Mine to Protect Chapter 88: MATERIALIZING

*Hazel*

“I wanted to let everyone know that a woman is not a slut because she’s sexy, and that a prostitute is doing an actual job, and not just slutting around. Why can’t I be a good Luna if I am wearing sexy clothes? Alphas go around half naked all the time, and no one is telling them they are sluts!”

Derek laughs at my last comment but sobers up quickly.

“And you think you could have accomplished that with one dress? Sometimes you are too naïve, kitten. It’s difficult to change the way people think, especially if their beliefs are rooted deep into our society. Like white wolves, it will be difficult for many to accept you, they believe white wolves are evil, interested only in power.”

“Like your mother and Alpha Jackson?”

“Like mom, yes. As for Alpha Jackson, I don’t think he really believes in what he’s said, but he is using this common misconception to pull everyone on his side, to turn them against you.”

“Do you think the whole court is on his plot? Are they all aware of what is really happening?”

“I am not sure. Dad told me that Jackson and Anderson asked a lot of questions about you, so I presume they are in on it together, but the others, I honestly don’t know. Jackson is still the Head, though, so if he orders something, they’ll follow, this I am certain of.”

“Ok, enough with our speculations, we’ll just have to wait and see, I guess. Now I need to find my friend.”

“Now?”

“Yes, now. I’ve wasted enough time already. Now shush, I need to concentrate.”

I sit cross legged on the bed, and close my eyes, trying to mind-link Cindy, but I am met with a wall; she might be unconscious, or asleep, or just blocking me out. Then I can only try manifesting there, even if I am not really sure how to do it.

I call to my wolf and her powers and concentrate hard on the image of Cindy; I picture her in my mind, her dark hair, her sweet smile, and all of a sudden, I feel a pull inside me, the same feeling I experienced when I had that vision in the lake, the pull becomes stronger and stronger, until I am sucked in completely.

I blink and I find myself in new surroundings, somewhere foreign, but creepily familiar. A white long corridor with windowless white flat walls, no windows, only anonymous metal doors with electronic locking systems, set at even intervals between one another.

“Only crap, have I done something wrong, and ended up in one of my memories?” I can’t help thinking, a little panicked, bile rising up my throat. I don’t want to witness any of that again, please.

I am not sure who I am pleading with, I put myself in this stupid position!

Before I can dwell any longer on the how and why I got here, I hear footsteps coming from my left, and my heart leaps out of my throat when Cindy comes into view, escorted by two bulky men, wearing white scrubs, surgical masks covering their faces.

They are holding Cindy by her elbows, but she is not struggling, she is just walking briskly, her face completely expressionless, her eyes a black depth of nothingness fixed on the path before her. She is thinner, her face pale, like she’s sick, and she is only wearing a silk gown, tied at her waist.

What have they done to her? Thousands of ideas go through my mind, one bleaker than the other, making hot rage sparkle like fire within me.

“Cindy!” I shout, but of course she can’t hear me. It sucks to be a ghost.

There’s not much I can do now, apart from following them, hopefully they are taking her to her room, this way I’ll know where to look when I’ll come back to the rescue.

They stop at a metal door, exactly like all the others we have just passed down the corridor. How am I supposed to find it again, they look all exactly the same to me; without a number or any symbol to differentiate them. How do the guards know which room is which? They must have a system in place, and I need to find out what it is.

The guard swipes his hand on the touch screen and the door swings open, revealing a well decorated bedroom, a decent size too, a far cry from the room where they were keeping me in that facility.

There’s a man sitting on the bed, wearing a black silk gown too; he’s smiling approvingly at Cindy, making my insides churn in disgust. I can’t believe they are making her keep prostituting herself, her father is a disgusting pig, and he will pay with his life for everything he has put Cindy through.

“Leave us,” the man tells the guards, and they follow his orders, shutting the door behind them.

“Aren’t you a beauty?” he says, still smiling shamelessly. Oh, how I want to kick that odious smile off his face.

He gets up from the bed, and places his dirty paws on Cindy’s shoulders, who is completely motionless, like she is a robot or something.

“Snap out of it! Fight him off!” I yell at her, but she still can’t hear me.

The horror of what is going to happen before my eyes sends me into a panic, I need to do something to stop him, I can’t just let this happen.

I concentrate on my powers, they feel distant, feeble, but they are still there all right. I try to bring them forward, it’s like trying to make a train move by pulling it with a rope, it feels impossible, too hard to do; but for Cindy I have to. I use all my energy, until my nose starts bleeding, but I do it, I manage to bring a little of my power forward, and I use it to burn this pig’s skin to a roasted porchetta, being careful not to burn Cindy in the process.

The man is now screaming and writhing in pain, but I am not done with him. I make sure to burn off that toy he has between his legs, so that he won’t harass any more women with that thing, and then use my finger to burn a H on his back.

That’s it, watch your back, and tell your friends too, because Hazel is coming, and she is not happy!

Cindy, who was standing in the corner of the room completely terrified at seeing the H appearing on the man’s back, immediately understands who’s behind it, her eyes fill with tears, and she starts sobbing my name.

I wish I could go to her and hug her, seeing her like that is breaking my heart; but I know she is strong, and I will come to save her as soon as I can pinpoint their location.

“Hazel, leave, it’s too dangerous. If they catch you, you have no idea what they’ll do to you. They are sick in their minds. Go, now!” Cindy whispers anxiously.

Her words draw tears to my eyes, she is always trying to save me, always putting me first, even in this desperate situation she is.

This time, I will save you, sister, no matter what it’ll cost me.