5. Belle

Chapter five

Belle

T he door squeaks open, bringing in that glorious cool air, but I remain on the ground, delirious and out of breath.

At one point, I thought I wouldn't make it.

The air was too thin, and I'm pretty sure I spied a light at the end of a long, dark tunnel.

But then I saw his electric blue eyes.

Troy.

I don't understand. How was I able to see him?

Rian is my scent match. He's the one I'm connected to.

But I saw Troy in my mind. And he looked full of regret.

Heavy footsteps scuff into the red, stuffy room, and then they haul me up by the arms, dragging me out of the hot metal box.

A breath of cool heavenly air wafts my way, and I'm pretty sure a choir of angels sings next.

After where I had just been, I may as well be at heaven's pearly white gates.

I can hardly see the walls or the floors of the hallway as they drag me along, too lost in my delirious bliss.

My head rolls on my shoulders as I blink up at the harsh fluorescent lights, and it appears I am not at heaven's gate after all.

I am still in the underground prison.

How I know that I am underground, I will never know, but it's as if I can feel the weight of the earth crushing down on me, ready to snuff me out.

I will lose my soul in this place.

They will question me and torture me until I scream all my secrets.

But I will never talk.

I will never tell them about Rian and the pack.

It's the main reason why I won't blurt out information about Francis and the Facility.

I worry that if I let loose one secret, then the others will pour from my mouth like vomit.

I barely register when the men shackle me to the metal rod again and when they place the leather blindfold around my eyes.

I just roll my head to one side, gasping for air.

The air tastes harsh like chemicals, and now I focus, knowing they are watching me.

But I'm too tired to care.

What more could they do to me?

That voice crackles on the speaker, and I hardly flinch at the sound now.

"Hello again, Twenty-three…"

I bend forward next, and one of the guards steps closer, snapping my head back.

Now I look at nothing.

My eyes are still shrouded by the blind.

"There… much better… Did you have time to think while you were in the sauna?"

Sauna? More like hell.

I don't reply, and when I hear the buzz of a Taser, I speak.

"Y-yes," I reply.

It's not a lie. I did have a lot to think about.

But I still refuse to give them anything.

"Now, are you ready to speak?"

No answer from me.

The strange man continues on the other side of the speaker. "Tell us where you came from."

My breath turns thin again as my head spins.

Not this again...

How much are they going to poke and prod me, but if it has to come to it, I will tell them about Francis.

They may kill me when they learn what I am, but it's better than them finding out about Rian and the pack.

If the government comes marching down on their pack house, they will know right away what Rian is.

The house will smell of his last heat.

"Who sent you?"

Again, no words come from my mouth as I continue to glare at the unseen enemy.

I'm glad they covered my eyes because now they won't be able to see the evil death glare I'm giving them.

"Tell us, Twenty-three… have you ever killed an Alpha?"

Now that question guts me.

The blood drains from my face, and my body shakes when I recall the Alpha I killed outside the pack house.

And then there are the countless people Francis made me slay.

I have no idea if they were Alpha, Beta, or even Omega.

All I remember is the blood.

"Do you even know what an Alpha is?"

Of course, I do now. But I didn't always.

I never knew about designations until I started living with the pack.

But I can't let them know about that because then they will be able to trace my answer back to Rian.

I should be as ignorant as all the other Omegas they have likely questioned.

My blonde cellmate will be just as clueless as I was when I first escaped Francis.

Did she manage to best her own caretaker too?

Has she killed like I have?

"Care to tell us what you know of Alphas, Twenty-three?"

My handcuffs shake, rattling against the metal rod behind me, but I keep my head up as I gaze in the direction of the voice.

"No."

Another lie.

And they can no doubt see the proof of my lie dripping from my pores, glistening my top lip.

I was never good at lying...

Francis was always able to tell when I was lying too, and it always made him angry.

"Are you sure about that answer? If you tell us, then this will all be over. We will let you go."

Now look who's lying.

But I suppose he's just twisting his words.

They would let me go.

Under the guise of death…

"Take her away."

Finally, the guard steps forward and unfastens my cuffs. Then I'm dragged back out of the room and down endless hallways.

Again, I hear those cries of despair, fighting back tears.

If only I could find a way to help us all escape.

But we will all die here.

The price of being a weapon.

They place me back into the 'sauna', and I don't bother begging this time.

Instead, I resign to a corner of the room, curling up into a ball.

It's so hot.

I just hope I make it out alive this time.