Forbidden

Burn

Luca

 Hours passed. Each second blended into the next with nothing in the cold, damp darkness to differentiate between them. In the distance, water dripped steadily- not fast enough to be from a direct source. Most likely there was a leak in one of the pipes running through the Asylum, and it gave Luca great pleasure to imagine the destruction that small, almost indiscernible trickle would cause. From rust to rot, it would ruin everything in its path overtime- it just required patience.

At the moment, his own patience was wearing thin, but when he found himself tempted to strain against his bindings or growl aloud, he closed his eyes and zeroed in on the leak, reminding himself that bringing down this institution would take more than one impulsive act.

His eyes snapped open as the reality of his thoughts registered. Before this moment, his sole motivation was saving his brother, but he knew that wasn't enough. Getting out of this building wouldn't give his brother a chance at a normal life, and Livy would certainly never be able to come out of hiding. If she possessed even the smallest bit of Protean DNA, no one in his community would be safe.

And yet... It was proof that they weren't as powerful as he'd come to believe. No matter what they claimed or how hard they fought, some part of his ancestors had managed to live on. He just hoped Livy wasn't the last.

Luca flexed his wrists, testing the cuffs. The spelled metal tightened with his movements, restricting blood flow to his hands until he relaxed. Until this moment, he'd never spent anytime as a captive of the Slayers, but he'd heard stories from others. The magic they used to fight against Shifters. Magic that was no less "unnatural" than the long life spans of the beings they sought to eliminate. He found he might hate them less if they would just admit the truth behind what drove their crusade: fear and envy.

A buzzing filled the room- then the sound of a pop as the lone light bulb overhead flickered to life, making him wince. To a human, the light was weak and ineffective, but he was designed to see just as well in the dark as in the light, and the sudden change made his eyes water.

The gray door in front of him swung open, and Abe Helsing walked inside, a familiar slayer at his side. Trixie. The woman who'd taken Brantley, and the one who was training Van. Everything about the woman displayed her warrior nature- the way she held herself, the slant of her brows, and the tightness in her jaw. But he saw in her eyes the difference Van mentioned. Perhaps fate had seen fit to give him a break.

"Luca Brooks. Seventeen years old. Alpha Apparent. Only recently decided, yes?" Abe said as he lowered himself into the spindly chair across the table. Trixie remained standing.

"Yes."

"Hmm." He flipped through the pages of a file, but Luca had no doubt the man didn't need to read the words on the page. They would be memorized, held prisoner in his cruel mind the same way Luca was a prisoner in this foul pit.

Unable to stop himself, he pressed, "Hmmm, what? None of that is news to you. Nothing happens among the shifters that you don't know about."

The Supreme raised his eyes slowly, pinning Luca with a frigid glare before curling his lips into an unpleasant facsimile of a smile. Trixie shifted but remained silent.

"You're right on the first point, Luca. I did know that already, though your performance in the fight today suggests your appointment is not suitable. But apparently, I don't know everything that goes on in your pack. Your cousin, for instance."

Abe slid another file to the top of his pile and gestured to his Slayer. Trixie nodded and rounded the table, a strange box in her hand. When she flipped it open, Luca bucked backward to put distance between himself and the woman. Immediately, the cuffs tightened until he could no longer feel his hands.