Chapter 23: The Sea of Life

A bruised and battered body hung limp, suspended by vines of silver; lethal, chilling vines. Cuffs of metal hugged her wrists, but now, a set circled her ankles. That was new; the chains had never captured her ankles, but from the pain crawling up from her feet, she could only imagine what could've happened.

Adeline's body was covered in a hospital gown, but the damage that had been done wasn't hideable. Even without moving an inch, she already knew that every muscle and tendon in her body was sore, bone-achingly sore. When her poor father had come running into the clinic with her bloodied form limp in his arms, the healers had set to work right away, stabilizing her, transferring blood, closing and dressing wounds. The pack doctor had stitched together the deepest cuts, but the wounds were so deep, that she found it better to use a medical stapler to pull and hold the flesh back together. Some wounds were uncovered, but the more serious ones were wrapped in bandages to apply pressure to the opening. Adeline had wavered between the worlds of the living and the unconscious as the doctor and healers slowly repaired her injuries, aiding the healing process with pastes of various herbs. Lupises healed pretty fast, but weaker ones, such as her, usually needed assistance when recovering from such major wounds.

It could've been hours, days, or maybe even months since they had brought her back to the living, she didn't know. It felt like forever. She'd been done here, chained up, for a long time, she knew that much.

At first, she had cried from the pain, guilt, anger, and loneliness that engulfed her heart like a lover. She had attacked her father, and from the fuzzy memories that sometimes showed themselves, she hadn't been easy on him. Adeline had torn into him like a... a rabid wolf. His blood forever stained her hands, and she didn't know if she could ever forgive herself for that.

Adeline couldn't feel the Beast now, but deep down, she knew that it would awaken from its drug-induced slumber, and strike again. She just prayed that when it did, she wasn't anywhere near anyone. Maybe, just maybe, the Beast would attack itself in a fit of rage. Hopefully, if that happened, her heart would be too torn up to beat again.

"You're awake," A deep voice pierced the silence. Adeline lifted her head in the direction of the voice, her eyes easily locating the wolf in the darkness.

Finnian's body was thick and muscular, and his well-defined arms were crossed over his broad chest. His large shoulder was leaned up against the cold, cement wall, and his legs were crossed casually at the ankles.

"Done ogling, Addy?" Finnian smirked, then his eyebrows waggled at her.

Waggled.

Adeline's upper lip lifted at him in a sneer. She felt the brief pressure of her canines taking over her human incisors as she bared them at the ridiculous male.

Adeline, for a moment, was going to reply with something less than polite, but she pushed down the cuss words and changed the subject.

"Why are you here?"

Finnian's head cocked to the side. "So she speaks! I thought I would have to teach you to speak again! Thank the moon for mercies; it would be rather dull to spend hours upon hours with someone as grumpy as a cat in water."

Haha. So funny.

"Where are my parents?" Adeline asked, her voice cold and disinterested. Her eyes wandered around the familiar room, running over every splatter of dried blood, the slash of white lines against stone, missing chunks of stone that has been carved out by a beast. It was a miracle that the chains hadn't snapped yet, it must've been the silver that laced the very cells of the metal.

His voice was no longer smug. It was concern, verging on the line of caution. "You do not remember?"

Adeline's heart stuttered in her chest.

You do not remember?

What could that mean? What did she not remember?!

Adeline thought back to the previous attack, her throat burning with tears and the sinking, heavy feeling of dread and horror. Had she succeeded in the unthinkable? Had she taken her father's life? The memories of the attack were blurry and most of them disappeared before she could grasp onto them-

But he had taken her to the healers. He couldn't be dead. They had healed him right beside her prone body; she had even awakened for a moment as they were stitching up a bite wound on her leg, she had looked over at his breathing body. His eyes had already been focused on her, and his lips had pulled up into a gentle smile before darkness had whisked her off again. He couldn't be dead, because if he were dead, then her mother would be too.

Her mother.

That was when everything crashed back into her. The grey wolf charging through the field, the pain that had pounded into her gut, the pain that had been the only warning before the Beast took over, the howls of pain and shock. It all made sense now, that was why the pain had been so bad. Her mother had left.

"Where's my mother!?" Adeline roared, pulling against the chains. Something restless rolled inside of her mind, causing more and more adrenaline to pulse through her bloodstream. Her arms strained against the chains holding them up, and her ankles yanked on the chains keeping them close to the floor. Her feet could only rise six inches off the ground before the chains snapped to their full length; she could barely even kick them out in front of her.

"Adeline!" Finnian shouted. His voice was deep as he pushed away from the wall and stalked over to her shaking form. "Adeline, calm down!"

"Where is she?!" She hissed with fury.

Bright eyes clashed to each other as breaths left in panted breaths. Adeline was about to let out a howl of rage, but a rough hand wrapped around the nape of her neck.

Finnian looked into her eyes, his forehead pressed against hers. She nearly gasped at the contact, she hadn't been touched in her human skin for almost three years.

"She's here. She's here. She's here." Finnian whispered, repeating those words on every calm breath. The words were like a floatation device in a vast sea of black; she clung to those hushed words as her body rested, letting the rolls of the sea carry her, relax her.

His fingers tightened on the nape of her neck, coaxing her head to rise up to his own. They were so close to each other, that she could smell his breath; it was the scent of mint and something else, something she couldn't quite place.

"She's here. She's here, and she's safe; everyone is safe." The western beta said, his eyes were soft and understanding; it was as if he understood her panic; it was as if he had gone through something similar.

The contact he was giving her was nothing but support. The support was wolf to wolf, he understood her anxiety, and offered as much as he could. Nothing about it was romantic or sexual, and for that, she was thankful. It would be so easy to violate her, especially when she was chained up and left practically defenseless. If she was left down here alone, and a male with dark intentions and lust flowing through his veins found her... she shivered. If she were to ever be violated and assaulted, she prayed that her attacker would end her life. Adeline wouldn't be able to face her parents, or anyone for that matter, ever again.

Purity was extremely important in the Lupis world; hell, to some, it was everything. Losing your innocence to your mate was a sacred tradition, but it seemed that the males in the species were much more strict with that tradition, most of the time. There were only a few males that didn't follow the tradition, but eventually, the consequences of their actions would find them.

"Can... can you let go of me?" Adeline asked, her voice tight. Her body was shaking in his hold, and a cold sweat had spread across her skin. A frown spread across the beta's face as a tangy smell emitted from her.

Fear.

Fear and nervousness.

????

Finnian immediately released her and stepped back, his hands tucking into the pockets of his jeans.

Adeline stared up at him, her eyes so cold and guarded that it nearly sent Finnian sulking out of the basement. He was used to females being all warm and jittery around him, but for some reason, this young female was quite the opposite, and it frustrated him. Staring down into her icy eyes, he sucked in a breath as she glared right back up at him.

She was emotionally cut off with walls built so high up around her heart, that for a dark moment, Finnian actually pitied the male that was destined to be hers. The alphas' daughter was untrusting and isolated- it'd take time to build her trust and break down those walls. Very few males had a lot of patience, but the moon didn't make mistakes; the male that was Adeline's would be patient with her, and only her. Finnian wondered who that male would be.

She won't have a mate if her wolf isn't taken care of. A voice that wasn't his own, nor his wolf's, whispered in his mind. Finnian chose to ignore that voice that sounded female... for now.

"I shall go get your parents and tell them that you have awakened." Finnian looked at that female for a moment again, and for less than a heartbeat, he saw something like joy flash across her face.

Yes. I'll go get her parents. Finnian said and turned on his heels.

The Luna, Oracle and her mate, came back six hours ago, and currently, the Luna was spending some alone time with the Alpha.

Finnian remembered when Dillon had found the Luna, and it had made his throat bob with memories of his own parents as the pair embraced and kissed each other. It was painfully obvious that the pair loved each other endlessly, and for Finnian, it was a nice sight. His own Alpha was mateless, and mateless male wolves were aggressive and unpredictable. Most of the dominant part of the Western Pack was mateless, so he was surrounded by aggressive, competitive, and cranky males all of the time. It was tiring, especially when a wolf that could be double, or even triple your age, challenged you to a competition. But Finnian wasn't humble enough to admit that he kicked all of their asses at just about everything. He was the Beta after all; he couldn't be beaten by those under him.

After arriving at the Alphas' door and telling them that their daughter had awakened, he had traveled back to the suite he was staying in. The simple furniture called to him, beckoning him to rest.

He collapsed onto the bed with a sigh. This was his life now and probably would be forever. If only he had someone to brighten it, to bring back joy and love to it. He used to have that joy and love once, but they had disappeared just as his love of life had.

But until then, he would still be treading water, his head bobbing in the waves as his hands and legs kept him afloat. But soon, even the most athletic people grew tired and began to slip under the waves...

He just prayed that when he did begin to slip below the surface, someone would be there right beside him.