"Move… quick!".
"Strap her down… don't waste any time."
The voices of people echoed inside her head, a cacophony that seemed to amplify her disorientation.
It felt like she was in a trance, each sound reverberating through her mind. She could barely feel her limbs; they were heavy and unresponsive.
Her body was so heated that even in her state of semi-consciousness, she was acutely aware of the feverish warmth.
"Are you sure about this? Lady Erica might not like this." A male voice spoke, its tone edged with concern.
"It will be fine. We need to investigate the good before selling it off to the kingdom." A familiar voice replied, calm and resolute.
Slowly, she began to open her eyes, the world around her shifting from a hazy blur to a clearer image.
As her vision focused, she saw two men hovering over her, both dressed in all-black outfits and wearing masks that concealed their identities.
"Uhmmmm?" Alpha let out weakly, her entire body feeling as though she had been running for years.
The faint sound drew the attention of the two men. Their eyes immediately turned to her, locking onto her with an unsettling intensity.
"Well well well, look who is finally awake," said one of the men, leaning down to meet her gaze.
Alpha was strapped to a bed, her clothes torn and a chain around her neck hooking her to the wall.
The men, their faces obscured by masks, reached out and began to touch her face, their fingers cold and intrusive against her skin.
"Look at that… What a wonderful specimen," said one of them, his hand now toying with her wolf ears.
Alpha, on the other hand, was still trying to recall how she had ended up here, far from the room where Ethan had left her.
The memory was foggy, but she remembered stepping out of the room after hearing a knock on the door.
Everything went dark after that, and now she found herself waking up on a dirty bed, chained, with two men staring at her.
The room they were in was small and dark, lit only by flickering fire lamps hung on the walls. The bed stood in the center, surrounded by empty boxes, tables, and various equipment, giving the space an even shadier appearance.
"Hmmmmm!!!" Alpha tried screaming, her eyes almost glowing with desperation, but then she noticed something –
"You shouldn't struggle so hard. You and I both know that is not going to help you." One of the men said, his grin almost visible beneath the mask.
He reached towards a desk nearby and picked up a small orange bottle.
"A dose of this was all it took, and your body has gone completely numb. You're not moving a muscle."
And he wasn't kidding.
Her muscles were so limp, the magic flow in her body reduced dramatically, making it nearly impossible for her to even attempt freeing herself.
The realization hit her hard, a wave of helplessness washing over her as she lay there, paralyzed and at their mercy.
"And since we are right at it, I might as well ask you a few questions," the man stated calmly.
With that, he removed the mask covering his face.
It was Lian.
A smile played on his lips as he stared down at her, almost obsessively. He leaned closer, his eyes widened as he asked, "Where are the rest of your kind?"
If she could, Alpha would have sunk into the bed to hide herself.
The man standing in front of her was so unnerving, all she wanted was to find a way out of there.
And despite the uncomfortable look on Alpha's face, Lian didn't cease his questions.
"Where have your kind been hiding? How many of you are there? Are you the last Lunar Kin? Come on, speak!" Lian shouted, clearly impatient about the answers he thought he was about to get.
"Uhm… you covered her mouth, sir," the other individual beside him spoke up.
"Oh."
Lian sighed, reaching for the cloth wrapped around Alpha's mouth and pulling it off.
The moment he did that, Alpha coughed violently, her throat raw, sending spit flying from her mouth straight into Lian's eyes.
"Ahhh!" He screamed, his hand scrambling to cover his stinging eyes as he blindly stumbled backward, crashing into the tables with a loud clatter.
"Master!!! Master!!!" Alpha's voice echoed through the room, urgency lacing every syllable.
The drug's effects were fading around her facial muscles, allowing her to move her mouth more freely.
The man immediately went into action, covering her mouth so she wouldn't scream and give off their location to whoever was outside.
Little did he know that was about the biggest mistake he could make.
Alpha opened her mouth even wider and closed it with her teeth sinking into the hand of the man. Blood spewed all around her chest and mouth as the man cried out.
He was so in pain, the thought of using his other hand didn't cross his mind. Instead, he simply held his hand, stomping his feet on the ground.
During the middle of all the commotion, the door swung open, revealing a woman standing at the entrance. She wore a black mask, and a scythe hung casually over her shoulder.
"What are you idiots doing?" she demanded, using her leg to slam the door shut before striding forward.
First, she kicked Lian to the side, then marched towards Alpha with purpose.
Just as she was about to bring the bottom of her scythe crashing down across Alpha's face, Alpha suddenly glared at her.
Startled, the woman panicked and instead clenched her fist, delivering a nasty punch.
This made Alpha's world fade into darkness as she slipped into unconsciousness.
The woman panted, her chest heaving with exertion, as she stared intently at Alpha's unconscious form.
A flicker of curiosity danced in her eyes before she spoke, "A Lunar Kin, huh… I'm not all that surprised".
...
A/N
Sorry for the lack of updates. I couldn't keep up.