Chapitre 23

"Come here," Luna Laila said mockingly. "Now you can get your revenge. I'm here, I can't fight back."

I blew air through my nose as if that would calm me down. My wolf growled. It would be easy enough to rip her to shreds and Solana wouldn't stop me. I took a few steps toward her corner.

"Do it," Luna Laila hissed. Her facade vanished, revealing the ugly interior. "Come here and kill me."

My eyes widened and I stood frozen. I eyed her silver chains.

Astor, please get me out of here before someone gets hurt...

"You're crazy," I said, stopping halfway. A shrill laugh echoed off the dungeon walls.

"Oh no, I'm not crazy. I just have nothing left to lose."

That's what she wanted.

She wanted me to become the monster she already was. Solana watched our back and forth without speaking. I stayed in the middle of the cell and sat on the dirty floor.

"I suppose you'd like that," I hissed at the wolf. Luna Laila's smile faded. "You may have lost everything, but that was your fault. You should have left Silverblood alone."

Hate flashed across her face.

"You took everything from me! My pack, my mate, and my daughter!"

I jumped back to my feet angrily.

"She wasn't your daughter! You stole Alice from Ulf and his mate, how sick can you be?!"

"Sick? Says the she-wolf posing as a warrior! At least I didn't lie to the whole pack! You're lucky your mate got you out of there before I could betray you! Did you actually thank him?"

I stared at her.

I had?

"That's what I thought, thankless piece! Be glad you have another mate!" she cried. For the first time I saw tears in her eyes and pain. But she laughed at the same time, as if the pain was welcome. "Lam was a monster to many, but he was mine Monster. And he accepted me for who I was... even without puppies of my own."

Silence followed her words.

"You can't have children?" I whispered, but my voice echoed off the stone walls.

"Why do you think I got Alice? Because it's fun for me? I could hardly take a cub from Riverclaw, and the human children were weak and filthy-"

Silver chains swished as Solana leaped at Laila, her face twisted in anger.

"Don't finish that sentence," she threatened. That was a feast for the former Luna. A high-pitched laugh escaped her lips. It must have been her way of dealing with suffering.

"Oh, what are you going to do, little human?" she asked as if she were speaking to a child and not a young woman. "Shall I tell you what we did? Nothing. Humans are so weak, you have to do nothing and they'll die all by themselves."

I stood rooted as Solana lunged at Laila. She grabbed the wolf's torn clothing. Why should I stop her? She just did what I would like to do too. My wolf growled in agreement.

"How cute, this human is trying to hurt me," Luna Laila said, causing Solana's heart to overdrive. She slammed her fist into the wolf's face with full force, her head jerking sideways as the chains jingled with every movement.

The blow would probably have broken a human's jaw.

"And did that hurt?"

Solana swung again, but a hand reached out and stopped her in midair. Laila lifted her head and her eyes flickered between two colors.

"Solana!" I shouted, "quick, go back!"

I took a step toward her. But the she-wolf had a firm grip on the human's wrist. A pained squeal escaped her lips as Laila watched contentedly.

"Stop it!"

Before the wolf could break her ankle, I untied them from each other. Both were panting and staring at each other with hatred.

"You're both weak," Laila said, drawing a snarl from my wolf. She was on high alert, just waiting for a fight to break out. "If I wasn't in chains, I would have torn you to pieces by now."

With her uninjured hand, Solana struck the wolf a second time, weaker but still hitting the cheek. The sound died away in the cell.

That was the end.

The chains rattled with full force as the women fought. If nobody intervened, they would kill themselves. My wolf growled and I had to push her back with all my strength. She wanted to fight, but only against one of them. Laila was a thief, our best friend's killer, and a bully.

My wolf wanted to destroy her.

The smell of fresh blood hung in our cell.

"Stop it!" I yelled and intervened a second time, but suddenly a burning pain hit my forearm. I fell back in shock. The silver bonds had grazed me. My wolf took advantage of the shock and did what she had been doing all along wanted to do over time.

She took control.

I could still see my field of vision turning red and I took aim at Laila. My bones cracked and tore the beautiful dress to shreds. I fought the pull that kept me unconscious, but my wolf was too charged.

She jumped right in. Solana saved herself with a scream to the side. My claws raked Laila's skin, leaving three angry welts in my wake. The smell of more iron blood whetted their appetite for the hunt. My fangs snapped at her, but she dodged.

Suddenly she hugged my neck and the silver pressed into my fur. It was like a caustic acid burning through my skin, like verbena. My wolf shook herself to escape the agony, but Luna Laila's grip was relentless. I yelped in pain.

The hissing rang in my ears, causing waves of panic. All my muscles tried to push away from the poison, but it kept burning into my skin. My attempts to escape became more uncontrolled and weaker.

Inside I felt nothing but panic, but my wolf could only whimper. Suddenly I felt a hot pain and the smell of my blood clouded the air. Luna Laila pressed the silver into the wound so it could enter my system. The agony began to flow through my body. I could feel it reaching my heart and starting to eat.

"Shh," whispered Laila in my ear, "it's almost over..."

The strength drained from my four legs, but even as I fell to the cold stone floor, Laila still had the chains wrapped around me like a snake. The pain took over all my senses and I was completely at its mercy.

I couldn't move my paws anymore.

"Let her..."

Solana's voice trailed off into an unintelligible boom.

Although the silver disappeared from my skin, it left a burn trail that could not be extinguished. It circulated through my veins like snake venom and paralyzed my heart. All I could hear was the beating in my chest, like a drum, getting quieter and weaker.

My wolf closed her eyes and curled up.

She felt small, abandoned in the icy cell that would be our grave.

Loud growls made the stone floor tremble beneath me, but I had almost no strength left. Through the bars I could see legs charging towards the cell. My heart clenched and breathing became difficult...

...

"Dana!"

In the distance someone was calling my name.

"Dana! She's not breathing!"

Was that Astor?

A shock ran through my muscles and pulled me back into my body. I felt the icy stone floor beneath my fur.

"It's good, breathe."

The voice sent a shiver through my body. I wanted to jump up, but the silver in my blood was poison and paralysis at the same time. My lungs rose and fell with effort, but the rest was immobile.

The cold ground disappeared as someone lifted my little wolf form into his arms. The warmth enveloped me like a comforting blanket, but the wounds burned like fire.

"We're taking you to a healer, stay with me Dana!"

Astor.

Through the agony of silver he was like a ray of light. He had found me. I snuggled up against his body as best I could. I could finally smell his soothing scent as the stench of the dungeon slowly dissipated.

I loved him.

The thought struck like lightning.

Had I been in human form, I would have cried bitterly at the knowledge I could not share with him. The venom in my veins was like barbed wire, wounding everything it touched and trapping me in my wolf's body.

I loved Astor.

I loved him with all my heart.

***

"Dana, stay with me!"

His voice was soft yet determined. I felt Astor carefully place my injured wolf form on a soft bed. I sank into the sheets. I didn't want him to let go of me. His touch eased the pain.

"She's still bleeding!"

He was right, the smell of iron hung over me like a dense fog. My wolf was gone, I could neither feel nor hear her. She couldn't heal the wounds Luna had inflicted on Laila. I was trapped until the silver left me.

Suddenly hands touched my destroyed fur and I whined.

"Shh, calm down," Astor whispered. Opening my eyes as best I could I saw him crouched on the bed above me. He was studying my wounds. From the look on his face I must have looked bad.

I felt bad.

"Here, this will help," came a new voice and I tried to turn my head, but was barely able to. "Someone has to hold her."

I woke up at the words. holding for what? I whined and tried to move. Astor's gentle fingers slid around my wolf form, careful not to touch any of the injured areas. He lifted me onto his torso and stroked my neck.

Metal clattered in the background.

"Shh, everything will be fine. They will only give you an injection. Try to relax," he said in my ear. I couldn't tell if it was a good or bad sign, but my heart started beating faster again. Short gasps of breath escaped through my snout. I closed my eyes.

I couldn't tell how many moments passed, but suddenly I felt a prick in one of my legs. I reflexively tried to escape the pain, but Astor held me tightly in his grip. I tried to focus on his warmth and moments later the needle disappeared.

I take a deep breath.

I opened my lids and stared at Astor above me.

His brown eyes looked a little relieved, but I could see the concern behind them. I didn't want him to worry about me and yet I wanted him to hold me in his embrace. Astor met my gaze, which was both gentle and fierce at the same time.

I loved him.

As soon as I could transform again, I would tell him.

Whatever was in the syringe had a quick effect. My muscles continued to sag and I felt my eyelids grow heavy as stones. Astor's face disappeared as I closed them from tiredness.

The pain from the silver in my blood was numbed.

"How long..."

The words fell apart before I could understand the rest. The darkness drew me in and I didn't fight it. Astor was here. He wouldn't let anything else happen to me.

Here I was safe...

...

The fog of relaxation slowly lifted. I was lying on something solid that was warm at the same time. The pain could still be felt dull in the bones. My heart was beating slowly but steadily up and down.

I stretched out all four paws.

My wolf still wasn't back. I was alone. This is how Astor must feel, without a wolf. The silver must have knocked her out completely.

It was quiet.

I opened my eyes and blinked a few times. The room was dark, even behind the curtains nothing lurked but the night. I felt faint. Below me, a heart was pounding steadily up and down. The smell of wood and rain made me even more awake.

Astor.

Even in his sleep he had his arms wrapped around me. I lifted my head and patted his hand with my wet muzzle. He moved for a moment, but didn't open his eyes. So I stuck my tongue out and licked the back of his hand.

A groan escaped Astor's lips and he drew his eyebrows together. I repeated the gesture and watched his sleep slip away and his eyes widen. They sparkled wide awake, and yet I could make out dark shadows beneath them.

"Dana."

My body shook under his voice. He ran his fingers over my fur and sat against the headboard. I buried my snout in his side to hide the purr.

A soft laugh made my chest vibrate beneath me. Suddenly his arms hugged me tighter.

"Who?" he asked with a snarl. "Who did this to you? Who locked you in the dungeons?"

The memories of the last few days came back. I yelped as if to speak.

beta talon.

He had kissed Lannis and threatened to kill me if I told anyone. He had thrown me in the dungeons with Laila and Solana. My eyes widened and I tried to pull myself out of Astor's embrace.

Was Solana okay?

What happened after I lost consciousness?

"Hey hey, calm down. You're not well yet," Astor said. Exhausted, I laid my head back on his chest. It was no use. I needed to transform. There was so much I needed to tell him.

With all my strength I concentrated on my human form. Astor had to know. The first bones began to crack.

"No, Dana! Stop, you can't-"

Lightning shot through my heart and burned all nerve endings. A howl escaped my snout as my lungs spasmed and the echoes of the silver made themselves felt. I gasped as the bones slid back into their wolf form.

I laid my head back on Astor's chest, exhausted.

"You've been gone for two days and the silver is still not quite defeated," he whispered.

I nodded weakly.

We were back in our room. The large map hung on the wall by the abandoned fireplace. Only then did I notice the portrait hanging across the room. The blond woman with green eyes had a gentle expression on her lips as she squinted into the distance.

Astor seemed to see what caught my attention. He got up with me in his arms and walked over so I could get a closer look at the picture.

"This is my mother. She lost her life in the great turning point," he said, stroking my fur. "She always wished for a peaceful world where everyone, human and werewolf, could live side by side. She wanted to live in a world in which the packs don't fight each other, but can co-exist non-violently."

I rested my forehead against his arm.

I wanted that, too.

"But I have a feeling we're getting further and further away from that," Astor said somberly. "Enough of that, you need to rest."

He strode back to the bed with me in his arms, but before he could put me down, frantic footsteps rang out in the distance. They headed straight for us. Astor turned toward the door, but I could feel my heart beating faster in my chest.

The door swung open and a dark man came in. I was almost relieved it was only Alpha Udyr. His eyes widened as he looked at me in Astor's arms.

Did I really look that bad?

"What is it-"

The second pair of steps broke through the door and froze my heart.

beta talon.

He threatened me with death. He had kissed Lannis. He locked me with Laila. His bilious green eyes bored into my puny frame as if he would do it again when no one was looking.

Despite the pain, I began to struggle against Astor's grip. I had to leave here. I had to hide from Beta Talon.

"Dana, what's wrong with you?" Astor asked. Though his words were gentle, his grip was tighter than steel. I pressed my head into his chest and closed my eyes, my heart racing at the memory of the dungeon's stench , to Solana's shriek, to Laila's death hug...

I couldn't go back there.

Suddenly, Astor's body stiffened and a growl vibrated through his chest. He walked over to the bed and laid my wolf body on the sheets. If I wasn't so weak, I would have hid further, but like this I could only lie here and watch.

But Astor's eyes were on Beta Talon.

He knew it.

Astor knew who almost killed me.

And he was angry.