A large bang and an echoing metallic ring vibrate through my brain, bringing me back to reality. My eyes blink open, struggling to clear the haze from my vision and adjust to all the bright fluorescent lighting shining in my face.

My memory of the fight comes back to me, the darkness, the chaos, the smoke, and the fucking hit to the back of the head. “ZANE!” I yell out, hoping to hear him call back to me as my eye sight still struggles to clear.

I try to hoist myself up off the ground, but meet resistance from metal bars, bars that instantly start to sear my skin. A hiss of pain escapes through my gritted teeth. Oh no, please, no.

“Ava, finally waking up I see. Do you like your new abode? The silver was my idea. I didn’t want you getting away, you crafty little bitch,” Allister’s slimy voice laughs from somewhere on my left, though not close enough for me to think I could grab him.

“Where is Zane?” I demand, needing to know if he got out of the fights… praying that he got out.

“Oh, what, can you not see, Ava? Your Mate sits right in front of you, inside of his own cage, but with the addition of a lovely little collar around his neck. He woke up a little sooner than you did, and unfortunately, the silver smoke didn’t affect his eyesight quite as much,” Allister says, matter of fact.

“Zane, talk to me, please,” I reach out to beg him, although as soon as I try to reach our bonds a blistering pain spreads over my hand, burning like it’s been set on fire. I clench my teeth to hold in the whimper of agony, my breath coming out in puffs as I try to swallow it all down.

“Uh, uh, uh. Naughty little wolf. We placed a temporary block on all your internal conversations. Can’t have you planning an escape, now can we?” The rat points at my hand as he scolds me before letting out a horrible piercing laugh. I bow my head, close my eyes and sit back on the floor, away from all the bars, and focus all my energy on healing my eyes. Allister tries to talk to me, and when I don’t respond, he bangs on the cage, but I still do nothing. If I can’t talk to Zane, then damnit I look at him. The cage begins to rattle and I slowly lift my head, opening my eyes a small bit at a time, until I’m staring into the eyes of the piece of shit keeping me in a cage.

“I’m going to feed you to as many wolves as I can, Allister. When I get a hold of you, I won’t kill you. I intend to gather up every wolf I can find who was hurt by your actions and then hand you over to them. Then I will watch, with a smile on my face as they pull you apart, piece by piece one bite at a time. I promise you this,” I vow to him, my face and tone losing every single bit of emotion except to bare my teeth at him as his smile drops. His beady brown eyes shift away from mine as his heartrate increases exponentially, fear seeping from every pore of his body.

“Whatever, you…you bitch. You won’t get out of this cage alive,” He stammers, scampering away from me and back to a stool on my left.

My now clear eyes search out Zane, and what I see makes me want to crawl over silver blades to get to him. In a cage similar to mine, my strong mate hunches over, his huge frame too large to fit without at least one body part touching the bars, the silver causing him to suffer the constant sear of burning skin. Silver shackles encase his throat and wrist, dripping blood onto the dirty cement floor. I try to not cry, I try to hold it in, but a few tears still manage to escape as our gazes meet. He tries to nod to me, but the collar pulls on his skin, making the blood slide faster down his chest onto his lap. Zane continues to hold my gaze, conveying so much emotion in that look, and yet, we exchange no words.

I drag my eyes away to examine the room, to get an idea of my surroundings. The room consist of four cement walls with no windows and a stairwell leading upwards. Ok, so we’re underground. The cages, a computer on a wooden bench, and Allister on his fucking little stool account for the only items in the otherwise barren room. No way to exit or enter other than the stairs, nothing to help break us out of the cages, just my Mate and me.

“It’s time for the arrival of our guest of honour, now fucking behave or you will regret it,” Allister threatens as he checks the time on his fake Rolex. I push out my senses, listening for footsteps or conversation but I hear nothing other than our three hearts beating. I start to feel an increase in pressure, my ears get blocked and my head aches before a large pop startles me, my exposed shoulders pressing into the cages silver bars when I jerk back.

“Ow, fucking motherfucker,” I hiss as the effects of the silver start to burn my skin.

“A pretty, young girl like you shouldn’t use such impolite language,” A soft feminine voice chastises, her face showing up right in front of mine on the other side of the bars. Holy fuck, that is creepy. The woman’s bright green eyes appear too big for her head, comically round and large like an anime character. Her long, straight blonde hair falls over her shoulder and brushes the ground, it’s colour so pale it almost looks white in the fluorescent lighting. Her hair doesn’t manage to hide the long-pointed ears that frame the side of her head, making her the near perfect picture of the LOTR elves, but with freakish googly eyes. I continue to scope her out and realise her delicate little body is dressed head to toe in armour, a deep forest green that looks like a snake skin pattern. Someone seems ready for war, doesn’t she?

“Well, I wouldn’t have to speak that way if I wasn’t locked in a silver cage, now would I?” I challenge, tilting my head in question. Let’s see if she can play.

“You wouldn’t be locked in a cage if you could just stay out of the way,” She replies, a frown marring her face’s strange beauty.

“I do believe this is my realm, not yours. So really, it’s you who should stay out of the way…uh, I’m sorry, I just realised I have no idea what your name is,” I retort just as quickly, hoping that I can get at least some basic information out of her before she pops out of reality again.

“Ellette. And this was our realm first, you impertinent little toad,” her tone growing angrier by the second. You make mistakes when you get angry, Tinkerbelle. So easy to rile.

“I’m a wolf honey, try to keep up. Besides, you were banished. The shifters and the vampires run the supernaturals this side of reality,” I reply with condescension, wishing to the heavens that she reveals something.

“I’M NOT YOUR HONEY! AND THOSE BLOOD SUCKING VERMON DO NOT DESERVE TO RUN A SINGLE THING, THIS WAS OUR HOME! THEY ARE NOTHING MORE THAN AN ABOMINATION!” Ellette shrieks in unrestrained anger. As the Fae screams, her face starts to hollow, and her eyes bleed red. Her mouth opens and stretches far beyond its limits to expose smooth teeth turning razor sharp. Holy shit, that’s what the Vampire Lords look like when they vamp out. Are the vampires a creation of the Fae?

All too suddenly her composure returns, her face normal and breathing relaxed. I shy away from the front of the cage, backing myself into the silver bars behind me, ignoring the sting as Ellette moves her hands through the bars to cup my face. Creepy fucking Fae.

“You’ve interfered a few too many times, Ava. Not only have you become a thorn in my side, but you possess information I need. As a lovely twist of fate, let’s make your mate decide,” She turns to face Zane for the first time, crouching down in front of his cage the same way she did mine, completely ignoring personal boundaries.

“You have two options, for every time you don’t give me the information I require, your Mate will take a beating and you will fight in the cage. Or she will fight, which as an added bonus, would serve as a nice payday for me because she always brought in good money, while you take a beating. If you give me the information I want, you get a night off. Now choose.” She supplies, casually revealing the fact that she’s overseen these fights for over a year and a half. Apparently, this plan has been in play for a lot longer than we assumed. I search out Zane, praying that he will realise he needs to let me take the beating If our people see him fighting, they will know something is wrong. Besides, I don’t think I could ever stand to see him tortured in front of me while I do nothing.

“I will take the beatings,” he states with finality, and the pit in my stomach opens with fear.

“Spoke like a true warrior, I like that. But hmmm, thinking about it, I don’t believe I do like that option. I want to play with Ava for a little while. No, Ava will take the beating, and you can fight instead. Allister get the silver injection for Zane here, and get him ready for the fights,” Ellette orders before moving towards the stairs. I feel the world drop out from under me, injecting him with silver?! That wasn’t part of the plan.

“No! You can’t do that to him! You didn’t mention that! No, he chose the other option!” I scream, thrashing my arms through the bars and kicking out at every wall of my cage, trying to stop Allister from piercing Zane’s skin with that fucking silver.

“Then one of you should have asked what state you’d be fighting in. Maybe a bargain could have been made,” she says sweetly before sauntering up the stairs and slamming a heavy door behind her.

“Zane, I’m so sorry, I’m so, so sorry,” I whisper to my Mate, hating myself for even being in this situation. To function with silver in your blood as a wolf is the hardest thing you could ever do. It’s like living with every cell of your body on fire, constantly draining your energy to the point where you have nothing left to give, nothing left to heal yourself.

Zane smirks at me, the action lighting up his face for a moment, and then he closes his eyes, putting up no fight as Allister injects the silver into his neck. I let the anger build, calling forth every hateful emotion I’ve ever felt, allowing it to start piling up underneath my skin, filling me. They’ve gone after me, they’ve gone after my Pack, and now they dare to torture my Mate. I’m going to end them.

“It will be ok, angel,” I hear faintly through our bond. My eyes widen slightly at our reunited bond, but school my features, hiding the discovery from Allister. Maybe the introduction of the silver causes enough pain for him to negate the effect of the Fae mark stopping our bond?

“Oh, will you calm your fucking shit, Ava? It’s a low dose, only enough to slow him down, not incapacitate him. It will work out of his system in 12 hours,” Allister mutters when I level my full glare of hate at him.

“Doesn’t fucking matter. Trust me, Allister, you will regret this,” I threaten him, my voice full of malice as I watch him pull the needle out of my Mate’s neck.

Allister drops Zane in front of my cage, his spindly little legs kicking out the back of Zane’s knees until his head drops in line with mine. I push my arms through the space between the bars and lean forward at the same time he does, our faces burning as we press against the bar to meet for a kiss.

“Stay alive for me, Zane, I need you,” I whisper as he pulls away, ignoring the sting from my burning skin.

“Only if you do the same, angel. How can I die with my angel already here on earth with me?” He murmurs back before Allister nudges him towards the door with a kick to his leg.

“Allister, this hasn’t saved you, but thank you,” The words burn my throat like bile as they come out, but he didn’t have to allow us that moment. Even if it was for self-serving purposes. The worm nods in my direction once and then drags my still collared Mate up the stairs to god knows where.

Well this is fucked.

The applause from the crowd filters down into the basement below, a basement I am still locked in. I wait to hear Zane’s name called but I can’t make out any specific words, just the sounds of the supes cheering on their favourite shifter. About five minutes after they took Zane upstairs, I was dragged out of my cage, collared, and chained to the floor like a damn dog. One of Allister’s little lap dogs stares at me from where he leans against the table, a position he hasn’t moved from since he walked into the room. He looks just like every other bouncer at any club: black jeans, black shirt, shaved head, tattoos galore and a blank face that is just scary enough to make you wary. His radio beeps, and static fills the air, followed by a voice.

“He’s not performing to Ellette’s standards. Boss says take it out on her,” the crackling voice instructs, triggering a small slither of fear to jolt through me.

“OK, you got it. Superficial or deeper?” skin head, lap dog grunts into the walkie talkie radio. I’m surprised he even knows what those words mean.

“Keep it superficial, we will really question her later,” the unknown voice replies without interest. Looks like we’re in for a long night, I think to my wolf as I mentally prepare myself for the next few hours.

Without another word he drops the radio onto the table and walks over to me. He towers above me, and in an attempt at intimidation, leans over so that his face is right in mine, his coffee stained breath huffing in my face. I see his hand rear back, and I brace myself. His fist hits my cheek, and my whole body falls to the side, my head hitting the concrete. The silver collar burns more of my skin as it pulls on my neck when it’s forced away from the anchor in the floor. The pain arrives in an instant, and I try to hold in a grunt of pain as the cold of the concrete seeps into my broken jaw. Shit, does this guy have cinder blocks for hands? Blood fills my mouth as I bite down on my tongue, willing the pain to disappear. I whimper as a brutal kick hits my stomach, the air leaving my lungs with the impact and I struggle to catch my breath again. I only just manage to open my lungs when thick fingers dig into my hair and use the grip to pull my entire body weight up, every nerve ending on my head firing painfully. I try to use my legs to push my body weight up, praying to ease the pressure on my scalp, but the piece of shit only pulls my head up higher. I can feel my wolf surging forward, wanting to save me from the pain, wanting to fight back, but I can’t bear to have my other half and my Mate both taking pain for me, so I push her back. The asshole delivers three swift jabs to my right eye, a hoarse cry breaking free from my lips as the eye socket collapses under the assault, before I’m once again dropped to the floor. I try to move my hand to my eye, desperately wanting to apply pressure, but a heavy foot stands on my forearm, teasing with the weight before brutally slamming down on the bones and twisting. I can’t distinguish where the pain hurts worse anymore, I just lay there on the floor. I can hear my cries and whimpers like I’m floating above my own body, waiting for the breathless pants of the lap dog to stop in preparation of another beating. The silver collar continues to burn into my skin, working its way into my blood stream through the cuts and scrapes. The silver peels away at my control, stripping me of the ability to compartmentalise the pain, to move past it. I feel my consciousness weaving in and out, slipping just past my fingers, drawing me further into the pain. My body begs me to give in to the darkness so I can heal myself. I close my eyes, ready to give up the fight and try to heal when a huge splash of water is thrown all over my face. I try to open my mouth to say anything, to scream or yell, but the swelling and pain from my broken jaw make me unable to.

“Oh, come on, I know you aren’t that weak. I’ve seen you take much more of a beating than that before,” the lap dog sneers at me, his toe nudging my leg like a piece of trash in his way. A growl erupts from my throat, nothing but the promise of the retribution. I will remember every single piece of shit involved in this, and I will burn them to the ground. I close my eyes one last time and take a deep breath, trying to identify his Pack, praying that he will have this one marker for me. Got you mother fucker.

“Arctic Lupis,” I whisper through gritted teeth, ignoring the pain as I fight to show him just how much shit he is in.

“What’s that, whore?” He laughs, enjoying the pain written all over my face. His booted foot moves to my shoulder and pushes until I’m on my back, a movement I don’t resist.

“Arctic Lupis,” I say a little louder, and with more clarity as the bones start to knit themselves back together. I huff out a laugh as his eyes widen at the name of his pack.

“ARCTIC LUPIS,” I scream, watching the blood fly from my mouth and splatter onto the floor as I regain control of my jaw, continuing to push past the pain. I break out into a crazed cackle as he stumbles back from me, his fear infusing the air around us as he realises exactly what will happen if I get out of here alive. Not fucking ‘if’, when.

I don’t even bother to watch him as he hustles towards the stairs, his shoulders twitching every time I inhale to continue laughing. As soon as the heavy door slams shut behind him, I stop, and I wait. Wait for more people, wait for Ellette to make her grand reappearance, wait for Allister, wait for Zane.

“So easy to fuck with them,” I grunt as I attempt to heave myself up into a seated position, one that doesn’t pull on the collar so much. I settle onto my knees, feeling around the collar, looking for the clasp that keeps it locked around my neck. I pull and tug, everything I can think of to get it to move, but all it does is spin around my neck, scraping and pulling on my silver burnt skin. Shit. I move on to examine the chain, pulling and manipulating each link hoping for a weak spot, but nothing happens. Being chained up in the middle of an open room with no means to defend myself is exactly where I wanted this to end. Fucking Fantastic.

I settle into a semi-comfortable position with my legs crossed and focus on healing myself. My wolf and I connect, leaning on each other for strength and energy. She lets me take from her what I need, knowing that she can’t help physically, no matter how much she wishes. It feels like hours pass before the heavy door bangs open once again, followed by the sound of several people thumping down the stairs. I move my chain to the other side of the anchor, putting my back to the empty room and facing the threat head on. Allister walks around the corner of the stairs before anyone else, and my wolf rushes forward and tries to take over, my vision swimming as she comes to the surface, hungry for his blood. I push her back down as he jumps and falls back onto another body, one that grunts in pain and annoyance, a sound that I am all too familiar with, my Mate.

“Oh, will you start moving Allister?” A woman’s high-pitched, annoyed voice says from behind the wall supporting the staircase.

The chastisement from Ellette gets Allister moving again, but not before he levels a pathetic scowl my direction. I can’t help myself. I bare my teeth at him and snap them in their air like a bite, savouring the little jump in his step as he walks past me. I look past him to my Mate and the heaviness that weighed me down since he left finally eases. Apart from a small bruise on his face, not a single mark appears to mar his beautiful body. Well he was always going to have the upper hand in those fights anyways. Zane nods in my direction, his piercing eyes and tall frame losing its rigidity as he looks over my body, scanning for cuts and bruises, the relief and love so evident that I catch my breath.

“Oh yes, yes now that you’ve each seen the other is ok, let’s move past all the tortured gazes and such,” Ellette’s tinkling voice rings out over the small space, as she glides into the room and perches herself on the table across from me.

“Now Ava, darling. Your lovely mate here didn’t fight hard enough, so if it wasn’t clear earlier, for every punch he pulls, you will suffer his punishment. Dearest Zane, don’t you want to save your Mate all that extra pain? Well, then you better put on a better show than tonight, are we clear?” She laughs light heartedly, like she’s asking a favour of us rather than an ultimatum with threats of pain and violence. Zane looks at me, pleading with his soul bleeding from his eyes. I nod to him, trying to tell him it is ok, that I’ll be ok. His head drops to his chest, and his forehead burns against the silver cage, trying to make his physical pain numb the pain inside.

“I know, Zane, I know,” I send down our bond as I grip hold of the cage behind me to push past the pain of the Mate block. I pray that he at the very least feels the love and understanding that I send to him. It’s not until he glances up, winking at me before he looks back down that I get his response.

“I love you,” I can barely hear the faint words from down our bond, but I feel it. The emotion fills me up, giving me hope and strengthening me with every breath I take.

“Ava, you cute little wolf. I have a few questions for you, and only this once will your Mate be here to witness. I just wanted you both to see what happens to people who lie to me. Are you ready to answer my questions, Ava?” Ellette asks, her legs swinging back and forth over the table’s edge like a child.

“I have no choice but to listen to your questions, do I Ellette?” I ask sarcastically. My attempts at masking my rising panic failing with every heartbeat. She pulls out a silver knife, a knife so sharp that you can barely see its edges, only the gleam of the light shining off it.

Ellette closes one fist and moves it towards her face, whispers some foreign words and blows green dust all over the floor in front of me. I try to scramble back, but faster than I can get away, more silver chains encircle my wrists and ankles., The chains sink into the ground, pulling me as I fight and thrash against it until I’m lying flat on my back, silver burning into my skin. I turn my head to look at Zane, his own silver collar barely restraining him as he throws himself at the cage, his feral growl breaking my heart as I watch him lose control. I hold back the tears but search for our bond, trying to calm him, trying to save him from himself.

“You are a sadistic fucking bitch. I hope you grow old and grey on this side of the realm. I hope the earth rejects you, that you lose your magic, that you become the very thing you despise,” I growl at the Fae when my gaze settles on her, praying that for once Karma takes it out on those who deserve it.

“You take back those ugly words, the universe is always listening!” Ellette screeches in a slight panic.

“Then you’re well and truly fucked, aren’t you?” I laugh at her before screaming out in excruciating pain. The Fae bitch wastes no time in driving the silver blade deep within my leg, and the muscles burn, atrophying around the silver. She pulls it out just as fast and slices it into my clenched hand. This time she leaves it piercing my hand and watches me scream, writhing in agony as I try to make it fall out.

“How many packs are involved, Ava?” She asks calmly, her fingers playing in the blood pooling around her.

“You crazy fuck! I won’t tell you shit!” I scream at her, the silver burrowing through the nerves in my hand, working its way up my arm and making me lose feeling. Once again, she pulls out the blade after it’s had just enough time to make me lose some function in the limb, only to stab it above my knee cap.

“You fucking cunt!” I cry out, the tears pouring out of me as I lose the function of my right leg below the knee, the blade severing the nerve.

“Not nice. How many wolves, Ava?” She repeats, her fingers now drawing butterflies and little hearts in my blood still flowing out onto the floor. God, this bitch is psychotic.

“Go fuck a cactus, you Fae bitch!” I say before spitting right between her eyes. Fuck it. If she’s going to torture me like this, I’m going to go out in style.

The spit seems to set her off and she grabs the knife and begins to slash over my body: my forearm, stomach, legs, feet, arms face, neck. She makes a new cut every second and a new scream follows until I have no voice left, my throat raw. My energy wanes, not enough remains to heal my damaged vocal cords, only enough energy to keep my heart beating. I start to waver in and out of consciousness, the silver too much for my system to heal while also bleeding out.

“Ellette, you won’t have anyone alive to torture if you keep going. Let her heal, then you can continue your questioning,” I hear a voice try to placate, which gives me a moment of peace. I take that time to force my eyes open and stare at Zane, trying not to dwell on the anguish and tears in his eyes. I don’t know if I’m going to make it out of this one alive.

I offer him a soft smile as as I feel the silver shackles around my ankles and wrists release. The loud clank of the metal falling to the ground barely registers before foreign hands lift my shoulders, something I don’t even have the energy to fight. I’m tossed back into my cage, my body curling up into the foetal position as I see Zane’s tear-soaked face before my wolf takes over, and I free fall into unconsciousness.