Page 50 of Captured By the Monsters
I doubted that I sounded reassuring to them. I didn’t even sound that way to myself, but I needed to know that I could do this. That I could still stand on my own two feet and be okay. That I could conquer whatever was growing inside of me.
Rowen still looked apprehensive, and Sylan didn’t look happy at all. But Axton forced a smile to his face as well, nodding at me in goodbye before they turned and left the room.
I bit my lip to keep from crying out when the Specter guard shut the door, sealing the three other humans in with me.
The black-haired girl came over to my side, and I was immensely thankful for the camaraderie between us.
“What do you think is going on?” I asked her, eyes darting around the room nervously.
“I’m not sure,” she responded shakily, “but if it makes you feel any better, I feel it too.”
I looked over at her, startled by her words, and asked, “Feel what?”
She blinked furiously, and I saw a blush creep up her cheeks before she responded, “The need to be by them, for them not to leave.”
I sucked in a sharp breath at her words and grabbed her hands. “Is it like there’s something inside of you that’s untamable trying to claw out?”
She gave me a small smile and squeezed my hands. “That’s one way of putting it. Yeah.”
Taking a deep breath, I held it for a few seconds, processing her words before I blew it out and dropped her hands. Running a hand through my hair, I asked, “Why does it seem like you and I are the only two Selected feeling that?”
With a shrug of her slender shoulders, she admitted, “I don’t know, but it feels really good to have someone to talk to about it. I’m Julie, what’s your name?”
The unease I felt still skittered through me, but I genuinely smiled at my new friend. “I’m Sera. Nice to meet you. So, how long have you been down here?”
But before Julie could answer, the brunette stepped forward with a bitter scowl on her face.
“Are you two stupid?” she snapped in a vicious tone, throwing her hands in the air like we annoyed the hell out of her.
“Excuse me?” Julie asked in a threatening voice, raising her chin in defiance. “You don’t get to speak to us like that.”
Hell yeah. She had a spine of steel.
The brunette rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Don’t you two know what’s happening?”
“Obviously not.” I offered wryly with a shake of my head and an eye roll. “Didn’t you just hear the two of us talking amongst ourselves wondering what was happening?”
A dark laugh preceded her response. “This is why you two are going to die.”
Instinctively, Julie and I reached out an arm in front of one another at the same time, both of us wanting to protect the other.
“Are you threatening us?” Julie seethed, and my hackles raised right alongside her.
“I’m not going to kill you, you idiots. They are!” she exclaimed and gestured towards the door.
“And who exactly are they?” I demanded, needing clarification to her claims.
“There is a war going on, and we are caught in the middle of it. And what do you think happens to people caught in the middle of war?”
I knew the answer, but I really had no desire to play this dumb game with her.
“Can you please clarify?” I snapped, causing her to growl in frustration. Like answering me was an inconvenience and a waste of her time.
Her eyes locked onto me, and her lips thinned in a grim frown. “We were put in this room because the other Trifecta that’s coming has an unclaimed mate. And unclaimed mates get fought over and somebody dies.”
I looked over at Julie, who seemed just as confused as me.
“And you know this how?” Julie prompted, motioning with her hand to continue.
