Lighter footsteps made their way into the room, the pace unhurried. "You wanted to see me?" The voice was deep, but something in it gave her pause. It didn't feel like oil, it felt comforting almost.
"Ah yes, Jaques. Welcome, come in, come in." Jacques moved into the room, "I have heard you have been doing great things with the men, helping out where you can... That's very good, important stuff." The Boss seemed placating to the man, that tone like oil against her spine. "Sebastian has been very adamant that you join into the ranks that he has established, and you have been following his plan very well. According to him, it is time you were rewarded for your efforts." Jacques was quiet and the Boss took his time, "As you know, we offered your Alpha help with the female population here in your pack. The dismal numbers, all that, we have found a way to weed out the weak of the human bunch and find only the strongest mates for us, but it has taken some... Experimentation."
Sam heard the foot falls of both men travel out of the room, and just moments later the door at the top of the steps creak open. "Not all of the women brought here have made it, you see, but these women here..." He stopped at the door in front of her cell. "They are in their prime, ready and able to be mates. All you have to do is take your pick, as your reward. They are still human and need... A steady hand to turn, however once you do, she will be yours." There was a click, and then a grinding sound of metal on metal. The door slowly opened and a slight glow entered the space. Sam needed to blink several times before she was sure that the glow came from an old fashioned lantern. She couldn't see the men's faces, but she knew that the one holding the lamp was the Boss.
The Boss stalked into the cell a few paces, enough to make all the women uncomfortable with his presence. He did not smell of the foul water the way the Inspector did, but he did smell of something... obnoxious and spicy. The scent made her want to sneeze, but she glared up at the Boss instead. He was paying little attention to the women, but Jacques, the other man, was just outside the door and he was examining the women. As he moved closer into the room, and into the light, something painful in his expression let her know that he did not want to be here in that moment, something utterly sad had taken over him. It was then that her sight leveled squarely at him, who was this man, the only man in this situation who seemed to want to help the women stuck here. Sam's fixed stare was a challenge, she knew it, but this man, something about him screamed at her in the back of her mind, this man was going to help her. Jacques gaze adjusted to match hers and she knew he was going to help. "See something you like then? Good." Sam startled at the Boss' words, She was shoved ruthlessly to the side and her shackle unlocked. The Boss grabbed her by her hair enough to make her yelp and laughed, "she's all yours," before roughly tossing her forward onto Jacques' feet.
Jacques pulled her up with a lot less force than the Boss, and pulled her away from the cell and up the stairs. Her eyes watered as they came out of the dank underbelly, trying desperately to adjust to so much light after so long in the darkness. Two flights of stairs and a few turns later she was led into a bedroom, where she stumbled and grabbed at the bed for purchase. A click signaled that the door closed, yet she could feel the second man, Jacques, behind her. "Get up." His sudden yet gruff voice startled her, sounding much like someone who had smoked far too many cigarettes. Stiffening, she removed herself from the bed surface and squared her shoulders, trying to seem bigger than she was. This time when she turned to look him in the eyes, clear blue stared back at her for a few moments before he shifted his attention. "Come on." His voice broke the silence again and his hand reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her into a small bathroom. His touch was surprisingly gentle for such a large man and the situation at hand, yet he warned her, "there is no way out of this room except for this door. The windows here will not break and they do not open." He looked over her then and his face seemed to soften, "shower and clean yourself up, there are some towels there under the sink, and a robe here on the door. When you have collected yourself, knock, I will be out in the room there." He pushed her towards the shower and closed the door behind her.
Sam waited barely a moment before she tested the door, once she was sure that it was locked and that she was alone, she felt herself tremble. Tears she had been holding in for so long slowly started to run down her cheeks and fall from her chin as she glanced about the room. Despite his warning, she quickly tried the window that did not open and found it to be as he said, this caused the tears to flow a bit faster. Knowing that she had no real options, she slowly stripped off her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror over the sink. Gosh, she really was filthy; could she even remember the last time she bathed? She looked too thin, and she knew it was lack of proper nutrition that did it. A sudden thought stuck her, what pudge Halea? A sad sob escaped her lips at the thought of her friends, where were they? Were they still here? Were they okay? Were they alive? Despite all the burning questions Sam had, they would have to wait for the answers, at least for now, so she turned the shower on and waited for it to heat up a moment before stepping in under the warm and massaging spray, seeing shampoo and conditioner on the side of the tub she grabbed the shampoo and worked it into a surprisingly thick lather, coating her much neglected hair. As she went to rinse, the hopelessness of the situation caught up to her and she cried heavily. What was going to happen to her? Here she was, now naked, in a shower, with a man she didn't know right outside the door... And what was up with the Boss calling us Mates? Is that what the Inspector meant? As the hot spray slid down her back, she tried to gather herself together, she wasn't going to go in there a blubbering mess. The little pink razor on the shelf caught her attention and she weighed her options, before lathering her leg to do some much needed maintenance, who knew when she would get a shower again.
Once she stepped out of the tub she dried off and walked over to the sink to see some small toiletries there; a toothbrush, a hair brush, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, lotion, hand soap and face soap, etc.. The toothbrush was still in the plastic, so she opened it and began to brush her teeth then rinse with the mouthwash. In the mirror above the sink she saw her puffy eyes and decided that her captors shouldn't get the satisfaction of seeing her cry, so she scrubbed her face and then let herself calm down. Running the brush through her hair she lamented the loss of her short choppy layers from before, it had to have been a while because her hair now reached past her shoulders again. Sam stared at herself in the mirror just one more time before she grabbed the bathrobe that Jacques had mentioned, the material soft in her hands, and threw it on quickly to cover her nudity. She used the facilities and washed her hands before taking a deep breath and knocking on the door, which opened slowly.
Jacque's throat cleared, "I could not be sure if you knocked or not. You were quicker than I expected." Jacques motioned her out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. This time, Sam took extra care to examine her surroundings; there was a extra large king size bed that took up most of the room, there was little other furniture except for a small table and two chairs by the window, a giant wooden trunk at the end of the bed, and a large bedside table. Jacques motioned her to sit at the small table by the window and when sat, she really took in his face for the first time. "Same rules for this window." His large hand gestured to the window by the table, the unspoken 'unfortunately' seemed to ring loudly in the space. "I am going to go downstairs and grab you some food," Sam tensed, "Not the weak broth they have been forcing upon you, an Honest to goodness meal. The door behind me locks from the outside, so I will be locking you in here." He closed his eyes, "I know this might seem difficult, but please just sit here a moment, until I get back."
Sam nodded at him as he walked out the door then fiddled with her hands, a habit that she hated. Trying to distract herself she turned to look out the window, and noted that she was on the second floor of this building. Although the type of building was not as easily defined, whilst surveying the area she noticed a large oak tree in the surrounding landscape that made her heart drop. Bright splashes of color peppered the slightly thinning branches. Pain blossomed in her chest, No, I...it's not possible... I have not been locked away this long... Mind reeling, she grabbed onto the table for purchase, and that is how Jaques found her when as he walked in the door: face drained of color, knuckles white, eyes panicked.
"What happened?" His voice was softer than she expected, and she hadn't heard him return. Her body flinched as he set down a tray and cupped her cheek to bring her face in line with his, "What is it?"
