Something is off about you

Panic stabbed through me. No. No, if they injected me, I’d be useless, powerless. I lunged backward, slamming against the iron bars, my hands curling into fists. “Stay away from me!”

They only laughed. Two of them advanced, massive hands locking around my arms and pinning me against the wall with inhuman strength. I thrashed wildly, kicking, clawing, anything, but they barely flinched. Their bodies pressed in close, suffocating, their snarls hot against my ear.

The one with the syringe stepped closer, the liquid inside glowing faintly under the flicker of torchlight. My heart pounded violently, terror clawing at my throat.

“No!” I twisted hard, managing to slam my elbow into one warrior’s ribs. He grunted, stumbling a step, but the others tightened their hold. My struggles grew weaker as their weight bore down on me.

“Hold her still,” the leader barked.

Rough hands forced my arm straight, my veins throbbing under their grip. The needle pricked my skin, sharp and merciless, and a rush of burning liquid shot into my bloodstream. My scream echoed through the cell, raw and feral, but no one came. No one would.

The men finally let me go, and I collapsed against the wall, my chest heaving. My limbs already felt heavy, my wolf recoiling, her presence fading into the void.

The warrior leaned down, his lips brushing close to my ear. “Fight all you want, rogue. Soon, you’ll be nothing but a shadow waiting for the Alpha’s mercy. And he has none.”

Their laughter followed them as they left, the iron bars clanging shut, sealing me in. I slid down to the cold floor, my body trembling, fire still coursing through my veins from the injection. My vision blurred at the edges, my breaths shallow.

.....

My head throbbed with a dull ache the moment I snapped my eyes open, every beat of my heart sluggish as though my blood itself had turned to lead. The injection still burned faintly in my veins, leaving my limbs heavy, unresponsive. Even lifting my hand from the cold stone floor felt like dragging iron chains.

I tried to push myself up, but my arms trembled violently, barely supporting me before I slumped back down. Weakness weighed heavy in every muscle. My wolf was gone too. Not dead, but buried so deep inside me she barely stirred, her voice reduced to a faint whimper I could hardly hear. It was like they had ripped away half my soul, leaving me hollow, trembling, and alone.

Blinking slowly, I forced my eyes to adjust. The cell was small, damp, the walls slick with condensation that dripped into shallow puddles on the floor. Iron bars loomed before me, thick and solid, the lock glinting faintly in the faint orange light.

And then I realized I wasn’t the only one awake.

A low groan echoed from one of the far cells, followed by the clinking of chains. My heart stuttered. Someone else was down here. Rogues, maybe. Or prisoners like me, waiting for their deaths. I strained to see, but the shadows hid them, leaving only the sound of slow, labored breathing.

I curled my knees against my chest, trying to keep the shivers at bay. My throat was dry, cracked, and every breath dragged fire through my lungs. I should’ve felt numb. I should’ve surrendered to the weakness and drifted back under.

But the Alpha’s words replayed in my mind.

Do not lie to me, little rogue. I will tear the truth out of you.

A shiver ran down my spine. I pressed my forehead against my knees, my pulse fluttering wildly. The medicine had hidden my scent for weeks. It had protected me. But here… in his territory, under his gaze, I knew it would only buy me time. Eventually, he would notice what others couldn’t. Eventually, he would tear through my silence and find the truth buried in my blood.

A faint sound broke the stillness, footsteps. Slow, echoing against the stone corridor.

Every muscle in my body tensed. The hairs on my arms rose, instinct screaming before my mind caught up. These weren’t the casual strides of a guard making rounds. No, this was something heavier. More purposeful.

My breath hitched when the footsteps stopped right outside my cell. It was one of the guards, the same one who had pinned me down during the injection.

“Well,” he said, voice low, carrying that coarse rasp I remembered from the night before. “Still alive.”

I pushed myself against the wall, every muscle screaming in protest, but I didn’t look away. “Yes... What… did you do to me?”

He smirked, the scar on his jaw catching the faint light as he crouched near the bars. “You heal fast for a rogue. Guess that’s why the Alpha hasn’t decided to put you down yet. I swear there is something off about you",

My pulse spiked and my throat closed, and I swallowed hard, forcing my trembling hands to remain still against my knees. “I… I don’t know what you mean,” I croaked, trying to keep my voice steady. “Why are you even here?”, I tried to change the topic.

“Orders,” he said simply, though his gaze flicked over me like a predator deciding whether the prey was worth the trouble. “The Alpha wants you ready to move.”

“Move?” The word scraped out, hoarse.

His smirk widened, but there was no humor in it. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

Keys jingled on his belt, but he didn’t reach for the lock, just lingered, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Don’t try anything. The stuff we pumped into you? It’s still working its way through. You won’t get far.”

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms. My wolf stirred faintly, like a flicker behind a locked door, too weak to answer.

The guard leaned in just enough that I could feel the heat of his breath against the cold air between the bars. “If I were you, rogue… I’d start praying he keeps you alive. At least for a while.”

With that, he opened the door and before I could protest, he dragged me forward by the arm, his grip, pulling me toward the corridor. My legs wobbled violently beneath me, barely obeying, my body trembling from the lingering effects of the injection.

I was soon going to die.