The underground cells were a tomb of damp stone and oxidized silver. The air was thick with the metallic tang of the bars, a constant, low-frequency hum that vibrated in the teeth of any wolf present.
Inside the third cell, Alana worked with detached, clinical precision. The man on the floor was a full-blooded wolf, a pack guard who had been stripped of his uniform and redressed in the ragged, stained clothing of a prisoner. Alana knelt over him, depressing the plunger of a syringe into his jugular. The medical cocktail was a heavy neuroparalytic—a delicate balance of ketamine and a high-potency paralytic agent. It disconnected the mind from the flesh, leaving the subject a breathing statue, unable to speak, move, or even shift without her intervention.
On the other side of the heavy silver bars, the guard on duty leaned against the far wall. He wasn't paying much attention to Alana; his mind was elsewhere. He wanted to be up on the surface, surveying the defective scum and reminding them who the apex predators were. Watching over half-dead prisoners in a cold hole was beneath him; he wanted to be out where he could be useful to the pack, enforcing the Alpha's will.
Across the narrow walkway, Grayson was squatting in the center of his cell, watching Alana like a hawk. He stayed far enough away from the bars to avoid the low-grade burn of the silver, but his eyes were locked on her every move. He had noticed the prisoner across from him hadn't made a peep or a movement in days, and he knew the doctor was the reason.
Alana's nostrils flared as she adjusted the IV drip she had rigged to a hook on the stone wall. She was keeping the guard hydrated with a saline and glucose mix, ensuring his organs didn't fail from lack of sustenance. As she worked, she caught a scent that didn't belong in this damp cell—the unmistakable trace of Trinity. It was clinging to the rogue wolf in the cage across from her. It was faint and fading, but it was there. She frowned, wondering why her daughter's scent was all over a prisoner.
The sound of boots echoing down the stone stairwell broke the silence. The guard on duty snapped his head toward the entrance, relieved to hear a potential change in his monotonous day.
Speed descended into the flickering torchlight, his expression a mask of professional boredom. He walked straight to the guard. "You're relieved. I'm taking over," he said, his voice echoing off the stone.
The guard didn't need to be told twice. He gave a sharp nod and hurried up the stairs, eager to get back to the surface and do some real work.
The moment the heavy iron door groaned shut at the top of the stairs, Speed's posture broke. He rushed over to the bars of Alana's cell, glancing down at the unconscious wolf on the floor.
"How is he?" Speed hissed.
Alana stood up, wiping her hands on a sterile cloth. She looked at Speed, her eyes hard and hollow. She didn't know the full scope of why this man had to be kept this way, but she knew that if she failed to keep him silent, her family would be destroyed.
"This isn't feasible, Speed," Alana said, her voice sharp and clinical. "We are reaching the threshold of physiological collapse. I am maintaining him on a total neuro-muscular blockade, but the wolf physiology is not meant for prolonged stasis. Without conscious engagement or the ability to shift, his system will begin to atrophy. His pulmonary function is decreasing, and eventually, systemic organ failure will set in. If we continue this, his body will simply begin to shut down and decay while his heart is still beating."
Speed grimaced, glancing at Grayson, who was still squatting and listening to every word. "We just need more time."
"Biology doesn't care about your timing," Alana countered. "You wanted him quiet, and I have given you a vegetable. But if you keep him like this, you won't have a prisoner to worry about for much longer—you'll have a corpse."
The sound of two more sets of footsteps—one heavy, one light—began to echo down the stairwell.
Author's note:
Little bit late today. Sorry about that. There is over 60 cm of snow outside. And I have been shoveling all morning. I'm exhausted. Enjoy the chapter 😭😭