by Daphne Snow
"I need to know." His voice was choked trying to find words to push past the lump in his throat. Axl had him bulking, taking a step forward in repression as the grizzly tried to force another change. Alexander held him back, now was not the time.
They had known almost the instant something was amiss. Axl raged and roared forcing a turn at one point. He couldn't reach Fey and Alexander assumed it was the distance. As well as the ache in his chest that caused the burly bear to lose its mind.
At the creature's instance and for his own peace of mind he called Costas. He never picked up. Twelve calls and each one rang and rang. That was when Alexander knew something terrible had happened.
He called Dominik who he knew would check on the situation and be closer to the Husik residence. Before the man could even call him back he was on the road, ignoring all traffic laws as he went. He had to know she was okay, even if that meant she would say he was suffocating her, he didn't care.
Seeing his friend's hardened and expressionless face, and the fact that Dresner was on the scene as well. None of that boded well for him.
"Keep yourself under control. Tearing up the place isn't going to help us." Alex looked to Dresner whose face was also a steel shield, unreadable to most.
David Dresner was one of the younger unofficial members of the Council. He preferred to keep in the shadows. People only ever saw him if there was a heinous crime committed because the man was a crazy good scent hound. He'd be able to pick up any and everything without fail.
The dread in Alexander's stomach sank deeper. What happened? Alex nodded slowly, not even sure how he managed the feat. Blackwell turned around and walked up the short steps indicating Dresner to follow.
The man opened the door and the smell of death choked him. He wouldn't let it show though, wouldn't let it affect him. Alex couldn't allow anything to sway him until he had facts.
At least ten of the council's specialists were most likely called on behalf of Blackwell. There were dusting fingerprints and gathering evidence. Pictures were being taken and as Alexander walked inside he saw two men dressed in black their faces grim as they carried a body bag down the stairs. His face paled and he staggered.
No! Was the one word desperate plea running through his mind over and over again until his heart stuttered and Axl took over.
❅❅❅
Mina had been the first to awake, her wrist painfully throbbing. She struggled to move them and the pain only increased the more she tried. Warm liquid ran down her forearms and down to her shoulders. Her brow knitted in pain and confusion as she slowly tried to open her eyes. She blinked a few times, at first the harsh light made it seemingly impossible to see anything but blaring white. After a moment she realized it wasn't solely focused on one spot so she opened one eye and tried to look at it again. It was a bare bulb swinging to and fro from the ceiling.
The room seemed to spin the harder she tried to focus. Her head throbbed again and if her body could talk it’d be swearing groggily. She blinked a few more times getting a full fuzzy glimpse of her surroundings.
She was in a nearly empty room. Pipes ran alongside the walls, big tubes that were steaming just a bit. A steady drip sound was coming from one of them. Hot water? Or maybe some type of steam valves.
The walls were a dark crumbling cement and there was a small table with a cloth bundle on it nearby. There was a large lump lying on the floor, but she didn't know what it was. So she reached for Mya, her leopard, to help steady her unfocused vision but she was silent, unreachable. Which was highly unlike her. Most of the time she could never get the leopard to shut up. As soon as she woke up to the time she went to bed. Downing as much melatonin as she could to drown her out.
Besides Fran, the beast was her best friend. She would be lost without the chatterbox. So Mina tried to reach for her again and the strange void of silence was all she was met with. She could hardly even feel Mya still inside her; it was the slightest of feeling. The smallest beat of her leopard's soul.
A part of her wanted to panic to freak out and start screaming. The same part that always seemed so delightfully enticing. The part that wanted to cradle her and give up on life. Mina didn't want to be strong anymore and whenever that part called to her it got harder to resist. But she needed to get her shit together if she was going to get out of here because this wouldn’t be the day she caved.
She was on her knees in a dingy room with no windows and a seemingly dense metal door. There was no apparent way of escape. Her heart beat faster and faster like a freight train ready to fall off the tracks. She was losing it quickly and needed to regain her composure if she was going to figure out what was going on and get out of this. She breathed in and out trying to find calm. Just like her father had taught her.
Her leopard no matter how faint was still alive and within her currently safe. Mina, thank the goddess, was also alive, This was not how Mina wanted to go out. She preferred skydiving or throwing herself in a volcano. Something thrilling and of her own accord. Regardless it wouldn't be today. So far it didn't seem like she was missing any limbs so that was also nice. With those reassuring thoughts in her head, she calmed down just a bit.
Her headache was pounding dramatically. A kind of pounding she hadn't felt in the longest times not since she was a little girl. Not wanting to remember things she did her best to repress she looked around again taking in any and all details. Something her ass of a brother had taught her.
As much as she couldn't stand Zelik he made, not that she would ever admit it, good points. Being able to assess everything within her surroundings and figuring out how to best utilize everything would help her in the long run.
Then the ceiling above her shook fiercely as a large object sped by. Tiny pieces of crumbling cement fell to the ground dust following their descent. Was she underground? Somewhere near the subway? Or a train yard? Was she even still in Brooklyn? A million questions ran by her, a million possibilities.
She looked up squinting as the light again shone in her eyes. She winced and angled out of the harsh light trying to get a better look at her excruciating wrist. Minas wrists were bound with a heavy rope that kind of reminded her of rope you'd find on a boat. Heavy, thick and splintered.
It was digging into her wrist and making her bleed. She tried to stand to lessen the pain and get a better view of things. It was more of a slow crawl up the wall, unfortunately proving her to be feeling weak and unable to fight her captor. Minas' whole body was in pain and her senses were not what they would normally be. Again she reached for Mya though the beat of her soul was getting steadily stronger the cat was still not responding.
Whatever that freak with the gloved hands had got her with had significantly weakened her beast. She just hoped it wouldn't impair them long-term. All she remembered was going to get Ya-Ya for dinner and then a hand slapped over her mouth and she was out cold. By the god's she hoped Ya-Ya was okay. The old woman had a lot of fight in her, she had to be okay.
Once she finally stood to the point the light wasn't blinding her she had a better view of the room. The table with the cloth on it seemed to have metal objects sticking out of it. Maybe tools?
And the slumped lump on the ground was none other than Frannie. Her quiet, anxious, and beautiful best friend. Her hair was a mess and she still wore the fuzzy pants Mina had last seen her in. There was blood crusted on her wrist and a trickle of blood coming down her face.
Did those fucking monsters hurt her? She was going to kill them if they put a hand on her. The only thing calming her was the rise and fall of Frannie's chest indicating she was still alive. The fucking bitch scared her for a moment.
Frannie was tied up to, her hands bound in a similar way to her only Frannies were worryingly close to the heated pipes. Also, like her own, they were bound with that heavy-looking rope.
By the gods who were these guys, fucking Disney villains? Did they know they were shifters? They fucked with the wrong people. One swipe and they could just cut the
rope. They had to be the most stupid people ever. Or the smartest. She ground her teeth in annoyance.
She couldn't reach Mya right now so really she could do nothing but struggle and hurt herself more. Okay, one point to the villains and zero for the helpless woman. Still, Mina refused to let weakness overtake her. She would try and fight until her last breath.
"Frannie.." She whispered harshly at first hoping her friend could hear her. She didn't know if they were possibly being listened in on. Frannie didn't move. "Fran!" She said louder, still nothing. The ceiling shook again causing the pipes to rattle and a piece of thin cement to clatter at her feet. If that didn't wake her then she was out. Frannie was always a heavy sleeper compared to her. Mina woke at every movement and snore and then tossed and turned most nights.
She needed to wake her so they could put their heads together. If Frannie could reach her bear, then they had a chance of getting out of here sooner rather than later. Mina highly preferred sooner.
Mina tried to kick the cement at Frannie hoping to rouse her. She didn't intend to kick it hard but it flew past and nearly hit Fran in the head. In any other circumstance that may have been funny but she really needed her to wake up.
"Francesca Bianchi get your ass up!" At that point, she was yelling as she gingerly toed another piece of cement and kicked it at her again. This time it hit her in the thigh and she started to move. Not fast, more so sluggish at first. Just her toes and finger stretching and then winces of pain flashing across her face. When she finally opened her eyes. Mina was near tears at the sight.
Her voice was choked in a happy thrill. "Don't freak out on me, we are gonna be okay." She plastered a smile on her face to reassure her. Fran could only nod her head slowly as she looked around. Mina knew Frannie was not the type of person to be able to adapt to being thrown from her comfort zone. She needed to keep her calm if they were gonna work together. But as the gleam of tears started in the corners of Frannie's eyes and her head swung back and forth, Mina herself started to panic a bit.
"Frannie...Frannie! Look at me." Minas voice was shaky; she held as much confidence as she could in her words. Frannie looked at her tears streaming running rivers through her dusty cheeks. "We are going to get out of here okay. Get it together. If you wanna see lover boy and his muscles again then we gotta work together."
"Ok.Ok.Ok." She said breathing and holding eye contact with Mina and nodding her head. Her eyes were wide still but she was holding on to her thread of calm.
"Can you shift or is Fey asleep?" Mina asked an urgency in her voice.
"She's awake I think I can. My head really hurts Mina." She winced a bit as she started to stand and wriggled her wrist.
"That's okay once we get outta here we will get all the aspirin. And, and we'll get those cookie sticks you like from the bodega on 4th. I promise we just need to get out of here." Fran laughed at the remark and how silly it all seemed right now. Mina shook her restraints. The heavy rope was impossible for a human to cut.
"It should just be rope, can you try to cut it?" Mina watched as Frannie tried to change the form of her hand to a giant black bear paw. Its nails were sharp and intimidating. She appreciated the lack of questioning she got from Frannie. They didn't need to argue right now.
Slowly and probably painfully by any guess on Frannie's face, she started to cut through the thick rope. Running the sharp claw against the rope again and again cutting just strands a few as she went. The angle was hard especially for something so large like Fey's paw. A few times she had to stop and morph back to the dainty hand her human form held.
"Come on Frannie! I know you can do this." Mina was pathetically frustrated at her, not knowing if she was giving up or actually having a hard time. Frannie had heard the frustration and gave her a glaring look.
"I'm fucking trying Fey is there and still not at the same time. I'm pushing her as hard as I can." With a pained look on her face, Frannie morphed her hand again. And just as she was about to slice through the last bit they heard a noise and froze. The solid door near Frannie clinked as if it was being unlocked and opened just a crack.
"Yes sir like I promised they are here untouched. I made sure the others knew not to touch them, that they belonged to you." A nasally dry voice echoed off the walls and Mina saw Fran's face go pale. Her eyes were wide as she changed her paw back to a bloodied hand.
"Good." Two men waltzed one a tall looming familiar figure and the other with a hunch and sickly palette. One glance from the taller man's sharp eyes told Mina he wasn't there to save them. He was the one who brought them here. He wore a dark blue suit with a polka dot tie. His leather shoes shone in the light and his hair was greased and pulled back.
The anger and fear that was boiling in her started to overflow.
"Kaiser? What the fuck are you doing here?" His eyes felt cold and roaming. She wanted to cover up, her tight tank top and sweatpants not feeling like enough to shield her body. She had seen his lingering eyes on her more than once when he had come to speak to Zelik.
"You, my dear, have always had such a particularly nasty mouth for such a very pretty girl." He gritted out as he sauntered over to her with his haunched minion by his side.
Mina had always been a little unsure of his age. His hair was slicked back with a gel and was graying in areas and his sunken aristocratic features were of no help. Yet Zelik had told her the ass of a man was in his forties.
"Well fuck you very much. If you dont want my brother to fucking kill you-" He pressed an oddly frozen finger to her mouth and she wanted to hurl. His presence always made her uncontrollably uncomfortable.
She had tried to tell Zelik months ago when he first brought the guy to the house. But in typical big brother fashion, he had ignored her assuming she knew nothing, or maybe he just didn't care. Still, though Mina stopped talking hoping it would cause him to remove his cold dead hand from her. If anything it spurred him on.
"What do you think." He directed towards the hunched man whilst squeezing her cheeks painfully. “Should I let you have a go with our merchandise and make sure the goods behave?" The man next to him smiled his mouth full of chipped and missing teeth. Panic and bile rose in Mina.
"H-hey no what are you doing? You f-fucking freak!" The hunched man gazed at her friend and his smile grew just a bit. Mina looked at Frannie shaking her head in a no gesture frantically. She was never a part of the underground world like Mina was. Well then again even Mina wasn't a part of it either at least not really.
She had known what her brother did for a living and had even known what her parents did from a young age but they shielded her from it all. Or they thought they had. When she met her shy forgiving bestfriend she tried to shield her from it as well. She didn't want Frannie to get hurt. But the woman was more stubborn than a mule.
"D-dont fucking touch her you sacks of shit!" She screamed, rattling her wrist frantically to keep their attention. Kaiser simply nodded to the man and then addressed Frannie. "Don't worry you'll get your turn cow. Threx has already confessed he has a bit of crush on you."
Normally Mina wasn't the one to panic. She was able to stay calm in a lot of circumstances but this was different. A tidal wave of fear crashed within her as the man named Threx grabbed the neckline of her shirt, his bulbous fingers grazing her skin on the inside of her tank and the tops of her breasts.
Mina started to struggle her wrist aching with pain but she didn't care. Fear was riding her and she kicked her legs out at him once getting him in the gut and Threx stumbled a few steps back. Frannie continued to shout at them in the background.
"Teach her she cannot behave like this I won't settle for anything less than a well-trained whore for my clients." Clients? what was he talking about? The man with his strange fingers grabbed at her, again and again, she tried to fight him to be met with a harsh slap across her face from Kaiser. He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, his eyes were cold harboring disapproval.
"If you want to live you will behave.
This man is going to fuck you and then you will have men lining up at the door to fuck your pretty little mouth. You will behave or you will die. Your choice." He was going to sell her like a common whore. The panic Mina was keeping at bay burst through her mental dam.
Frannie's screaming drowned into the background like white noise. The dripping from the pipes pounded in her ears, the frustrated panic coming in waves. Her mind was unable to compete with the tsunami of emotions.
No! No, this couldn't be happening. She couldn't let this happen. She wouldn't give herself to anyone especially not this deformed troll or any men that would pay. She screamed and screeched as loud as she could. The short man just cackled his breath starting to come in pants as she had seen his erection through his pants.
"Scream all you want my dear no one will hear you no one will come for you. All you'll be doing is teaching the other girls not to disobey us." He said nonchalantly walking over to the table with the cloth and metal she had seen earlier.
"And while he is taking care of you I'll be dealing with your friend over here." His head whipped to Fran who this whole time had shouted trying to draw their attention to no avail. Mina loved Fran. She must've been terrified but she was still trying to help.
