Chapter 3 Betrayal and Loss

A dull ache throbbed behind Issa's eyes as she opened them. Every muscle screamed in protest, fire licking at her limbs. Her head pounded frantically. She groaned, a weak sound barely escaping her sore throat. Slowly, her eyelids fluttered open, heavy and hesitant. Her vision was a watery blur, slowly focusing on unfamiliar canvas above her. This isn't my car. This isn't anywhere familiar.

Her wrist, bound painfully with a strong, harsh leather thong to a thick wooden post dug into the earth, confirmed the nightmare wasn't over. The image of the shadowy figure, the shattered glass, the blinding pain-it all crashed back in. She looked around. No one. Where am I? What happened? Panic flared, hot and sharp. Get out. You have to get out now, before whatever it is comes back.

Without thinking, a desperate instinct kicked in. Issa pulled and tugged at her bound wrist, her entire body straining against the leather. It clung to her skin, causing raw bruises, but she pulled harder. The wooden post groaned, and the earth surrounding it slightly shifted. Just a few more inches. Almost free. I have to try.

"Foolish human."

A low growl cut through the stillness. Issa froze, her blood immediately turning to ice. A massive shadow fell over her. She slowly lifted her head. The silhouette was standing over her at the entrance of the tent. It was the same intimidating figure who had pulled her from her car. His eyes... and everything about him screamed inhumane.

"Did you really think that would work?" he sneered, his voice mocking. "You're not going anywhere."

He moved with sudden, impossible speed. Before Issa could even flinch, his large, powerful hand shot out and clamped around her bound wrist. He didn't bother to loosen the thong on her arm. With a single, brutal pull, he ripped the post from the ground, causing Issa to fall backward onto the ground with a heavy thud. Her head snapped back, hitting the rough earth. Pain exploded throughout her spine and abdomen. She cried out, a sharp, ragged sound.

"Please! Don't! What are you?" Issa shrieked, her voice raw with terror, scrambling backward on the ground. Her eyes were wide with horror now as she looked at him, truly seeing the golden light in his inhuman gaze, the rough, animalistic power radiating from him. Gods. No. This isn't just a man. This was a nightmare made manifest. Monster. He's a monster.

"Stay away! Please, I beg you!"

Then, a new wave of pain, a different and more terrifying one, ripped through her lower abdomen. A sharp, excruciating cramp, followed by a sudden gush of something warm between her legs. No. Not this. Not now. Not my baby. Fear, cold and absolute, swallowed the physical agony. Her eyes squeezed shut, silent pleas trapped in her throat.

He stood over her, his intimidating golden eyes gleaming. He clearly saw the tremor that ran through her, the sudden clenching of her body. And he didn't care. He doesn't care. He doesn't even know what he's done.

"Get up," he snarled, nudging her with his foot, the half end of the broken post still dangling from her wrist. "If you don't work here, there's no food for you."

Issa lay there, tears streaming down her face.

"No!" she screamed, a raw, guttural sound.

She wasn't crying for the fall, and certainly not just from fear of the creature standing over her. The tears now were for the undeniable, agonizing truth unfolding within her.

"My baby," she choked out, a raw sob tearing from her throat, her voice barely a whisper against the growing misery. Her hand subconsciously went between her thighs, only to discover the wet stickiness there, confirming her deepest fear.

"No... please... my baby..."

The tiny life she celebrated just days ago was gone. Flushed away by the brutal reality of this place and the violence of this monster and his kind. Her last hope for anything good, anything human, had been shattered. She was utterly broken.

---

Three weeks later...

Issa moved like a ghost. Her body a constant ache, her mind numb, shielding her from the rising despair. Every weary step carrying timber, every bite of tasteless gruel, was shadowed by the relentless questions: Did Marcus look for me? Would I have been safer if I hadn't left? Would my baby be safe, would it even be, if I had just endured?

A bitter self-loathing festered. I hated myself for leaving. I blamed myself every passing day. A child she had sought for all her married life, lost, like some carelessly dropped candy on a picnic blanket, snatched away by monsters. By her own foolish choices.

She saw the other captives, a grim collection of humans these monsters seemed specialized in kidnapping. Over the weeks she had learned that they were werewolves. The same werewolves she read in fiction and folklore.

It's real. This nightmare is real.

It was a reality she desperately wanted to wake up from. Amongst the captives were women, and a few others were men. They rarely spoke to each other. Issa learned to be invisible, to keep her head down, to never draw attention. Especially because she hadn't gotten over the grief of betrayal and loss, and a strange new fear. The werewolves. Real. Terrifying.

God, just let me get through another day.

"Gather up all young ladies!" a voice growled, startling her.

Issa's stomach dropped. No. Not now. Not this.

All the captive young women immediately sectioned themselves, a palpable dread rippling through their huddled forms. They were led into a large, open clearing. The air reeked of raw energy, filled with predatory anticipation from the werewolf pack members surrounding them.

A large, burly guard with a heavy scar on his face and golden predator eyes stepped forward.

"Listen up, humans!" His voice boomed, cutting through the silence of the night, silencing even the rustle of their fear. "This is a great honor for you little ones. Tonight, you serve the Alphas. Do not speak. Do not resist. Do not make any sound unless you have been ordered to. Any deviation from these laws will be met with immediate, painful consequences. Understood?"

A few terrified nods rippled through the huddled women. No one dared to speak, but Issa saw the fear in their widened eyes, the trembling of their lips. Serve the Alphas? What does that even mean?

A chill, colder than any rain, seeped into her bones.

"Good," the guard grunted, a cruel smile twisting his scarred mouth. "Now, strip."