Alpha Divided (Alpha Girl #3)
Page 77Nothing happened. No one moved. I bit back a wave of despair.
“Did you bind her yet?”
“Yes. Of course,” Luciana said. “We’ll start now.”
Someone struck a match. The faint smell of wood burning filled the room.
I could feel the magic before Luciana said anything. Her spell seeped under my skin and my back bowed in pain, and I screamed through the cotton stuffed in my mouth.
I struggled against the bonds, but whatever they were made of was too strong for a Were—or at least this Were—to break.
It was like slime was sliding under my skin. Oily. Dirty.
I screamed again as I struggled. It felt like I was getting bit by a million fire ants all at once.
The chanting started and then it was all I could do to breathe.
I was being sucked dry. All my power was draining away. Separating.
A hand held each of my shoulders. One was bigger, stronger than the other.
I didn’t understand the words, but I could feel my power being absorbed by them. My alpha powers were going to Mr. Hoel. My bruja to Luciana.
The hands let go of me and I thrashed as much as my bonds would allow. I didn’t care as they bit into my skin.
Tears rolled down my cheeks. Something was burning under my skin. Like I was on fire inside.
I screamed until my voice was hoarse, but it didn’t do any good. The sound was muffled against the cloth. Overrun by the chanting. But I couldn’t stop. So much pain.
Suddenly the room was quiet except for my screams and breathing.
Hands unchained me from the ground, and I was dragged across the floor. A door shut, and I was sobbing. Unable to stop.
My powers were gone. I could feel them missing. Like they’d chopped off my arm. I felt dead inside. Drained. No more.
They’d taken a piece of my soul.
I thought I’d die there. That I would never get to go home. I’d never see my parents again. Never see my brother.
And Dastien.
There were so many things I wished I could do. That I wished I’d done. And now, here I was. Tied up. All my powers drained. In the dark.
It was a while before my harsh gasps slowed. Before I could think clearly. It could’ve been minutes or hours, but when I did, I knew three things.
I was alive.
I had to get out of here.
They were evil.
Somewhere in the dark, I found clarity. Focus.
I remembered Grams’ words from the journal.
…you that even at your darkest hour, when you’re stripped bare, I will be with you. Don’t ever lose faith.
That was how I felt now. Stripped bare. But I didn’t have faith. It was gone. I was broken. They’d already taken my powers. They’d ripped something so vital from me it was like my soul was rent in two.
I wiggled around in the space as I sobbed. Something brushed against my face and I jerked, knocking my head against the wall before I realized it was just a robe. One of the robes I’d seen in here earlier.
Something about the feeling of the cloth against my face made me calm down. I was forgetting something.
I shook as I lay there.
I should never have broken into the craft room. And I should’ve run as soon as I got the vision from that knife—
I sucked in a breath. The knife.
The tiniest spark of hope flared inside me.
It had to be in here. Please, God. Let it still be in here.
I frantically searched. Praying. Hoping. Please, let Grams be right. It was here. I knew it was.
I felt along all the walls and still nothing. Exhausted I relaxed against the floorboards.
Come on, Tessa. Keep looking. It’s got to be here.
I needed to sit up more. I wiggled until my back was against the wall, and then rolled until I was sitting. My head clunked into a shelf, and something rattled.
I froze. Was that the knife?
Something else Grams had written came to mind.
The thing that will set you free is just above your head. Don’t be afraid to break through.
I hit my head against the shelf harder, and the rattle came again.
I didn’t want to hurt myself, but I’d heal. I was still a werewolf, even if Mr. Hoel had a hold on my alpha powers. I wasn’t afraid.
I positioned myself just under the shelf, right where I heard the rattle.