’s your name? I’m Connor.”
“I don’t know you. Leave me alone,” I growl, not knowing who to trust.
“Please. I beg you. We need to get out of here,” he whispers. “We need to work together.”
I sigh, looking around the room again. “How long have you been here?” I ask.
“I’m not sure exactly, but I think about 3 months. A couple of the others have been here longer, though.”
“What? And they’ve been torturing you all this time?” I ask in disbelief.
“No, that started about a week ago.”
“And you’re all one of the chosen?” I ask.
“I know nothing about that. But I’m… different.”
“Show me your wolfs eyes,” I command him, still unsure whether to trust him.
He closes his eyes, and when they reopen, I see brown eyes rather than yellow. As the other captives bring their wolves forward into the darkness, a glow of various colors fills the room.
Ares comes forward, casting a green glow over the room, almost drowning theirs out, and they all gasp.
“Are you the Alpha they’re looking for?” Connor asks.
“I’m no Alpha. I wasn’t lying when I said I was a rogue. Have any of you tried to escape?” I ask, changing the subject.
“It’s impossible. The only time we leave these cages is when they take us out to torture us,” one of the other lycans says.
“And even then, we’re bound by rope or handcuffed,” another says.
“Do any of you know who the guy in charge is?”
“No. The only thing we know about him is that his name is Derek.”
#
**Athena P.O.V**
I see the Doc running out of the hospital’s front doors with a stretcher, and I run and lay Luna Cassia down on it, then help the Doc push her inside and into an examination room.
“What happened, Delta?” He asks as he checks the Lunas’ pulse.
“We were sitting there talking normally when her face went pale, and she was holding her mate mark. After that, she started sweating, then hyperventilating, and then she passed out,” I explain.
He sighs as he checks her blood pressure. “Wait outside, please, Delta.”
I nod and leave the examination room, making my way to the small waiting room to take a seat. ‘*Everybody meet me at the pack hospital, now*,’ I command the Luna guard. Within five minutes, Leah, Luca, James, and Tony are standing in front of me.
“Is everything alright, Delta?” James asks. “Is the Luna okay?”
“She’s currently being examined by Doc Apollo. Leah and Tony, I want you to guard the hospital’s front doors, please. Don’t allow anyone access unless it’s Alpha Damon.” They both nod and head back to the entrance. “Luca and James, I want you posted outside of the Luna’s room at all times.” They nod and take up positions on opposite sides of the door to the Lunas’ room.
Doctor Apollo emerges from the examination room twenty minutes later. He motions for me to follow him, and he leads me to the waiting room’s far corner.
“How is she doing?” I ask him in a hushed tone.
“She had a panic attack,” he explains, causing me to raise my eyebrow in question. “It’s not the first time. She’s been having them since she got here.”
“Should you be telling me any of this? I’m not sure if the Luna would appreciate me knowing her personal business,” I say.
“I’m protecting my Luna by telling you.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, confused.
“That bastard is doing it to her,” he growls.
“Doc?”
His face turns bright red with rage. “Damon. He’s been cheating on her.”
“I think you mean Alpha, Doc…”
“He’s no Alpha,” he snarls.
I look around the waiting room, concerned that someone will hear him. When I turn around, the Doc has unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the crescent moon marking on his chest. I stand there gawking at it, my mouth open in shock.
“What? How?” I ask, stunned.
He takes me by my elbow and leads me around the corner and into an empty office. “I’ve been speaking with Alex,” he confesses.
“Damn it, Alex,” I grumble.
“No, Athena. I’m glad he spoke to me. He only gave me a part of the story when you got back. I’m glad he finally told me everything. That’s why I’m breaking my doctor’s oath. You need to protect our Luna. He’s going to kill her if he keeps doing this. Her wolf is going to get weaker and weaker, and there won’t be anything I can do about it.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I ask. “I don’t have a close relationship with the Luna, so I can’t just ask her about it.”
“Then kill him.” The Doc says, deadpan.
I gasp. “You can’t expect me to do that, Doc. That could kill the Luna as well, especially if her wolf is weak. And if she did survive, the Luna would never forgive me.”
“But she’d be alive. She’s a sweet young lycan. She deserves more than him,” he growls.
“I need answers, though. I need to find out how involved he was in Andreas’s murder. If he caused it, then it will be a death sentence. But until I know, I won’t harm him,” I tell him.
Doc sighs, but nods. “Okay, Athena. What then? How do we help her?”
“This changes things. If he’s doing this to her, then I doubt she’s involved in any of it. I’ll keep her busy and distracted with the mate ball, and hopefully that will help.” I shrug. “Maybe she’ll open up to me.”
“It’s not perfect, but hopefully it will help. You should go in and see her,” he suggests as he opens the door to the office.
I smile as I place my hand on his shoulder. “I’m glad you’ve joined us, Doc.”
“Athena, I was there when you were born. I’ve watched you mature from a pup to a strong and capable lycan. I’ll be there whenever you need me.” He returns the smile and walks out of the office and down the corridor.