Sienna's heart hammered against her ribs as they were shoved forward. The hands gripping her arms were firm but not unnecessarily rough, as if their captors weren't sure whether to treat them as threats or mere inconveniences.
Kael, on the other hand, wasn't making things easy. He thrashed against their hold, snarling under his breath.
"Get your damn hands off me," he snapped, his muscles straining as he fought against the werewolves' grip.
One of the guards, a wiry man with a jagged scar running down his cheek chuckled. "If you're this difficult now, I can't wait to see you in the lower hall."
Kael lunged, but the other werewolf holding him twisted his arm back, forcing a sharp exhale from his lips.
Sienna shot him a warning look. Not now. Fighting back wouldn't do them any favors. Not yet, at least.
Kael gritted his teeth but relented, his body going rigid instead of struggling.
The corridor they were being led down was long, the air thick with an earthy dampness that made Sienna's skin prickle. The deeper they went, the colder it became, as if the very walls held onto the chill of something ancient.
Sienna kept her breathing steady, scanning every corner, every shadow. The Alpha had reacted strangely when she mentioned the cursed forest. The way his expression had darkened… it hadn't been skepticism. It had been something close to fear.
And that unsettled her more than anything else.
They reached a heavy wooden door at the end of the hall. The guard with the scar rapped his knuckles against it twice, and after a moment, the metal latch scraped open.
The door swung inward.
Sienna's stomach clenched.
It wasn't a cell. Not exactly.
The room beyond was large, almost cavernous. Flickering torches lined the walls, casting long, eerie shadows. A stone table stood in the center, its surface scratched and worn with age. There were chairs scattered throughout, some overturned, as if whatever meetings had taken place here often ended in chaos.
But what sent a chill up Sienna's spine was the scent.
Blood.
Faint, but undeniable.
She tensed, her wolf stirring uneasily beneath her skin.
Kael stepped forward, eyeing their surroundings. "Cozy," he muttered.
The guards ignored him and gestured for them to move inside.
Sienna hesitated. "What is this place?"
Scar-face smirked. "Temporary accommodations."
Her jaw clenched. "We're not prisoners."
The second guard, a taller, bulkier man with a shaved head, scoffed. "Keep telling yourself that."
With that, the door slammed shut behind them, the lock clicking into place.
Silence stretched between them.
Kael let out a long breath, rolling his shoulders. "Well, that went about as well as expected."
Sienna barely heard him. She was already moving, fingers brushing along the cold stone walls, searching for an escape, a loose brick, a weak point.
"Nothing yet," she muttered under her breath, frustration tightening her throat.
Kael leaned against the table, watching her. "They won't keep us here forever."
She stopped, turning to him. "You sound awfully confident for someone who just got locked up."
He lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "They're not sure what to do with us yet. That means we still have a chance to turn this around."
Sienna sighed, running a hand through her hair. "The Alpha knew something, Kael. When I mentioned the forest, his whole demeanor changed."
Kael's expression turned serious. "I saw it too."
"That means there's something they're not telling us." She hesitated before adding, "And I think it's something big."
Kael's eyes darkened. "Which means we need to get out of here before we find out the hard way."
Before she could respond, footsteps echoed from the hallway outside.
Both of them straightened.
A moment later, the door unlatched.
It wasn't a guard this time.
The man who stepped inside was younger than the Alpha but carried himself with the same quiet authority. His golden-brown eyes flickered in the torchlight as he studied them, his sharp features betraying nothing.
Sienna recognized him immediately.
The same werewolf who had first found them.
He closed the door behind him and leaned against it, arms crossed. "You two are causing quite the stir."
Kael's jaw tightened. "Yeah? Well, we didn't exactly plan on being dragged in here."
The werewolf smirked. "Could've fooled me."
Sienna took a step forward. "What does your Alpha want with us?"
He didn't answer right away. Instead, he tilted his head, as if deciding whether or not she was worth responding to.
Then he said, "You shouldn't have come from the forest."
A muscle in Kael's jaw twitched. "Not like we had a choice."
"You don't understand," the werewolf said, his voice quieter now. "No one comes out of there alive."
Sienna folded her arms. "We did."
"Yes." His gaze lingered on her. "And that's the problem."
A cold prickle ran down her spine.
Something about the way he said it…
Like they were a threat.
Or worse like they weren't supposed to be alive at all.
Kael straightened. "If you know something, say it."
The werewolf hesitated. Then, finally, he sighed. "The forest isn't just cursed," he said. "It's sealed."
Sienna's breath hitched. "Sealed?"
He nodded. "Nothing goes in without being taken. And nothing comes out without a price."
A chill spread through her.
Kael's fists clenched. "And what exactly do you think our 'price' is?"
The werewolf didn't answer right away. He just watched them, his expression unreadable.
Then he exhaled. "That's what the Alpha wants to find out."
Silence stretched between them.
Sienna's pulse pounded.
Something was very, very wrong.
Finally, the werewolf pushed off the door. "You should rest," he said. "For now, you're still alive. Make the most of it."
With that, he turned and left, locking the door behind him.
The moment he was gone, Kael swore under his breath.
Sienna didn't say anything.
She was too busy trying to ignore the growing dread in her stomach.
Because something told her the Alpha wasn't just keeping them here out of curiosity.
He was waiting.
And whatever he was waiting for..
It wasn't good.