Idalia woke up with a start, the strong smell in the air stinging the roof of her nose. But beyond that was the emptiness she felt where Arik should be.
The memories of her abduction rushed through her mind in a flash.
'Then get rid of it!'
That voice. It echoed in her mind and rage suddenly consumed her.
It could not be.
Her son!
She had to find her son!
She tried to move but she couldn't. Instead, she could feel the heavy weight of chains around her wrists and ankles, and the coldness of a steel surface beneath.
She heard a steel door push open. Then it swung shut just as quickly.
Then, voices.
No.
Moans.
Fury rushed through Idalia's veins; it was so much, she felt it would suffocate her.
They had taken her child away from her and they had the audacity to be having sex?!
But then, they began to speak, their words breathy and desperate. She stilled, not wanting them to know that she was awake.
"I can't do this anymore. I can't keep sneaking around with you like this." A man said. He sounded nothing like the man who had attacked her.
"So what?" A woman said, her voice breathy. She sounded like the woman who had been ordered to take Arik away in the car. "You want us to break up?"
"No, Risi. Never. I want you to tell Arobyn that you don't want him anymore. Break up with him."
"And be with an Unstable?"
"You said you love me."
"Of course, I do."
"So-" but his voice morphed into more moans, and Idalia's fury rose.
…Get rid of it!
Idalia refused to believe that had actually happened. Because if it had, she might as well just kill herself already and join her son.
Her blood was rushing in her veins quickly, madness consuming her every thought.
But there were two of them, free and well equipped, and there was only one of her. Also, a threat was only effective when feared.
So her eyelids peeled open weakly. She could see their moving silhouette in the darkness. The man stood against the wall with his hand in the woman's hair, who was on her knees before him. The man's eyes opened, dazed, as he reached his height of pleasure. He froze slightly when he saw that Idalia was awake. He pulled away from the woman, and hurriedly pulled up his zipper. The woman also looked back at Idalia, while she rubbed off the evidence of their forbidden intimacy from her lips.
Idalia's body trembled with so much anger, she almost couldn't see. It took her reminding herself that her wolf was as good as dead, and therefore, she was powerless, to lie still.
'Where is my son?!' The question stood at the top of her tongue, but instead, she forced her lips to give in to an inaudible whisper.
"She wants water." The man said, and he hurried towards her with a cup of water. But she refused to drink and kept whispering inaudible things.
"Just knock her out and come back here."
"No can't do. I have a commission on this one."
There.
He leaned further down enough.
Idalia's teeth jammed around his ear. She felt his blood pour into her mouth while he screamed in pain. She didn't know how she had done it, but the chain around her wrists now had his head between them, as they pulled against his neck.
People poured into the room and yelled for her to let the man go. But she yelled back at them.
"GIVE ME MY SON!" She said through gritted teeth and the man yelled louder in pain. "Or I WILL KILL HIM!"
But then another man came in, and she felt the sting of a needle in her arm. The man in her grip was released from her and she slid to the floor with a thud.
"My son." A stray tear ran down her cheek. "I just want my son."
Then she saw the bloodied ear. And maybe it was the trick of the flickering yellow bulb above, but somehow, she had seen the skin start to stitch together.
Not humans.
Not werewolves either.
She fought to stay awake this way, for as long as she could.
Through her blurry sight, she watched the man who had attacked her with a needle, step closer to the man she had bitten. He inspected his mouth.
Chaos erupted and the man was dragged out of the room.
Now, it remained her and Risi.
"My baby.." her voice was too weak.
Risis lay next to her where Idalia had fallen on the floor. "When Arobyn told me to get rid of your son," her voice quaked with tears but Idalia was certain those tears weren't for her. "I felt terrible. But now? I'm happy to inform you that he must have spent 24 hours at that dump site. It is either he has died from being crushed by heavy waste, died from cold or has ended up being incinerated."
Idalia tried to fight her chains but her body was too weak to.
Risi's fingers toyed with her locs as she pushed, as a sad smile played over her lips. "Imagine that, your son dying. Alone. Crying for his mother."
More tears ran down Idalia's cheeks. Her mind screamed with grief even though she didn't want to give in.
The smile vanished from Risi's face, replaced by pure rage. "That's a fuck you for tuning my life." She stood up and sent a kick straight to Idalia's stomach.
Whatever happened next, Idalia wouldn't know. The scenario Risi had painted with her words played over and over again in her mind.
When the unconsciousness slipped on her, she believed it was death.
So, she embraced it.
Fully.