Tangled

142 Lisa: Chained

The sound of water dripping is the first thing to break through the darkness of my mind.

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

It’s an erratic rhythm that leaves me uncomfortable.

The voices come next, soft, sibilant whispers. Evil. Whoever they are, they’d be the villains in any story.

Eventually, I realize the darkness is really just pain. Pain that throbs and aches in half my face. But why?

Vampires.

That’s why.

My eyes fly open when I finally remember, and I struggle to sit up, blinking into the darkness.

I can’t see anything.

Are my eyes open?

My hands won’t reach my face, yanking against

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142 Lisa: Chained

something cold and hard around my wrists.

Manacles?

Swiping my hands around, I can feel the heavy, rusted chains holding me down, bolted to the floor.

Fuck.

This is…

Really not good.

Ava. Is Ava here?

but there’s

erratic plink, plink–plink

voices are gone.

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

around my heart and squeezing with a mania of isolation and fear. I

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142 Usa Chained

and I scream, the sound

I yank at the manacles, the metal biting into my wrists. Pain sears through my arms, but

pull and twist, my skin tearing, blood trickling down my forearms. Sobs wrack my body, each one tearing out of my throat. It’s useless. The chains hold fast, unyielding.

out of me. I can barely stand, the shackles forcing

Plink. Plink–plink.

slowly emerge from the inky blackness. Rough stone walls, a small window high above my head.

a

A fucking cell..

142 Lika Chained

vampire’s dungeon like a gothic romance heroine.

1. am.

Plink–plink–plink.

if mocking my S~ᴇaʀᴄh the Findɴovel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access

scream again, to rage against the unfairness of it

strength hidden deep inside. I can’t shift into

weak and

I hate this.

always around. Hated his grim determination to keep us safe,

was here to tell me I told you

smugness over this any day of the week.

How can he possibly find me when

142 143 Chalice)

know where I

eyes, hot and bitter. I let them fall, too tired to fight

of Ava, of her fierce determination and unwavering loyalty. She won’t give up on me. She’ll tear this world apart to find me.

it be enough? Can they really

don’t know anything about this

is that I’m scared. I’m so fucking scared and I don’t know

Plink.

Plink–plink.

Plink.

every other thought. It’s maddening, the irregularity of

and focus on the pain. It grounds me,

342 LISA Chamed

Kellan and Ava will find me. That Lucas and the Westwood pack will tear this place

to believe that. Because the alternative is

I imagine his arms around me,

for a moment, just a

Plink.

least until Bren’s face fills my mind and I can’t

concern just a while ago was his weird breeding kink and the biting. Of how he wasn’t great at foreplay. Of the slightly–better–than mediocre sex and then the aphrodisiac that