Distinctly Different

Chapter 29 ~ Defiant

Chapter 29 ~ Defiant

Arabella stood up to stretch her legs. She barely noticed her surroundings, it was better if she didn’t think about why she was here. She heard footsteps coming towards the dungeon and recoiled back in fear of who it was. She hadn’t been visited by anyone since Rowan and Eleanor had talked to her.

Rowan couldn’t possibly be trying to save her. It would take a lot of effort and he had made it clear that he wasn’t going to help her if she was caught. So it puzzled her when it seemed like he was serious about trying to free her. Even if it didn’t seem plausible she was still hopeful. She needed something to keep her spirits up or else she may just end her life to get it over quicker.

Rowan’s uncle entered the dungeon and she froze when she locked eyes with his cold ones. He smirked at her when she pressed her back to the wall in order to be as far away from him as possible.

“What’s that matter? Am I making you uncomfortable?” Walter asked casually as if he was clueless about what was happening. She stared at him not giving him an answer. “I’ll make you a deal,” he said enticingly giving up the small talk. “I’m sure you know other werewolves, if you tell me their names I’ll accidently leave the cell open and you’ll escape unscathed.”

“You’re crazy,” Arabella blurted out in shock. Walter narrowed his eyes as his anger took over him. She couldn’t give up other people just to save her life. She wasn’t a turncoat. Many lives for one life wasn’t equal even if she would actually consider taking up his offer. There was no guarantee that she would even get out and past the security. She would be caught for sure.

“I think you should reconsider,” Walter replied threateningly. She just shook her head. She would rather die than be responsible for the deaths of others. She would never be able to live with that guilt. “You’ll change your mind. I’ll visit again and Arabella?” She looked up at him wondering what he wanted. “It would be in your best interest to accept my offer sooner rather than later, I will make your life difficult until then.”

“My life is already difficult. I am going to be dead in three days’ time, nothing else can possibly be worse than that knowledge,” she retorted.

“Shows how naïve you are,” Walter stated. “In certain situations death can be a mercy. Make the right choice and you can live the rest of your life in peace, undisturbed and comfortably. Then in three days’ time you’ll be dead,” he said sadistically amused by reminding her about her scheduled date for execution.

“I won’t change my mind,” she whispered.

“We’ll see about that. Oh and if you tell anyone else about what we talked about I’ll kill you myself, and I’ll see to it that it is more painful than what you would otherwise experience when you are to be executed,” Walter told her.

She nodded and he left. He must be working by himself if he didn’t want anyone else to know what he was up to. That information could be useful, she decided and filed it away for later.

She sat back down on the thin mattress suddenly realizing how weak she was. She hadn’t eaten in a while. She closed her eyes and laid her head on the mattress. She began to drift off into sleep but she heard footsteps again and tiredly pried open her eyes. Was Walter coming back? She blinked in confusion as she saw that it wasn’t Walter but Alexander.

“What are you doing?” she asked before he could say anything. She didn’t really want to hear what he was going to say to her.

“How could you keep a secret like this from me?” Alexander asked instead of answering. His tone was distant and professional on the outside but Arabella knew him so well she could detect the hurt beneath.