Chapter 32

The man and Ariel stood there for what felt like hours. They glared at one another, but Ariel was sure he was just stalling for time. Every now and then, there would be a shift in his eyes, a change in his stance. She had seen something like it before and figured that it was the strange way the wolves were able to communicate without being able to talk. He was talking with someone, and Ariel was not sure she wanted to stick around and find out who.

"Who are you?" The man demanded again, Ariel gritting her teeth. "My name is Ariel Winehouse." She sighed, doing her best not to lose her temper. She could not afford to right now. Though she was recovered from her wounds, mostly, she was still not in top shape. She'd had very little food for weeks, and she was not strong enough to fight a wolf this powerful. Her instincts told her she would die if she even tried.

"The name is unknown to me." He seemed quite pleased with himself at the declaration and she had to fight the urge to roll her eyes.

"I'm not from here. I have traveled for weeks. What ever packs are between here and where I came from would not have anyone with my name." She pointed out, stopping herself right away. She had almost given away that she was raised by the hunters. She didn't wish to give that information up. Though the narrowing of the man's eyes told her he suspected something.

"This is a trap." He stated. it was not a question.

"You have seen the children. I have told you what I saw. If this was a trap, why would I stand here and keep talking to you?" She asked, to which he simple grinned.

"To keep my attention." He replied. Her skin prickled at his response and she suddenly felt very exposed. He was too confident. Even if this was his territory. he was far too relaxed in his demeanor now. She had come here seeking a safe refuge for the children, and instead she was now being hunted. Hunted by her own kind. Her stomach twisted into knots and her eyes narrowed, a deep growl rumbling in her chest.

She spun on her heel and headed for the back of the truck, but the man moved fast and planted a hand in the middle of her back, slamming her onto the floor. The impact and sound woke some of the children and they began to cry. She let out a yell, struggling to get herself free.

"You have a lot to answer for." He hissed at her, twisting one of her arms up behind her back. She bit back a yelp of pain, instead growling.

"I have done nothing wrong!" She shouted, more of the kids starting to cry now.

"I have confirmed that you are the rogue that attacked one of our members. You have also somehow decimated our allied pack and taken their children. You will be lucky to have a swift death." He growled at her, pulling her arm up higher. She was sure it was going to dislocate, but she would not give him the satisfaction of making a sound.

"I never attacked anyone. I saw a wolf in your territory in danger and acted to save them. The trap would have been the death of them." She countered. He lifted her off the floor and slammed her back down, her head bouncing off the metal. He was shouting at her, but the ringing in her head and the white out in her eyes made it impossible for her to understand what it was that he was saying. She felt herself lifted and slammed down again, everything going black.

Her world returned slow, to darkness and cold. She could smell old wet earth and long dried blood. The ground under her was hard and while it was clearly not stone, it might as well have been. A groan escaped her as she sat up, her head and shoulder throbbing painfully. She reached up and ran a hand over her forehead, finding a rather large bump and a scabbed over gash.

She sighed a bit as she felt her way along the floor, finding a stone brick wall. She used it to stand, pressing her shoulder against it. The cold helped with the pain a little. Still, she could not see. Using her hands, she felt her way around the room she was in. It was small, with a rotting wooden bench along one wall, and icy cold metal bars across form it. She had to swallow her panic as she realized that she was in a cell. The wolf had knocked her out, and she was in jail. Tears stung her eyes. She had been an unwitting prisoner before, with an illusion of freedom. Now there was no illusion, but it was no better. She was locked up, all because she just wanted to help others.

With no windows and no light source, Ariel had no idea what time it was, or how long she had been in there. She knew she was thirsty, so it was several hours at least, and the hunger that she had lived with since she had escaped was still a constant. This did not aid her.

Finally, the sound of distant voices caught her attention. She decided she was not going to let them get the better of her, and she pushed her hair back out of her face, fixed the overly large button down shirt and she sat on the bench, facing the bars. As the light from a torch began to light the hallway outside of her cell, she made sure to blink and keep her eyes adjusted.

A group of three men stood outside of her cell. One held the torch high. All three were clearly very well built and, their eyes seemed to shine in the flickering light. She kept her face unreadable as the men stared at her. Then, one of the other men took the torch and the other two left.

The man before her had raven black hair and silky amber eyes. He regarded her with a curious suspicion. She found it odd that he was just standing there, watching her. When he did not speak, she decided she would break the silence.

"How long before my execution?" She asked him, noticing a strange twitch in his features. When he still did not speak, she sighed.

"I've been accused of attacking a member of your pack and wiping out another pack. I don't know anything about pack laws, but I have a feeling those accusations are not exactly petty crimes." She folded her arms. The look on his face shifted and he took half a step closer.

"You don't know about pack laws?" He asked. His voice was smooth and melodic, like music she had loved since she was a child. It was comforting and alien all at once. A shake of her head was her response. He looked more confused.

"Didn't your previous pack of laws?" He asked, Ariel contemplating her answer. She considered lying to him, but there was a bunched up knot of emotions in her chest at the idea and she decided there was nothing left for her to lose.

"I wasn't raised in my pack. It was wiped out by the hunters." She replied, shock and pity marring his previously controlled features.

"Is that how you knew about the trap? And the attack on our pack neighbors?" He asked, though his tone suggested that she still might have had something to do with it. It irritated her. After everything she had gone through and fought to get away and find her kind, being accused of hurting them felt like a slap in the face.