Mine to Protect Chapter 96: PLEASE, DON'T

*Hazel*

Right! He is right! I can make myself invisible, I can create an illusion on me making me invisible. Why haven’t I thought about this earlier? I can even make other people invisible too!

I wish the Moon Goddess had gifted me a smarter brain apart from mighty powers, on the bright side, at least she has gifted me a smart mate.

After another couple of minutes, we are good to go, both shielded by my power, plus me cloaked in my illusion of invisibility.

We run to the round room, not encountering anyone on the way or outside the door leading to the room. It is definitely a trap; the setting is just too strange and fishy. Derek breaks the door down with his strong frame, and we both barge into the room at top speed, stopping in front of the chairs, which are holding the women captive.

They are still unconscious, which is quite an inconvenience, how are we going to carry them out of here? I wish I had the power to make things float, but I guess we’ll have to settle on asking a couple of our warriors for help.

Derek crouches and pats Cindy on the cheek a few times.

“Macy, hey, wake up! Can you hear me?”

But she is completely unresponsive, they must have drugged her with something strong.

While Derek tries to wake her and her companions, I busy myself in slicing their chains off with my laser. Their wrists are also hooked to the chairs, but they are so tight I am worried I will hurt them cutting through the metal. I need to find another way to take those off, I ‘ll take the chains off first.

“Look what the cat’s brought in! An Alpha followed by his little white mouse.”

That familiar voice, the voice that still hunts me in my nightmares, the voice that I hate the most in this world, the voice of my torturer.

The hate I feel for this woman makes my blood pulse loudly in my ears, I feel heat rush to my head, the detailed plan laid out with Derek slowly disappearing from my mind, replaced by the need to kill this vicious woman, who brings everyone just heartache and suffering.

“Calm down, kitty, let’s just focus on rescuing Macy, we are so close,” Derek tries to ground me with his words through the mind-link, and partly, he manages to put my focus back on the present, on our rescue mission, and away from my personal vendetta.

“Long time no see, Hazel. I am happy you decided to join our little gathering here, and you brought a friend too, a pretty handsome one. Well done!”

She can see me, fuck! Of course, she must be using some kind of thermic or infrared scan. I have been too naïve thinking I could go undetected without them noticing me. At least I tried.

I dispel my invisibility cloak, being useless, this way I can save up some energy for what’s coming next.

“So, Hazel, are you here to cooperate with us, I presume?”

Her sickeningly sweet voice makes me want to slap her until she doesn’t feel so sweet anymore, but unfortunately, I can’t locate her position; maybe she is not even here in this facility, she might be looking at the cameras from anywhere.

I keep slicing the chains off the women, ignoring her completely; see if she likes the cold treatment.

“I guess the answer is no. Well, that’s too bad, you leave me no choice but to push your hand a little.”

She had just finished her words, when a strong electrical current starts running through the chairs to their occupants, managing to electrocute me a little too, as I was taking the chains off a poor girl. She looks a lot like Cindy, maybe she’s her sister.

“Stop, stop!” I yell, hoping she’ll listen.

The electricity stopped abruptly, leaving just as it came.

“So, you are ready to cooperate?”

“I would never cooperate with you! Your experiments are just sick!”

“OK, so I guess, you need more incentive.”

The electrical current starts again, making the women jolt in their seats; they are still unconscious, and I can’t help wondering if some of them might be dead already.

I feel helpless, desperate, just like when she was torturing my mom in the same way, I was useless then, but I am different now, I have my wolf and my powers now, and I must make good use of them.

I remember that once, during the meeting with Derek and Carol, I managed to break the electricity down, maybe I can do the same here.

I concentrate on my powers, and imagine them slithering through the walls, through the electrical wires, until they reach the electric box, once there, I increase my power in volume until we hear a deafening explosion, all lights go off, the electricity stops and so the torture.

“I think your incentive has blown up in smoke, what a pity,” Derek says mockingly, while winking at me. Night vision is a blessing!

Then Derek uses his brute force to break down the metal that restrains Cindy’s wrists, setting her free.

“Sure, you win, you can have your friend back, I was really hoping on seeing this sweet reunion with my own eyes. Let me wake her for you. Cindy, dear, wake up!”

Astonishingly, Cindy opens her eyes, which are not their usual black anymore, they are red like blood, like the eyes of those monsters that day in the forest.

What have they done to her? That day she was still fine.

I hurried to Cindy’s side, calling her, and cupping her face with my hands, to make her look at me.

“Cindy, are you alright?” but she’s not even looking at me, she’s just staring ahead into space, not uttering a word. “It’s me, Hazel, please, say something.”

“Cindy, attack,” the voice coming from the speakers say.

Cindy suddenly gets up, she should have been weakened by the electrical torture, but she is as fast as a panther, and her attacks are strong and with purpose.

I am too astonished to dodge the first attack, luckily Derek blocks it for me, sending Cindy flying back and landing her on the floor. But she is up in a matter of seconds, and she charges again towards me, it is clear that I am her target.

This time I am prepared for it, and I duck, escaping her attack, but she is so much better trained than me in combat, she is of Beta blood after all, and I am no match for her in a hand-to-hand fight.

Derek sees me struggle and comes to my rescue, grabbing Cindy by her throat, and holding her up in the air with one arm. She struggles, choking on Derek’s hold, but he doesn’t let on.

“Derek, you’ll kill her, let her down!”

“So that she can finish you? I think she’s better dead.”

“No! Don’t kill her, please! I am sure there’s a way we can cure her,” I try to reason with him, while stepping closer.

The move does not go unnoticed by Cindy, who takes the opportunity to swing her claws at me and making some deep cuts on my left side.

“Fuck! Hazel, stay the hell back!” Derek yells, while tightening his grasp on Cindy’s neck.

“Don’t kill her, I beg you! Let me try something!” I plead with Derek, while I summon my power and project my memories for Cindy to see, the memories of when we were friends at college, when we were inseparable.

She stops struggling, entranced by the illusion I am playing out for her, and Derek lowers her slightly, letting her feet touch the floor, so that she is not chocking to death anymore.

I can see some kind of recognition in her red eyes, and it gives me hope that maybe, the real Cindy is still there, and that she has not turned into a full puppet monster just yet.