CHAPTER 1 DHIREN

The days began to blur together until I had lost all concept of time. It could have been weeks, months, or even years and I wouldn't have known, but what was worse is that I didn't care. I was beginning to think this was hell. The dreams that continued to plague me when I was sleeping encouraged me to remain awake. I couldn't stop the images that flashed in my mind whenever I closed my eyes. I can't stand it. Why they would keep me alive and continue to mock my pain, I didn't know and I didn't much care to find out. 

      I wish they would quit prolonging the inevitable. They took them from me. They took everything from me but what pitiful excuse of existence I remained. Even still, I wouldn't remain long, I refused to eat or drink anything they brought to me. I didn't care if it was poisoned or not, I wanted to join my family in eternal rest. Maybe I would see them again, see their smiles, hear their laughter, feel their arms around me again. That was all I longed for now.

      I had been kept in a windowless, dark concrete reinforced cell with an almost invisible door and an obvious security camera in the corner. No one came in or out except to slide food and water in the door and when the doctor came to give me a dose of wolfs bain. I was monitored around the clock and knew of at least a minimum of five guards were around at all times based on the different heartbeats I could hear. 

      To pass the time, I had begun to cut my finger with my claw just enough to provide an adequate amount of blood to draw on the walls. I had started by trying to keep track of the days, but soon lost track. I had drawn the images in my head as best as I could and proceeded to claw and smear them until they could not be distinguished when complete. As time passes, I began to just sit in silence watching my blood drip from my finger tip. The only sound was that made by the drop hitting the floor. It was calming to me. 

      I was a broken Alpha with no mate, no heir, and no will to live. And yet I remained a guarded prisoner. Any sounds I made were monitored closely. It was amusing that I needed to be guarded, but was not important enough to have had an audience with my captors. They needn't worry about me trying to escape. I had nothing to go back to. I was so blind and naive, I had let my guard down, and it cost me everything I held dear.

      I don't know when I fell asleep or when I woke up, but I knew something was different, something was wrong. That was when I heard it, a new heartbeat. I checked the number of hearts I could hear and realized there were more than usual. As I concentrated, I could pick out more hearts, more sounds. I brushed it off