“Yes! Like an invisibility cloaking shield they use on the Star Trek ships!” Alex throws in excitedly. My mind goes to the secret exit Marcellus took me out of, the same spell I used to cover all of our marks. I should be able to do something similar in bubble form.
“Yeah, I can do that. I guess this means you’re all coming with me?” I’m embarrassingly sheepish when I ask. Now with the moment nearing, I’m no longer so confident I want to do this alone.
“No doubt about it, Babe.” Marcus is quick to answer. “Plus now I’m thinking about it, where else would Silas put the prisoners we brought but in a dungeon. I bet the place is packed.”
How could I be so stupid to think the dungeon will be exactly the same as it was five hundred years ago? I’m an idiot. Thank Fates my mates are so persistent. “Thanks... I’m really glad you came with me. I didn’t realize I would’ve regretted going down there alone. I’m glad you have my back, even when I don’t realize I need it.” They all move in at the same time to give me a group hug, and it’s exactly what I needed. To be surrounded by the men who work endlessly to put my broken pieces back together again, the men who’ve shown me it’s okay to let them into my heart.
“You ready to get this over with? If we find a clown down there, I’m out!” Alex says, and it’s the perfect amount of comic relief to help banish my nerves.
“Let’s do it. I put up our Star Trek shield and I’ll keep the soundproof bubble in place as well. Just... make sure you stay close,” I toss in, trying to lighten the mood.
Marcus picks up my free hand as I move to walk forward. I know it’s for comfort just as much as a means to jump in front of me for protection. We make our way to where the dungeon door was located all those years ago, the phantom tug pulling at me once again.
The door is most certainly not the same one I had reached out a shaky hand to push open the night I went searching for Marcellus. This door is made up of solid metal and appears reinforced. “Dude, this appears similar to the doors at the bunker where I found Cecily. Look, there’s even a box to run a key card over. How are we supposed to get in?” Alex points to the box he mentions with furrowed brows. “I’m sure I can hack it, but it’ll take me some time.”
I place my hands on the door and send my magic into it, searching for a way to open it. I can detect the internal signal receptor which initiates the sequence to open the door. I zap a jolt of energy at the receptor, and the sound of locks disengaging can be heard before the door pops open. A huge grin stretches across my cheeks at Alex’s dropped jaw.
Tapping a finger on the bottom of his chin as I walk past him pulls Alex from his shock. “Sassy little thing, aren’t you?” he says as he swats my ass. A small giggle escapes me. You would almost think we weren’t sneaking into a highly protected dungeon.
That same dark spiral staircase from so long ago is before us. With such a high-tech door, it would seem logical they would be able to figure out how to light the stupid stairs. What a design flaw. Marcus holds a hand out, blocking my way. “Babe, let me go first. We don’t know what’s down there.” Yeah, that’s probably a smart idea. I place my hands on his shoulders as he leads the way down, and use my shifter vision to see in the dark.
The hall in front of us once we reach the bottom is barely lit. The lighting could be better if the fixtures were cleaned instead of being caked with decades’ worth of dust. It’s certainly not the same hallway as the one I found five hundred years ago. The main hallway still extends out in front of us, but now there are several branches of extending hallways.
Oh, and there are guards sitting playing some poker. Such a cliché sight if I’ve ever seen one. At least I know my spell is working against shifters being able to see us. The tug on my chest becomes more insistent, urging me toward the right. My hand instantly reaches for Marcus’ and I drag him toward me for a quick hug, needing to comfort myself with his peppermint scent.
“Should I knock them out?” I ask, after releasing Marcus.
“Probably shouldn’t for now. Don’t want to set off any alarms if they’re found.” Marcus’ voice is strained, and glancing up at him, I can now see the stress he’s holding in his eyes. I wonder if he can sense the same strange pull as me.
Leading them to the right, we follow the silent hallway filled with doors on either side. I keep going until we reach the very end. The pull I’ve been following feels like the end is right on the other side of the door. I came down here for closure... to see the room where everything happened. To try and puzzle out if my dream could actually be the truth of what happened.
Now I have a gnawing intuition I’m about to find out a whole new truth. One I’m not prepared for right now. Lifting my palms up, a hand lands on my shoulder before I can touch the door. “Are you sure?” Klaus voices his concern for me.
My heart is racing, speaking truths my mind isn’t ready to listen to. I know what’s on the other side of this door. Or rather,whois on the other side. My eyes dart toward Marcus.Please don’t let this be another betrayal, I can’t handle a second after I just started learning to trust again.
It’s becoming hard to breathe, but I can’t let this stop me from confirming what my heart is telling me. Or maybe it’s the bond speaking to me. “I’m sure.” My response might not give off the confidence I feel, seeing as how I took so long to respond, but as I reach out my hand again, I’m not stopped.
This door isn’t all high tech like the one leading down to the dungeon, it feels like an overconfident oversight, if you ask me. Although Silas never has been one to see reality for what it is. He’s too lost in his disillusions of the world around him. I slide the lock to the side, allowing the door to swing open.
I’m greeted with the smell of spearmint and a familiar voice. “Long time no see, Darling. I sure have missed you.”
Epilogue
Silas
My oldest brother left this morning to settle a matter in a smaller town of shifters nearby, thus creating the opening I’ve been waiting for. His wife isn’t due to deliver their first child until next month, but I’m not sure I’ll get another chance. Rushing to my room, I pull out the herbs I’ve had at the ready for when the time came. Now I just need to make some tea.
A servant stops me when I arrive in the kitchen, and I quickly order her to make some tea with my herbs, and to bring it to the sitting room where my brother’s wife is. While the tea is being prepared, I make sure my plan is falling into place perfectly.
Running to the servants’ quarters, I find Sarah, one of my own servants whom I brought with me. “I need you to prepare for the birth and make sure everything is ready for us to leave immediately afterward.” She knows what to do. This plan has been in place for some time, even before the seed was planted for the next heir to the North Alpha Pack.
I make it back to the sitting room just in time for the tea to arrive. “Lady North, won’t you enjoy some tea with me this morning?” I ask my brother’s wife.
“Tea sounds lovely. The little one is restless this morning.” She rubs her stomach, and I watch as she accepts the cup from her servant. I take my own, and let it sit to go stale. The herbs were infused with a few spells. The first will induce her labor and push the child along quickly, the second will cause her confusion, the third will put her into a temporary slumber once the babe is expelled.
By the time she wakes up, the heir and I’ll be long gone, and she’ll remember nothing due to the confusion. Now I just need to wait for the spells to kick in, and to get her to any nearby room to give birth. She sips the tea slowly, enjoying the warmth. “It’s so nice to have you visiting with us, Silas, we so rarely see you anymore. Do you know how long you plan to stay?”
Her question brings me out of my stupor. “Not too much longer,” I manage to grunt out. She finishes her tea and glares into the bottom of her cup forlornly. Within moments, she’s covered in a sheen of sweat and is bent over clutching her middle. Well, this is quicker than I expected.
