Chapter 49


    My world is ck. I can hear my blood rushing through my body, my heart pumping, and a constant


    ring noise, but I cannot figure out what it is. My eyes wave open and closed, seeing only slivers of


    light and blurred colors. The noise grows louder as I fight to keep my eyes open, fighting to discover


    the cause of the endless sound. I try to speak, but only murmurs escape my lips. Suddenly, something


    grabs me from behind and drags me over unusual bumps and curves, some striking my back painfully.


    This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    My baby. My baby.


    "Someone... m-my baby," the cries slip from my lips but onlye out as moans and inaudible


    mumbles. Starting to drift back to reality, I see the sky above, cluttered with clouds as the float along.


    My head falls to the side and my eyesnd upon asphalt. I am being pulled.


    Everything crashes into me all at once, the collision, Katy, the studio—I was in a car ident. My head


    rolls over to the other side, and my eyes grow wide. I see our car, but it is severely damaged, the front


    almost non-existent. Katy. Where is Katy; I think to myself as I try to regain control over my body. My


    neck screams in pain as I attempt to look up. Panic overtakes me, and my heart begins to race, my


    chest growing tight. Who is dragging me? Where am I?


    Suddenly, the asphalt shifts to patchy grass and the sun is shielded away by towering trees. This


    person is taking me into the forest, away from the road. My feet try to move, but my legs are limp from


    exhaustion. Against my will, my eyes betray me as they warily close, blocking me from the truth. I fight


    to open them once again, but darkness engulfs me and does not let go.


    The next time I find myself regaining consciousness, I discover that I am in a car,ying on the


    backseat. There are no restraints holding me down, but my limbs are too weak to move anyways,


    deeming the point of restraints useless. Someone must be driving, but it is not Tyler, I do not smell him.


    I try to speak yet again, but as before nothing audiblees out. Frustration causes tears to rise.


    "She''s awake," an unfamiliar voice says from the front of the car.


    "Doesn’t matter, her arm is swollen, and she can barely move, she''s not going anywhere," the driver,


    who I can barely see, says back.


    My head pounds relentlessly, making me feel nauseous.


    I try to touch my small baby bump, but my good arm refuses to move. The tears stream from my eyes


    and fall into my hair, and a rough sobbing noise quietly sounds from my throat. Where am I going? Who


    are these people? Where is Tyler or Katy or Jackson? The questions never seem to stop.


    The car turns and begins to drive on a slight incline before ites to a halt. I swallow and watch the


    two men the best that I can as they get out of the car and escape my view. Before I can conjure any


    sort of n, the door beside my head abruptly swings open.


    A stranger''s face reaches over my own, and I hold back any screams, not that they would hold much


    power anyways. "Take her out and carry her inside. I''ll inform Richard that we''re back," the voice calls


    to the man in front of me as my throats begins to swell shut. Richard. The man said, Richard!


    A deep, powerful fear settles in the pit of my stomach as the man roughly yanks me from the seat. He


    lifts me up, causing an array of pain-stricken cries to erupt from my throat. My arm is dangling, and


    pressure strikes the sprain with relentless punches. The man, whoever he is, recklessly ces my arm


    on my torso—which hurts terribly—but is better than the hanging motion.


    My eyes frantically search my surroundings as I am lifted from the car and swung into the crisp breeze.


    Clouds, trees, a path, a building, a door, I take note of every significant thing I see. The man carries me


    into the building and my anxiety skyrockets. Inside is dark, but the man drops me onto a couch, brown


    leather which sticks to my hot, damp skin. My hand caresses the damaged one as hot tears continue to


    fall from my eyes. "Who are you?" I croak, managing to form an audible sentence.


    Before the man can speak, another snatches the spotlight.


    "Annalee, my sweet."


    Arge, muscr man appears from the hall with another standing behind him. It is Richard, my


    tormenter, my stalker, my greatest and most real fear. He is here, standing in front of me, and my mind


    cannot seem to wrap around it. After all this time, this is how it will end.


    "I have been waiting for this moment for a long time, my sweet. Luckily, you gifted my men the perfect


    chance to steal you away," he says with a gut-wrenching stare. "Do you know how valuable you are?


    And now, you are all mine; my army shall storm with a vengeance because of the gift you hold."


    I swallow, my tongue dry.


    "You''ve hurt yourself, but you are not dead—" he stops. Richard strives towards me, causing me to


    flinch back. "I can smell it, a she-wolf with a child." A smile grows on his face.


    He can smell my baby; my baby is okay.


    "How excellent, a head start in some way," he cheers with a dark undertone. "Do not fret. I will have


    your arm fixed up, so you are in the best condition possible."


    Richards rough hand reaches down and strokes my bruised cheek. "What a gift. I could not imagine


    this unraveling any better." He turns to the men. "Bring her somewhere to rest, and get someone to


    wrap her arm."


    My eyes wander to the man as he lifts me up once again. Richards'' eyes follow me until I disappear


    around a sharp corner, no longer under his harsh gaze.