Chapter 98: The Hidden Horror.

Leonardo’s POV
Squeak!
“Ah!” Rafael yelled as a rat scurried toward him.
I turned sharply, shooting him an annoyed glare.
“Shhh… Keep it down, Rafael. You’re going to expose us.”
Rafael shuddered, stepping back.
“Damn rats. I hate those things.”
Alessandro sighed. “Focus. We’re not here to fight rodents.”
I ignored them both and pressed forward, my flashlight cutting through the darkness.
"This better be worth sneaking around for," he muttered.
I nodded as I walked on. "It is. Marcus told me Lena is hiding something down here.
If we’re going to take her down, we need proof."
“But what could she possibly be hiding down here?” Rafael asked as he clinged to Alessandro.
“I don’t know. That’s what I want to find out.”
I moved towards another wooden door and yanked the door open, and the scent of damp earth and something else, something foul hit me instantly.
Rafael and Alessandro made a face.
“What the hell is that smell?”
I didn’t answer. I just flicked on my flashlight and stepped inside.
The tunnel was dark and narrow. The air felt evil and wrong. My wolf felt uneasy inside me.
We moved carefully, our footsteps echoing against the cold stone walls. The deeper we went, the stronger the stench became.
Then we saw it.
A rusted metal door, slightly ajar.
We exchanged glances before I pushed it open.
Inside, candles cast weak shadows on the stone walls. Chains hung from above.
In the corner, I saw papers, maps, and small bottles filled with a dark liquid.
But what I saw next was even worse.
The worst part was the sound of someone breathing.
Ragged. Shallow. Struggling.
We turned to see what made the noise.
Then, a chained creature jumped out of the shadows. Its eyes glowed in the dark.
It was very thin, but it moved fast and scared us.
The chains made a loud noise as it tried to get free. It let out a loud, angry growl.
“Holy sh*t!” Rafael swore and stepped back.
Alessandro’s hand immediately went to his weapon, his body tense and ready for a fight.
I didn’t move.
I just stared at the creature, my mind racing.
It wasn’t just any creature.
It was a werewolf.
And it was suffering.
The werewolf growled, shaking as it fought against the chains. Its fur was dirty and bloody, and its bones showed through its thin body.
But its eyes were wild and desperate, and they seemed to hold a deeper sadness.
Pain.
Fear.
Recognition?
I took a cautious step forward, my heart beating.
“Who did this to you?” I asked, my voice low but firm.
The creature let out a loud, rough growl.
“Grrr….”
It was telling us to stay back.
Rafael grabbed my arm.
“Leo, we need to get the hell out of here. This thing is dangerous.”
Alessandro didn’t lower his weapon.
“This could be one of Lena’s experiments,” he said, his voice cold.
“We should put it down before it becomes a problem.”
“No,” I snapped, stepping in front of him.
“We don’t kill unless we have to.”
The werewolf jumped at my quick move, but didn't attack. It looked down, trying to calm itself.
I looked closely at it.
"You can understand me, right?"
The werewolf took a rough breath, its chains making noise as it moved.
Rafael frowned. “Wait a second…
Is it—?
Could it be someone from our pack?”
Alessandro’s face turned serious.
“Only one way to find out.”
I turned to the creature. “Tell me your name,” I demanded.
For a moment, nothing happened. The werewolf just looked at me, breathing hard. Then, with difficulty, it opened its mouth.
Its lips shook, and its voice was rough from not being used.
“…D-Damian.”
The name hit me like a punch to the gut.
Rafael let out a shocked breath.
“No way…”
Alessandro’s grip on his weapon tightened.
Damian.
A warrior from our pack.
A strong and skilled fighter.
A friend who had been missing for over a year.
I felt very angry. "Lena did this to you, didn't she?"
Damian's eyes filled with anger and sadness. He nodded slowly and weakly.
I clenched my fists. This was proof. This was what we needed to take Lena down.
But first, we had to get Damian out of here.
And fast.
I turned to Rafael and Alessandro. “We need to break those chains.”
Rafael hesitated. “Leo, if we free him, we don’t know what he’ll do. He’s barely holding it together.”
Alessandro held his weapon more tightly.
"If Lena finds out we rescued him, she'll hide the evidence."
I didn't care about that.
"We're not leaving him behind," I said firmly.
"He's part of our pack."
Damian made a low growling sound, his breathing rough. He was fighting to stay awake.
I could see how tired he was, his body shaking, his strength fading away.
I moved closer, keeping my hands up in a calming gesture. “Damian, we’re getting you out of here. Stay with me.”
His glowing eyes blinked as he looked at me, and a look of relief crossed his face.
Rafael sighed. “Alright, fine. But how do we break these chains?”
I searched the room quickly, looking for anything that could help. My eyes landed on a set of rusted keys hanging from a hook on the wall.
“There,” I pointed.
Alessandro reached for the chains, but just as he grabbed them, a clicking sound filled the tunnels.
Someone had unlocked a door. We heard footsteps coming towards us.
Someone was coming.
I cursed under my breath. “We’re out of time.”
Rafael took the keys from Alessandro and quickly unlocked Damian's chains.
The locks opened with two clicks. Damian fell forward, but I caught him and put his arm around my shoulder.
Alessandro looked at the entrance.
 "We need to find another way out, fast."
I looked around the room quickly and saw a small passage behind some boxes near the far wall.
“There!” I whispered sharply.
Rafael and Alessandro rushed ahead, pushing the crates aside, revealing a tunnel barely big enough to squeeze through.
The footsteps got louder.
“Go!” I urged.
Rafael went into the tunnel first, then Alessandro. I helped Damian into the tunnel as fast as I could.
Just as I went in, I heard the door open. I held my breath.
Whoever came in stopped for a moment.
Then they cursed loudly and kicked the floor.
They saw the broken chains.
"We need to go," Alessandro whispered.
I nodded and kept moving forward.
The tunnel was narrow, wet, and smelled bad, but we didn't stop.
We kept going, deeper into the darkness.

We moved quickly through the narrow tunnel. Damian was struggling to stay upright, but he kept going, trusting us to get him out.
The tunnel seemed to go on forever, twisting and turning under our land.
The air was thick with the smell of wet dirt. All we could hear were our fast footsteps.
"We should be close to the surface now," Alessandro whispered.
"There must be a way out."
Suddenly, Rafael stopped ahead of us.
"I see light!"
I felt a surge of hope. We pushed forward until we reached the end of the tunnel.
There was a small exit hidden by thick vines.
Rafael and Alessandro quickly pulled them away, letting in the cool night air.
I helped Damian through first, then climbed out after him.
We stepped onto soft grass. I looked around, my heart racing. We were in the pack's big garden.

The moon shone down, casting a gentle light. The air smelled sweet with flowers.

It was quiet and peaceful, a big change from the horror we just escaped.

I turned to Rafael and Alessandro.

"We made it."

Rafael let out a sigh of relief. "Barely."

Damian was weak and swaying. I caught him before he fell.

"We need to get him somewhere safe," Alessandro said, looking around for any signs of danger.

I nodded. "We'll take him to my place. No one will think to look for him there."

Rafael hesitated.

"But Lena will know someone helped him escape."

I clenched my jaw.

"Let her. This ends soon."

We quickly moved through the garden, staying in the shadows.

We escaped, but the real fight was just starting…