The girl’s fear
11: 11.
The girl’s fear Ronan
The room smells like metal, sweat, and rage.
Mostly mine.
I stand with my hands braced against the cold steel table in the interrogation room, staring through the reinforced glass into the holding cell across the hall.
My pulse is a war drum in my ears, every beat syncing with the restless pacing of the beast beneath my skin.
My wolf wants blood.
Let me out, he snarls inside my head, voice rough and furious.
They knew what they were doing when they called her in.
They deserve to pay.
I grind my teeth.
Across from me, Kade leans against the wall with his arms folded, watching the two prisoners through the glass like a hunter studying wounded prey.
Liam stands beside the door, stiff and silent, his jaw locked so tight it might crack.
Theo paces.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
The wolves in the cell—Jasper and Henry—sit on the metal bench with their hands chained.
They look calm, but the scent rolling off them is anything but.
Fear.
Sweat.
Aggression.
Predators caught in a trap.
My blood pounds harder.
Those bastards had Aria in their hands tonight.
Dragged her toward the woods like she was prey.
And they escaped.
My wolf slams against the cage inside me.
Rip their throats out.
Kade glances at me.
“I want answers. If they don’t want to be civil, extract it by whatever means necessary.”
Theo stops pacing.
“You’re being generous,” I vote we skip the talking and break a few bones.”
Liam exhales slowly, his voice low and tight.“ We need answers first.
If we go breaking things, they could go into shock.”
That’s the only reason Jasper and Henry are still breathing.
The Assembly wolves that attacked Aria tonight only found her because of their report.
It makes them responsible.
And I am nothing if not a stickler for accountability.
One of those sedentary weasels planned this.
Which means this goes higher than two wolves doing rogue.
And that makes my skin crawl.
I push away from the table and pull my phone from my pocket.
Still nothing.
No response.
I had called Assembly headquarters the moment we secured the prisoners.
Silence.
Either they haven’t received my message yet… or they’re pretending they didn’t.
My wolf growls again.
Cowards.
They’ll respond eventually.
Especially when their enforcers return without their prize—and with a few broken ribs to explain.
I slip the phone back into my pocket.
“Take Henry out,” I say.
Kade straightens.
“You sure?”
I meet his eyes.
“Yes.”
If I stay in this room with both of them much longer, I’m not sure I’ll keep control.
Kade pushes off the wall and moves toward the cell.
The door buzzes as he unlocks it.
Henry lifts his head slowly when Kade steps inside.
“We already told you what you wanted to know. I think it’s long past time you release us,” Henry says.
Jasper stays silent beside him, but his eyes track every movement in the room.
Calculating.
Kade grabs Henry by the arm and yanks him to his feet.“Is that what you think? Unfortunately for you, Ronan feels otherwise.” he drags him to the chair in the center of the room, where Liam is waiting to secure the manacles to his arms.
The chains rattle as Henry is seated and locked in.
He looks around at us, as if he expects us to change our minds or reveal this is all just a tasteless joke.
His scent remains neutral, but his shoulders are tense.
I step behind him.
“You’re right. You told us everything we wanted to know, but judging from the course of action taken by your comrades, you haven’t told us everything you know.”
I place my hands on his shoulders and let the weight of my dominance bear down on him.
He sits there fighting his body’s natural inclination to submit.
That alone makes my wolf want to tear him apart.
The air hums with tension.
Henry tilts his head.
“I take it they tried to take her,” he states as if this course of action were commonplace.
The room goes still.
Liam’s distress is hot and bitter.
I slam my fists on the table so hard the metal rattles.
Henry flinches.
Good.
“What were they going to do to her?” I growl, my voice dangerously low.
Henry’s smile fades.
Kade clears his throat.
“I’d answer the question while he’s giving you a chance to answer it.”
Before he can answer, the door opens behind us.
Barric steps inside.
He smells like the outside air and—
Aria.
My head snaps up.
“Report.”
Barric nods once.
“She’s in bed.”
The tension in my chest loosens just slightly.
Liam exhales.“Thank you for convincing her to stay on the compound.”
Barric shrugs.
“She wasn’t thrilled about it, but she was distracted tonight, so that helped.”
That sounds like Aria.
My wolf softens for half a second.
She’s safe.
I nod to Barric.
“Good.”
He steps back out, closing the door behind him.
Silence settles over the room again.
I turn back to Henry.
“Let’s start simple,” I say.
Henry leans back in the chair as far as the restraints allow.
“Ask away.”
Theo crosses his arms.
“Did you know about the attack tonight?”
Henry shrugs.
“No. Our job is only to report.”
Liam steps forward.
“So you’re saying you didn’t know they would try to take her? That the Assembly would send their enforcers to sneak onto our territory and kidnap a human ?”
Henry smirks.
“That information is above my pay grade.”
Kade sighs.
“Wrong answer.”
He grabs Henry’s hand and bends one finger back until it snaps.
The crack echoes in the room.
Henry screams.
My wolf purrs.
Better.
Henry pants through clenched teeth.
“You people are insane.”
Theo leans closer.
“You haven’t seen insane yet.”
The questioning continues.
For twenty minutes, we get nothing but sarcasm and lies.
Jasper stays silent in the cell across the hall.
Watching.
Waiting.
Henry spits blood on the floor.
“You really think the Assembly will let this go?” he sneers.
I step closer.“That depends on whether you’re still alive to give your side of the story.”
Henry laughs weakly.
“You don’t understand how this works.”
“Then explain it.”
He looks at me like I’m stupid.
“You’re already too late.”
My wolf snarls.
He knows something.
Kade leans over Henry.
“So are you.”
Theo grabs the back of the chair and flips it sideways.
Henry crashes into the floor with a grunt.
The restraints hold him down.
Theo crouches beside him.
“Last chance. Give us something worth your life.”
Henry’s breathing gets faster.
Fear finally creeps into his scent.
Good.
“They must have thought she was dangerous,” he blurts.
“Its common practice to protect shifters. If a human with shifter blood shows any unusual abilities, they bring her in for testing.”
The room goes still.
My heart slams once.
“What do you mean by testing?”
Henry swallows.
“The Assembly assesses if they are a threat.”
My voice drops.
“How?”
Henry shakes his head.
“I don’t know.”
Theo slams his fist into the floor beside Henry’s head.
“Wrong answer.”
Kade narrows his eyes.
Henry’s chest rises and falls rapidly.
“This isn’t the first time,” he says quietly.
“They take them, and either the humans come out and are allowed to go back to their lives, or they don’t. I’m not sure what happens inside.”
Silence spreads through the room.
Cold and heavy.
My wolf stiffens.
They’ve done this before.
Theo speaks slowly.
“Explain.”
This time, Jasper speaks up.
“The Assembly watches people. Mostly those with shifter blood. Humans who could change. Thats how they know when the onset of a shift affects a wolf with mixed lines.” He looks at Liam.
“There are some who don’t turn but carry something in their line.
Extra abilities.
Speed, strength, enhanced senses.
If they show an ability, the Assembly goes in to determine if they are a threat.”
“Since when was hearing well a threat to us?” Barric asks.
“Under normal circumstances, it isn’t. But if the Hunters were to get a hold of them, if they became a hunter themselves…”
It would start a new war.
My stomach twists.
“And Aria?”
Henry hesitates.
“We reported that she could dismiss the call,” he admits.
“ It must have been enough for them to suspect the presence of an extra ability. ”
Theo straightens.
“They believe she’s a threat.”
The door behind us suddenly slams open.
Everyone turns.
Jasper stands in the doorway.
The restraints that held him in the cell dangle broken from his wrists.
“Shit,” Kade mutters.
Henry grins.
“About time.”
The air explodes with movement.
Jasper lunges.
Henry twists violently in the chair, snapping the restraints loose with a burst of shifting muscle.
Bones crack.
Skin splits.
Fur erupts.
Two wolves explode into the room.
My wolf is already moving.
The shift tears through me like wildfire.
Clothes shred.
Bones snap and reform.
Claws slam into the concrete floor.
The world floods with scent and sound.
Jasper’s wolf lunges for the door.
Henry charges Liam.
Theo shifts beside me with a violent snarl.
Kade dives out of the way.
I slam into Jasper before he reaches the hallway.
Our bodies crash into the wall.
Teeth snap inches from my throat.
I bite down on his shoulder and taste blood.
He howls.
Henry barrels into Theo.
The room erupts into chaos.
Snarls.
Claws.
Shattered metal.
And then—
A scream.
A human scream.
High.
Terrified.
Familiar.
My head snaps up.
The scent hits me first.
Aria.
Standing in the doorway.
Her eyes are wide.
Horrified.
My wolf whimpers inside my chest.
And for the first time tonight— Fear slices deeper than rage.