Chapter 102 Interrogation

*Chase*

"I will make you pay for this," I said as Alpha Connor pushed me into my room. My gloved hands were clenched into fists while my face felt hot with anger and my body shaking from rage. It took every ounce of my being to control myself from punching him in the face.

"Sure you will, Chase," he spat at me. He then ordered his men. "Take all his gadgets, laptop, phones, hell, unhook his Smart TV and haul it out."

"It's Alpha Chase," I grumbled at him. He chuckled at what I said and placed his hands on his hips.

"Do you know that Alphas emit a scent, kinda like pheromones that is characteristic only to Alphas of a pack?" He took a deep breath and sniffed me. "You, Chase, don't have it. Lucas had it when he was still Alpha and I'm guessing your sorry excuse of a father had the scent when he was Alpha. Now, your niece, Diana, she has the scent signifying SHE is Alpha. I have the Alpha scent even my Beta has a characteristic scent just like Michael and Emmett. You, Chase, don't even have that which means you are just a regular member of this pack. So, no, I am not going to call you Alpha Chase. That's reserved for the true Alphas."

"Can you at least leave my TV so I have something to do?" I asked him. Damn these forest folk!

"And risk you sending an email to someone?! Heck no!" He looked around my room. "You have a bunch of books here that you can read. Do that. If you get bored, you can write your last will and testament," he joked. Alpha Connor walked to one of the big windows and looked outside. "The windows exit to the roof. I'll have someone patrol this area, so don't get any ideas."

I sat on my bad, irritated they were rummaging through my stuff like they were police officers with a warrant. They even took my game console. I silently prayed they wouldn't find my burner phone hidden within a hollow hardbound book.

"What's going to happen to Mama Lucy? She's old. At least, show her some mercy."

"Chase, you know that's not up to me. If she tells Diana what she needs to know without a fight, she'll be allowed to live the rest of her days in prison," Alpha Connor replied, looking through my book shelf. "Matt, see if he has a vault in here, please."

"My safe is in the closet. Combination 0-9-2-8-3-1. Any news on my father? Has he been stripped of his title?" I asked him. Surely he has already spoken to Lucas.

"Your father is still the scumbag he was yesterday," he said sarcastically, punching in the combination to my safe. The door swung open and he began to check its contents. "Okay, just stacks of money inside."

"You know what? I'll give you everything in my safe if you just let me go. How about that?" I offered.

"Nice try, Chase, but I don't need money. Lucas has made sure my pack and I lived comfortably. How do you think I built my truck stop?" He closed the door of the safe and turned to face me. "What I want is my revenge for the near extermination of my pack and for the death of my younger brother. The death of your father and One by my hands will give me the solace I yearn. I'd kill you too since I know you had some part in it, but YOU, my poor wolf, orchestrated the murder of Diana's mother as well as the attempted murder on Diana herself. Do you possibly believe Diana will give you a second chance and allow you to continue breathing after you've served your purpose?" He gazed at me waiting for an answer.

"I guess so. I'm her uncle after all," I replied doubtfully.

"You hear that boys, he thinks the black wolf will show him mercy." Everyone laughed, except for me. They all believed I was big joke.

"You are a means to an end, Chase. Once Diana has no use for you, she will discard you like a piece of trash. She's counting on you to be the person Eric Lockwood comes back for. I'm counting on that too," Alpha Connor said nonchalantly. "Matt make sure he doesn't leave. Have one of the men patrol outside his window. I don't want him to escape." He walked out of my room followed by his Beta who closed the door and locked it from the outside.

Poor old Mama Lucy. She was practically my mother. She was quiet, hardly left the house and always had a warm bowl of soup waiting for me when I came home drunk. She also knew that I brought strange men and women to the mansion to curb my urges, but never ever told anyone, even my father of my secret. I had a feeling my father knew anyway. He had seen my leather BDSM suit. When he asked me what it was for, I lied and told him it was for a costume party.

My hands have been clenched in fists since they took Mama Lucy away and escorted me to my room. I stretched out my gloved fingers and was surprised when I heard a faint sound of something falling on the floor. I looked down and saw a slim piece of black rock. I absent-mindedly picked it up and tossed it in the trash bin.

I got up from my bed and closed the curtains. Without the light of the sun, my room became very dark. I slowly went to my bookshelf and picked out the hollow book I had a wolf create for me. Yes, it was a rare edition and it was sacrilegious to cut out the pages, but it was the most clever way to hide something.

Before turning on the phone, I decided it would be best if I put some music on. Although they took all my gadgets, they left my clock radio on my nightstand. I switched on the radio and tinkered with it a little until I found a suitable radio station. I turned up the volume to the sweet sound of Barbra Streisand singing 'The Way We Were'.

I took out the phone from the hollow book and turned it on. Hopefully my father had his burner phone turned on. I needed to tell him what had happened to Mama Lucy and see what he was up to. I dialled the number and waited for him to pick up.

"Chase, not now, I'll call you-" I couldn't wait. I had to tell my father.

"Father, they have Mama Lucy in custody. They said she was a keeper or something," I hurriedly told him. "Her last words were, "You must bind a piece of black sapphire to the ring. That was all she said before Diana and Emmett stopped her."

"Chase, a little louder," my father said against the sound of traffic. He was outside. I repeated what I had said, just a little bit louder than before, praying whomever was outside my door wouldn't hear me.

"...sssshhhhh...I'll...bzzzz...message...sssshhhh...you..." The static made it hard for me to hear him. He must be in an area with a lot of electromagnetic interference.

"Father, I can't understand you. You're breaking up," I tried to say as loudly as I could without shouting. All I heard next was static. Great, I couldn't even talk to my father. I hung up and ran my hand through my hair frustrated I couldn't inform my father that I needed his help. I also had no clue where I could find a black sapphire. Honestly, I don't think I have ever seen one. The image of a blue sapphire colored black flashed into my mind...nicely cut, nestled in a nice pendant, glistening under the light.

"Uncle Chase, where is it?" I jumped at the sound of Diana's voice behind me. I didn't notice my bedroom door opening nor hearing her come in.  I instinctively pocketed my phone before turning to face her, desperately hoping no one would call.

"Where's what, Diana?" I asked, sounding as innocent as I could. Emmett was with her, his bracelet pulsating as he moved towards the trash bin in my room which was emitting a faint red glow. He took a look into the bin then put on a pair of gloves. What the hell was in my trash can?

"A sliver of black sapphire. I saw you pick it up," she answered. "Apparently, you threw it in the trash."

"I found it, Alpha." Emmett reached into the trash bin and took out the tiny piece of black rock that I threw in the trash. The light from Emmett's bracelet flashed and the red glow suddenly stopped.

"Uncle Chase, your phone that you just hid in your pocket, please hand it over. It would be unfair if I stopped communication for the whole territory to prohibit you from speaking to your father," Diana said, her hand outstretched waiting for me to give her my burner phone. I pulled out the phone from my pocket and placed it in her hand. It was no use. She did know everything.

"Diana, I have a small favor to ask you. Please have mercy on Mama Lucy. She's like a mother to me. If she did anything wrong, I can assure you, it's not her fault," I begged. I saw compassion flicker in my niece's eyes.

"I know what she means to you, Uncle Chase. I'll question her gently, I promise," she replied and turned to leave.

"Wait, Diana. What will happen to me?" I asked. She turned around and faced me.

"I'm not going to lie to you. You still have to answer to me. You killed my mother and tried to kill me and my father," she said, anger evident in her voice. "The only way I can ever forgive you is if you make the ultimate sacrifice, but we all know you are one selfish bastard." She quickly turned around and exited my room with her Beta following her. Matt gave me a small salute and once again locked my door from the outside.

She was right. I was one selfish bastard.
__________________


*Alpha Connor *

"Matt, make sure he doesn't leave. Have one of the men patrol outside his window. I don't want him to escape."

After I had Matt lock Chase up in his room with all his gadgets confiscated, I proceeded to the the library of the mansion located on the east wing where a secret door led to the dungeons. Ethan and Colt had decided to imprison the head servant of the Lockwood Mansion there for the time being.

Emmett and Otis searched through her bedroom. Her cabinet was filled with a variety of potions, elixirs, herbs and roots, a stack of old books were found behind her clothes, an old photo album with a small box was found in the drawer of her nightstand, while a laptop, a smartphone, and a burner phone laid hidden beneath a comforter in a chest of drawers infront of her bed. They had placed all the items they found on her bed for Diana to inspect.

Right now, Diana was preparing to interrogate the old woman. Athena was shocked to discover the very woman who had taken care of her since she was a baby was part of the group who were against the black wolf.

"It can't be true. Mama Lucy has been such a gentle soul. Did Chase even know? I need to speak with my brother," she said.

"Maybe later, Athena, when we have answers," I told her. "Or better yet, when Lucas gets here." She nodded her head silently, agreeing to wait. Didi rubbed her arms, offering Athena some comfort from the worry she definitely felt. I felt sorry for her. Her family kept many secrets and because she was the baby of the Lockwood brood, she was usually excluded.

The dungeon of the Lockwood estate apparently hadn't been used for a long time. The smell was dank and musky and some of the lights flickered as I walked down the narrow stone staircase. When I reached the bottom of the staircase, I was surprised to see that the cells of the dungeon were made mostly of stone except for the cell doors which were obviously silver. The heavy cell doors had small squares on them, large enough to see the prisoner's eyes face to face. Prisoners here lived in solitude unlike my dungeon which had bars as walls and all the prisoners could see each other making their lives not quite so lonely.

I walked to where Ethan and his Beta were standing.

"Please don't leave me here in the dark. I beg you," I heard the old woman moan.

"There aren't any lights in the cells," Colt said. "The only light source is from here on the outside and there is only one window." Colt pointed at the small window at the end. Without the lights, the prisoners basically lived in the dark.

"Also, the cells have stone for walls. I'm surprised. If a prisoner shifts, the wolf can tear the stone apart. But if this has been the dungeons since the beginning, I don't see any evidence that a wolf has done so," Ethan said. I touched the stone walls and I immediately jumped away from it surprised. My hand was burning.

"There's silver imbedded in the stone. I guess it was built this way to make prisoners live in the dark," I said, wiping my hand on my pants to ease the burning.

"You are correct. The black wolf of the past had designed this dungeon. Living in darkness is not enjoyable especially when the black wolf is with you, lurking, watching your every move in the darkness. It's torture," Emmett said from behind us, carrying with him the small box and album he found while Otis, who was marching behind him, carried a thick old book. "Take a look through the tiny openings of the cell doors."

One by one, Ethan, Colt, Otis and I bent down to peer through an opening. I blinked my eyes rapidly so my vision could adjust and saw the white hair of the old lady and a glistening object around her neck.

I noticed the lights flickered above us as we waited for something to happen. I heard a low growl and was stunned to see a pair of green glowing eyes. The old woman whimpered in fright, clutching the object that hung on her chest while backing away slowly. I blinked and the glowing green eyes were gone. One moment the eyes were there, the next, gone. I moved my head around to get a better look.

""Excuse me boys. I need to ask Mama Lucy some questions," Diana said from behind us. "Emmett, follow me and thank you, Otis, I'll take that." Diana took the heavy book from Otis then she snapped her fingers and the heavy door of silver squeaked open making us back away from it. Diana and Emmett walked in and the silver door slammed shut after they had entered. All four us bent down to watch through the holes. We could see Diana's eyes were glowing while Emmett's bracelet gave off a white light giving a little brightness in the dark dank cell.

"I'd ask you to sit down, but there aren't any furniture in these cells," Diana said. Emmett flicked his wrist and conjured a chair for his Alpha to sit. Magic done right is amazing. "Thank you, my Beta." This time, it wasn't Diana's voice which uttered those words, but it was the husky voice of Onyx. "Keeper, how many black sapphires was in the chest that you oversaw?"

"Ten, my queen," the old woman's voice had changed quite dramatically. It was the old woman's wolf who was answering Onyx.

"Have you been in communication with any of the members of the Black Resistance?"

"Yes, my queen."

"How many?"

"I had counted nine, my queen. They communed with me earlier giving me instructions to bind a black sapphire with the Lotus Ring. Even a fragment of a black sapphire from its original state will suffice," the old woman's wolf replied. Emmett hissed at her. "The red pigment that swirls in the sapphires became prominent after we had spoken."

"Nine, you say. The heir of Aranck? Do you know if he lives?"

"Surely my queen can see if he survives," answered the old woman's wolf meekly.

"You do not know, but question my powers. The dark magic binds my vision however, the evil, I presume, is unraveling. The object that hangs on your neck is speaking," Onyx said. "Evil is proud. It always wants to boast of its achievements."

Emmett moved his hands towards the old woman and the object hanging on the old woman's neck flew towards him. Emmett raised his hand and caught it in mid air. The box he had in his hand, opened suddenly and the slivers of black sapphires floated around his hand while the album fell unto the floor with a loud thud.

The album began to shake then suddenly opened, its pages flapping, settling to a page near the end. Diana picked it up and ran her fingers against the lone picture on the page.

A red mist appeared from the slivers of black sapphires that floated near the now shaking hand of Emmett. Whatever was in that object wanted to be unleashed. To our surprise, a low voice spoke.

"You are too late, black wolf. The black sapphire has found the descendant of Aranck. Once he draws blood, the war will begin."

"ENOUGH!" Emmett yelled, the white light from his bracelet enveloped the slivers of black sapphire. They turned to dust while the object in his hands erupted in green flames. He dropped it on the floor, leaving it to melt within the flames.

"My task has been fulfilled," said the old woman before she collapsed on the floor. The door of the cell suddenly opened allowing us to enter. Otis stooped infront of the old lady and reached down to find a pulse. He looked at us and shook his head. Mama Lucy was no more.

"The evil has deceived the Moon Goddess. It and the Black Resistance have been very cunning.The heir of Aranck survived while his past was erased. His descendant does not know of his origins, none of his ancestors had, thus, allowing all of them to walk among us like any other wolf," Onyx growled. "The Black Resistance knew of the corruption within the Lotus Pack and have manipulated the patriarchs of my pack, waiting for the right time. They then brought the heir of Aranck to the keeper by virtue of Eric Lockwood!" Onyx's voice did not hide her ire. " I have made a terrible mistake, however all is not lost. There is still time. Beta, make sure you collect the remnants of the locket and prepare to leave. They know a war will start if they kill Lucas." After those words, Diana's eyes had stopped glowing.

"Diana, if you don't mind me asking, do you know who this descendant of Aranck is?" I asked, feeling concerned with Lucas's safety. He was in New York, a couple of hours away by car.

"The Chief, Alpha Connor," Diana said, standing up. "We are going to need a helicopter."