Chapter 100 HELD IN DANGER
Adam's POV
My first breath hurts.
It scrapes down my throat like I swallowed sharp sand.
I try to move and pain explodes through my wrists.
I gasp, and even that feels painful. My arms are pulled above my head, stretched tight. Metal bites into my skin. Chains. There's thick, cold chains binding my wrists. They scrape when I move, the sound sharp and ugly in the quiet room.
I open my eyes.
The light above me is too bright. It flickers once, buzzing faintly. My vision swims before it steadies enough for me to see where I am.
It looks like an office… not a normal one, it's like a quack doctor's office.
A metal desk sits in the corner, cluttered with glass bottles and tools I don’t want to look at too closely. Shelves line the walls, filled with jars and old books and things that look like medical supplies but feel… wrong. The air smells like alcohol and something bitter, like crushed herbs gone bad.
It is a quack doctor’s office.
That’s the first thing that comes to my mind.
My head throbs. A deep, heavy pounding behind my eyes.
I try to pull my hands free again but it just makes the chains rattle, and the cuffs cut deeper.
I bite down a cry, but it still slips out as a weak sound. My throat burns instantly, like it might tear if I force it again.
“There he is, finally awake.”
The voice makes my stomach drop.
Two men stand near the desk.
They’re tall, broad, and too still, they must be werewolves too.
From where I’m lying, flat on some kind of narrow bed, I have to tilt my head to see them properly. Even then, I can tell from their height, their build, the way they hold themselves.
Definitely werewolves.
They’re watching me like I’m something other than a person.
“Archie,” one of them says, stepping closer.
The name hits me like a slap.
That’s not my name. That's what Sara calls me.
“Easy, little prince,” the other one adds, almost mocking. “Don’t hurt yourself.”
Little prince?
My chest tightens.
Star Moon.
The thought slams into me so hard I almost forget the pain.
I try to speak. To demand answers. To scream.
Nothing comes out but a dry rasp. My tongue feels thick. My throat feels like it’s lined with glass.
The men don’t seem concerned.
One of them leans over me, eyes scanning my face. “He looks different.”
“Just older and stronger.” The other says.
Stronger?
My heart starts racing.
I hear the door open. I turn my head toward it, and my breath stutters.
Sara? Mom?
She steps inside slowly, closing the door behind her.
For a second, my brain refuses to understand what I’m seeing.
She looks calm, composed, dressed neatly like she was at the feast. She doesn't look kidnapped, she doesn't look in danger.
“Mom,” I try to say. It comes out as air.
She doesn’t meet my eyes at first.
The two men turn toward her.
“Are you certain?” one of them asks.
My skin prickles.
“Certain he’s pregnant?” the other adds bluntly.
Pregnant.
My heart slams against my ribs.
Sara nods.
“Yes,” she says. “I’m certain. I confirmed it myself.”
The room tilts.
I stare at her.
How?
I never told her.
I never—
My thoughts tangle together, crashing into each other.
How does she know? Why is she here? Why is she talking to them like she knows them?
“Timing is important,” she continues. Her voice is steady. Too steady for someone being forced. “You have to act fast.”
Act fast. On what?
My chest tightens so hard I can barely breathe.
One of the men comes toward me holding something.
A syringe.
“No,” I try to say again. My voice is still broken.
He doesn’t hesitate.
He grabs my arm roughly, turning it to expose the inside of my elbow. His fingers dig into my skin, bruising.
The needle pierces, sharp and cold.
I flinch, but there’s nowhere to go.
I watch my blood fill the tube, dark and steady.
They take my blood like it’s nothing.
Like I’m nothing but a lab rat.
The man pulls the needle out and presses a cloth against the puncture. It stings.
He turns to the other. “We’ll confirm it.”
The other curses under his breath. “That bastard. He thinks he's the greatest Alpha ever.”
I know who he's referring to.
Kael.
“He’s awakened the wolf,” the man says, disgusted.
Awakened—
What?
A spike of pain tears through my skull so suddenly I cry out for real this time.
It feels like something is splitting my head open from the inside.
My vision blurs. The light overhead stretches and doubles. Sound becomes too loud and too far at the same time.
I hear them talking, but the words come in pieces.
“…too soon…”
“…wasn’t supposed to…”
“…bond interference…”
I try to focus.
Try to hold on.
My heart is racing so fast I feel dizzy. My stomach churns violently. I twist against the chains again without thinking, desperate to get away from them, from this room, from Sara.
The cuffs cut deeper. I feel warm wetness on my wrists.
I don’t care.
Sara finally looks at me.
Our eyes meet.
I search her face for guilt, hesitation, anything…
She just stares me.
“You’re not dreaming,” one of the men says casually, like he can read my mind.
My head pounds harder.
The wolf.
They said awakened.
Something deep inside me stirs at the word, like a distant echo responding to a call. It makes the pain worse.
I squeeze my eyes shut.
Make it stop. Make it stop.
“…this complicates things,” one of them says.
“It ruins things,” the other replies.
Footsteps move around me. Papers shuffle. Glass clinks.
I force my eyes open again.
“Listen carefully,” the first man says. I don’t know if he’s speaking to me or to the others. “If he carries the pup to term, everything changes.”
“To term? If he carries that bastard's blood a day more we'll be working in vain. That little thing is true blood just like its father.” the other answers.
My blood runs cold.
My ears ring.
Sara doesn’t object. She doesn’t say no. She just stands there.
“We have to get rid of the pup,” one of them says clearly now.
The words cut through the fog in my head.
“He can’t be pregnant,” the other agrees. “It’ll ruin thin
gs.”
My heart stops.
Then slams back to life so violently it hurts.
No.
No.
I try to scream.
Nothing comes out but a broken, hoarse sound as the pounding in my skull becomes unbearable.
And the room starts to spin.