Alone • Liam Dunbar

Eighteen

TW: Blood and violence (figured I'd add this just in case for my squeamish friends :) )

The throbbing in my head stung, and I couldn't help but wince as I tried to force my eyes open. I was strung up by my chains around both of my wrists, the metal links shaking as my body became alert. 

The light from a battery-powered lamp on the floor was enough to cause me discomfort even if it wasn't the brightest, purely because of the injury on my temple. It was too dark to see anything beyond my direct personal bubble and I hadn't noticed Kate was in the room until her voice spoke up from the shadows.

"Have a good nap?" Kate crept from the black and approached me, her neck craned to look up at my hanging form. I didn't say anything in return just yet, settling for glaring down at her.

"Your hair got longer." The end of the braid my hair was typically tied in, rested on the front of my shoulder and she reached up to grab it, feigning nostalgia in her voice as she continued talking.

"I wanted to find you before but there were clearly a few complications in the way."

Kate dropped my hair and reached up to touch my face. I leaned as far from her as I could, but my lack of mobility allowed her to caress my cheek. Her touch made me sick and the urge to vomit on her popped into my mind, but my empty stomach wouldn't allow it.

"It's sweet how you stand by Scott even after what he did to Allison."

Her grip tightens on my cheek and the soft foreign touch now becomes familiar, rough and needlessly aggressive. Her nails dig into my skin and I feel relieved at the fact that they weren't her claws.

I jerk back more violently now to pull my face from her hands. "Don't even try and put that on him, you have no idea what you're talking about."

Kate takes a step back and gives a short chuckle under her breath as she circles my hanging frame.

I could tell that defending Scott to her struck a nerve but I wouldn't let her blame him for Allison's death, especially when Allison would have never been thrust into the life of hunting without preparation if it weren't for Kate. If anyone was to blame, it was her.

"I'm glad you're so loyal to your Alpha," Kate said the last word with so much spite I winced. "After everything I did for you, after everything I trained you for... You betrayed me."

"Betrayed you?" I echoed with an appalled expression. 

"No one forced you to murder the Hales. You killed humans in that fire too, Kate. Some of them were kids. You're delusional if you think that anyone would want to follow you after that."

Kate doesn't respond and I try to study her in the silence. 

"What do you want from me?" 

"Who is the Benefactor?" She asks and I can't help but laugh as I realize she did all of this for information I didn't have.

Kate's face fell as she glowered at the walls around us, turning her back to me to hide her reaction. Her fists were flexing over and over at her sides, her actions exposing her lack of stability.

"It must kill you to have no idea who it is. You're being hunted now Kate, how does it feel?" I smile at the back of her head, taking pleasure in her lack of power in the situation.

Of course, my cocky demeanor wasn't appreciated and Kate whipped around to reveal her new form with a high-pitched growl. Her body was purple now, a darker shade spotting certain areas that made her raised bridge of her face even more menacing. Her eyes glowed a bright neon green and I came to the conclusion that purple and green were one of the worst color combinations in the world.