Third Person's POV
Merlin, who heard about the news that the old man's soul was not successfully transferred to the child, smiled happily while sitting on a rocking chair while holding the baby. No one can read what her plans are, but it is clear that she has begun to betray her companions.
In the house where the royals live and the silver growlers' pack, the werewolves began to feel anxious after Klaus sent them a hair of their royal highness. Erik locked himself in their room and just stared at his child's hair. He felt useless and powerless; he began to blame himself for what happened to his family. Tia and Vincent began to worry about Erik's state. Werewolves who have completed their mating process will have difficulty when separated from their mates, and Erik got separated from his mate Clara for almost two months now.
Basement -
"What do you want, Klaus?" Clara asked Klaus uninterestedly. Her enemy was standing in front of her cell, smirking and looking down at her, but Clara didn't care. She was sitting in the corner of her prison cell, gathering and mustering her strength.
"Oh, nothing. Didn't you miss me?" Klaus asked, making fun of Clara.
"What a stupid thing to say," Clara replied emotionless.
Klaus hummed and had a disappointed look on his face. "Calmer than I thought," He thought. Klaus turned his back to Clara and faced the prison cell of Alpha Louis. The chained Alpha looked at him weakly, but you could see the power in his eyes. His eyes gave excitement to Klaus, and he immediately entered the cell. Klaus started torturing the Alpha, and Clara, who saw everything, couldn't do anything. She can only bite her lip and glare at the back of Klaus.
Klaus continued torturing Alpha Louis for a week, but he didn't let him die. After torturing him, he will heal the wounds of Alpha Louis.
"How can you hold on?" Clara, who couldn't take it anymore and asked Alpha Louis. She vented her anger and frustration to Alpha Louis.
Alpha Louis looked at Clara and suddenly saw the shadow of his dead friends behind the young queen. Alpha Louis's eyes grew big for a second but immediately masked it and just smiled at Clara. "You just have to focus on recovering," Alpha Louis said, and Clara just bit her lip to stop herself from crying. Clara went back to the corner of her cell and sat there quietly.
Clara's POV
Looking at Alpha Louis while being tortured by Klaus made me angry, but to be honest, I respect him. He took all the beatings without crying, begging, or even asking for help. Maybe that was when I got frustrated and felt angry. Why wouldn't he ask for help or even cry the pain? My eyes grew big, and I laughed at myself. Help? If he asked for help, who would help him? I, myself, can't even help him.
"Angeline, I'm stupid," I said to my wolf while sighing.
"No, you are not," Angeline replied, and I smiled awkwardly.
I looked at Alpha Louis and couldn't help but pity him. He was chained up here by himself for years, and on the outside, he was branded as a traitor without him knowing. When I manage to escape, I will immediately clear his name. He deserved it that much.
I don't know how many hours have passed, but I can tell that it is already evening. The guards gave us food, and I ate it without a second thought since it would help me recover and regain my strength. After eating, Alpha Louis and I talked about his family and pack members. I happily smiled at him while listening to his story, but deep inside, I felt sad. He told his story as if he were giving me his last words. When the talk was finished, I let the darkness take over me, and I slept in the corner of my cell, hoping that Erik would be by my side tomorrow when I woke up.
"Wake up, my queen" I woke up and saw Alpha Louis standing inside his cell. The chains being used on him were on the floor, broken. I was initially confused, but I suddenly realized that we would escape. I saw my cell wide open. I immediately stood and went out of my cell and tried to open the cell of Alpha Louis using the keys that I found on the floor in my cell.
"What happened? How?" I asked Alpha Louis when I successfully opened his cell.
"We don't have time, I will tell you everything later, but first, we need to escape," Alpha Louis replied anxiously. I nodded at him in reply.
"Step back for a second," Alpha Louis said, and I stepped back inside his cell. He mumbled a few things, and part of his cell got broken. He picked up a part of the cell and connected it to his severed leg. He used it as a substitute for his leg that Klaus cut off.
I looked away while Alpha Louis was putting it to his severed leg. "Let's go" I opened my eyes and looked at him. He doesn't have difficulty standing since there's a pipe in his other leg. After ensuring that the pipe was intact in his leg, he grabbed my hand and guided me outside the basement. When we successfully left the basement, I was surprised to see the guards lying unconscious on the floor.
"What happened here?" I asked Alpha Louis while we were running to find the exit.
While finding the exit, we heard rogues talking, and Alpha Louis suddenly stopped me from running. He leaned on the wall to take a peek at the rogue's casually chatting in the hall. "There are three of them," Alpha Louis said.
"Let me take care of them, and if it's three, I can manage," I said to Alpha Louis, and he thought about it for a second and then nodded.
"Do it as quietly as possible," He replied, and I nodded.
Alpha Louis and I exchanged positions as quietly as possible. I peeked into the hall and saw three rogues laughing at each other. I raised my hand and closed my eyes to concentrate my powers. When I felt my power rising, I immediately moved my hand downwards, and then the three rogues got squashed and tried fighting back the invisible wall that was pushing them down. They squirmed for a few seconds until they passed out. I looked back at Alpha Louis and signaled to him that it was okay. He checked the three guys closely to see if they were unconscious. He called me when he made sure that they were passed out, and I followed him. We continued to run until we found a long staircase. We immediately ran up the stairs, and when we got close to the door, we heard some shouting.
Alpha Louis and I looked at each other, understanding that they had discovered that we had escaped. "They are here!" Someone shouted, and I looked back. I saw some rogue pointing at us, and when I saw him shift to his wolf form, I panicked, but Alpha Louis grabbed my hand and dragged me away. We managed to escape from the basement, and the next thing we knew, we were in a forest near Alpha Louis's territory. However, Alpha Louis dragged me in a different direction instead of running to his pack house.
We heard some rustling sounds in the forest behind us, indicating that they were following us from behind. Alpha Louis immediately stopped running and began looking for something. "What's wrong? Let's go!" I asked in a panic. Alpha Louis didn't reply, grabbed my hand again, and dragged me in a different direction. While we were running, it was obvious that he was looking for something. I let him drag me away and stopped asking questions thinking that maybe he knew a hideout that could hide us from our pursuers.
We ran for a few more hours without taking a break. Alpha Louis is becoming weak and tired with his heavy breathing. We stopped running in front of a big and large tree. "Let's take a break for a while," I said, but he shook his head and smiled at me.
"Follow me," He said, and we walked behind the tree, and I saw some entrance there. "Hide here," He said, and my eyes grew big.
"No!" I said, scared that he might leave me and sacrifice himself. Alpha Louis mumbled a few words, and the middle of the tree opened. He pushed me inside, and I couldn't help but remember what my mother did to me. I shook my head and grabbed the hand of Alpha Louis.
"Please, let us both hide in here," I begged, but he didn't say anything back but took a branch on the ground and stabbed his arm. I gasped and was about to stop him when I saw that he had taken out a small bottle of liquid in his arm.
I know what that liquid is. It is what my mother gave me during the attack on my former pack. Realizing what he was about to do, I cried and repeatedly shook my head at Alpha Louis. "Drink this," He said. "Please," I begged again, and he shook his head while smiling.
"My pitiful queen, I am too old and tired in this life of mine. You have to survive to look for your child. They are planning to sacrifice your son to be a vessel. Go back to my pack house and look for my hidden study between the walls. I have my diary there. Oh, child, please survive and not blame yourself. I thank the moon goddess for allowing me to protect our rulers." Alpha Louis said, and I sobbed.
Refusing and begging him to survive with me will hurt his pride. Understanding this, I gritted my teeth and looked at him as tears fell. "I, Clara Lee Smith, the queen of werewolves, t-thank Alpha Louis for sacrificing himself for the better good of this country. I recognized your bravery and was thankful for your sacrifice. I promise I will protect your pack members and make sure that no harm will befall them," I sobbed.
"You are like them, and you resemble your parents very much." He said, smiling at me warmly. He then kneeled and bowed to me. "I pray for your survival, my queen," He said, and I sobbed while nodding at him. I cried while Alpha Louis mumbled a few words in front of me, and the entrance to the tree was closing.
Before the entrance closed, Alpha Louis smiled again at me. He smiled at me widely, showing me his top teeth. "I am glad that this time, I managed to help. Thank you, your highness, and say hello to Ellie and his majesty for me. Goodbye," He said while smiling happily at me until the entrance was fully closed.
My knees felt weak, and I slumped into the floor while sobbing. "Why am I weak?" I asked myself and saw the small bottle of liquid in front of me. I grabbed the liquid using my trembling hands and drank it. At that time, I felt helpless and cried, remembering the sacrifice of my former pack and my parents.
I cried and cried until no tears could fall from my eyes. "Will my werewolves keep sacrificing their lives just to help their weak queen survive?" I said to myself angrily.
I closed my hands tightly and began punching the floor. "WHY AM I WEAK?!" I repeatedly shouted and continued pounding the floor.
"Hush, child, sleep."
I felt drowsy when I heard Evangeline's voice, and my eyes began to close. "Why are you showing up now?" I said while looking at the transparent moon goddess in front of me. I fell on the floor, feeling sleepy. Evangeline looked at me with sad eyes and covered my eyes with her hand.
When I felt her cold hand covering my eyes. I fell asleep with the thought,
"You are always late, the moon goddess."