Chapter 14

HUNTER “AHHHHH!!”

I scream out a growl as I throw my twisted bed frame at the glass wall.

I shove it out of the way and press myself on the glass. My eyes are wild. I’m covered in my own blood and drool.

“WHERE IS SHE, YOU ASSHOLES?!! I KILL YOU ALL!! YOU HEAR ME! YOU'RE DEAD!” I press my crazed face to the glass and look down the hallway of the prison.

I push off the glass and grip my sweaty, blood covered hair.

My emotions are all over the place. I cry one minute and laugh like a psychotic fool the next. All because they took Lainey from me.

I’ll shred them. The minute I get this damn collar off.

I pull at it and draw more blood from my neck.

I walk to the glass. My bloody fist punches it over and over. “LET…ME…OUT!!” I say between punches.

My throat was hoarse and I could barely see from all the sweat getting into my eyes.

I feel so out of control. So angry. So animalistic. I’m sure if I could feel my wolf, he’d have the same shit feelings.

All I know is, they better return Lainey to me soon, or I will tear this place apart.

“ZANDER! WHERE ARE YOU, YOU SON OF BITCH?! FACE ME YOU FUCKING COWARD! YOU TAKE MY GIRL, YOU FUCKING FACE…ME!!!!” I yell into the hall.

I see movement down the hall and I can smell him.

My mouth turns to a grin as I rub my thumb across my bottom lip. I step back from the blood coated glass.

He walks into my view with his head tilted to me and his hands behind his back.

My head lowers too and I glare at him from under my brows. My lip snarls and my hands ball into fists.

He looks like he’s challenging me.

My lip twitches. “Open the door, Zan.” I smirk with almost a playful tone.

“Not a chance.” He growls.

I tick my head. “Why not? Scared?” My insane snark drips off my lips.

“I just want to talk, Zan. You afraid I’ll rip you to pieces?” I tick my jaw.

He raises his chin. “No. I don’t want to have to kill you.”

I lift my head and start to laugh. “You…you kill me?” I point between us. “Is that a fucking joke?” I continue to laugh.

“Hunter. We want to help you, but you got to let us in.” Zander crosses his arms.

“In here? Oh, I would so much love to have you in here. Open the door.” I look at him with murder in my eyes.

“Not until you calm down.” He eyes me.

I lower my head and walk up to the glass. I’m breathing heavy as I stare at him. “OPEN THE GODDAMN DOOR!!” I scream and punch the glass hard.

He doesn’t move. He just stares at me with that cocky, righteous face.

“Ok.” I jut out my chin and bite my lip. “Ok…fine…” I turn around and walk away.

I feel my rage build and with a loud growl, I grab the bed frame and throw it at the glass.

“OPEN THE DOOR!!” I roar.

“Hunter. We know this isn’t you. You have something wrong with you. A chemical imbalance. Something to do with your hormone levels. We need to fix it.”

I jump on the twisted bed frame where he is and point to him. My eyes flare. “The only thing you need to do is GIVE ME BACK MY FEMALE!!”

He looks at me. “No. She’s not safe with you.”

I lean to him. “What the fuck?” I lean more. “The fuck you just say to me?” My face turns more red then it already is. “You dare challenge me? You want a fucking fight? Fine. I’ll give you a fight.”

“I’m not challenging you, Hunt. You scare Lainey. She's terrified of you. She wants you better. She wants us to help you, but you have to let us.” He says.

I run my bloody hand through my hair and pull on my collar. I tick my jaw and shake my head. “No. You turned her against me. You filled her head with bullshit!!” I tap the side of my head hard and fast as I yell. “I'll kill you. I swear.”

“Hunt. Stop this. You know me. This is just your aggression. Your Alpha is having a full mental break. If you don’t let us help you, you’re going to die.” He throws his arm to the side.

I jump off the bedframe. I pace around, breathing in and out. My hand opens and closes.

My head is a rambling mess of hatred and infuriation.

“Where…is…Lainey?” I growl as I pace. Glancing at him every once in a while.

“I’m not telling you.” He says.

“WHERE IS SHE?!” I yell, slamming my eyes shut.

“She’s here. She’s safe.” He says.

“I need to see her.” I say as I walk.

“Let us help you and we will.” He offers.

“Right. I’m just supposed to trust you assholes.” I laugh.

“Hunt. We’re friends. You remember.” He tries to see my face.

“Sure. That’s why you stab me in the back.” I grit.

He sighs. “Hunt, last request. Let us in to help you.”

I narrow my eyes. “Fuck you.”

He scowls. “Fine.”

He looks down the hall and nods.

Four armed guards run up behind him.

My head tilts and I growl from behind a snarl. I'm like a caged tiger.

He walks over to the door. “Ready.” He says and swipes the door lock.

The door opens and he backs off.

My head whips to the door and I walk to it.

I stalk out into the hallway. My chest just vibrating with my anger.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Hunter.” He puffs his chest out in a challenge.

I smirk at him and tick my head. “I want to hurt you.”

I run at him with an enraged growl and I’m hit with darts again. Again, I’m in black before I hit the floor.

****

I can’t move.

Why can’t I move?

I slowly open my eyes and I’m back in my cell. It’s clean and I’m strapped down.

“Wha…No! NO!!” I pull at the restraints. “NO! LET ME GO!! NO!” I yell deep with panic in my voice.

“Hunter.”

My wild eyes turn to Ricky.

“Ricky.” I breath a panic breathe. “Ricky…Untie me…Please…Come on…” My heart is pounding hard. I feel like I’m having a heart attack.

She smiles. “It’s for your safety, Hunt. You were a mess. Your neck took four days to heal.”

“Four days?...Four fucking days? You kept me under for four days? Are you trying to kill me?” I snap.

“Sorry, sweetie. You’re just too crazed, but I’m here to help and I’m going to try and curb this for you.” She prepares a needle.

I really start to panic. “No…Rick…Don’t do this…There’s nothing wrong with me! I swear. RICKY! NO!”

She holds up the pink liquid.

“Don’t worry, Hunter. We need to save you so you can save the world.” She talking like a she’s hypnotized or something.

She sticks it in my neck and I scream at the pain.

I scream and thrash. “NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!”

“Hunter! Hunter! It’s OK!”

I feel hands on me as I look around wildly. My breaths are whines.

My eyes find Ricky’s. “What?...Wha….” I'm confused.

“Calm down. You just had a dream. It sounded like a doozy.” She says.

I try to move my hands. “Why can’t I move?” I look around and I’m in Ricky’s med bay.

Ricky leans over me and places a hand on my chest. “We had to sedate you. We discovered something about what’s going on with you.”

I look at her like she’s nuts. “There…There’s nothing wrong with me…What…Ricky…Untie me…”

“Hunter. We spoke with Ryan.”

My eyes glare at her and my chin quivered. “Ryan’s dead.” I say to her.

She tilted her head and smiled. “No, Hunter. We put him in the pool. He’s alive.”

“He’s alive?” My mind races. “I’ve got to get to Lainey. She not safe…Get these off…” I grind as I pull.

She holds my chest. “No. Hunter. Lainey’s fine.”

“No. He tried to hurt her.” I grind as I pull. “She killed him to get away.”

“Hunter!!” She held me down. “Lainey killed him because he was there. She needed food. He never touched her.”

“You’re lying!” I growl. “Lainey doesn’t kill!”

“Hunter, you'll understand better once your mind is clear, ok. I can fix you and your whole pack. You just have to trust me."

I watch as she puts a needle to my IV bag. “What…What are you doing?! What is that? WHAT IS THAT?!”

“It’s water, Hunt. Just relax.”

“NO! YOU’RE A LIAR! NO!” I yell as I struggle.

Then my body was overcome with heat. I look down and all the veins in my body glowed gold. I felt the electric storm run through my body.

I scream as I arch back.

I barely hear Ricky say it going to be ok.

I slam my eyes shut as I feel the heat rage inside me. Images of Lainey and Ryan run through my brain. I feel my rage build then start to fade.

My body jerks as lightning strikes hit me inside my body. My breathing was erratic then started to normalize.

The storm inside dissipated. My body lowered to my bed. I’m panting and looking around in complete confusion.

I roll my head to Ricky who’s smiling.

“Welcome back.” She says.

“What the hell?” I’m still trying to catch my breath.

She takes the IV out of my arm. “I had to bring the pool to you.” She grins.

“The pool? Ok. Explain!” I grit. “Why am I tied down? What the fuck is going on?”

“You don’t remember?” She wipes the sweat of my head.

“No…Not really…I feel…wrong…” I look down.

She stands up and gets another needle. “I’ll set up a meeting with Rachael and you can talk to her and try to process all this.”

I scrunch my brows together. “Rachael? Ricky, I’m not crazy. Why?”

She comes back and prepares my arm for blood. “You were. For a long time. You’re going to feel things that were there, but not anymore.”

“Ricky. What did I do?” I look at her with complete confusion.

****

I sit on the edge of the bed. Leaning on my knees, I hold my head and shake it. “No. It’s not possible.”

“It is. Hunter. Lainey threw your system so out of whack, you were no longer in control of your actions. Your body took what Lainey gave you and ran with it.”

I lower my hands and look at her. “Are you telling me I was a raging psychopath…for almost a fucking year?”

She nods. “When Ryan came out of the pool, he told us he no longer felt the urges created from his Alpha gene. I ran the tests and he was perfectly balance. In your state, we couldn’t move you so I brought the pool to you and stuck it in your veins.”

I look down. “I do feel less…you know.” She chuckles.

It’s true. For the first time in my life, I can sit beside a female without sweating. I can talk to her without images of tearing her clothes off with my teeth. I feel…normal.

“So, the pool can cure us?” I ask.

She nods. “Balance. You’ll still all be Alphas and Betas. That comes with its own set of problems, but you won’t have the dangerous levels of hormones. We can get everyone to the pool and they can be healed. Those that refuse, we can give them a shot.”

I nod. “I’ll have to address the pack and see what I can do.”

I sit up. “So…Am I free to go?”

She arches a brow and leans to me. “You promise not to kill Zander?”

I smile and chuckle. “No promises.”

She laughs and claps my shoulder. “Have my tech finish the tests and when the results come back, I don’t see why you can’t return to duty.”

“Ricky, thanks.” I say sheepishly.

I don’t completely understand what happened, but I feel like I’m going to have some major groveling to do. From what I’m told, it was bad. The first person I need to find is Ryan. He died because of me. I can never make that up to him, but I’ll spend my life trying.