Sable's pov
I woke up to the smell of rusty iron and the delightful realization that I was chained to a wall.
Fan-freaking-tastic.
My head throbbed like someone had used it as a drum, my mouth tasted like something had died in it and my wrists were definitely locked in metal cuffs attached to a very real, very cold stone wall.
So. Not a hangover nightmare, actual kidnapping.
I blinked, trying to focus. The room was dark except for a few torches, actual torches, because apparently my kidnappers were committed to the whole medieval dungeon aesthetic. Stone walls, iron bars, probably some rats somewhere if I looked hard enough.
"Hello?" My voice came out raspy. "If this is a prank, Jamie, it's not funny."
There was no response.
I yanked at the chains, they rattled but didn't budge. Of course not, that would be too easy.
"Okay, cool. So I've been kidnapped by people who are really into historical reenactment. Great, love that for me." My voice echoed.
I looked down at myself, still wearing my party clothes. No visible injuries, just, you know, chained to a wall in a creepy dungeon. Regular Tuesday night.
Think, Sable. What's the last thing you remember?
The party... Mark...drinking way too much, that weird feeling like my skin was trying to crawl off my body....Then....men....dark vehicles....someone jabbing a needle in my neck. The memories came back to me one after the other.
And that voice. "The Alpha wants her secured."
"The Alpha," I muttered. "What is this, some sick weird cult thing? Did I accidentally join a cult?"
Footsteps echoed outside the bars, closer with every passing second.
I straightened up as much as the chains would allow. "Hey! Kidnapper! Yeah, you with the footsteps! Want to explain what's happening here? Because I'm pretty sure this is illegal in all fifty states!" My heart slammed violently against my ribs but I couldn't afford to show the fear building up in me, maybe if they saw i wasn't some little miss pissy pants they'll let me go afterall.
The footsteps stopped and man emerged from the shadows.
He was tall, built like he could bench-press a car and his face looked like he had seen some serious action. He looked at me the way someone might look at a dangerous animal in a cage, wary but confident in the bars between us.
"You're awake," he said.
"Oh, are we doing small talk? Fun." I rattled my chains. "I'm Sable. I enjoy long walks on the beach, pizza, and not being chained to walls. You are?"
"Torin."
"Great. Nice to meet you, Torin. Now, Torin, here's a crazy question, why the hell am I chained to a wall?"
He didn't answer, just studied me with dark, calculating eyes like I was an enigma.
"Not a talker? That's fine, ill talk. I'm great at talking." The sarcasm was my only defense right now, and I was clinging to it. "So what's the deal? Ransom? Because I hate to break it to you, but my mom's a doctor, not a billionaire, you're not getting much."
"This isn't about money."
"Then what? Did I cut someone off in traffic? Accidentally steal someone's parking spot? Please tell me this isn't about a parking spot."
His expression didn't change. "You're here because you're dangerous."
I laughed but It came out slightly unhinged. "Dangerous? Me? I'm a college student! The most dangerous thing I've done recently is use an expired coupon at Starbucks!"
"You were causing a disturbance in the ley lines."
"The what lines?"
"You don't know what you are."
"I'm a hungover twenty-two-year-old who's about to pass out from dehydration, that's what I am." I rattled the chains again. "Can I at least get some water? Or is torture part of the package deal?"
Torin turned to leave.
"Wait!" I called. "At least tell me where I am! Or why! Or literally anything that makes sense!"
He paused. "You'll know soon enough."
Then he was gone, his footsteps echoing into silence.
I slumped against the wall, ley lines. What the hell were ley lines? And what disturbance? I was at a party, I was drinking. That's all I was doing.
Except... there was that gap. That blank space in my memory after they grabbed me, between the needle in my neck and waking up here.
What happened in that gap? Oh if only I had listened to mom, she must be really worried right now. The realisation crashed upon me like waves on rocks.
Time passed, I had no idea how much, could've been an hour, could've been six. The torches burned without seeming to get any shorter, and no one came back.
My wrists hurt, my head hurt, everything hurt and I was beginning to panic.
"This is fine," I muttered. "Everything is fine. Just a normal kidnapping, happens all the time."
Then I heard them, voices in the distance getting closer.
I struggled to stand, chains scraping against stone. My heart started pounding.
Two figures appeared at the bars.
One was Torin. The second man stepped into the torchlight and something in my chest lurched.
He was maybe late twenties. Dark hair, sharp jawline, shoulders that belonged on someone who'd never missed a day at the gym. But it was his eyes that got me, dark, intense, looking at me like I was a puzzle he couldn't quite solve.
"Sable Reed," he started.
"That's me." I lifted my chained wrists. "And you must be the guy in charge of this lovely establishment. Five stars on Yelp, really."
His expression didn't change. "I'm Ragnar Hale. Alpha of the Hale pack."
"Pack," I repeated slowly. "Like... a wolf pack?"
"Yes."
I laughed, it came out a little manic. "Oh good, because when I woke up chained to a wall, I was worried this situation might get weird."
"You disrupted the power balance last night," Ragnar said, his eyes focusing on me. "The ley lines registered a massive surge, we tracked it to you."
"I don't know what ley lines are, and I definitely didn't disrupt anything. I was at a party."
"You were drunk."
"So arrest me for underage drinking, this seems excessive."
"After we brought you here, you shifted." Ragnar's eyes narrowed. "Violently, you don't remember?"
My stomach dropped. "Shifted into what?"
"Something powerful, unstable." He exchanged a glance with Torin. "You attacked my father."
"I didn't attack anyone!" My voice cracked. "I don't even know you people!"
"You were unconscious when we transported you," Torin said. "Then during the full moon, you woke, you transformed and you went straight for Draven."
"That's impossible. I would remember..."
"You don't remember," Ragnar cut me off. "That's part of the problem."
"What problem? What are you talking about?" I yanked at the chains. "I'm a college student! I'm human! I don't transform into anything!"
"You're not human." Ragnar pulled a vial from his pocket containing a dark red liquid. "We tested your blood, you're a hybrid. An evolved bloodline we thought was extinct."
My head started banging, sweat covering my palms as I struggled to comprehend the load of crap he was spilling.
"That's... no, that's not possible."
"It's fact." Ragnar moved closer to the bars. "You're dangerous, unstable and you have no control over what you are."
"So what, you're going to lock me up forever? Kill me?"
"No." He said calmly. "I'm going to marry you."
I choked. "You're going to what?"
"You'll become my Luna. It's the only way to stabilize your power and contain the threat you pose."
"Contain the....are you insane?" I pulled against the chains hard enough to make my wrists bleed. "You kidnapped me! You're holding me prisoner! And now you think I'm going to marry you?"
"It's not a choice."
"Everything is a choice!"
"Not for you, you're a danger to yourself and everyone around you. As my mate, bound to me, your power will stabilize, you'll be under control."
"I don't need to be under control because I'm not some kind of monster!"
"You put my father in a coma."
Ragnar's eyes widened and I saw the truth in how angry he looked when he spoke. He wasn't some psychopath, he knew what he was talking about.
"I didn't mean to," I whispered. "I don't even remember..."
"That's exactly why this is necessary." Ragnar turned to leave. "The coronation is in three days, you'll be crowned as my Luna."
"Wait! You can't just….."
"I can. I am." He paused at the doorway. "Cooperate, and this will be easier for everyone."
"And if I don't?"
"Then you'll stay in chains until you do."
He walked away and Torin followed.
I sank back against the wall, my mind reeling.
Hybrid, evolved bloodline, shifted, attacked someone, marry a man I'd just met.
"This can't be real," I whispered to the empty cell. "This can't be happening."
But the chains on my wrists said otherwise.