adjective ~ of a low temperature, especially when compared to the human body

Warning/Spoiler: contains scenes of abuse/violence using water. I have marked where if you don't wish to read. It's just a small part of the chapter

I was confused at the sudden departure, and even more so when they took me down the hallway. Instead of going to the door of my cell, we turned right and went down some stairs. A door opened and darkness covered most of the space, the wooden stairs creaking with every step. The smell of damp and dust had my nose wrinkle, but I had no choice but to hurry behind, in fear of being pulled too far down the stairs.

A light flickered on once we hit the bottom step and they took me down a narrow hallway. We stopped at the end and the white-eyed man opened a door, stepping inside and waiting for us. I looked around, confused, finding nothing but blank walls. The room was slightly crooked. Being unground, they had not laid the walls and floor evenly. As for décor, only two hooks met my eyes; one in the ground and one in the wall, about six feet high. A small 2-inch hole sat in the middle of the ground, acting as a drain.

**begins here**

Someone forced me inside and a harsh push sent me crashing to my knees. The masked man released the chain from my cuffs and I turned to see blood-red eyes staring down at me in anger. With the chain now in his hand, he wrapped it once around the middle across his palm. The end hung loose and just as I caught sight of his arm moving; it came hurtling down on my back.

A startled scream escaped my throat as the silver heavy chains affected my flesh. I scampered, trying to move away, but he held tightly, dragging me forwards until my arms were above my head and I was laid on my stomach. I felt tears brewing in my eyes as he brought it down on my back once more. I cried out in pain, feeling the heavy impact damage my muscle.

They discarded the chains to the ground, and I breathed heavily, eyes closed and waiting for the next thing. Nothing came for a moment and I took the chance to raise my head. I looked around through my tears, seeking the dark features of the enemy. He was stood off to the side, murmuring to the masked man with haste.

He must've felt my eyes, because his head snapped to me with a grumble. I flinched at the bright red, feeling a fear course through me as he made his way back over. I flinched as his hands came near me, but he did not hit me. Instead, his fingers grabbed hold of my dress before ripping it from my body. A whoosh of air passed me and I scampered back once more, fear grabbing at my throat.

He threw my torn dress out of the door, holding his hand out as if waiting for something. Breathing heavily, I looked around the room for any sign of something to help me. My chest ached with fear, my stomach gurgling with anxiety. My eyes flew back to him when a dark chuckle escaped his lips and I looked down to see a strange pipe staring at me.

"This will teach you just how much privilege I gave you." He sneered.

I blinked back up to his face with confusion, but saw no source of regret or answers in his eyes. With a malicious grin, he aimed the pipe at my trembling nudity. A sudden rumble met my ears, but I didn't have time to ponder on it as it suddenly hit me with an icy, harsh blast of water.

I gasped for air, feeling the pressure of the hose beat my skin. I screamed, trying to protect my face, but it was forcing me into the wall. I struggled to breathe, my mouth filling with water every time I tried. It felt I was drowning, unable to escape the current. I was thankful when the water cut off, taking huge mouthfuls of air. I wiped my eyes with my fingertips, lungs aching for breath.

With only those few seconds to right myself, the water hit my body again. I cried out in pain, my head banging off of the wall. My body felt like ice, my limbs trembling and lungs screaming for oxygen. The blast felt like it lasted a lifetime, and once it turned off, I felt my body hit the ground, released from the pressure.

I breathed heavily, gagging and coughing up the water that I had inhaled. I shook violently, my adrenaline mixing with my fear and making me unstable. I tried to crawl away, but my eyes were too fogged with moisture to see where I was going. I gasped when something grabbed my hair and pulled my head upward.

***end of content***

I caught sight of his dark clothes in front of me and blinked up at the masked man with pained eyes. I felt vulnerable and scared. Through the blur, I couldn't see what he was doing, and I winced at the burning that came with seeing. A sudden tightness wrapped around my throat and I leapt away in panic. Whatever was around my throat tightened with the movement and I screamed out in pain as silver burned my skin.

It seared me, cutting off of my airways with a fever. I panicked, clawing at it but they forced away my hands and the sound of chains rattling met my ears. I compelled myself to calm, to make sense of what was going on. The thing around my neck loosened as I did so, which cause the white-eyed man to chuckle darkly. I turned my head in his direction.

"That should teach you." He spat.

I blinked furiously, but they spoke nothing else as the blur of the two figures left the room. The little light disappeared with the slam of the door. I was alone once more and with shaking limbs; I lifted my arms to my neck. A thick collar wrapped around my neck and I found another chain at the back of it, leading upwards. I assumed they had chained it to the one on the wall and when I stretched my hands further; I found those restricted, too.

I had been tied down like an animal, stripped and humiliated, before being almost drowned. My lips wobbled with disdain as I shook in the cold and wet room. I could hear my hair dripping onto the floor, soaked from the water. As my heart calmed down, the sadness and fear crept up my throat. I choked on it, tears pooling in my eyes and pouring down my face.

I wanted to go home.

PHOENIX

I remember the moment well.

The moment when it felt like my world had collapsed down.

It was like an avalanche covered me, smothering and suffocating to the point I couldn't breathe.

My hand clutched at my chest, feeling like the earth was swallowing me up.

Nova... I breathed, my mind immediately going to her.

She didn't respond, and I felt my knees give out beneath me. The desk crushed under my grip as I fought for breath, my heart feeling like it was being ripped out of my chest. A numbness shrouded my mind, covering it in a tight warmth before a loud ringing started. I clutched at my ears, almost ripping them from my head in the process.

The ringing stopped, and my hands fell to the floor, breathing heavily as spots clouded my vision. I felt a hand on my back and jerked away in surprise. I was on the floor on all fours; the person taking me by surprise as I snarled. The little mate of Sean squealed and ran away with alarm and I groaned, falling onto my ass.

Louds bangs of boots vibrated the floor and through blurred eyes, I saw the overly concerned expression of Sean hovering over me. He held a phone in his hand, his eyes full of anger and tears as he tried to coax me out of the haze. My chest heaved for breath, arms heavy as I reached for him. I could faintly hear his voice calling my name, telling me something had happened.

I snatched the phone, breathing her name. She didn't reply, the sound of another telling me the same as my Gamma did.

My ears rang, my mouth unresponsive as I stared at my wall with bated breath.

"Phoenix?" A garbled voice rang through the numbness.

I blinked slowly, my heart pounding to life and blood roaring through my ears. I gripped the phone tighter, almost smashing it as it cracked in my grip.

"What do you mean, she's gone?" I whispered.

Charlie cursed, his voice full of emotion. "I don't know. One minute, we were hunting deer, and the next I'm being fucking shot with some kind of plasma blast. I wake two fucking hours later and Pollux is unconscious, Alessea is fucking bleeding to death, and Axel is unresponsive."

"She's gone?"

"Yes! Phoenix! She's gone!" He snapped. "I couldn't fucking find her! Her paw prints lead off to the place her mother died and then disappears at the stream, then there's human feet in a clearing and poof, nothing! I can't scent anything without my wolf!"

"I'm coming."

I didn't give him the time to respond, the phone finally giving up and collapsing in my grip. My wolf growled, my chest heaved with anger. The world came crashing back down around me and I snapped my head to stare at Sean. He swallowed nervously, taking a step back. I growled at him when he went to question my motives.

"You can't just go nowhere! It's the same as last time! No scent!"

I growled. "You don't know that. Charlie has no wolf."

"Phoenix-"

I snarled at him, moving behind my desk to grab another phone.

"Alpha, please." He tried again. "What are you feeling right now? You need to think rationally."

"I am." I snapped, leaving the room. "I cannot feel my mate, and my wolf is seconds away from snapping your neck."

Wolves cowered when I passed them in my haste to get to my room. My wolf was bristling, eager to escape and tear down the entire country until he found his mate. He was seething with anger and a quick glimpse of myself in my bedroom mirror as I packed clothes, showed his dark eyes.

My Gamma's voice met my ears again, and I growled in frustration.

"Alpha, how are you going to get there? You just can't go alone. Who's looking after the pack? We need to think rationally."

I spun around, grabbing his shirt in my hand. My wolf was more in control right now, and this male was too in the way of his mate. In my wolf's eyes, he was always in the way.

"The last time I planned and waited, my mate had been captured and hurt. She nearly got taken advantage of and died because I did not react so quickly."

"But we didn't know where-"

I snapped my canines in his face, and he winced, dropping his eyes in submission. "I am leaving. You stay. I will take the brother. Round up twenty of my best and get my jet on the tarmac for take-off in half an hour."

He kept quiet, keeping his eyes down as I dismissed him. I growled, storming out of my room. My doors did not survive the impact, smashing to the ground.

I practically stormed thorough the house, sniffing out our mate's brother and found him fawning over his pregnant female. They were wrapped around each other in her bed and my intrusion into her room had them shouting in alarm. The female submitted straight away with a whine, but the brother growled at me, yet still avoided eye contact.

"Alpha, what's going on?"

"My mate has been hurt. You are coming with me and the warriors to find her."

"Taken, wait-wha-"

"You have ten minutes." I snapped, eyeing the female whose eyes brimmed with tears.

"Yes, Alpha." They both mumble.

I nodded firmly before leaving their room and making my way out of the house. I paced on the front lawn as wolves slowly filtered into the area. Some were watching with confusion, unused to seeing their Alpha so on edge, no doubt. It had been a while since I truly lost my control, and I could feel it slipping with every minute that I spent here.

After ten minutes passed, I looked away from my watch with eagerness. I was pleased to see twenty of my best stood before me; the brother stood to the side. He seemed wary, eyeing me as though I was about to kill him. I sneered at the thought, making him flinch and look away.

"Your Luna is in trouble. We are to leave immediately. Gamma Sean is in charge. I do not know when I will be back. My plane is on the tarmac. It is a ten-minute run. Let's go." I announced blunty before shifting to my beast.

Ares' control grew, and I fought for that last bit of strength.

Soon, Ares, soon.

The warriors bowed with understanding before shifting to their wolves. I howled and they returned the gesture as we charged into the trees.

I'm coming, Nova. I won't waste a second getting to you.

•••

Intense chapter here
Hope you're all good tho
This is the worse it gets physically, don't worry!

Question of the Day:
Do you have a paper calendar?
If so what's on it? Mines a rat calendar lol

wc: 2276