36 Unfamiliar man - Part 1

"Urgh," I groaned as I opened my eyes, feeling my body numb and heavy. It was dark... and cold. What happened to me? I tried to move my body, but I couldn't. I couldn't even move an inch away.

It must be that guy. He must've injected something into me and brought me to this place. Who is he? I couldn't see what he looked like as he was wearing a hood that covered half of his face. The only thing I remembered was his voice. He sounded a little raspy and weird.

Though far, there was a torch that helped to illuminate this place. The luminance from it was enough to help my vision take in my surroundings. My eyes wandered around with great difficulty, taking in what little that I managed to perceive. The walls around me were rocky, and iron bars were blocking what seemed to be the exit of this place. I must be locked in a prison inside a cave as no sound could be heard except the sound of water droplets falling one after another, dripping ever so slowly amidst the silence. Every little sound I made echo back into my ears, sounding loud in this empty cave I was in. There was also an awful stench that hung in the air.

It was so cold that I started shivering, my teeth grinding against each other. This reminded me of the place in the good olden days, where I used to receive beatings as a sign of love and affection from the people around me. I didn't even miss those days and yet, here I am in a place with a similar ambiance to them. Wonderful. I have a feeling that something dreadful will soon happen to me the longer I am here.

I desperately tried to move again, but it was to no avail. I cursed inwardly, annoyed that I couldn't even control my own body. Right after I cursed, someone's voice could be heard in the distance. I hastily closed my eyes, pretending that I was still dead asleep when I was not.

"Don't let anyone in except me," it must be the voice of the same man who brought me here. He sounded as raspy as I remembered him to be. He kind of sounded like a frog the more I listened to him.

"Yes, sir," two people simultaneously answered the man. I assumed that it was from the people who were assigned to guard this place. In other words, to keep me from escaping this place. Why bother when I can't even lift a finger.

I kept my eyes shut, not daring to open them. As the man walked closer, the sound of his shoes clicking on the ground echoed in this empty cave. It was soon followed by the sound of dangling keys, opening the lock on the iron bars. The iron bars creaked open as the man stepped inside, walking closer and closer to me.

"I know you are awake," he chuckled, stroking my cheek with his rough fingers, "I can hear your heartbeats. They are beating like crazy."

He must be a dark creature, looking at how he has those stupid supernatural senses. I was a little annoyed knowing that God had his favorites when he first made us. How could he make dark creatures this superior to humans? Humans are incomparable to them. That's so unfair. I also want to have crazy hearing or vision, or whatever abilities they have. I also want to be strong. If only God had made us all the same, I wouldn't have been kidnapped by this strange, unfamiliar, stupid man.

I tucked my lower lips as I gingerly opened my eyes, slowly looking at the man in front of me. As I was lying on the floor, he crouched down to level with me and met my eyes. He smiled when he saw my open eyes, "Hello, beautiful."

My brows furrowed at the sight of the man in front of me, "What did you do to me?"

He was obviously a man I've never seen before. There was an old oblique scar on his face. It descended from his eyebrows down to his cheek. His eyes were dark, glinting with a mixture of amusement and malice as he stared at me. He looked horrendous. The scar itself showed how rough and wild his life was. His prickly beard that covered his prominent jaw completed his whole villainous look.

"I just induced some drugs on you, nothing much to worry about," he shrugged his shoulders, smiling as if he was innocent, "You will be able to move soon, hopefully," he reached out his hand to me, then added, "It must be uncomfortable for you to be in this position. Let me help," he said before grabbing my hair roughly, yanking it so that I could sit up more 'comfortably'.

As I sat down, things that I couldn't see before finally came into view. However, I wish I could turn back the time when I lay on the ground without knowing what accompanied me in this cold prison. I could see the remains of countless bodies, compiled into a few piles all throughout the place. Some of them remained only bones, but some still had some skin on them, meaning that they had just recently died in this place. My body shuddered at the thought of the gruesome things that happened in this place. Corpses were seen everywhere as if they were decorations. So that was where the smell came from—it was the smell of death.

"Looks like you have some friends. Won't be so lonely now, will you?" He laughed when he realized what I had been staring at. "Now, now, don't be too scared. You won't end up like them, at least not for now."

"What do you want from me?" I asked as I turned my gaze from the corpses to the man.

"What do I want from you?" he sneered, "You are simply a card. A very important card that I will use to kill my biggest nemesis, your Alpha."

I could feel my eyes bulge when I heard what he had just said. By the Alpha, did he perhaps mean Luke? Was he thinking of using me as a hostage in order to kill Luke? I panicked inwardly but tried to keep my facade calm, though I failed when I saw him smirking. He must've heard my heartbeat accelerating. As much as I wanted to free myself from this dreadful place, I didn't want someone else to be hurt in my place. I would rather escape on my own effort than have Luke come to my aid.

"Why?" The question involuntarily ran out of my mouth, causing me to bite my lips when I realized I had voiced my curiosity out loud. But really, what could have happened between these two men that he needed to go to this extent to kill?

"Do you want to know why?" His eyes darkened as he questioned, stepping even closer to me that I could smell his foul breath, "He killed my mate. So I will kill him too."

Hearing this, it finally dawned on me that Luke was also a part of the dark creatures that were feared by many. He may be nice to me, but that doesn't mean that he will be the same to others. Killing someone was a perfectly normal thing in our society, and Luke was not an exception to it. But there must be a reason for everything that was done. He must've had his reason for killing, just as this man had his reason to kill Luke. For this man, it's an eye for an eye.

Amidst the appalling silence, a sudden howl was heard. The man in front of me stood up abruptly, turning away from me before ambling to the exit. Right before he left the prison, he warned, "Be a good girl and stay quiet."

I sighed when I was finally left alone. Though the word 'alone' was a very ambiguous word to use when I was in a room full of skeletons. These people must have been left to rot in this place over time, eventually becoming dust by themselves without having a proper burial. I wouldn't even be surprised if there was a ghost next to me right now. That was understandable, but I don't think I would be glad to know their presence in this room. I think it would be better to stay in the dark about this matter.

Thinking back to what the man said, I realized where there is good, there will also be bad. Even knowing that, I still foolishly wish for a time when the world would be a peaceful place to live, a life without anguish and despair. Was that selfish of me to want to live happily?

I was deep in my thoughts when I felt itchy in my hand, so I instinctively scratched my hand to relieve it. It wasn't until a few seconds later that I realized I could finally move my body.

"Finally!" I exclaimed, moving my arm up and down for starters. My body was still weak due to the numbness. There was only a little strength to it, but at least I could move now. I slowly stood up, leaning on the wall for support.

I let out a little shriek when I accidentally kicked on someone's skull, "Shit! I'm so sorry!"

I clasped my hands together to ask for forgiveness for whoever owned the skull, bowing in every direction there is. By this time, I was not only scared of being hurt by the living but also by the spirit of the dead. I'm genuinely scared for my life.

After several moments of bowing for forgiveness, I decided it was enough of an apology and walked closer to the iron bars, searching for any means of escape. The door was obviously locked, of course. But I've seen many of the maids in my dad's manor use their hairpins to steal some jewelry from the locked jewel rooms, so I know that I could use that method as well for this case.

I disheveled my hair, looking for any hairpins that were still attached to it. My fingers desperately searched for every single strand of my hair, finally finding two hairpins hanging loosely at the end of my hair. A ray of hope came when I held them in my hand, thinking that escape was near.

I slowly inserted the pin into the lock, picking it just how I remembered it to be and also being careful not to make any noise. I have actually never done this before and this was my first time picking a lock. But I thought I was doing it right, just like how the maids used to do it. Strange, why won't it open? I swear it wasn't this hard when I saw them do it. I was starting to sweat despite the cold, nervous about being caught by someone.

Just as I was getting anxious about getting caught, someone's voice thundered, reverberating throughout the cave. That was when I realized attempting an escape was a very foolish thought.

"So... who's been a bad girl?"