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Sophie scooted across the concrete floor and placed Callum’s head in her lap. Grasping the bowl of lukewarm broth, she tilted Callum’s head up as she poured the soupy mixture into his mouth. Thankfully his reflexes still worked. He swallowed the liquid without a problem. She finished the slow process of feeding him and set the bowl on the hard floor.
Next, she dabbed a napkin at his face and mouth before running the pads of her fingers over his features. He looked so peaceful, blissfully unaware of the danger that lurked around them. Part of her envied him. It would be nice to snooze through this ordeal, oblivious to the horrors around her. But he’d been resting so long she was beginning to worry something was wrong with him.
What had the hunters done to him? It’d been three days, by her count, since he’d last been awake. Each morning their captors hauled him off for what felt like hours—though it could really only be minutes—and then returned him. What they did during the absence she had no idea. She wasn’t sure she wanted to know either.
Judging by his unconscious state, it wasn’t good. Serena still lie in the middle of the aisle. The steady beep of the machines and ventilator taunted her constantly. This was her punishment, or the start of it anyway. There was more to come and as hard as it was to have Serena in the room, she imagined the next dose of torture would be far worse. She shuddered at the sound of the ventilator forcing her sister’s lungs to work.
She couldn’t look at her sister—not when she was like this. Every time she did, she saw the ropes that circled her neck, her bulging eyes and violet lips. She shuddered at the thought, focusing instead on Callum’s pink lips. He was alive, and hopefully she could save him.
Sophie trailed her finger up his cheek and lifted his eyelid, searching for any signs that he was coming to. His pupils responded immediately, and she screeched as his hand jutted up and grasped her wrist.
Callum squeezed her arm tightly and she winced, fearing the bones would snap under his brute strength.
“You’re hurting me,” she said, her voice rising as she tried to get out of his grasp.
Callum blinked, frowned, and then released her wrist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize...I thought it was them.”
“It’s okay,” she said as she rubbed her sore forearm. She got it. Had it been her waking, her body would’ve no doubt reacted the same way. Her mind drifted to her earlier thoughts as she wondered again what the hunters had done to him. “How do you feel?”
Callum closed his eyes and opened them again, staring up at the ceiling. “A little hazy,” he said. “How long was I out this time?”
Sophie worried her bottom lip. “Three days.”
Callum blew out a breath. “Any word on Eden or Xander?”
“No. I’d like to think they got away.” She didn’t want to get too hopeful. It always ended in heartbreak for her. The pair could’ve easily been captured and transferred to another facility, but their absence gave her reason to dream. Maybe, just maybe, she could finally get out of this dungeon.
Callum was quiet for a long moment. “They did,” he said determinedly.
Sophie wanted to ask him how he was so sure, but feared he might say something to dampen her spirits. She’d lost hope a long time ago. Now that she had even a sliver of it again, she just wanted to hold onto it for a bit longer. It couldn’t hurt to dream, could it?
“Did I miss anything?” he asked as he rolled to his side and struggled to sit up.
Sophie reached behind him and supported his weight as he flailed, trying to sit. “Careful,” she said. “You’ve been out for days, and the hunters...” She didn’t finish the sentence not wanting to alarm him.
“I’ve been out too long,” Callum said as he gripped his forehead and gently massaged it.
Sophie stayed behind him. Though he was a strong man, there was no telling what had been done to his body. Too many times she had seen the strongest shifters crumble after the abuse the hunters dealt.
“My head is killing me,” he said as he rubbed at his eyes.
Sophie stretched, wiggling her fingers as she grasped a bottle of water that had accompanied their meals. “Here. Drink this.”
Callum’s digits grazed over her hand as he took the water. His fingers fumbled with the lid before he finally removed it and took a drink.
“Any better?” she asked after he’d downed half the bottle. She took the bottle from his hands and set it on the floor. If he drank too much he’d likely upset his stomach.
“A little.”
“Good.” She sighed with relief.
“So... how long have you been a doctor?” he asked, catching her off guard with his question.
“Oh...um...I’m not officially. I just have training from one of the hunters here,” she said.
“They trained you?” He narrowed his eyes and looked at her speculatively.
Sophie drew in a breath and let it out as she reached up and ran a hand through her snarled hair. “Sort of. I suppose you could say I got lucky.” Her eyes darted to Serena and she shuddered as nausea tumbled in her belly. Her big sister had protected her. She owed what sanity she had to Serena, but it was a debt she would never be able to pay. Her big sister was gone.
She closed her eyes and let out a breath. When she reopened them again she met Callum’s gaze. There was something about his eyes that soothed her and she couldn’t help but stare into them.
Callum regarded her for a long minute and she wondered if he would ask more about her past, but instead he asked, “What do you think their next move will be?”
Sophie dragged her digits through her locks again and twirled the ends around her pointer finger. “I’ve heard chatter,” she began. She might be a prisoner, but she did listen to conversations, and she’d been in this hellhole long enough to know their protocol. “They don’t like breaches in security. It’s possible they’ll move us and empty out the entire facility.”
“Where?” Callum asked as a frown marred his handsome features.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t even know where here is, let alone anywhere else,” she told him honestly. She was in the United States—she thought, but where was a mystery. Perhaps she should have looked at some of the papers she’d handed Eden the other day. It hadn’t even occurred to her. She’d been a prisoner so long with no chance of escape for herself that she hadn’t even been thinking in her excitement to help them get out.
“We just need to stall them long enough for Eden and Xander to regroup and get reinforcements,” Callum said.
“How long will that take?” They could already be on borrowed time. If the hunters feared the pair would bring back reinforcements, they’d be moved sooner rather than later.
“Depending on where we are...a week or so.”
“At least we’re almost half way there,” she said.
“Hey,” Callum reached out and placed his hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. “We don’t leave people behind. Not Xander.”
Sophie glanced down at his hand, enjoying the warmth. How could a simple touch bring so much hope?
“So we wait then?” she asked cautiously.
“Yes and no. If we see an opening, we’re taking it.”
Sophie removed her gaze from Callum’s hand to glimpse at Serena. Can I leave her? She’d been willing to a few days ago, but she’d been swept up in the moment too.
“She can come with us,” Callum offered, following her eyes.
Sophie shook her head. “No. She should be at peace,” she said with finality. A lump formed in her throat. She knew what the statement meant, but could she do that? There was no hope for Serena. The medical equipment was the only thing keeping her alive, she’d read scans herself multiple times. If she got a chance, she’d pull the plug herself and do her best to save the child in her sister’s womb. Serena deserved her freedom.
“Can I ask what happened? Why is she here?”
She swallowed down the lump forming in her throat. Tears welled in her eyes. “She’s my sister. They put her here to punish me for trying to escape.”
Callum nodded. “Is she okay?” his gaze went to Serena as he pulled himself to his feet, using the bars for support.
Sophie stayed rooted to the floor.
“She’s pregnant,” Callum said as he whirled back around to look at her.
She dabbed at her eyes and let out a breath. “That’s why they’re keeping her alive. They’ll let her go...at least I hope they will after she delivers.” What if they didn’t let her go? What if they continued to experiment on Serena?
“They injured a pregnant woman?” Callum asked turning his attention to her.
Sophie shook her head sadly as a sob got stuck in her throat. “No. Serena did that to herself.”
Callum narrowed his eyes as he stooped back down next to her.
She cleared her throat. “I should have seen it coming when she found out she was pregnant again. I was just so busy helping Lou out in the infirmary.”
“Lou?”
“He’s a doctor...was a doctor here. Lou took me under his wing and made me his apprentice when I first came here. He was the senior doctor here. Everything I know about medicine is because of him. I was the lucky one. Serena’s eight years older than me. She was an adult and they used her for their experiments.” She shuddered and squeezed herself tighter.
It was Lou’s training that had kept her safe after his untimely passing a few weeks ago. She’d heard through chatter that no one else aside from her had been able to make sense of his notes. Even in death the man was still protecting her. She’d never understood his kindness toward her, though.
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Callum said as he rejoined her on the floor.
Sophie inhaled a steadying breath. Did Callum think the same thing the hunters did? Did he think Serena was weak? Her sister had endured so much. Serena was the strongest person she’d ever met and someone needed to know that. “It’s okay. I don’t want you to think poorly of her.”
“I’m sure she had her reasons for doing what she did.”
Sophie trembled. Her heart hurt for her sister. “Yeah, she did. This wasn’t her first pregnancy. It was her fourth. Each time she’d deliver, they’d take the baby and do experiments on it, only allowing her to see the child when they needed to be fed. The hunters are trying to build some sort of master race—a combination of hunters and shifters. The babies died every time from the experiments. I know because Lou was the one to do the autopsies and I read his notes. The last one passed away in Serena’s arms. It devastated her. She locked herself away in her room for weeks after she lost her son Alex while he was in her arms. When she learned she was pregnant again, she decided she wouldn’t let them harm another of her babies. I found her in our shared room. She’d used the cord the hunters used when they...when they...raped her to hang herself. I found her too soon. They revived her. The damage had already been done, she was brain dead, but the child was okay. They’re going to do the same thing to this baby as the others. Experiment on it until it dies.”
She covered her mouth to stifle another sob. I’m so sorry, Serena.
Callum reached out and touched her hand. “I’m not going to let them hurt that baby.”
Tears trickled from her eyes at his sincerity. “That child’s the only family I have left.” She hoped, prayed that Callum could keep his word, but deep down she knew it would never be. The child would die like its brothers had, and there wasn’t anything she or Callum could do about it.
“What about the rest of your family?” Callum asked.
Sophie let more tears slip down her face, not bothering to wipe them away. “They died in the attack. Serena and I were the only ones to survive. My family hid us in the floorboards in an underground hideaway. Our species is a dying breed and they wanted to ensure someone survived. After they’d slaughtered my parents and grandparents they scoured the house. When they didn’t find us they set the house on fire. Serena and I tried to stay hidden, but it got too hard to breathe and we had to flee. That’s how they got us.”
“My family was killed by them too.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Me too.” He nodded and let out a breath. “I was rescued by a team from a place called, Sanctuary. It’s a compound where hundreds of shifters live and we protect each other.”
“It sounds nice.” It really did. What would it be like to live somewhere without fear? She couldn’t even comprehend it.
“I’m going to take you and the baby there.”
She gasped as she met his eyes. He believed what he was saying. A glimmer of hope swept over her and a smile slipped over her features. It was squashed as soon as it started. The door at the end of the hall squealed as it opened, and footsteps stomped toward them.