Distinctly Defiant

Chapter 15 ~ Taken

 Chapter 15 ~ Taken

As Vivienne came to the first thought that went through her head was that Griffin and his group had kidnapped her again. She sucked in a breath of cool air, trying to clear the lingering strong odour that the rag pressed to her face had been soaked in.

She tugged at the chaffing rope tied around her wrists winced as the rough fibers scratched her raw skin. She pushed herself up using her awkwardly bent arms and moved her shoulders trying to alleviate the discomfort that she felt from lying down while being tied up.

Her gaze fell on another girl, if she had to guess she would say that this girl was two years younger than her. Vivienne’s eyes narrowed as she glanced around, taking in the sight of metal bars, surrounding them both. They were in a cage. There was another cage across from theirs, about two metres away, with two more girls locked inside.

A while away from the cages there was a small fire near some logs set down to sit on and four horses grazing and tied to a tree. There were a few bags haphazardly lying around and she could smell the scent of some kind of meat roasting.

The cages themselves were on carts for easy movement. The metal bars seemed lightweight but not easily broken. She was stuck here, until someone let her out.

She licked her cracked dry lips and tried her voice. “What’s going on? Where am I?” Her voice came out soft, almost undetectable. But the brunette in the cage with her somehow heard.

The girl shrugged. “Welcome to hell,” she replied, just as softly. Her unwashed, unkempt hair reached her shoulders clumped together in strands. Her green eyes were dull and sunken into her gaunt, pale skin. She was shivering slightly, wearing a thin nightgown, not suitable for the weather. Her cheekbones stood out considerably do to the fact that this girl barely had any fat on her. She was skin and bones. The other two girls fared no better.

The sound of footsteps on gravel drew Vivienne’s attention and she caught sight of a fat, balding man walking towards the other cages. He tossed each girl a bread bun and then tossed two into Vivienne’s cage.

His cold blue eyes barely spared her a glance. “Who are you? Why am I here? What are you planning on doing with us?” Vivienne asked, the questions spilling out quickly and effortlessly. Her voice grew stronger with use.

He scoffed as he grabbed her arm through the bars and pulled out a knife. Vivienne struggled to get away, alarmed. But in the end all he did was cut through the rope around her wrists. “Eat.” He pointed at the food and then walked away.

“Wait,” Vivienne demanded. “Let us out. I can pay you,” she told him. The man didn’t stop. She didn’t exactly look like she could afford to pay a ransom. She grew irritated. “If you don’t let us out, you’ll regret it. I have people who will notice I’m gone. They’ll come after me.”

“Don’t bother,” the other girl muttered as she lunged for the bread and polished it off quickly, eyeing the other piece of bread eagerly. “All the girls go through the same stages when they first arrive too. But the men only let us leave one of two ways.”

“All the girls,” Vivienne repeated. “What happened to the other ones?” she asked.

Were there more men part of this than the one man she had just seen? As she thought about it more, it made sense. This balding fat man would have never been able to sneak up on her and subdue her easily. He didn’t seem like he had muscles either so he wouldn’t have been able to carry her off to wherever she was.

She gestured for the girl to take the other piece of bread. She didn’t feel like she would be able to stomach any of it. She could feel the now familiar sensation of uneasiness that accompanied an incidence that stemmed from the fact that she was a werewolf.