Novel Full Chapter 104: Kidnapped
Chapter 104: Kidnapped
Rebecca’s POV
I had just walked back into the room, my body aching and my mind completely exhausted. The stress of the day, the pain in my split lip, and the heavy weight of Kaden’s deadline were crushing me. I collapsed onto the small bed beside my real, unconscious body, pulling the thin blanket up to my chin.
I was just about to fall asleep, desperately hoping to find Helen in my dreams again, when the door clicked open.
I frowned, pushing myself up on my elbows. A tall palace guard walked inside, shutting the door quietly behind him. My heart dropped into my stomach. I began praying silently, hoping with everything I had that Alpha Kaden didn’t want me in his room again. I couldn’t face his dark green eyes right now.
"Is there an order from the King?" I asked, my voice trembling.
The guard didn’t answer. His face was completely blank as he moved closer to my bed. Before I could even ask why he was getting so close, he lunged forward. His hand shot out, pressing a thick, chemical-soaked scarf tightly over my nose and mouth.
Panic exploded in my chest. I thrashed wildly, my fingers clawing at his thick wrists, trying to tear his hands away from my face. I tried to scream for help, but the only sound that came out was a muffled whimper. Within seconds, a sweet, heavy scent filled my lungs. My limbs felt heavy, my struggles grew weak, and my eyes rolled back. Everything went completely blank.
SPLASH!
A wave of freezing cold water hit my face, forcing my eyes to snap open with a sharp gasp.
I coughed, shaking my head violently to clear the water from my eyes. The cold liquid mixed with the blood from my earlier injury, stinging my split lip. As my vision finally blurred into focus, horror washed over me. I wasn’t in my bedroom anymore. I was chained tightly to a heavy wooden chair, thick iron links biting into Stephanie’s wrists and ankles. The air was damp and smelled like rotting wood.
Standing right in front of me was a tall man dressed completely in black, his face hidden behind a dark cloth mask. In his right hand, he held a heavy gun, pointing it straight at my forehead.
My eyes widened in terror. "Please..." I choked out, my voice cracking as I stared down the dark barrel of the weapon. "Please, don’t do this."
"No need to beg, slut," the masked man sneered, his voice rough and completely heartless. "You crossed someone you shouldn’t have crossed. This is where it ends for you."
He raised the gun, his finger resting heavily on the trigger.
My eyes filled with hot, panicked tears that spilled down my wet cheeks. My mind raced in a circle. Who had Stephanie offended that would want her dead? Stephanie was just an innocent palace maid! Then it hit me like ice water—were they trying to kill her because of me? Because I was currently using her body? Or did Stephanie have a dark secret of her own that I knew nothing about?
The man tightened his grip on the trigger, and I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting for the loud bang that would end Stephanie’s life.
But before the masked man could shoot me, the heavy metal door of the room creaked open. Another masked man hurried inside, his face tight with urgency. He quickly walked over and whispered something frantically into the first man’s ear.
The shooter froze, his eyebrows turning downward behind his mask as he listened. He slowly lowered the gun, nodding at his partner.
He turned his dark eyes back to me, a cruel smirk appearing under his cloth mask. "It seems we can’t shoot you after all," he scoffed. "Alpha Kaden is already looking for you. His scouts are already out in the forest, and if I pull this trigger, the loud noise will give away our position. They will use their sensitive werewolf hearing and find us in a second."
I swallowed hard, a sudden spark of hope lighting up against my terror. That meant we were still somewhere near the royal mansion. Kaden had noticed my absence so fast. He was actually looking for Stephanie.
"So, why don’t we give you a slower, quieter death?" the man said, his eyes filled with a dark threat.
Before I could even process his words, he stepped forward, pulled a thick piece of duct tape from his pocket, and sealed my lips shut. The rough tape bit into my swollen lip, making me wince in pain. He unlocked the heavy chains anchoring the chair to the floor, leaving my wrists and ankles tightly bound, and pulled me up roughly.
I tried to struggle, digging Stephanie’s heels into the dirty ground, but I was entirely helpless. I desperately tried to reach inward, searching for a wolf to help me break free or shift to tear them apart—but there was nothing. This body wasn’t mine. Stephanie’s wolf was fast asleep, locked away by the ancient magic of the soul swap. I was entirely human, weak, and trapped.
They dragged me out of the small room and into a large, wide-open area. I quickly realized we were inside some sort of deep, abandoned underground building. The air was freezing, and the only light came from a crack in the ceiling far above.
The man dragged me toward the center of the room, where a large, dark pit was cut deep into the concrete floor. He pushed me down onto my knees right at the edge. I gasped against the tape, staring down into the darkness. The pit was easily eight feet deep, its walls smooth and completely slick with black slime.
Before I could fight back or scramble away, the man placed his heavy boot against Stephanie’s shoulder and shoved me backward.
I screamed behind the tape as I fell, hitting the hard, muddy bottom of the pit with a painful thud. The impact knocked the wind right out of my lungs, and I groaned, rolling onto my side.
The masked man walked to the edge above, looking down at me with a dark smirk. Without saying a word, he reached over and turned a massive iron valve on the wall.
A second later, a loud, roaring sound filled the underground space. A huge plastic pipe sticking out of the wall began pouring freezing, muddy water directly into the hole.
I shook my head in absolute horror, my heart pounding so fast I thought it would burst through my ribs. I was bound tightly in chains, my mouth was taped shut, and the freezing water was already rising past my ankles, filling the deep pit.
"Bye, bitch," the masked man spat down at me. He let out a dark laugh, turned around, and walked away. The heavy metal doors closed above with a loud bang, leaving me completely alone in the roaring darkness.
Panic took over my entire mind. I thrashed wildly, my hands and feet struggling against the tight iron chains. The freezing, muddy water was rising so fast, pouring from the big pipe like a waterfall.
I scrambled to my feet, trying to climb up the sides of the deep pit. I dug Stephanie’s fingernails into the concrete wall, trying to find a grip, but the walls were too smooth and completely slick with black slime. Every single time I managed to lift myself a few inches, my feet slipped on the mud, and I slid right back down to the bottom with a hard thud.
The water kept rising. It passed my knees. In what felt like seconds, it was swirling heavily around my waist. The cold was biting into my skin, making my entire body shake uncontrollably.
I was panting heavily behind the thick duct tape, my breath coming in short, terrified gasps. No... please, no! I don’t want to die!
Tears mixed with the freezing water on my face. If I drowned here, it wouldn’t just be my end. I would die inside Stephanie’s body. I would murder my innocent friend, leaving her soul trapped forever, and my own true body upstairs in the medical room would turn into a lifeless corpse. I couldn’t let this happen. For the sake of Stephanie, for the sake of everything, I had to survive.
But I was so weak. I had no wolf, no sharp claws, and no magic to break these chains.
As the muddy water crept up to my chest, a sudden, heavy truth hit my heart. There was only one person powerful enough to break into this hellhole. Only one person who could save me.
I closed my eyes tightly, crying out in my mind with everything I had left.
Alpha Kaden... please. Find me before it’s too late.