Yvonne opened aching eyes, her head pounded and she felt so tired she wanted to close them again. Something was wrong. She slowly looked around. She didn't know where she was. The room was old with a slight smell of mildew. Wallpaper peeled off the walls and the furniture was full of holes. Dust was thick on every surface. Her eyes widened when she spotted Luc. He was tied to a chair across the room from her. His head rested limply against his chest. She tried to move to help him only to find herself in a similar situation. She looked down at her wrists and tried to pull free of the ropes. Nothing happened, it was as if she had no power. Laughter sounded to her right and she jerked her head to see four rogues enter the room. Two grinned at her in malicious enjoyment, one had a blank face, and a young one stared at the floor.
"So the Princess awakens," scoffed the first to enter the room, a big, dirty blond with a missing front tooth.
"Why are you doing this?" Yvonne asked, already knowing the answer. Because they could.
"Money. Why else? We are holding you for ransom. Everyone knows your Alpha of a brother will pay through the teeth to have his siblings back."
Alpha of a Brother. She felt a spark of hope. "I believe in Phoenixes." She stated in a clear voice. The first two looked at her like she was crazy.
"And I believe in the gold at the end of a rainbow. You're my rainbow, Princess. Now we're miles from anyone so don't go screaming and I'll let you and your brother be. Maybe we'll even feed you." With that he turned away.
"Rip, don't you think?" the other asked, looking at her with a leer. A reed thin man with washed out red hair.
"No, I don't and I'll skin you alive if you ruin this for me, Matt. Once we get our money, then we'll think about it. Timmy, go clean out the car. No traces of them in it, do you hear?"
The young one rushed away. The other one, a dark haired man with steady brown eyes, turned to leave as well.
"Vinny? Where are you going?" Rip demanded.
Vinny turned back with a shrug. "You mentioned food. I'm hungry. Thought I'd go see what was available."
Rip nodded. "Make enough for everyone. And get me a beer."
Vinny shrugged again. "Sure."
***
Yvonne stared at her brother, willing him to wake up. It had been almost an hour since the rogues had left and she had given up in getting out of the ropes. Unsure why she couldn't. She was worried about Luc. He should have woken up by now.
Vinny entered with a bowl of chili, seeing her worried gaze, set it on one of the tables and came back with two glasses of water. One he set next to the bowl, the other he dumped on Luc.
Luc awoke with a gasp. She gave a sigh and sent him a relieved smile. He smiled back slightly before shrugging. Luc's eyes took in everything quickly before he tried to tackle Vinny with a roar. Only to find he also couldn't move.
"Vinny? What's going on in there?"
"The brother woke up."
"Tell him the rules. I don't like loud noises."
"Sure."
Vinny turned to meet Luc's glare. "You've been kidnapped and are being held for ransom, the chairs are bolted to the floor. The ropes have silver in the center. If you're quiet, he'll leave you alone and let me feed you. If you make noise, he'll dose you again with just enough wolfbane to knock you out." He shrugged.
Walking back over he picked up the chili and water. "Do you want either?" he asked Yvonne, holding both out.
"Water." He held it to her mouth until she finished the glass and before she could thank him he caught the chain around her neck and pulled it up until he had the charm in his hand. He flicked it and watched in silence as it spun. He then tucked it back under her cloths. Saying so softly even her enhanced hearing had a hard time catching it. "Shit."
He fed her about half the bowl of chili, which was surprisingly good, and then turned his attention to Luc. Luc took the water and chili with a stoic glare. Finished with his chore, Vinny turned and left.
"Yvonne?" Luc asked softly.
"I'm fine. You?"
"I have a headache, but the food helped. This is a mess, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"We'll figure something out. We're Belcourts after all."
She nodded.
"Rip." Vinny's voice sounded from the other room.
"What?"
"We're on our last six pack."
"What? Matt you damn drunk, well go get some, Vinny."
She could almost picture him shrugging. "Anything else?"
"Yeah, get some chips and dip."
The sound of the front door opening and closing and a car starting up and driving away fill their space for a few seconds.
Luc began to test the strength of the bolts anchoring him to the floor. In savage silence he struggled. Yvonne felt tears streaming down her face as she watched him.