Calum kept his head down and completely still while he assessed why his skull was pounding like someone had taken a hammer to it. If he’d fallen down the damn mountain, Devin and Gage would never let him live that down…ever.
Think. What is the last thing you remember? Damn, his head hurt. He breathed out slowly, his chest seemed okay. Hadn’t he been in cat form? His mind was a swirling pool of sludge…aside from the pain, that was clear. Focus. He had shifted. Oh, shit this is worse. If he fell while in cat form…hell, he’d have to leave the country so they wouldn’t heckle him for life. A cat always lands on its feet, the jokes would haunt him until his dying day.
He attempted to open his eyes. His eyelids were fluttering and straining like he was lifting weights with them, they were that heavy. Maybe he needed to start at the bottom first. He moved his right leg, then left. They seemed uninjured and oddly, not entirely attached to his body. He’d come back to that. His head though, he must have wacked it a good one. Deciding he should just lay right down and sort this through while he wasn’t so lightheaded, he tried to lean to the side and met some resistance. Something was caught around his neck. To move either way he was going to choke himself. Brilliant, I’ve fallen off a damn mountain and I’m strangling myself with vines as I’m slumped here and think of…
Voices. He heard voices and just hoped they weren’t only in his head…also that they weren’t anyone he knew that would tell those two thankless bastards he’d grown up with…and couldn’t live without, about the predicament he’d landed himself in.
Groggy was an understatement was the first thought as he climbed through the fog that was his mind and tried to wake up. He vaguely remembered coming to earlier, and thinking the most ridiculous things, ever. He paused for a second, not even breathing, as he assessed his condition. His head was still pounding, but slightly less this time. He exhaled in relief. Maybe he was going to live after all. Whoever had found him, he owed them a big…
He froze as he tried to touch his head and see how bad the injury was. He heard chains and his hand could not move any further. Chains. He clenched his hand and felt cold metal on his wrist. Eyes wide open, he jerked his head up, almost screaming with the pain to look at his hand. Following the chain attached to the cuff on his wrist he saw it was very securely attached to a cement post. He was shackled. Shackled! What the holy fuck is going on? Head snapping in the other direction, he found that arm in the same state. Someone is going to get their ass beat! Leaning forward he went to stand up and found out he could only lean about six inches forward before the chain ran out…
On. The. Collar. Around. His. Neck.
Clenching his jaw, he inhaled and exhaled slowly through his nose while he tried to digest the fact that he was chained up like a…hell, an animal didn’t even get restrained this way. Giving his head a quick shake, he stared at the wall across from him as he concentrated on the last thing he’d done. He’d shifted and was looking for his missing clan mates, he caught a scent that made his fur stand on end and was going to hightail it to higher ground when…that was it, then he woke up with the headache from hell and chained to a god damned wall.
He jerked his arms forward, hard, a few times, testing the strength of the chain. Whatever they’d given him, he was either weak as a kitten or they were solidly attached to the wall. If he could partially shift, the cuffs might pop, but the cold metal collar, that felt damn heavy…that insured he couldn’t shift anything at all. Even partially shifting required most, if not all, of his muscles to expand…he’d choke before he transformed all the way.
Dread hit him as he looked around the very solidly constructed room, with no window and only one door. Where the hell was he and why? Tipping his head carefully, he looked down to see he wore no shirt, but they’d at least put some sort of cotton pajama-like pants on him. That was a plus, he supposed, that he wasn’t chained here butt naked.
He heard footsteps outside the door. Putting his head back down he watched through his thick bangs. When they came to check on him, he could head butt them…then what, watch them fall on his legs? That wasn’t going to work. The door flew open before he could formulate a better plan. He couldn’t see anything but the boots they wore. Damn.
“He’s out now.”
“Yeah, finally after a double dose.”
Three men stepped in the room.
“You gave him two tranqs?”
Holy shit. That explains the fog.
“Took two to bring him down, too.”
The one walked closer.
“Strong son of a bitch.”
“He was huge too, chief. If I had to guess, I’d say bigger than you are.”
“Really?”
Calum fought to stay limp and appear unconscious. Carefully, he tried to inhale. Bigger than you? Were they shifters? He couldn’t tell for sure—the drugs must have his senses messed up.
“And his coat was black?”
Someone chuckled. “As midnight.”
“Well, that’s…but his eyes are green?”
My eyes? What the hell do my eyes have to do with anything?
“Not just green, chief, but deep green like emeralds. Never seen a color like that before.”
Chief grunted some sort of acknowledgement. “He’s out now. Get Nona back down here to patch him up. I don’t want him bleeding out before we can find a use for him.”
Bleed out? I’m bleeding? It took patience he hadn’t thought he possessed to remain still. He tried to take stock of his body and all its parts, but he was still half numb from four goddamned tranquilizers. Four. He was lucky he was breathing at all.
They left and closed the door behind them, loudly.
Jerking his head up, he tried to see where he was bleeding. Turning, he looked at his right arm and saw blood dripping under it, down his ribs, but couldn’t see from where. His senses were wrecked if he couldn’t smell blood dripping from his own body. And what the hell was that god-awful smell? Had they rolled him in garbage before they chained him up? He didn’t know who Nona was, but hoped they got here soon to stitch him up. Not being able to shift meant the healing would be slow. After they stopped the bleeding, he was going to create some bleeding of his own. On their bodies.
When the door opened again, he had just enough time to slump forward without being seen doing it.
“He’s still out. Poor bastard will probably nap for the next week.” He could only see the one pair of boots. “You’ll be fine here, won’t you? I need to get over to the other side and check on the real criminals.”
“You tell that Travis that if he doesn’t stop scrapping and getting locked up, his momma’s gonna skin him alive.”
Wait, that sounded like a woman. Tiny feet sticking out of a long skirt stopped beside the boots. Damn.
“Will do. Doubt it will matter, he’s got troublemaker imprinted in his bones.”
She chuckled softly.
“Are they planning to tell Shaelan?”
“Talked to her mother earlier, she’s coming after dinner tonight to fill the poor child in. I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t already know some of it, she’s an observant one.”
The boots stepped back. “Just give a holler if you need me, I’ll be back around in a few minutes.”
“Will do, Earl.”
Calum watched the boots leave and the woman came in and closed the door. She stood in front of it.
“You can stop faking now. He’s gone.”
He lifted his head slowly, with a flip of it, moved the hair from his eyes. Standing in front of him was a tiny, elderly woman with a long grey braid hung over one shoulder. Well, hell, he couldn’t hurt her even if she stuck knives in him.
She stood there, a stern look on her face, clutching a brown bag. “He had no idea you were awake.” She snorted. “Personally, I’m surprised you’re alive with the amount of tranquilizers they pumped into you.” She looked him up and down. “Pleased you are though.” She took a slow step in his direction. “Now, are you going to behave, or do I have to stick you with something to knock you out?”
He didn’t want any more drugs in his system. “I’m good.”
She gave him an abrupt nod and walked over. “Let’s see what damage you’ve done to yourself.”
He gave her a hard look.
Tsking, she leaned down and looked at his shoulder. “Looks like you kept running after the first dart, you have a few gouges here, probably skidded to a stop…”
He jerked on the chain around his neck trying to see the back of his shoulder.
“Just settle down, it won’t be permanent damage once I get it cleaned up and stitched together.” She bent down and opened her bag. “Do you want me to numb it?”
He shook his head, then flinched when she poured something cold on it. Stung more than he cared for, so he gritted his teeth as she dabbed at it a few times. “Why the fu…” Captive or not he still couldn’t swear in front of the granny-doctor. Some fierce cat he was. “Why am I here?”
She was silent for a few moments. “That’s a long explanation, I don’t have time to explain before Earl comes back looking for me.”
What the hell does that mean?
He winced as she put the needle into his skin and tugged on it.
“I imagine…” She pulled it through his skin again. “…your rare green eyes will have bought you some time.”
He hissed out a breath as she did it again. Rare?
“They’re not sure whether to be afraid of you or what to do with you yet, so that gives you a few days of peace.”
Calum huffed out a breath after she tugged on it again. “So I have green eyes. What the f…hell does that have to do with anything?”
She made some sort of noise; he wasn’t sure what it meant.
“Your clan all have eyes like yours?”
He heard scissors clicking and hoped that meant he was done with being stabbed. “Some.”
“Mmm,” was her response. “Try not to rip those out. I’m going to check your head now, make sure there’s no more holes.”
He eyebrows went up at that. How bad did he look? Staying still, he let her run her fingers over his scalp. He tried inhaling with her this close, and thought he picked up the scent of cat, but couldn’t be sure with that other stench filling his nostrils.
“You alpha of your clan? Your size is a good one.”
He wasn’t much in the mood for chit-chat but wanted information, and if she could provide it… “No. That would be my uncle.”
She made another noise under her breath. “Alpha’s family…” she tsked. “I know this is some kind of thing to wake up to, but just keep your head down, don’t give them any more reason to shoot you with those damn darts.” She paused on one spot that was tender but didn’t sting, so he hoped it wasn’t serious. “Fools don’t seem to understand every body has a limit, even a solid, fit one.” She touched his shoulder and looked down his back. “Legs and backside, okay?”
“They don’t hurt,” he wanted to growl, but manners had been ingrained in his very soul, so he clenched his teeth and said nothing.
“I’ll come check that shoulder tomorrow.” She bent down and cleaned up her supplies. When she moved back over to the door, she stopped and looked at him. “Be sure to eat and drink when they offer it, keep your strength up.” Her dark, weary eyes implored him.
“Thanks.” He half meant it, at least.
She gave him a small smile. “I’ll see if I can persuade them to give you more room to move.”
He nodded to her, not sure if he should thank her for that or not.
When she left, he ran everything over in his mind that she had said. None of it helped him one bit. He still had no idea why the hell he was chained up here…wherever the hell here was. What his eye color had to do with any of it, he had no clue either. His brain was sluggish, he was tired, presumably from the drugs, and just wanted to wake up and find out he was sleeping under some tree somewhere having nightmares.
All he knew was when these drugs finally wore off and he could focus longer than a goldfish, he was getting some answers and getting the hell out of here. Somehow.