CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ryker
Me and my beta were in a pack meeting when I suddenly experienced an unsettling feeling of unease. I tried to block it out but it ate at me. My heart began to race, and a knot twisted in the pit of my stomach, leaving me feeling on the edge. This was the same sensation I had gotten when Roxanne was in trouble with X, a premonition I couldn't ignore.
“Alpha,” my beta, Miles, called as he leaned in, “you look unsettled.”
“I'm alright ,” I said flatly.
I knew I wasn't but I ignored the feeling that ate at me and tried to focus on the meeting.
What danger could she be in? No one came close to her now as she was segregated and I couldn't come to her rescue everytime.
Fuck it. I had to go.
“Beta Miles, take over. I've got to go check something,” I said.
He shook his head, “Alpha, I could go and check. Your presence is needed here.”
“You do this when I'm not present,” I said firmly. “Do it again and give me the details when it's over.”
He nodded at me,“Got it.”
I hastily excused myself from the meeting and left the room, my focus solely on finding Roxanne and ensuring her safety.
My heart pounded wildly as I rushed down the hall towards the dungeon. As I drew closer, the stench of blood congested my nostrils and the air felt heavier, charged with danger.
It dared not be what I thought it was.
I found the gates to the dungeon unlocked and I could believe the ominous feeling I had was right. I pushed open the gate and was met with a gruesome sight.
***
The guards lay motionless on the ground, their bodies limp and lifeless. The stark contrast of their still forms against the dim lightning of the cell sent a chill down my spine.
This was all Roxanne.
Again.
I scanned the room frantically, hoping to see a sign of her but she was nowhere. All I found was a bloody knife.
Another weapon.
I bent and picked up the knife while my gaze lingered on the fallen guards. They had been stabbed everywhere including the eyeballs.
But that wasn't all…
There were deep claw marks on the walls and floors, a clear sign of violent altercation. My mind raced and I tried to piece together what may have happened. Had Roxanne's wolf come out? The claw marks were little compared to that of the guards but they still caused terror.
Could the claw marks belong to Roxanne? Had she found her wolf?
Had Roxanne been provoked, or was there something more sinister at play? Regardless, I knew one thing for certain: she had taken lives and now she was on the run.
Anger coursed through me as I stared at the dead men. Who was Roxanne and why was she killing people? I wasn't going to let her go this time. I was going to find her and kill her. She was going to pay. I needed to act swiftly before she caused further harm.
***
Roxanne
“What have I done?” I said to myself as I dropped the knife hastily, not wanting to come close to it. My hands were stained and my dress was drenched with blood. Not just mine but the blood from the guards I had murdered. They flowed freely on the ground and met at a cross point.
I gazed at my hands like they were foreign and didn't belong to me. I had taken another life– two more lives.
I didn't know how I killed them. One instant they were over me, trying to murder me and the next instant, I found them stabbed dead.
But the knife was in my hands.
Uncertainty settled upon me as I moved away from the bodies. I couldn't stand the sight of blood and it made me throw up. The guards had been stabbed multiple times. There was no one there with us so I was left as the suspect.
But how? I had many bugging questions.
I may have blacked out while doing it or after, because the more I racked my brain I couldn't remember ever killing them. The last thing I remember was scaredy guy piercing me in the throat with a knife.
“Wake up please,” I whispered as I shook their bodies, tears welling up in my eyes. “Please, just a sign.”
I listened for a breath, for a cough or a stir— something that would prove they were alive.
But they lay motionless, their lifeless eyes fixed on mine.
I froze because I had seen that look before. That was the last look my mother had on her face before she died.
“Oh god,” I cried and buried my face in my palms. The Alpha was going to kill me. That I was sure of.
He had spared me the last time but now he wouldn't. Except maybe I ran away. I wiped my tears. This wasn't the time to weep. I needed to do something.
I needed to get out of here. I had gotten away the last time, I was sure I could, again.
As I contemplated on what to do, I heard distant steps. I couldn't tell if they were coming or going. I needed to hide. I couldn't run. I was losing a lot of blood and running would make it worse cause it would leave trails.
I ripped the hem of my dress and tied it around my side. The place where I bled the most. Then I tied the rest around the staff I had taken from them.
I dragged myself out of the entrance and kept going, ignoring the blood trails till I got to the cell where I had found the necklace and journal.
I scanned around for a place to stay, wishing I could squeeze into the wall. The steps became urgent and it made my heart miss a beat.
I stayed in the darkest part of the cell. The place where I blended with the dark. If I was still enough, quiet enough, he wouldn't find me.
I closed my eyes and tried to think of the good times when I was little. My favourite game used to be hide and seek and it was a game I enjoyed playing with my mother when she was alive. I would hide in places and she would find me, sometimes she wouldn't and I would grow tired and fall asleep. Then I would come out when I heard everyone calling for me.
Sometimes she got worried and told me to never hide so deep.
Now here I was again hiding and dreading the game I used to play when I was a child. Because this time I wasn't hiding for fun. My mother wasn't going to find me and tickle my waist. If I was found, I would be killed.
I could hear them stomping and roaming the cell, looking for me, maybe.
Don't let them see me. Don't let them find me.
I balled my hands into fists.
Pretend you're a fly. No, they make annoying buzzes.
Pretend you're a ladybug, they're pretty or maybe a marshmallow or a mushroom.
It wasn't working and I was sweating profusely.
Pretend you're not here. You're a bird soaring high…
I heard things crashing and falling. More footsteps and this time they grew louder.
And then they were here.
I sucked in my breath as the cell gate was kicked open and I saw him come in.
I'm invisible. You can't see me….
He peeked under the bed and scanned around. Did he really think I was going to stay under the bed? I mean I would've. I was just a teeny bit close to staying there but I figured it would be tough to come out.
I closed my eyes, almost dying from lack of oxygen but I didn't dare breathe. I closed my eyes and began counting in my mind. When it gets to sixty I would release my breath.
I felt a hot raspy breath on my neck and my eyes shot open. There he was, standing before me. I could see him closely. If he just raised his hand a bit he would pull me out. But he didn't seem to see me.
He turned away and stomped out of the cell. I released my breath and sucked in oxygen, greedily. I could hear him mumbling and walking down the passage. It went on for three minutes, I knew because I counted the seconds.
Then there was silence.
Upon hearing nothing, I dared not move. What If I came out and they grabbed me? What if they killed me? My body hurt, spasms of pain washed through me from the stabs I had gotten from the guards.
I don't know how long I waited but I was certain it was for hours. By the time I forced myself out of the room I was hiding my legs almost gave way. They had grown numb from me standing and in pain.
As I walked, I listened.
I heard no sound, I saw no one.
Could they have left? Were they still around?
I tiptoed, scared that the tiniest noise would alert them, just in case they were closeby. My senses were still on alert and I made my way to my dungeon. I whimpered as I stared at around the dungeon, the bodies of the guards were still lying lifeless on the ground. But there was no sign of anyone around. I heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the floor to get some rest.
I had barely closed my eyes when I heard him lurch for the door. I screamed in terror as he came into view, holding the knife I had used to kill.
“Damn ROXANNE,” I heard him roar.