CHAPTER FIFTY FIVE

When I wake up, it feels like my head is going to split open. I lift my head, blinking the sleep from my eyes and trying to get my bearings. My stomach is nauseous and I know it’s not just pregnancy symptoms. It almost feels like the ground is moving underneath me.

I’m exhausted and drained, but I need to get back to Nash. I try to get up, but I hit my head on something hard. It’s dark, and I wait a few minutes for my eyes to adjust. I see bars in my vision, like I’m in some kind of cage.

Horror grips me as I realize that I actually am in a cage. I throw myself against it, but nothing happens. I shift into wolf form, my body cramped in the small cage, and try to wrench my way out. Even though I know I’m very strong when I shift, there seems to be nothing I can do to even scratch or bend the metal.

Tired and frustrated, I shift back to human form, if only to give myself a bit more space in the cage. As I do so, I hear sinister laughter coming from somewhere nearby, and turn to