"Noir," a voice in the distance seems to call.
Repeatedly it calls out to me but all I can do is shift in agonizing pain.
The pain has an unpleasant warmth to it, eating at my stomach. There's nausea too, just enough to make me hold onto the blanket for support and breathe slow.
I've often prized myself in ignoring pain and just pushing on regardless but that just isn't possible right now. It owns me, dominates every thought, controls every action, controls every muscle.
With another intense wave, my eyes spring open and I shoot up from my place on the ground, a stab of discomfort rushing to every muscle in my body, especially my neck.
Reaching up to touch where my mark is, a burning pain coursed through the muscles of my neck and shoulder causing me to crash back down to the stone floor, screaming and writhing in a pain so intense, the Gods themselves above retreated.
"Noir," a voice questioned before it became a chant of repeated shouts but I ignored them.
It wasn't just physical pain but an emotional and spiritual pain; a detachment burrowed deep within my being.
Screaming again, I tore at my neck, my hair, my face; I wanted to gouge my eyes from their sockets and my tongue from my mouth. I wanted to completely shred my skin until I was nothing but a puddle of blood and entrails.
Simply put, I wanted to die.
Shooting up, it finally hit me I wasn't chained as began pacing the cage I was in.
Another wave hit and I crashed to my knees before I hit the stone wall until my knuckles bled as my face kissed the floor, uncontrollable sobs and screams echoing around me.
It didn't even register to me that it was me making the maddening noise until there was silence only filled with my heart beating in my ears.
When it silenced itself, I crumbled further to the floor, wanting to recoil into myself. As I was about to though, a man's voice reached my ears with clarity.
I dragged my face against the stone until I was looking in the direction in which voice came.
I blinked several times before I realized there was virescent eyes watching me.
"Noir, ar—u—ay—? Wh— ong—," it spoke, confusing me. Then it crashed into me.
Liam.
Forcing myself up to my hands and knees, I crawled to the cell's gate, the blanket barely draping over my shoulders before placing my head on the cold bars.
"L—Liam," I croaked, my mouth drier than dirt that dusted the stoned floor.
I outstretched a bloodied arm through the bars towards him as he did the same but I collapsed.
When I came to, I heard Liam violently thrashing before my cell door was opened and a sharp pain riddled my shoulder, knocking me back and onto my side.
When a figure knelt down beside me, I raised my head to face whoever was here, already mentally accusing them for the pain I was in.
"It's horrible, the pain that you're feeling, isn't it," Calder's voice penetrated my ears, all other sounds now void.
When I didn't say anything, he grabbed my face to make me fully stare at him, our noses touching.
"Embrace it, bitch because this is only the beginning," he spat before releasing my face with such force, I fell onto my back and was staring at the ceiling.
Turning my head, I ignored Calder's now upright position as I looked to the cell across from mine to see an motionless figure laying on the floor, their back pressed against their cell bars.
Liam.
"What... did... you... do," I questioned, wheezing through clenched teeth as I forced myself up to sit on my knees and look up at Calder.
For the first time ever, I saw the man look confused before he turned his attention toward Liam's cell and scoffed.
"I did nothing to the lone bastard. His punishment has nothing to do with me," Calder shrugged.
Looking back down to me, a sinister grin crept across his face.
"I heard he is used for the testing of different remedies to immobilize your kind."
With what strength I had, a growl rumbled through me as I continued to watch the man before me.
"You mean our kind," I corrected him, my own voice wry.
Scratching his beard in fiend interest, Calder shrugged.
"The lycan isn't of my concern so I don't care what happens to him, honestly," was all he said before kicking his foot out, hitting me in the chest.
I hissed in pain as I once again laid on the cold floor before Calder found his way atop of me.
"Get the Hell off of me," I growled but the man above me had me pinned against his body and the ground.
Leaning down, I felt Calder's breath on the side of my face as he spoke into my ear.
"I told Alistair I was going to fuck up everything he loved in a big, big way and I meant every word of it."
Before I could find the words to speak, Calder sat up on his knees and the sound of a buckle unclasping echoed around the cell as his belt freed itself from its own clutches and released it's hold on his breeches.
An inkling of what was about to come flashed through my mind as I tried to kick my way from underneath him but all Calder did was laugh as he reached behind him and retrieved a vial.
With a swift movement, he removed the cork and shoved the vial into my mouth, forcing the liquid down my throat.
As my sight began to blur and my muscles became heavier than what they already were, Calder moved back and pried my legs apart.
I wanted to lash out at him. I wanted to rip his throat out and watch him choke on his own blood but I couldn't move now.
I struggled before but now, the more I struggled the heavier my limbs became and before the darkness devoured me, I felt a force ram into me harshly then nothing. Just an abyss of blackness.
When I awoke again, I was greeted with a howl. The sound was heartbreaking but I couldn't meet it's nocturne with the same energy.
When it was done, I forced myself into an upright position, every bone popping and muscle burning.
When I looked in the direction the howl came from, I was met with mossy eyes that were glassed over with emotion.
"Liam," I managed, my voice cracking under it's dryness.
When he didn't say anything, I just watched him.
His pained expression twisted his features and his massive body rested limply against the barred door but he never removed his eyes from me.
After a moment, it hit me.
"You're not Liam," I said softly.
After I did, 'Liam' slightly straightened himself, his green eyes shining a bit brighter but still full of sadness.
"Grænn," he spoke, his voice deeper than before.
I didn't get to speak before he tilted his head and howled the same heart wrenching song as he did prior, it's tune lulling me into exhaustion.
Before I knew it, my body sagged and I collapsed to my side. The last thing I saw were green orbs watching me then blackness.