Chapter 51


    Chapter 51


    It’s been months since Winter has been gone and I’ve gotten myself a regr job in a cafe as a barista


    of all things. Can you imagine that? I never would have thought I would have to be as responsible as I


    now am, taking care


    of the bills and still going to school at the same time. Is this how Winter had felt every day when she


    had done all the


    household chores and responsibilites?


    “Thanks, have a good one” one of my regrs yelled out as they left, thest customer of the night,


    and I closed the door gratefully and locked it. Now all I have to do is clean up and I’m done for the


    night. It doesn’t take long, I’ve


    got myself into a regr routine and before I know it, I’ve put my coat on and ducked out the door. Brrr


    it’s slightly


    cold and I shiver, putting my hands in my pockets.


    I walk home slowly. It’s otherwise a beautiful night and the stars are twinkling overhead. I don’t bother


    to use


    the car anymore. Not when I can avoid it anyway. Walking saves gas and means I have more money to


    take care of the


    bills. Besides, it’s not like home is that far away and I’m not frightened that someone’s going to jump


    me. I’m a shifter for heaven’s sake, not to mention, the town is mainly made up of pack members and


    shifters.


    I stared at my house, feeling strangely hesitant. It looks so uninviting and cold. Then again, it’s felt that


    way since Winter’s been gone. I never really saw just how having my little sister around made the


    house feel more like a home. I miss herughter and her smiles, even if her smiles were rare and few


    and far between. I miss Winter. I miss


    my little sister, more than I ever thought possible.


    Tunlocked the door and put my keys away in the entrance hall, turning on the lights. It might seem silly,


    but I


    hate that the house is dark when I get home. I really should remember to at least leave the front porch


    light on, but it always seems to slip my mind. Sigh, the refrigerator is practically empty. Damnit. I’ll have


    to go grocery shopping


    tomorrow. My stomach growls. Damn I’m hungry.


    Then it hits me. There’s a scent in the house and it doesn’t belong to me. It’s not Winter’s either. It’s


    also


    frighteningly familiar, although I can’t quite ce it. It’s definitely not father’s, I’d know the smell of that


    bastard anywhere. It seems to be throughout the entire house. Has someone broken in while I’ve been


    working? But nothing


    appears to have been stolen. Then again, it’s not like there’s anything worth stealing in this house


    anyway.


    I sniffed and began to do a methodical search of the rooms, my body tensed and poised to fight. But


    there was no one there. The smell is faint, like it’s been several hours since whoever it belongs to has


    been here, but there is one


    more ce that I have yet to check and I’m not looking forward to it. But the basement needs to be


    checked and I’m not going to shy away like a coward. But why the hell is this scent so familiar to me?


    It’s like I’ve smelt this scent


    before but I can’t for the life of me think who it might belong to.


    The smell is stronger as I approach the door leading down to the basement and I give a grin. If the


    person is still


    down there, they are in for one hell of a beating. I opened the door cautiously and began my descent


    down the stairs,


    listening for any signs of a person waiting to ambush me, the smell getting increasingly stronger. I have


    no doubt that there’s someone waiting down here for me and my eyes continually scan my


    surroundings. My whole body is tense, ready to shift at a seconds notice in order to protect myself.


    Where are you, you bastard, I think fiercely to myself, prepared to shift at a second’s notice. I reach the


    bottom of the stairs and begin to move forward, ears pricked for the tiniest of sounds. The basement is


    dark and I curse the fact


    that I’ve never gotten around to recing the light globe that’s no longer working. Some light would be


    really useful


    Property ? N?velDrama.Org.


    right about now.


    I’m cautious, moving around the various bits of junk and furniture that’s piled haphazardly all over the


    ce.


    The basement’s been used primarily for a junk room over the years, but it also contains one other thing


    that makes


    me sick to my stomach as I stare at it. The cage, or more urately a cell, stands in one corner, made


    of silver with shackles and restraints against the wall, to keep someone immobile and unable to move.


    A cell, that I remember with remorse, Winter was often ced in and locked up for what father deemed


    as misbehaviour. Even now, I can still


    remember her screams as she pleaded to be let out. The crying. God, my stomach churns to look at it


    and I resolve to


    get rid of the cell as soon as humanly possible. There’s nothing but bad energy down here and it’s like


    it sucks all the happiness out of you.


    The sound of footsteps rushing towards me, has my body turning, but too little toote as I feel a sharp


    pinprick


    in my thigh. I fall, my knees buckling to the ground, feeling strange, my body almost paralysed. What


    the hell have been dosed with? How could I have been so stupid and let my guard down, even for a


    moment? What is it that this person wants from me? They’d been hiding in the shadows, awaiting the


    perfect opportunity to strike and I’d given it to them. I’d let myself be distracted by the cell and gotten


    lost in my memories. How stupid could I be?


    My head feels like it’s spinning and bing hazy as I drop to a lying down position on the hard


    concrete floor. My body refuses to move, let alone shift, and it’s now that I realize I’m unable to hear my


    wolf at all. That meant only one thing. I’ve been dosed with wolfsbane.


    “Who are you” I managed to mutter, my throat seizing. The footsteps are slower now and the person


    comes right around to my front, giving me a perfect view of them. My eyes widened in horror. I must be


    imagining things surely. The wolfsbane must be ying havoc with my mind. That’s the only logical


    exnation I can think of, as they bend


    over me. They’re not real, this is just a dream of some sort. I’m hallucinating. This wasn’t possible at all.


    Had I been


    drugged back at the diner? Had someone put something in one of my drinks?


    Because this can’t be happening. My eyes are feeling heavy now and I’m struggling to keep them


    open. The person chuckles down at me as I flinch. The person sounds real, but do they feel real? The


    prick in my leg had felt real enough.


    “Well now” he murmurs,” it looks like you’re in a bit of a sticky situation now, aren’t you Damien”, he


    says with a


    smirk. He’s getting blurry now but the voice, the voice is exactly how I remember him. How is he here?


    Why is he here


    and what is it that he wants? Oh god, is he after Winter? Darkness surrounds me and I sumb to it,


    passing out


    <ppletely unconscious and left to this person’s mercy. How is he still alive and what does he want


    from me after all this time?