Tangled in Moonlight: Unshifted (Ava and Lucas)

Chapter 149 Lisa: Enthralled (I)

LISA

When moonlight fades and the sun rises, I can see my cell with more clarity.

Rust clings to my wrists and ankles, the metal biting into my skin with every trembling movement. Chains rattle against stone, a sound that mocks my rising panic. No matter how I strain and yank, they hold fast, ignoring the blood that streams down my arms when my skin breaks under the pressure.

This cell, this prison, is a nightmare made manifest. Cold, damp air seeps into my bones, and the stench of decay fills my nostrils. No comfort of a bed greets me, only the unforgiving hardness of the floor beneath my body.

A single, rotting bucket sits in the far corner, a cruel taunt of basic needs denied.

My eyes dart around, desperate for some sign of escape, but the walls offer no salvation. Rough-hewn stone and brick, marred by the telltale stains of suffering, mock my desperation. Those dark splatters, rust-brown and eerie in the dim light filtering through the tiny window above, speak of horrors I can't begin to imagine.

But I don't need to imagine, do I? I'm living it now.

Why? The question pounds in my head. Why me? What does my captor want?

I grasp at my memories, trying to make sense of the jumbled pieces. The party, the laughter, the punch that made my head swim. Bren. The vampire.

But nothing else.

Tears sting my eyes, hot and bitter as they slip down my cheeks.

I want to scream, to yell until my voice gives out, but some instinct warns me against it. Don't let them know you're awake. Don't give them a reason to come.

far, but that can't last

how I want

all night, and no one came to save

to shut me up,

on myself as much as the chains allow, trying

through the trouble of taking me, of keeping me alive? The possible answers terrify me, each more gruesome than

the silence, dragging me

my cell. It's only then that I realize the odd dripping sound, the

closer. It's a grating, unnatural noise that sets my teeth on edge and causes my head to ache. The whispers, too, become more distinct, though I can't make out the words. The voices are low, urgent, and filled with a malevolence that makes me want to curl up

go, nowhere to

there's only

stone. My eyes widen as part of the wall slides into itself, revealing a dark passageway. A figure steps through, tall and imposing, and

The vampire

light. His lips curve into a smile, but there's no warmth in it. Only a

his voice like silk

back as far as my chains allow, despite the pain in my wrists, bleeding and swollen from

do you want?" My voice is tremulous, despite

get to that," he says, taking a step closer. "But first, let's have a little chat,

measured as he approaches. I can't look away, can't move, can't breathe. It's like I'm frozen, trapped by the sheer force of his

emanating from his skin. Close enough that I can see the hunger in his eyes, the way they seem to darken as they roam

a strand of hair from my face. His touch is like ice, and I jerk my face

comes out more like a plea. Not

a position to make demands, kitten," he says, his voice low and dangerous.