CHAPTER TWELVE—Is it dead?

Freya Rose Finnley followed silently behind me while I strolled along the secret passageway, running my hand along its cold steel walls. I knew that his mind must have been racing, but I thought it would be easier to show him what was down here, rather than explain it. I’d sworn the pack to secrecy. Each one of them knew exactly what was down here, because they were once down here themselves.

We got to the end of the corridor, and on the left-hand side was a set of steel doors. I placed my hand onto the scanner on the wall. It beeped loudly, then the doors slid open with a swoosh. I entered the new room and looked around. It was a large steel box, and the right-hand side of it was made up of eight bulletproof glass cages. There were three on the back wall, three on the side wall and two on the wall with the doors on it. On the left-hand side of the room was a little kitchenette. Next to the small kitchen was a large fridge which contained sodas, beers and vials of blood. A single bed rested up against the back wall, and the wall with the double doors on it sat a couch. There was also a dining table in the middle of the room.

The cages that held the kidnapped hunters were a lot better than the bare ones that Finn and I had been kept in. I made sure that the hunters would have some comfort at least. Each cell had a soft double bed, a fluffy rug in the middle, a laptop, and a mini fridge. They had whatever books, comics, or magazines they wanted, too. I even had them install a toilet and little sink that had a drape that they could pull around them so that they could have some privacy. Some of the hunters smashed their stuff up, but I just kept replacing it. They eventually got bored, knowing that it wasn't achieving anything. The council had more than enough money; it was the least they could do for them.

I walked over to the fridge and grabbed two beers. I opened them up, then sat down on the couch. Once the hunters saw me, they began growling. I was used to them growling at me every time I came down here. To be honest, I didn't blame them for hating me, the poor things had been hunted down like animals, then snatched away from their homes and families. And as if that wasn't bad enough, they were then thrown down here like lab rats, and forced against their will to be turned.

I heard Finnley gasp when he entered the room. He ran over to one of the cells and screamed, “Freya! These are hunters, what the fuck? Help me get them out, quickly!” He frantically pulled at the handle on the first cell, but it didn't budge. He tried the second, but again it didn't open. By the third one, he didn't even bother with the door handle, he just threw his body into the door, slamming his shoulder into the door, again and again, trying to break it open. “Freya, why are you not helping me? We need to get them out!”

I sipped my beer and watched as the hunter in cell three charged towards Finnley. I could have warned him, but he needed to realize, we couldn't just let these deranged hybrids out. He screwed his face up at me, clearly not happy with my lack of concern. He turned back around to face cell three, and as he did, the hunter had half shifted and ran headfirst into the cell wall. Finnley startled, and as he jumped back, he slipped and fell onto the floor. The monstrously deformed hybrid rammed himself into the glass again and the force from the impact was so immense that he cracked his skull right open. Blood splattered up the glass walls of the cell.

At that point, most creatures would have passed out, or at least cried out in pain, but not those guys. It didn't shock me anymore, because I'd seen it so many times. I used to try to help them. I tried everything I could think of to stop them doing that to themselves. I took them out of their cells, but they would run back into them and continue to ram themselves into the walls. I shot them up with sedatives and tranquillizers, but they had no effect at all. In the end, I got so upset seeing them hurt themselves, that I had no choice but to kill them, putting them out of their misery. Nothing else worked. Once they got themselves into that self-destructive rage, there was no stopping them.

Finn sat propped up on the floor watching in horror, as the hybrid charged headfirst at the glass, over and over again. Each time the hybrid rammed his head into the cell, the glass got covered in more of his blood. After a few more epic collisions, you couldn't see the beast anymore, just the crimson-colored walls. The rest of the hybrids had shifted into their wolves, three of them looked like normal mega wolves, but the other four were deformed like the suicidal one.

One had a wing protruding out of her back and one of her back legs was still in its human form. Another one was in wolf form, but instead of fur, it had human skin covering its entire body. It was also missing a tail. There was one that just laid on the floor, he was so deformed in his wolf form, that he couldn't even move. He was like an upturned turtle with his legs all broken and bent. The last one was the worst of them all, she was in wolf form, but her face was all contorted. Her snout didn't elongate properly, which left half a wolf face and half human. She also had her intestines on the outside of her body.

The suicidal wolf was getting tired now, and he could barely drag himself up off the floor. I could hear the poor thing struggling to breathe, but he kept making an effort to kill himself. With one last passive charge at the glass, it was the final straw. The crunch of his skull breaking apart echoed through the room, as his head collided with the glass one last time. Then came the booming thud when his enormous, deformed body hit the concrete floor.

“What the fuck was that thing? Is it dead?” I held the beer bottle out for him while he dragged himself off of the floor and made his way over to me. He sat down and took the beer from me, then slumped back onto the couch. “Freya, what have you done?”

I rubbed my hand over my forehead, as I replied, “Look, this is why I didn't want you knowing. I knew you would hate me.”

“I don't hate you, Freya, I just don't understand you. How could you let this happen to our own people?” He said in a monotone voice laced with disappointment.

“Don't you judge me, Finnley. I don't feel the same about the hunters like you do. The hunters that I have been around, have been less than pleasant to me, remember?” I said in an agitated tone, as I sat back and then drank my beer.

“I've always been good to you. Do you not feel protective? I mean as a Fionn?” He asked as he tried to face me, but I continued to look straight ahead.

“Frankly, no. The faction didn't really accept me, did they? My dad left me as a baby. Evan shunned me because of what happened to Ellie. She tried to kill me, and so did Carmen. Oh, and Hannah is the reason why I’m here. Then on top of all that, Mason didn't even bother to find out if I was okay. He just forgot about me. So, no, Finn, I don't feel protective of the hunters like you do.”

He sat silent for a few seconds, then sighed.

“Yeah, I guess we didn't exactly welcome you with open arms, did we? But these are still people, Freya. They were half human, and we are sworn to protect them.”

“No! You were brought up as a hunter, you are sworn to protect them. I was abandoned and forgotten about. Left to grow up surrounded by lies, never knowing who or what I was. Being a beacon for supernatural psychos, then not having the skills to protect myself. After the last three years, I've come to realize, that I don't owe anyone anything. The only ones I care about now, are my pack.” I said it in a frustrated tone.

I knew that I would have had to explain it all to him at some point, but it didn't mean I liked the idea. I knew he would judge me. But he had no right to. Yeah, he knew what it was like to lose someone, but I lost my home, my mom, my boyfriend, and my best friends. Then I lost my dad and the faction too. Like, what did he expect from me? He was lucky that I hadn't gone mad and ended up like Kali, or Selene. He interrupted my wandering thoughts.

“I understand. If Damien hadn't left you, and you had been brought up with us, your life would have been completely different. I get it, Freya. You have been through so much, and everyone has let you down. But you say that you care only about your pack, aren't these hybrids apart of your pack too?”

I sat silently, letting his words digest. He was right. Of course he was right! They were a part of the pack, as soon as my canines punctured their skin, and my blood passed their lips, they became a part of me. I didn't know how I hadn't seen it before. A wave of guilt washed over me. What had I been doing to these people? I’d just got so used to the way things were. Azael brought me hunters, and it was my job to turn them. I never questioned it or fought against it. I think I'd given up. I thought this whole time that I was building up my strength and power, but all I was doing was avoiding everything. Numbly strolling through each day, going through the same routine, and having Azael make all the decisions for me. I just followed orders like a good little girl.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” I screamed out while jumping off the couch.

“Huh?”

“You're right Finn, they are a part of my pack. I don't know how I didn't see it before. I have just been strolling through the last two years with my eyes closed,” I rambled on while spinning around to face him.

Finn raised an eyebrow and looked at me like I'd lost my mind. He sat forward on the couch and listened to my rambles.

“This was never my plan Finn. I swear to you. When I first came here, I was determined to think of a plan. I wanted to do everything I could to rescue you and escape this place. I don't know when I lost sight of that. These poor creatures haven't had any support, love or guidance since being here. No wonder they are fighting against their new wolf side,” I said softly as I looked over to them.

Something had awoken inside me, a rush of guilt and sadness consumed me as I gazed into each of their pleading eyes. I walked over to the third cell and opened it up. After stepping into the cell, I knelt down next to the dead hybrid. He had shifted back into his human form, and his head was cracked open like a blown-up watermelon.

“How could I have let him do it? I should have helped him,” I said with a shaky voice, as a lump formed in my throat and tears filled up my eyes. I felt Finn's hand squeeze my shoulder. I looked up at him as my tears escaped my eyes. “We need to save them, Finn.”

He nodded his head in agreement while holding his hand out for me. I took his hand and he helped me to my feet, making on my arm so that I smashed into his chest. He embraced me tightly while whispering, “It's okay, Freya. We will save them. We will help them accept their wolves and they will join our pack. Then we will work out a plan to escape this place. I believe in you, Freya.”

I sobbed into his chest, letting years of caged up emotion flood out of me. I had finally woken up, and even though I felt sad, I could also feel a small flicker of strength growing within me. Mina howled out in my mind, and to my surprise, the other hybrids began to howl along with her. The room was soon filled with the sweet howls of hope.

***

Mason Hart I sat on the bed in Freya's room, waiting for her to come in and get ready for our date. I didn't know what was taking her so long, but while I waited, my mind began to wander again. I went back to seeing Freya standing in front of me at the office door a few weeks back.

“Freya? What are you doing here?” I asked in confusion.

I was beyond glad to see her. The pain and heartache that I'd felt the past couple of years, faded away the instant my eyes met hers. I couldn't believe she was actually standing there in front of me, and even though she looked as bad as I felt, she was still the most beautiful woman I'd ever laid my eyes on. She didn't even bother to answer my question and just threw herself at me. I caught her and lifted her up. She wasted no time in wrapping her legs around my waist and buried her head into my neck. Her warm breath on my skin sent my body into overdrive. I turned and glanced at Hannah. She smiled at me then waved her hand forwards, gesturing for me to leave. I smiled back, then carried Freya across the hall, up the stairs, and towards my room.

When we got to the room, I opened it with one hand, then went to enter, but froze on the spot when I scanned the room. I turned around and placed Freya onto the floor in the hallway. I held onto the door, making sure she couldn't see inside the room. She furrowed her brow and tried to look past me to see what I was hiding, but I closed the door a little more.

“Um, just wait here for two minutes. I, er, need to tidy up a little.” She raised an eyebrow and shrugged, then stepped back and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. I rushed over to her and held her face with both of my hands, then kissed her, inhaling her scent as I did. The electrical tingles began to swirl around inside me as soon as our lips touched. I reluctantly pulled away, held up two fingers and repeated, “two minutes.”

She giggled at my excitement. I'd missed that cute little giggle of hers. I hurried over to the bedroom door and went inside. I stood there staring at the tip that had been my safe haven for the last few years. It was disgusting, but I hadn't had the energy to do anything about it. There were clothes everywhere, and by this point I had no clue if they were clean or dirty. I ran around the room picking up every stitch of clothing, and once my arms were full, I sprinted into the bathroom ready to chuck them in the dirty washing basket, but as I peered over the pile of clothes, I saw that the basket was already full and even overflowing.

“Shit!” I said in a panicked whisper while I scanned the room trying to find somewhere else to put the clothes.

I spotted the open window and thought, Fuck it. I threw the huge pile of dirty washing out of the window.

“What the fuck?” I heard a girl scream outside, so I poked my head out of the window and saw Carmen standing there surrounded by my dirty clothes, and a pair of my dirty boxers on her head.

I couldn't help myself. I burst out laughing when she looked up at me with half of her face covered by my dirty boxers. I shouted down to her while trying to keep my laughter at bay, “Sorry Carmen, I'll clean that all up in a bit.”

I didn't give her a chance to reply.

“Urgh, eww!” she screamed out while pulling the boxers off of her head with her finger and thumb.

I scurried back into my room and stacked up every dirty plate, mug and glass that I could find, then opened up my closet and placed them on the bottom, before throwing a few jumpers over them. After making my bed, I opened the drapes and the bedroom window. I didn't have any air freshener, so I sprayed around my deodorant and aftershave, until the air smelled somewhat acceptable. It still wasn't great smelling, or completely tidy room, but Freya had been sitting out in the hall for over ten minutes now. I ran over to the door and opened it up wide.

I stood at the doorway, sweating like a pig and breathing like I smoked sixty a day. I must have looked a right mess, but it didn't matter, Freya wasn't there to see it. Panic rushed through me, my mouth became dry, and my pulse shot up. Where is she? Did she leave already? Was she even here in the first place? Is that it. Did I imagine her? My heart sank at the thought of me missing her that much, that my brain made her up. I stepped back into my bedroom and slumped onto the floor, with my back resting against the bed. I lowered my head into my hands and began to sob.

“Mason? Why are you crying?” Freya asked with concern.

I sucked up my sadness and shot up off the floor. She was carrying two beers. That's where she went, to get drinks for us. I rushed towards her and picked her up by her waist. I looked up into her beautiful blue eyes while I twirled her around in the air. She giggled which made me smile even more. While lowering her back to the ground, the beer bottles clinked together when she placed her arms around my neck. She went onto her tiptoes and kissed me with her delicate lips.

My pulse raced when I remembered that day, the love that I felt for her was even more intense than the first day I saw her on the bus to Banff. My thoughts were distracted when I heard excited shouts and hoots from outside. I made my way over to the window and saw some of Freya's hybrids emerging from the trees. The group of four guys were play fighting and high fiving each other. I smiled because they reminded me of our faction after a successful hunt. I continued to watch them but furrowed my brow when they kept looking behind them, like they were waiting for someone.

I still couldn't get used to seeing all of these people running around naked, and I went to look away when Tana came out of the woods, but something caught my eye. She was pulling a long rope, and as she moved further into the clearing, I could see that she was dragging someone behind her. The first thought that came to mind was a rogue werewolf, but when I looked closer, I could see that I recognized the person that she was dragging along the floor.

“Shit, Evan!” I shouted out while sprinting out of the room, hoping to God that I could get to him before they killed him.