I wasn't sure how long I slept, or how long the days blurred together. Time seemed to distort on one side of the coin and grind on the other. Sleeping passed most of the time, and the time I spent awake, I was alone with my thoughts. It was easy to disconnect my mind and thoughts. Most of my time was spent staring at the four walls that bound me, well six if you counted the ceiling and floor. Other times, I would sing songs or have conversations with myself.

I wondered where Neo was.

Not everyone that came by enjoyed my conversations, or my jokes, but I didn't care.

I was lonely and stuck inside a room with a door I could not exit.

Food was unsurprisingly disgusting; most were vegetables, and I rarely saw any meat. Today was no different, some kind of potato with smashed up veggies on the side in a weird broth. If I didn't know any better, they regurgitated this onto my plate for me.

"What is that?" I grunted at the sight of the plate.

The wolf at the door grunted back, sliding it through a hatch at the bottom of the door. "Food."

I rolled my eyes, used to his attitude. There were two guards, and this one I called Grumpy. He never spoke much; one worded answers with an expressionless face.

Locking the latch, I caught him before he disappeared. "How long have I been in here?"

"Long enough."

"Oh, come on, I am not that bad."

His brown eyes flickered over to me, scanning my still bloodied appearance. "Three nights."

My eyes widened with shock as he walked away. "Oh!"

It didn't feel like three nights, but then again, I had plenty of time keeping myself occupied. I had to pee in the bucket in the corner and pour it down the drain. Still under the disguise of being a male, I wanted my inability to pee out of a dick hidden. I sure looked like a gross man, anyway.

I poked my finger into today's potato, finding it oddly lumpy. Weird, I don't recall ever having lumpy potatoes. I scooped it onto my fingertip and sniffed it. The food always smelt weird here too, and I often had a tummy ache afterward. I put it down to the fact it was something I have never eaten before.

Like squished vegetables and a weird orange-brown watery soup? Yeah, definitely normal, and I lived in a cave!

It tasted... not that bad, and I continued to eat the squashy potatoes with some vegetables. They must just be undercooked. Oh, and another thing, I didn't get cutlery and the plates or bowls were always paper. So, I had to eat with my hand, and they made me give them the paper plate back.

What was I going to do? Make a key out of the paper?

I decided a few days ago that I just needed someone to enter my room so I could pick-pocket the key from them.

Easy, right? But so far, nobody entered my cell or came near it if I was close. I had to stand against the far wall before they even approached.

I was too tired to get up off the floor now. So, I would just wait like a Venus flytrap, and capture my prey when it came near.

By the time Grumpy came back to take the paper plate, I had turned it into a mask with cat ears. He appeared before my cell with a black bag, observing me with raised eyebrows.

"What do you think?" I cocked my head. "Do I look like a cat?"

"No."

"What do I look like then?"

"An idiot."

I grinned; happy I got more conversation out of him. "That's hurtful."

He huffed; hand wrapped around the keys in his pocket. "Plate, human."

I grumpily slid the plate over. "When do I get out of here, anyway?"

"They did not say." He shrugged before walking away.

I pressed myself against the bars, peering at him as well as I could. "Hey! That's not an answer!"

"Shut up!" Someone a few cells down complained.

I caught sight of a freaky-looking male through the gaps in my door and quickly took a step back when he spotted me. I had worked out there were two empty cells beside me and three in front. The nearest people were further down, and all of them were male. I was against the dead end, which meant I had this block to myself.

"Meanies, everywhere." I pouted, moving to sit back in my favourite spot.

Crossing my legs, I winced at the pulling on my skin. I couldn't believe they would just leave me with no medical treatment. It had been days since Harold and co' beat the shit out of me. Surely, I deserved at least a washcloth?

Later that evening, I started to work out and exercise my tired body. Half way through, footsteps sounded from the hallway, followed by commotion. I heard cells open and close, shouts of protest and scraping feet. It happened quite a few times before they came closer to my end.

Curiously, I lifted my head from the ground, mid-plank, to eye the shadow that suddenly cast over my cell. It wasn't Grumpy, but the other one I had named Nasty. He didn't speak nicely, and by the look in his eye, I knew he enjoyed inflicting pain.

"What's going on?" I wondered.

"Get up." He snapped.

"Why?" I frowned.

"You don't get to question me human." He sneered. "Get up."

"Alright, alright," I wheezed, wincing as I stood.

I was just working out. Was that a cell crime? I shrugged off the pain, taking some steps, so I stood in the middle of the room.

"What's up, Wolfie?"

He growled. "No funny business."

"But I am a comedian." I pouted. "That's an awful thing to tell someone. That will ruin their career."

He paid me no attention, unlocking the door and stepping inside. He left the key in the door, unlucky for me, propping it open with his foot. Gesturing me to come forward, he pulled out a pair of handcuffs. I rolled my eyes, holding my hands out before he snapped them around my wrist. He grinned, purposely making them tight so it hurt.

I noticed he wore gloves when putting them on me, and looking down at them, I found them relatively shiny and clean. So, what was he cautious of? The silver? Wuss.

Anyway, why would I, a human, need cuffs?

His hand wrapped around my armpit, forcing me to my tiptoes and pulling me from the room. I stumbled beside him, his taller frame taking longer strides.

"Why do you wear gloves?" I asked as we passed by the empty cells. "Why are my cuffs silver?"

"None of your business, rat."

"Rude." I tutted. "Is it because you have ugly hands?"

"No," He growled.

"It's okay if they are. Fat and ugly hands deserve love too." I nodded.

The angry cells were quieter than usual, and I snuck a glance to see some of them empty. Where did they go?

Nasty jostled me, catching me by surprise. "Shut up."

"Sorry you cannot ever feel my amazing skin." I sighed. "Although it is rather grimy right now, it is usually super soft. Did you know how good natural plants are to your skin and hair? I lived in the mountains, so I should know."

He growled, pulling me through a door that led into another hallway. This one was different, narrower, with two doors on either side. He pushed me into one, throwing me so hard I felt my shoulder pop. I gasped with pain, falling to the floor as my arm burned and screamed in agony.

"Shut your mouth before I do something worse." He warned.

I sealed my lips shut, forcing the traitorous pain-fuelled tears away as my arm fell limp at my side. I never cried, not even when shot with damn arrows I refused to let the tears fall. Nasty was strong and wasn't afraid to hurt me, unlike Harold or Emre, who barely bruised me after our fight. Bleak, I didn't trust, but I would break down his walls, eventually. That's if I even stayed around here.

I didn't plan on being a customer in hotel-de-la-wolf for long.

These wolf guards were brutal, and I wanted no more accidents on my body, so I shut up.

"Stand."

I suppressed the groan, turning to find someone stood beside him; Grumpy. Nasty disappeared from my side, and I took the moment to look around the room. To my left was a large, mirrored wall I eyed suspiciously. To my right was-wait, was he naked?

My eyes were wide as Nasty dragged the naked, shivering male out of the room, dripping wet. Looking past him, I saw shower heads along the wall, but what caught my attention was the goddamn pipe looking thing coming from a hole in the wall.

"What's going on?" I wondered, cautiously.

"You stink. Shower time." Nasty seethed, coming close again.

My heart raced rapidly, torn between the two males as they stared down at me. They were tall, and intimidating, and, remember, everyone still thought I was a male with mixed scents. I couldn't shower in front of these people! I couldn't reveal my lack of scent!

"Shower?" I wondered, laughing nervously. "Any chance I can do it alone?"

"No," Grumpy huffed.

"Ever heard of privacy?"

"No."

"Your mother never taught you privacy? Jeez," I muttered.

He growled, taking a step toward me to snap the hair tie from my head. I stumbled; eyes wide as he stared at the bloodied fabric before eyeing the dark hair that tumbled from beneath it. Swallowing, I took a cautious step back toward the door.

"Your hair is covered with blood," Grumpy frowned. "Don't you want to be clean?"

"Yes, but not like this." I shook my head.

Nasty darted forward and grabbed my hands. I struggled against him, pulling back on the cuffs. They tugged and ripped at my skin, and my sore arm screamed in protest. But he was unbothered.

"Stop!" Nasty growled, pulling me so hard I fell to the floor.

"Just give in. Get undressed and it will go much quicker." Grumpy sighed.

"I want to do it alone!" I begged.

"No chance, human. You could do something."

"Drown myself?" I questioned. "I don't plan on killing myself just yet."

"Just shut the fuck up and get undressed before I make you." Nasty growled.

My jaw tightened, unable to fight with so many injuries. The strength was not in my favour, and with my hands tied, I was a weapon down.

"Please?" I tried begging.

"That's enough." Nasty huffed.

He pulled me forward, and I wailed at the stretch in my arm. He grabbed my shirt, ripping it from my body. I jerked, trying to get away as he realised there was another layer.

I always wore two long sleeved, loose tops, and a fancy bra thing I once stole from the market. It kept your boobs down when training, but it worked well as disguise. I used to get away with no bra, but as my teenage years hit, so did the fat blobs. Luckily for me, we didn't eat much. Hunting and stealing for two people was hard three times a day, so I was used to be hungry. That, in turn, meant the fat blobs shrunk.

"Please!" If begging gained me sympathy, I wasn't above it.

For the first time in a while, I felt that slither of icy fear. I didn't want them to know I was a girl. The un-obvious warning from Harold had me question everything. There were no women down here, and I dreaded to think about what happened to them. Surely there were girl bad guys, too? Were they not worthy of being a prisoner?

"If you just let us clean you, I will let you go. Deal?" Nasty huffed.

My throat felt dry, but my head dropped with defeat. I had no chance of getting out of here, not unless my knight in shining armour came running to my rescue.

And the damn cat-bird was nowhere to be seen!

Nasty jostled me again, and I gasped as it rattled my shoulder.

"Okay, okay!" I shrieked, eyeing the fresh blood on my wrists.

"Good." He huffed, releasing me.

"How am I going to take my clothes off when you have me cuffed?" I wondered, avoiding eye contact.

"If you calm down, we will undo them."

I grimaced, unhappy with the choice. I had to fight my way out of here with a bad shoulder. It was going to be interesting. It has been a while since Neo trained me to fight with only one arm, but even then, I had a weapon in my single hand. He would tie my other arm back with a piece of rope attached to my waist, so I had no choice but to use only one hand.

As amusing as it was to him, it was difficult.

I bowed my head, holding out my wrists. Nasty grumbled, pleased, and took my hands in his, before he sank the key into the lock and unclasped them. I immediately pulled them to my chest, ignoring the sudden flow of blood from the torn skin. It had stained my hands and was now oozing down my forearms.

"Undress." He states.

I mumbled an okay, keeping my eyes low as he spoke. Meanwhile, anticipation bubbled beneath my skin. And the moment he turned, I was leaping to my feet and swiping out his. Unsuspecting it, he fell to the floor with a loud clatter and a shout. It fell silent for the shortest of breaths, and I focused my attention on Grumpy, who spun at the commotion.

I had to be fast.

Breathing in, I placed my bad arm behind my back and moved. As Grumpy went to charge, I cartwheeled myself over him, using him as a weight. In the process, I grabbed the handcuffs, transferring them to my bad hand behind my back as I stood.

I kicked Grumpy square in the face as he tried to rise again before throwing myself at the charging bull. Nasty went to grab me next, and I darted away, avoiding his arms with ease. I raised my forearm to block his swinging fist, darting my legs out to kick him in the knee. He grunted, throwing his other fist, which I avoided by ducking down.

Rolling around, I jumped to my feet and kicked him square in the back. Grumpy had risen in this time, blood pooling from his nose as he sneered at me. I grinned, waving him forward. He charged much like the other, a rain of fists and hits that I mostly avoided. He went for my face, which I had no trouble in blocking.

Darting away from him, I fought off the other male again. I danced around him, seeking the keys to unlock the door. The moment I saw the shape of them in his back pocket, I changed to offense. Kicking and punching, I eventually latched one handcuff onto the wrist of Grumpy.

He hissed, and I paused at the odd smell and sound of burning as the cuff locked around his forearm. I kicked out his knees without another thought before going for the other. Nasty swung at me with his left and I avoided it and locked the other handcuff around his right. He grunted, his other hand coming to pry the metal from his burning skin.

I grinned and finally got behind him long enough to grab the keys before forcing him to the ground. As his knees hit the floor, I ran toward the door as quick as I could.

There were three keys, and going by instinct, I chose the only golden one. To my delight, it worked right away, and without looking behind me, I swung open the door and-

Crashed right into a warm, shirt covered wall.

*********