Chapter 16. Escape or Return?
J A S O N ’S P O V :
I woke up to the most annoying sound ever. My alarm clock, signaling that it was 12:30 am. What might a future alpha be doing that early in the morning? Well, I had a rogue to interrogate. Honestly, I wanted the time alone to be able to use whatever means necessary to get the answers I wanted without anyone else distracting.
I made my way quietly downstairs after getting dressed. I knew that if anyone caught me out here, questions I didn’t have time to answer would be asked. And my hurriedness and reluctance to answer them would ultimately lead to inferred conclusions. Not something I wanted right now.
I made my way towards the door of the dungeon before being stopped by a wolf standing guard. “Alpha, I didn’t know that you were coming down here this early...”
“Don’t worry. Just clear all the guards out of the dungeon and don’t tell anyone I am going down there, okay?”
“All the guards have already been cleared out, your father commanded it. He wanted the wolf to suffer alone.”
“Suffer?” I asked, trying to calm the raging Ethan who was convinced that was our mate down there.
“You should see the set up that poor wolf is in.”
Without thinking twice, I bolted down the stairs. My loud footsteps would probably wake up the prisoner, but I would be fine, wouldn’t I? It’s not like this animal could get out of its cell...
I looked around, thoroughly checking each cell for any sign of an escaped or present picture, finding nothing. Where did that wolf go? I could’ve -
Suddenly, something in one of the far cells catches my eye. Visible by torch light, Blonde hair is visible. i wandered forward, uncertain of exactly who this was. The person - a girl, to be exact - turned to face me. Her blue eyes pierced the darkness and her purple highlights shimmered.
“Kara?!” I was shocked to say the least. I mean, who expected her to be here right now, and in all places?!
“Jason!” She threw her arms around me, and I felt faint sparks, but nothing like the girl earlier today. She hugged me tightly, but her hold was more bearable than Evelyn’s previous one.
“Oh gosh, Jason, I was dragged into the woods nearby by a wolf! But it was much bigger than normal! I was so scared! I got lost, and ended up down here. There was another rather large wolf, but it was chained up with a muzzle on. It was in pain, so I tried to help. I released it, and - and it hurt me!” A jagged claw mark is visible down one of her arms. As a human it would take much longer to heal than a wolf. That stupid wolf! He would pay!
“Jason, I was so terrified! I tried calling out, I tried going back upstairs, but it was locked! I couldn’t get out! And I-I just want to go home. Go home with my aunt.”
I honestly felt bad for her, both Ethan and I did. She shouldn’t have been dragged into this mess, but with everything she had been saying, some things still didn’t add up.
If the wolf had gone through torture, how had it had the strength to escape? And how did no one notice that we had a human with us, or the fact that the rogue had in fact escaped? I sniffed the air, noticing that instead of reeking of human, it reeked of power, and wolf, and a... an alpha?
I shook my head. No, I must be delusional. She is a human, for heaven’s sake!
“J-Jason, please, I don’t l-like it here. Let me go h-home.” The way her voice shook showed how truly terrified she was. She clung to me like her life depended on it.
“I am going to have a word with the guards, and then I will let you go. Come,” I said and she willingly complied. We made our way up the stairs and came face to face with a concerned looking guard.
“Is everything all right?” His face was creased with worry, and his eyes held uncertainty.
“Of course,” I stated, putting a comforting arm around Kara. “Now, would you like to explain to me how she ended up down here?” I gestured to the shivering form beside me, and his eyes got wide.
“N-no one was down there, Alpha. All except for that rogue.”
“Well, she told me that that same rogue attacked her and escaped.”
“Impossible,” the man breathed, a bewildered look clouding his eyes. “She’s lying - she has to be! She could be the rogue, or...”
I pointed out the shape of her neck and face in general. “I don’t think a silver collar and muzzle coated in wolfs-bane would inflict so little damage to a wolf, do you?”
His eyes widened more if that was even possible. I took in his appearance, and came to the conclusion he was new to this job. “I didn’t know that was what they had meant when they wanted to inflict torture,” he mumbled under his breath. Had it not been for werewolf hearing, I wouldn’t have heard his comment.
“I want you to send some guards down there to find any blood that was shed by that, that animal. Give any samples you find to the trackers, and get them on the scent immediately.”
He nodded and turned to mind link the rest of his sleepy group. I needed to get this rogue matter taken care of immediately. I didn’t care what measures I had to go to, I was going to catch this rogue.
The rogue was going to pay.
...
After the first group of wolves had taken position to start a search on the cells, I led Kara to the nearest phone to call Martha. I had to keep her as far away from the pack members as possible so no questions were asked. The last thing I needed right now was my dad and pack getting involved at this early in the morning. I was going to be the new Alpha, so I needed to be able to do things myself.
“My aunt is going to be here in 15 minutes.” I looked up from the bench I was sitting on to see Kara standing a few feet away. “She just needs to get changed.”
I nodded, almost absentmindedly as I scanned the hall for wolves. No news had come from the dungeon, either meaning they were onto something or had found nothing. I honestly hoped for the former.
“So, Kara, how exactly did you end up here?” I had already had an answer, but I wanted to see. The marks from wolfs-bane and silver weren’t on her, but being related to Martha, I knew she could have something up her sleeve.
“I already told you - I was dragged into the woods by a wolf. I ended up here and - and that’s the last thing I remembered.” Her eyes closed almost as if she was reliving it.
Before I could question her further or think more on how the rogue got out of it’s cage to get her, the doorbell rang. I ran to open it, hoping that it hadn’t woken anyone. That was the last thing I needed.
Martha had her tangled red hair piled high on her head. “Kara dear, there you are!” I didn’t hear the rest of what she said because I was alerted over pack mind-link.
“Alpha Jason, you might want to take a look at this.”
“Sorry to interrupt,” I quickly interjected, “but I need to take care of this. They found something about that rogue. Have a good rest of your night.”
Martha smiled and returned my words while Kara turned as white as a sheet. It was almost as if she was fearing what would happen.
Strange. I needed to look into that, but honestly - when did I have the time?