Chapter 55: Kidnapped or Chosen?

AXEL

~Never trust your fears. They don’t know your strength.~

What was it with my family and getting kidnapped? The silver chains dug into my skin. If I were a full wolf, the pain would have been excruciating. Guess I should be thankful I’m not.

I swung wildly. What was it with kidnappers dangling people from ceilings? I lifted my legs up until I had planted my feet on either side of my hands chained to the ceiling.

I pulled with all my might, wriggling them loose slightly. The sound of a door opening in the distance made me jump. I dropped my legs back down, still swinging wildly.

I tried to slow my movements down to stop it from looking obvious what I was trying to do.

A man who was not Keir entered the room, although he looked just as wild and manic. He was silent as he walked around me, examining my wounds.

“You’re not healing so great,” he stated as he poked me sharply.

“Kinda what happens when you cut a wolf with silver,” I barked at him through gritted teeth.

“But you’re not a wolf.” He sneered. “You’re a mongrel.”

I kicked out at his words, hoping to connect with him somewhere, maybe a rib, or two. Sly little shit dodged out of my way. I growled in a temper, “I am not a mongrel. I am an alpha wolf.”

His manic laugh made my skin crawl, his black, soulless eyes staring into mine.

“Then why are you so weak? A female wolf could’ve broken out of those chains by now. If she were a full wolf, not a mongrel, of course.” He sneered again, flashing his disgusting yellow teeth at me.

He walked out of the room, cackling. I kicked out again, rattling the chains. “Fuck you!” I roared out, swinging wildly, the creak of the hooks holding me up echoing through the room.

Was he right? Is that why I’m so weak? Because of my witch side? It’s been no secret to the family that’s the side I’ve favored most. I knew I should’ve paid more attention to Dad’s lessons.

My heart ached just thinking about him, what Keir did to him.

~Mom must be in pieces.~

~And Reign.~

~Storm… Does she know I’m still alive?~

We never completed our mating or pairing or whatever she calls it. Will she know I’m alive? Can she feel me? Hot tears stung my cheeks. I needed to get out of there. I needed to get back to my family, to the pack. With Dad gone, I was next in line to take over. My stomach turned at the thought. Would I be a good leader?

~Well, if you stay here wallowing in self-pity, you won’t be!~

I lifted my legs again, this time planting myself firmer against the ceiling.

I pulled back harder, feeling the chains dig into my wrists deeper. I bit my lip to stop myself from shouting out as it burned my flesh.

“Come on, you son of a bitch,” I gritted through clenched teeth as I strained against the hooks holding the chains, trying to wiggle them out of the ceiling.

I held my breath as the hooks flew out of the ceiling. Before I knew it, my feet had separated.

I turned mid-air and flipped myself over, landing on the balls of my feet silently, catching the chains before they crashed to the ground.

I looked around desperately, trying to find another way out… Nothing. Not even a crack for me to try and squeeze through. How in the hell did Dad and Diego do this years ago?

Did they just make these stories up to try and impress us? Nah, that’s just stupid. The whole kingdom knows what Diego did before he met Liv and how brutal he was about it too.

Frankly, Dad’s lucky he got to live to see his wedding day to my mom.

I snuck toward the door. Opening it slowly, I peeked through, hoping no one heard the creaking, or if they did, assumed it was closer to them and nowhere near me.

I couldn’t see anyone in the hallway, so I carefully snuck out, making sure the door didn’t creak anymore. I decided not to risk it and just left it slightly ajar.

Hopefully, Keir would blame that other dude for me escaping, and by the time anyone noticed, I’d be very, very far away.

I peeked out a nearby window, my stomach dropping as I realized I had no idea where I was. I took three deep, calming breaths.

~All right, it’s okay.~

~You’re prepared for this.~

~What did Dad teach you?~

~What did Grams teach you?~

Grams did warn me that there was always a chance that other witches could pick up the signature of your magic and use it to track you.

Unfortunately, no one had gotten to the lesson with Storm on how to cloak themselves, and seeing as she mentioned that they could track her portals, I’m guessing they’d pick up on it if I used magic…

So I was gonna have to rely on my wolf side to get me out of there.

~Fantastic.~

I’d never actually done training either in human or wolf form to prepare for anything like this.

Hell, I’d never done wolf training, full stop. I was always too consumed with magic. I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

~Some alpha you’ll be.~

My stomach turned again, realizing when I went home, I’d need to step up as alpha. Yeah, Beta Jordan would run things until I was ready, but he couldn’t do it forever.

He wouldn’t. He wasn’t meant to be alpha. I was.

I shook my head. Now was not the time to be thinking about the pack layout and hierarchy. I could stress about that when I got the hell out of there.

~How do I get out of here?~

I snuck through the halls, trying to avoid detection by anyone, using my heightened senses to find my way around. Maybe this wolf stuff was easy after all.

I followed the long hallway hoping I was heading in the right direction and not leading myself further into hell. How embarrassing would it be if the new alpha needed saving?

Too embarrassing to think about, that’s how. The hallway seemed to go on forever, always folding back on itself with lefts and rights. Was I sure I was going the right way?

I stepped out from the shadows, sniffing the air to see if I could smell something…grass…a leaf…anything…

~Nothing.~

Sighing, I stepped back into the shadows. Staying as flat to the wall as possible, I snuck through the hallway that went on for a million years.

If I didn’t get out of there soon, I was gonna waste away, or I’d get caught again, whichever came first. I froze as a breeze blew in through a nearby window…

But that’s not what made me freeze.

~”We will find you, Axel.”~

Her voice was faint, but I’d recognize it anywhere… Storm. She knew I was alive, or at least she was hoping I was. My heart skipped a beat in my chest.

As soon as I got back to her, I was going to bury myself deep in her and mark her the first chance I got.

I burst forward with newfound energy. I ~was~ going to get out of there, and I ~was~ going to get back to my mate, even if it was the~ last~ thing I did.

I strode forward, following the twists and turns of the hallway. How long was this place?

I came to a doorway at the end. Was this it? Was this the way out?

I braced myself, ready to shift and make a run for it. I’m pretty fast anyway, but for sure, no one would be able to catch me while in wolf form.

I shouldered my way through the door only to come face-to-face with…

~Keir.~

He smiled eerily. “Hello there, chosen one. I see you have passed the first test. Well done. Perhaps there is hope for you yet.”

I stood in front of him dumbfounded. What did he just call me?

~Chosen one?~

~Chosen for what?~