Chapter 9: Ava

Smooth, dry and squishy, my body has to be resting on a leather couch. That's about the only thing I know for sure. I have yet to open my eyes, so the rest remains a mystery. It's not like I am not trying, but I think I am already pushing beyond my means with the increasing, horrid throbbing in my head.

Slowly but surely, I start to catalogue the hints that the environment around offers me. I am definitely not in a busy area; no cars, no people. In fact, even the ambient sounds indicate that I am currently somewhere far away from civilization. I can hear the muffled chirping of birds, I assume the windows here are closed. Besides, I can't feel any draught passing through here, so that confirms the closed windows theory.

"I know you're awake," states an unfamiliar voice nearby. I think she's standing to my right. She sounds quite young.

"I'm not pretending. I can't open my eyes; my head is killing me," I lazily reach for the sore part on my head and massage it. My hands are not tied up, so that's a plus, I guess.

"Whatever, you brought this upon yourself," she says in the same tone she spoke in the first time she'd addressed me. One that she wants assertive or intimidating. But instead of that, she just comes across like she's on edge, like she's running out of time or something.

"Okay, fine. You win. I'll ask the boring questions; who are you and what do you want from me?" I don't really have my attitude in check right now. I've got no clue of where I am nor who I am talking to, but I sure as hell don't sound like I want to stay alive all that much. I am not trying to provoke her but at the same time, I don't feel all that threatened by her. I can't help it.

"Don't play dumb! You know exactly what you did! What you were doing earlier!"

She throws something that lands by my side on the couch. It must be something small, judging by the sound it made and the impact it had on the couch. I don't think I'll run with the scenario where she's in a rush anymore. This is undoubtedly her first-time kidnapping someone, she sounds angry but very unsure.

"C'mon, help a girl out. At least give me a clue," here I go again. I think that somewhere very deep down the trenches of my soul, there's a teeny, weeny death wish that's been dormant for all these years. And now is possibly the worst time for it to awaken.

"I heard what you said to that other woman at the hospital. you were trying to get information about Adeline," she says.

"Who the hell is Adeline?" I groan as I try to sit straight on the couch.

"You know exactly who I am talking about! You asked for all the information you could get about her. You even said you'll try to get her complete file!"

Oh... She means Adeline Whitemane, doesn't she? She says she heard the conversation I had with Izzy in the lab. Does that mean she was standing behind the doors all that time? Was she the one that's been following me since yesterday? Nope. I still feel that same heaviness I felt before. But who is this girl? And why does she care so much about this shit?

I push my heavy eyelids up so I can take a look at my... Not so intimidating kidnapper. I can't stress how much of a horrible idea it was of me, to fling my eyes straight towards her before bracing myself for all the brightness I'd have to take in.

I immediately throw my hands up to cover my eyes after shutting them tightly. The first thing I finally manage to see, after overcoming one thousand layers of blindness, is the wooden floor boards, but my sight doesn't linger on them. I gradually lift my gaze up towards the girl.

Just like I thought, she doesn't seem to be older than fifteen. She has long black hair and... Obsidian black eyes, but that's not the thing that really caught my attention. What truly does it, is the blemish she seems to have across her neck, under her chin. Peculiarly similar to one I saw very recently on someone else... Someone just as peculiar.

"What are you looking at like that?" she snaps.

I may have stared a little longer than I thought I did. I avert my eyes away from her figure. She seems to have brought me to some cabin, lodged deep within the woods. I can see the greenery through the windows. Just like I thought before, we are in the middle of nowhere. Nobody will hear me scream from here and if she really is like anything I suspect her to be, then I have no chance of outrunning or overpowering her.

She has her arms crossed for the most part, but from time to time, I noticed that she brings one hand towards her mouth where she bites her nails off. It's ironic really, she kidnapped me, yet out of the two of us, she's the one that seems to be held captive here. Does she seem angry? Most definitely. Does she seem frustrated? Absolutely. Does she appear to be anxious? Totally. So, the real question is: Is she acting on her own free will? Or did someone tell her to do this?

An epiphany blows my mind out of the fog, right at this moment. A light bulb moment, if you will. Considering her behavior and emotional state, I might fish some information out of her. She might not be a tough nut to crack. Maybe I won't need Adeline's file after all. I mean, if this girl is who I think she is, then I might not even need any proof of yesterday's attack.

I look to my side and that's where I see my shredded purse. So, that's what she threw at me earlier. She brought it with her from the lab. Smart move! Let's see just how smart she can be, "Look, give me a break, please. I had a date that ended in a complete disaster last night, then right after that I was attacked by a pack of wolves and as if that wasn't enough, I witnessed something that made me question my sanity. So, please, a little empathy here,"

"Like hell! My brother is too good for you anyways!"

Well, that was defensive. Brother, ey? I don't know who lit that fire under her ass but her volatile temper works well to my advantage right now. All I know is that she's talking, and she's spitting gold, "Do you stalk your brother every time he goes out or just when he's out on dates?"

"I didn't stalk him! I was just looking out for him," she says, averting her eyes away from me.

"Is that what you're doing right now? Looking out for him?"

"It's a good thing I am. You were trying to dig up information about my family. You even took that piece of garbage to the lab. Hoping you'd get something out of it, I bet," with her chin and eyebrows, she gestures towards my bitemark riddled purse next to me.

"Can you blame me? A pack of wolves tried to use me as a chew toy and then your brother appeared out of nowhere on my roof and just... Growled at them and that's not even the strangest part. The wolves actually obeyed him. So, yeah. Forgive me for trying to make sense of what happened to me," I raise my voice a little louder with every word I speak.

"I didn't say I blamed you. I am just looking out for my own people," she refuses to look me in the eyes as she utters those words with a more hushed voice.

She seems a lot less angry and a tad more vulnerable, "By kidnapping me? Let me ask you one thing. What's next? Are you going to kill me? I hope you brought plastic bags with you. Have you decided on the method you'll use yet? Will you be able to lick the crime scene clean afterwards? Better yet, were you one of the wolves that attacked me yesterday? Were you... Were you the one that did this to my purse?" fingers crossed, I hope I am the great actress I've always believed I was.

"What the hell are you talking about? What do you think I am? Some sort of monster? I can't shift anyways! Just... Shut up!"

Shift, huh? Is that what they call it? Does that mean that Nathanael can shift?

"Doesn't matter. You can rest. What are you planning to do with me now?" I press her about her plans.

"I can't let you go until I make sure you know how to keep your mouth shut. You know now what I can do to you if I want to, and I can find you wherever you are," she says. Only this time, her eyes are locked on mine.

Do what? This half-assed kidnapping that sucks ass, all over again? One where she just gives me a stern talking to and hopes I'll just comply with her demands? Although, she is right. I didn't even see her coming at me in the lab. I knew someone was following me but I just couldn't tell where and who she was. I've got to give it to her, she is very stealthy.

"And stay away from my brother," she orders me in a tone that she wants assertive again.

However, I discern a little shakiness in her voice, a small crack that's barely even there. It's like she expects me to tell her to just go fuck herself or something. She sure is stealthy and all but she's not winning prices in terms of self confidence.

"Fine," I turn away from her, "I don't want anything to do with you precious brother anyways," I say.

Before I can even register what's happening, I feel a strong and tight grip on my throat. With the same hand she has around my throat, she shoves me back against the couch and forces me to look her in the eyes. She leans so close to me that her face ends up mere inches from mine, I can feel how warm her breath is on my skin and I can... Smell a mildly familiar odor on her, one that I breathed very recently... On Nathanael. It was the fourth whiff I caught on him but was unable to identify, but I'll have to put that info at the bottom of my list of issues. Right now, I have to prioritize the fact that this little shit might just be the end of me.

"I am not joking with you. Stay away from him, you'll stay away from all of us," she spits through gritted teeth.

Did I offend her? Possibly. I struggle to answer her, but I do, eventually, utter some words through my clenched throat, "Fine,"

Her hand keeps on crushing my windpipes until a third presence announces itself in the caban, "Ava, let go of her immediately,"

I feel her grasp on my neck slowly loosen up. I take a deep breath in and a moment to wrap my head around everything at that moment. I recognized his voice almost immediately when he spoke. I straighten up as I bring a hand to my sore throat.

So, Ava is her name... Well, I thought that Ava was stealthy before. Now, I see that her skills in the domain don't hold a candle to his. To Nathanael's.

CREATORS' THOUGHTS
CreativeWolf

Little annoucment:

An origin chapter was added to the auxiliary volume in order to better explain the hierarchy of the wolf shifters in this book. Thank you again, everyone^^

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