REAPING INNOCENCE ◦ STILINSKI [3]

ii.

ii. RUNNING WITH WOLVES

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WHEN CARTER FINALLY returned back to the land of consciousness, she was perched upon a metal chair—her waist resting against the back of it as her legs straddled the actual chair, her wrists and ankles constricted in thick metal shackles. Her hooded eyes glanced up to see a distraught Kira standing in the corner of the room, Severo's hand curled tightly around her bicep. Her attention quickly moved off the Kitsune when the door in front of her opened, whirling in the direction of it to see one of Araya's men dragging a reluctant Lydia into the room.

"Oh, God," Lydia mumbled under her breath, wide eyes locking onto Carter's as the man continued to pull her toward the identical metal chair positioned beside Carter. The man forcing her into the seat before binding her wrists and ankles in chains.

Carter began to furiously pull on the chains when Araya stepped forward, visually showing that the Were-Pheanix didn't appreciated the idea of Lydia and Kira being dragged into that with her. "Let her go. Look, you've got me, just let the others go."

As Araya ignored Carter's pleas, Severo yanked Kira forward, the raven-haired girl squirming in his grasp, even more so when he grabbed her wrist and placed her fingers around the dial on a large machine placed before her. "Your hand goes here," he instructed, casting a glanced toward Carter and Lydia. "So, let me explain what's about to happen. This one, the fox, has an immunity to electricity. So she's going to turn the dial on the Alpha-Pheanix." Carter's eyes immediately locked with Kira's, the fox whimpering in response. "If she doesn't, I turn the dial on the Banshee."

In a sudden burst of anger, Kira tugged against Severo's grip. "No, I'm not doing this!"

"Are you sure?" Severo pondered, tightening his grasp on the girl as he forcefully directed her hand back to the dial. "One of your friends has the power to heal. The other? Not so much."

Air hissed up Carter's throat, spitting through her clenched teeth with a low, menacing sound like a swarm of angry bees. Before the sound was out, her muscles tightened in rage. "What are you doing? Is this some sort of sick game to you?"

"This is a test, fuego pájaro. Let's see if you pass," Araya announced, clapping her hands together as she sauntered out from behind the brunette to stand in front of her. "We're going to ask some questions. You answer them, nobody gets hurt. You don't answer, we turn on the dial."

Carter gulped, her fiery anger dwindling down into cackling embers as the harsh reality of the situation began to set in. She pulled her eyes away from Araya and looked toward Kira, sending the girl a comforting look despite the terror coursing through her own veins. She could smell the distress rolling off Lydia and Kira's bodies; practically taste the thirst for revenge coming from Araya; and feel the arrogance that Severo was drowning himself in — those emotions were so much stronger than she had been used to that it was hard to stick to one train of thought despite her clear head. Each new sensation brought on by her heightened animal side overwhelmed her.

She made a concerted effort to focus. There was something she needed to say to Kira before Araya began her interrogation.

"Do what they say, Kira, okay? Whatever they want. I can take it — rather me than Lydia."

"So, we don't know where Derek is. We want to find him as well." Carter cleared her throat at Araya's words, taking an unnecessary breath to settle herself. "You know who took him."