The packhouse is buzzing with noise at seven in the morning, which is early for most days, but was to be expected for today as it is the day before my brother is due to become the next alpha of the Bloodmoon pack. Pack members have been busy making sure every detail will be perfect for Rowan's special day. As I scurry through the halls, going from room to room and knocking on the doors of my friends, making sure they're all ready for the day we're about to have. Today is the day we get to interrogate those wolves Bennett has captured in the dungeons that belong to the palace.
When I knock on Evan's door a few times and don't receive an answer, I open it slowly and peek my head through the small crack I've opened. I can see him on his bed, his back to me and he's covered in his sheets. His back rises and falls slowly, which tells me that he's still sleeping, so I decide to let him sleep for a few more minutes. I close the door and move on to my next destination.
Rowan is already up when I reach his bedroom, but he's showering, so I leave him be. Lily isn't in her room; she must be somewhere else in the house.
I finally arrive at Carlina's room and she opens the door after the first knock. "Hey." She smiles at me and I offer one of my own in return, soft and warm. Carlina's hair is wet, her tight curls stretched out from the weight of the water.
"We're leaving soon," I tell her. She steps to the side and lets me into her room. I step through the door, taking a moment to take in the neatness of it. There's something I've noticed about every empty room we've given away to newcomers: they all look the same at first, but it's what each person does with it that makes each one so different. "I was just seeing if you were ready to go," I say, turning to her.
"Almost." Carlina walks past me. "I just have to pack my bag. She makes her way to her closet and enters it. With a backpack in her hand, she comes out of the closet a few seconds later.
"Pack your bag?" I ask. "We're not going for long. We'll probably be back by the end of the day." She nods, telling me she knows.
"I'm just packing the essentials." I'm about to ask her what she could possibly need, but she continues speaking before I can. "You never know what you could need." I look over to her bend and see a few piles of things. A fraction of those things I gave her when she first got here. Carlina takes a change of clothes and stuffs it into the very front pocket of the backpack, and I watch her intently as she takes something else and bites her lip, strategically thinking about which pocket she wants to put that item into.
"Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm excited now," she says, stuffing more things into each pocket of the bag. I sit on the edge of her bed and continue to watch her. For the past week leading up to today, she had been telling me how much she's been dreading the interrogation of the Destroyer spies. She would tell me that she's afraid of confronting them after what they did to her. I let her know that she doesn't have to come with us, but she has been insisting that she tags along, saying she wants to do anything she can to help us. "I want to see if they know anything about my parents." This catches me off guard because her missing parents don't have anything to do with this situation. She sees the confusion on my face. Her head cranes downward at the shrinking pile of things on the bed. She looks up at me through her eyelashes, smiling. "You never know."
I nod, watching as she walks around the room, searching for things to pack. She comes up with a first aid kit —one I had given her when she was discharged from the pack hospital after she was treated for her injuries— and a few other necessities. "I hope we can find something out," I say, not only talking about her hope to find something out about her parents but also about this entire mess I've been wrapped up in even before I was born.
"Me too," she mutters, then looks up at me, making eye contact. "For your sake, I hope so too." Carlina zips the bag back up once she's finished and then pauses again, letting out a heavy sigh. "They've done a lot to all of us," she says.
I doubt the Destroyers would know anything about Carlina's parents. After all, they have nothing to do with them. I don't even think they're alive anymore. I know I promised myself I would find them for their daughter's sake, but everyone knows about her, and if they are still alive, surely they'd know as well. They haven't shown up to reunite with her, so I've lost hope. "You think they're alive?" I ask her. She shakes her head.
"No," she says, almost letting out an amused snort. "I've known they're dead for a long time. I just want to see if the Destroyers know something." She looks down at her fingers, which are picking at the skin around her nails. "I mean..." She pauses for a second before looking back up at me. Our eyes locking once again as she continues. "They know about me, right? Maybe they know about them."
I want to tell her about the serious doubts I have, but I don't have to. She sees them present in my eyes. "I just want answers."
I sigh. "We can bring it up during the interrogation," I tell her. "I just don't want you to be disappointed if they don't have the answers you're looking for."
She smiles softly, her eyes full of hope. "I won't be," she replies, but it's the hope and ambition in her eyes that tells me she will be. I don't want to be there when her heart breaks over answers she knows aren't there to begin with. That's the last thing that needs to happen.
"Carlina—" My voice breaks off and she looks at me at the sound of her name. I sigh again, not sure how to tell her what I'm thinking. "I really don't think they're going to know anything about your parents," I say, watching as her face falls with every word. Her mouth parts and present in her unbelieving eyes is irritation.
"You don't even know if they'll want to say anything about what they're planning either, so just let me ask about it," she snaps, catching me off guard.
"Fine," I groan. "Okay." Changing the subject quickly, I stand from the bed, straightening my sweatpants out by running my hands over them. "We should get going. I'll meet you downstairs," I say, letting myself out of her bedroom.
When I make it downstairs, I'm met with Evan closing the front door as he walks through it. He carries a few bags from the shop in town. Once he sees me, he sends me a smile. My feet carry me to him. I embrace him from the side, careful as to not make him drop any of the bags he's carrying. He hugs me back with his spare arm and leans down to give me a kiss on the crown of my head.
"I thought you were sleeping," I say as we let go of each other. "We're leaving soon." I follow Evan as he walks deeper into the house and towards the base of the stairs. We walk up the stairs together and I follow him into his room. He drops the few bags he carries onto the floor, my eyes landing on them.
"What's in those bags?" I ask. He turns to me, eyeing them.
"Just some snacks for us to eat on the way to the palace," he says, shrugging. "I thought we all might be hungry on the way there." I can't help but allow my heart to swell at the small, but sweet gesture. He spent some of the weekly allowances my dad has been giving him since he got here on something for all of us.
Evan walks over to his bed and grabs a small duffle bag, which I assume he has full of things he needs. It's nowhere near the size of the one Carlina is taking with her —which I still believe is way too big for everything she might need— but it fits all he finds is essential. "Let's go," he says, walking past me. I follow him out his bedroom door and close it as we leave.
"That's sweet of you," I tell him, referring to the snacks he got for us.
He shrugs again, "It's no big deal."
One by one, people come out of their bedrooms. Rowan is first, coming out of his room in sweats. His hair is wet, evidence of his recently taken shower. Carlina comes out next, her massive backpack slung over her shoulder. Lily —who I haven't seen all morning— comes out last, carrying a smaller bag, much like the size of Evan's. This is when I notice I'm the only one not taking anything with me other than my phone and some money, which I have stuffed in the pocket of my sweats. Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe Carlina was right about bringing essentials with me.
I had told my parents where we were headed already just so they wouldn't worry. They didn't really have much to say about the matter. They know how much getting to the bottom of this means to me.
One by one, we file out the front door and down the driveway. Rowan gets into the driver's side of the same SUV he and my Dad had picked me up in when they went to get me at the Astraea pack. I let Lily get in the passenger side, and Evan, Carlina, and I get in the back seat. I take the middle spot while Evan and Carlina occupy the two spots on either side of me. Rowan doesn't waste any time. He turns the car on as soon as we get situated and starts driving.
"How long will this take?" Carlina asks after a few minutes of silence, being the first to break it. She leans forward, her seatbelt going with her.
"Three and a half hours," Rowan replies.
She slumps back and hits the seat with a loud thud. Crossing her arms over her chest, she feigns surprise, her eyes widening with her act. "So you're telling me I have to spend three and a half hours putting up with these idiots making out back here?" She asks, seemingly devastated.
Shock rolls down my body in waves as I turn to her, my mouth wide open. "We've never even kissed for that long before," I defend.
"She's right," Evan says, and I spare him a thankful glance, happy that he's on my side.
"See—"
"Our longest record is four hours." I didn't think my jaw could drop any farther, but at the moment it feels like it is on the floor. I turn to Evan and deliver a hard slap to his chest as he laughs. My face is for sure beet red. Carlina starts making childish gagging noises from beside me, turning away from the both of us.
"Okay," Rowan laughs from the driver's seat. "We did not need to know that." All I can do now as Lily and Evan laugh while Carlina pretends like she's throwing her guts up is put my face in my hands in embarrassment.
"I hate you," I mutter in defeat.
"That's not what you told me the other day." More laughter.
This car ride is going to feel like an eternity.
***
Bennett is the first to greet us when we arrive at the palace three and a half excruciating hours later. He stands at the bottom step of the staircase that leads up to the guarded doors of the palace. His arms are interlocked behind his back. He wears his royal attire, which today is a gray suit with the family crest on his right side.
Each one of us gets out of the car as soon as it comes to a stop in front of the steps. When my feet make contact with the pavement, a smile brings itself onto my face. This is the place I found my mate. The same place I realized my mate was the king of all werewolves and I am supposed to be the queen.
I walk up to Bennett, suddenly taking note of tens of guards who stand all the way up the steps. Each one is only two steps apart. Bennett extends his hand for me to shake, a smile prominent on his tired, looking face. He looks like he hasn't been sleeping lately. "Long time no see," he says as our hands interlock. They fit perfectly in each other. Almost too perfectly.
"Hey," I greet him. We let go of each other's hands. I gesture to everyone around me, and they one by one step up to shake the King's hand. "We're ready to do this whenever you are."
Bennett nods once he has shaken each hand. "I'll lead the way then," He says before turning around and starting his way up the steps as he passes each guard, they salute him. It still hasn't processed in my head how much power Bennett holds. It may be because he treats me differently than he treats others. I am his mate, after all, so he's bound to treat me differently.
The palace hasn't changed at all since I was last in it. It hasn't been long after all, and I wasn't expecting it to change. The grand halls feel larger than I remember, and it occurs to me that all of this could be mine. I don't want it, however. Not when everyone I love is at risk of dying if I take it selfishly as it was offered to me.
The king leads us down halls I'm not familiar with. Then, we come to a stop in front of a secluded, large iron door. Towards the top of it, a small, barred window leaves an opening for sound to seep through, but it's eerily quiet behind that door. Beside it, on the wall is a screen that requires a hand to be placed upon it. Bennett places his on the red glowing screen as it scans it, then turns green and makes a sound of approval. All of us —save for Bennett— jump at the sound of the door beginning to move as it slides open, pushing itself into the crevice of the wall beside it.
I'm first in line, so Bennett gestures for me to go first, telling me he'll be right behind us. I step through and the others follow my lead. Once we've all entered the next hallway, Bennett repeats the same process with a screen on this side of the door like the one on the other side, closing us in.
"What is this place?" Someone behind me asks. The question answers itself as we walk past the initial entrance the door has brought us through and we begin treading past empty cells.
"These are the dungeons," Bennett replies, coming back to the front of the group. "We keep all our prisoners in here." The place is so silent, it's frightening. I would much rather hear a roar of noise than eerie silence. The only sounds I can hear are the soft tapping of our feet against the cold concrete. It's so quiet that I can hear the soft breathing of everyone around me.
It isn't until Bennett leads us past several empty cells and deeper down the hallway that I begin to hear things apart from the sounds any of us were making. The sound of chains rattling suddenly makes me jump. Evan glances at me from the side, making sure I'm okay. I offer him a smile in return, telling him I'm fine, and he sends me one back.
The deeper into this hall of cells we get, the louder everything becomes. Growls become prominent through the sounds of chains and the creaking of the barred doors as some guards open them to give the prisoners food.
We arrive at a cell close to the very back of the hall. It's dark. No windows or sources of light are anywhere to be found. Bennett gives a guard that has tagged along behind us a nod, gesturing for him to open the door of the seemingly empty cell. The guard takes a set of keys out of his pocket, going through them until he finds the correct one. We all step to the side and make way for the guard, who sticks the key into the appropriate keyhole and opens the door for us.
"I don't understand," Carlina says, "There isn't anything in—" The sound of painful groaning within the cell stops her, followed by the slight noise of the chains. The light comes on, revealing a young-looking man, not possibly older than twenty-five. He's strapped into a wooden chair, chains wrapped around his arms, legs, and torso.
The first one through the cell door is me. I don't look back at anyone for approval, feeling like I'm very well in control. The man's head is bowed in the chair, but once he feels my presence, he cranes it just enough to make eye contact with me. "Don't bother," He says, groaning. His voice is low and hoarse, sounding like it's been through several rounds of coarse grit sandpaper. He uses a hand from under the chains to gesture behind me. He gestures to Bennett. "He's been in here multiple times and I have yet to say anything. Don't think you'll be any different." There are a few differences between when Bennett came in here before to interrogate him versus now that I'm here to do the same. Bennett isn't as desperate as I am for answers. Sure, his kingdom might be constantly under attack, but he has enough skilled men who can take care of any of the Destroyers' attacks as they come, without needing any information about them. I, on the other hand, am desperate for answers so I can ruin them just as they have tried to ruin me.
"Well," I say, tipping my head to the side. I glance back at the entire group, which is now filling the group and lining up against either wall beside me. The guard closes the door once everyone is in, but it doesn't worry me. It isn't like he can get past all of us if he can even manage to break out of those chains. "I think we can compromise."
He stares straight into my eyes. His head is no longer bowed. His voice is strong as he speaks to me. He is not intimidated. "Are you going to let me go?" He asks, an amusing tone lacing his voice as he leans his head back. He takes my silence as an answer. A low laugh escapes his chest. He smirks. "Then I guess we have nothing to compromise."
I don't answer the man just yet. A chair sits idly in the darkest corner of the cell where barely any light from the single bulb on the ceiling reaches. I make my way over to it and pull it back, the legs vibrating across the concrete to make an ear-piercing noise. I pull the chair right in front of the spy, sitting down. "Why don't you tell me where the rest of you are located?"
"And what will I get out of this?" He asks. He urges his face to come closer to mine, but he doesn't make it very far. The rest of his body is tied down securely, and with how weak he is, there's absolutely no way he will make those chains budge any time soon, silver or not.
I don't move my face away; not even a millimeter. I refuse to let him win in any way. "You have a base somewhere, don't you? Where is it?" I question. Soft murmuring from either side of me can be heard, but I can't make out what anyone is saying.
"Why would I tell you that?"
"I'll consider sparing you a lighter punishment once I'm done with them." Leaning back in my chair, I cross my arms over my chest and cross a leg over the other. "So I suggest you tell me what I want to know," I demand.
The prisoner's voice turns cocky. "Or what?" he asks. He feels invincible; like no one can do anything to him. "You'll kill me?" The smugness of his low chuckle is laughable. "You need me," he says. "You need me for information, and as long as there's any chance I'd give you any, you wouldn't do anything to me."
Bennett steps forward from his place leaning against the wall to my left. "Not necessarily," he says calmly. "There are many more of you spies that we are willing to move on to." The look on this particular spy's face hardens in realization a scowl forming on his lips. We don't need you at all." Bennett finishes. The man thought he was the only one of his kind we had in captivity.
"If they're anything like me, they won't say anything," the spy spits, leaning forward. "We have an oath to uphold, and we'll be damned if we ever violate it."
I stand and take one more step forward, leaning down, face to face with the enemy in front of me. "Then we'll see what your little oath means to them once their lives are on the line," I spit, and the prisoner cranes his neck to the side in an effort to create any sort of distance between us. "You can swear loyalty whenever you'd like, but loyalty is always put to the test when things are at stake."
I remove my face away from his and turn to Bennett. "I think we should split up; interrogate the rest of them in pairs," I tell him. He nods.
"I'll stay with you," Evan steps toward us.
I shake my head. "No." My arm raises instinctively, my hand landing on his chest. I push him back slightly, which keeps him from getting any closer. I'm sure this looks over-protective, but I can't risk anything happening. I shoot him an apologetic look, one which he returns with a lifted brow in confusion. My eyes drift to the prisoner in the chair. He gives me a cold glare, which I ignore. "You and Carlina interrogate one. Rowan and Lily will take another, and Bennett and I will stay with this one," I explain, casting a look at each person in the room.
Bennett acknowledges Evan for the first time since we got here. "Have the guards show you where the rest of the spies are," he says. As if on cue, the door to the cell opens and a guard stands on the other side, gesturing them out. All four of them leave one after the other and the guard escorts them away to the other cells that hold more spies captive. The metal cell door closes as they leave, locking behind them.
"Go ahead." The spy causes my head to snap back to him, my expression deepening. "Waste your time. I have enough of it to go around." I glance at Bennett before closing the space between the spy and I. My hand grasps the collar of his shirt and I pull him towards me. The chair he's tied to follows him.
"Listen to me," I seethe. "Whatever game you think this is, it isn't going to work." I drop him and the chair, and he nearly tips over, but lands upright, his scowl deepening.
"But it's working already, isn't it?" he asks, nodding towards me. "I'm getting under your skin, aren't I?"
I don't answer. Instead, I stare at his long, grown-out hair. One of the only indications of how long he's spent down here. His clothes aren't torn. They aren't too dirty either. Neither is his skin. He must be allowed showers every once in a while.
Without thinking, I take the chains that keep his arms tied and break them, setting them free. For someone like me, they snap easily. But for anyone else, they would be nearly impossible to break through. With how weak this man is right now, the chances of him being able to break through the chains before I snapped them for him are even less.
"What are you doing?" Bennett asks, his voice coming from behind me.
"Trust me," I say. I bend down and snap the chains around his legs, followed by the one around his torso.
The Destroyer spy doesn't waste a second. He instantly stands to his feet as I take a step back. A wall of ice forms between the two of us as he attempts to take an advance on me. He stumbles back into the chair behind him. The force of his body knocks it over into the pile of broken chains. Some of the metal fragments fly across the concrete. He tumbles to the ground. His eyes are wide, confused as to where the large wall of ice came from.
"Nice try." I look down at his figure, distorted by the sheet of ice between us. He props himself off the floor and leans back on his elbows. The wall comes down on my command. "Let's try this again," I say, offering him a second chance. My legs carry me over to him, my body hovering over his. "I'm in no mood for this." I lift my hand. Flames dance around my palm. "If you ever want to make it out of this room alive, I suggest you behave."
Something clicks in his mind. A wave of realization washes over him. His confused, wide-eyed face instantly changes into a scornful one. "Fine," he picks himself back up off the ground, stepping away from me, "I'll behave, your highness."
I back away, my eyebrows pinching together. The spy catches the look I give Bennett for a split second. "Your highness?" I repeat slowly. There are many things he could mean, but I hope he doesn't mean what it sounds like it's meant to.
"Yes, your highness," he says again. A smirk forms on his face, deepening by the second. He scans my face and the confusion that is prominent on it. "Or would you prefer, my queen? I'm flexible with nicknames."
In a second, his back is pressed to the wall that was behind him moments before. My arm is pressed to his neck. Gasping for breath, he claws at my arm, the scratches creating a stinging sensation. "Norah, wait," Bennett says, coming to my side. He places his hand on my arm. I pull my arm away when he tries to tear it from the spy's neck. "Hold on."
"How long have you known?" I snarl.
"Norah, stop!"
"How long have you known?"
Bennett finally manages to rip my arm away from the Destroyer's neck just before he falls unconscious. The spy grips his neck, coughing viciously as he leans back against the wall. Bennett hooks an arm around my abdomen and pulls me back before I can attack the spy again. "Hey, hey, stop!" He yells, pulling me farther. "You're not going to get answers if you kill him, so stop it."
"I don't want answers from him," I snap, "I can get those from another spy. I want him dead." Bennett lets me go but puts a hand between me and the Destroyer spy. I grit my teeth, looking at the spy, who is still struggling to regain his breath. "Tell me how long you've known about me before I burn you to death," I threaten.
His coughing ceases and Bennett drops his hand, giving me a look that silently tells me to promise I won't attack him. "Oh, please," the spy says. "We knew almost as soon as you did." The smirk comes right back, which makes me want to strangle him all over again and not let anyone stop me. "It's a shame he couldn't protect you from what he is."
"How long?"
"The coronation," he says simply. "As soon as you realized he was the king."
"I may have just saved your life, but don't speak about me as if I'm not here, or I'll let Norah finish what she started," Bennett threatens. The Destroyers have known about who I am. It was confirmed they did when they followed me home and nearly killed Carlina. I always thought that was the start of when they knew, but I never would have thought they knew what we were to each other the second we found out.
The spy ignores Bennett's threat. He addresses me instead. "Our attacks may not have been effective for the past hundreds of years, but we'll get what we want soon enough," he warns, threateningly, but it feels even more than that. It feels like a promise he doesn't intend on breaking. I'm terrified his promise will come through.
"When?" I ask urgently. "Tell me when the next one that you have planned is, or I swear to the Moon Goddess—"
The sound of fast footsteps stops me. They're fast and crescendoing as if someone is running toward me. The door to the cell opens. Both Bennett and I turn around, diverting our attention from the spy against the wall. Levi stands at the cell door, panting like he just ran a marathon. His eyes are wide and he carries distress heavy in his expression. His devastation rubs off on me with his words.
"The Bloodmoon pack is under attack."
________________________________
Hi Everyone!!!
I'm sorry for how long this is taking. I'm trying to gain all my inspiration for this book back since school has been kicking my ass lately, but the end of the year is almost here, so I'll be able to write more over the summer. I did get a job, however, so I have no clue how I'm going to find any time. I'll find it though.
What did y'all think about this chapter?
I'm going to try and start writing FHC again since I haven't written anything in my document in months, probably over a year now. I have 6 chapters done, and it's a book I'm really excited about.
I promise you guys I'll never stop writing any of the books I have out right now. It may take me forever to update, but I'll always keep updating no matter what!
That's all for right now!
Anyways, I'll see y'all in the next chapter!