Chapter Ninety-one: All those lies

Markus crosses his arms and puts his head to one side, not liking my request. “That boy is in the dungeon. He’s not seen daylight in a while. No one is to speak to him, he was awaiting trial by Lukas. If Lukas was confirmed to be dead, he was to die a traitor’s death.”

I look at him, interested in what that entails, but I don’t follow up on it, as I need to know how he summoned Fedoris creatures. “I need to know how the dark creatures got through, as he must have been the one that summoned them. Let me speak to him, he’ll have knowledge we need.”

Markus sighs but raises his hand in understanding, and I see him mind-link instantly. A few seconds later his eyes return from the blackness and he looks to me.

“He’s in the cell at the back left of the Dungeon. Liam will take you there when you arrive.” He says no more, as it’s not needed.

I stand from my chair, my legs feeling a bit restless. I address everyone in the room. “Thank you everyone for coming. I’ll be free after I’ve spoken to Hugo, but it’s important I speak with him as soon as possible to get the ball rolling.”

Everyone stands but none of them say anything, knowing that this may be the last meeting we all hold together before the fight.

I leave the room first, not wanting to hang about, and I start heading towards the front entrance of the pack house. I hear fast footsteps behind me, feeling a hand at my arm and pulling me round gently. I see Elder Wyatt looking at me seriously.

“Aliana. You know what’s to come. I’ve no doubt that there will be those that die. You may have to make the biggest sacrifice out of everyone here. You will be the one to fight Fedori, but you may be the one that loses the most. Are you ready to do that? For the good of the rest of us?”

His words hit me like a battering ram knocks on a door. I feel my shoulders slump slightly as I realise he’s referring to Lukas.

“You’re asking if I would lose Lukas or save everything else in the universe?” I ask out loud, already knowing the answer.

Lukas is my universe. But I know I’m not here or have been created just for it to be Lukas and I. I’m here to save everyone, even if that means loosing myself in the process.

I nod my head to Elder Wyatt. “I know what I’m here to do, Elder. I will do everything in my power to bring Lukas back, but I know what’s at stake. I will defeat the dark one, whether it will be the end of me or not.”

I say nothing more and turn on my heel, knowing he’s not following me, understanding I don’t want to discuss the subject further. I walk out of the door and close my eyes, taking a deep breath, concentrating on not shedding a tear. I regain my composure and head towards the dungeons.

It’s not long before I get there. I stand outside of the door for a few moments before I straighten myself up, then walk in through the doors.

I’ve not stepped foot into the dungeon before, as I’ve never had to. The packs always been peaceful and there’s never been a need to throw anyone in here, till now.

I walk in and I see a man guarding the inner door. He looks at me and bows in respect. I look around the small room which has a window and a small desk with some papers in it, a small lamp hanging above it. I assume that this is just a secondary entrance which opens up into the cells further on.

“Luna. I am Liam, the guard for the day. Acting Alpha Markus advised me you are to be taken to the closed off cell holding the traitor.”

I notice he doesn’t use Hugo’s name. I suspect everyone is disgusted at him and blames him for the wolves being killed from his actions. Rightly so.

“Thank you Liam. Yes, I am here to speak to him to get some information.”

He turns and opens the door with a heavy key, then unbars a few of the locks. He opens the door outwards, gesturing for me to enter.

“I will stay here, keeping guard. I’ve been told you can take care of yourself, if needed. He is in the cell at the end on the left, which is closed off. Take this key to open it if you want to enter the room.”

I take the key into my hand and smile as I look up at Liam. “Thank you.” Is all I say before walking in and taking in the sight in front of me.

There are several rows of cells, each with black bars. I see a few of them are occupied but I ignore that temporarily. I walk up to the bar and touch it, recoiling instantly as I feel a slight sting when I do.

“It’s silver. It’s painful to werewolves.”

I shoot my head in the direction the voice came from and I see a familiar face. Valencia’s face.

I walk over to her cell and I place my hands on my hips. She looks dishevelled.

“What are you doing in here?” I ask.

“I was found to be conspiring with Hugo.” She says, quoting with emphasis her fingers on the word conspiring.

“Was you?” I ask with a poker face.

She looks up at me. “I suppose so, in a way, yes. However not for murder. I did help burn Elijah’s cottages, yes, I admitted it. I had nothing to do with the murder of the wolves.”

I watch her reaction and I believe her. But unfortunately her actions have consequences.

“You realise that you could have murdered Loretta and Elijah, right? That would be classed as murder.”

She stays silent and I see her grimace, knowing that she knows she’s done wrong.

“You will wait your trial, which will be held with Lukas, when he returns.”

“He’s returning? You’ve found him?” She says, trying to pull herself over to the cell door.

I say nothing more and start making my way down the cell blocks. I see a few men and women in the cells, probably here for the same reason Valencia is. I hear Valencia and the others calling after their Luna, but I ignore them all. They know they’ve done wrong which is why they’re here, awaiting trial from their Alpha.

I reach the end of the cells and I can see rooms ahead, lit by only one torch between the four rooms. I walk to the end and turn to the door on the left, ignoring the other cells. I’ve no idea if anyone else is here but I’m not interested in them. I turn my hand, showing the key that Liam had given me. I prop it into the lock and turn it, opening the door.

I take a step into the room and I see a man in the corner of the room, up against the wall trying to look up at me but his eyes are not used to the light. The room is black and there are no windows, the walls made of cold mismatched bricks. I notice the only way air is getting in is through a small gap under the door. The floor in the room is filthy and the man I once knew as Hugo is now a fraction of himself.

I take another step in and close the door behind me.

“So, this is what you’ve lowered yourself to.” Is the first thing I say.

He grunts. “I’ve done this to myself. I will await my judgement from my Alpha.”

This angered me. “Your Alpha is having a much worse time than you which is caused by your master.” I basically shout at him.

He spits towards my feet. “I have no master. That bastard lied.”

“What did you expect? His promise to come through? He’s the God of darkness, evil if you will. Of course he lied. He would have given you what you wanted, after he wiped everything else out, then would have taken you out anyway. Is that what you were after? Is that the deal you signed?”

He cowers and tries to pull his arms away from the blatant silver chain holding them up. “I never wanted my Father to perish. It was never part of the plan.”

I walk up towards him and grab him by his already torn collar. “Your Father died because of you. Because of your stupid plans.” I let go causing him to stumble back the way with a thump.

“You need to make it up to your Father. To the pack, to your Alpha. Help me return Lukas.”

He stays silent. I start to get annoyed but before long I feel Athena stir in my head.

She jumps forward and I feel her energy emitting from me.

“You will tell me everything and how you summoned Fedori you piece of shit. Tell me now!” She yells and I see Hugo instantly bow to her, his arms slumping as if he was trying to kneel. I can tell he’d lick the floor if he could.

Athena pulls back into the back of my mind but stays present, wanting to stay for the response he gives. I feel surprised that she’s managed to command him like that. I know Alphas can command or subdue their pack but I’ve never heard of a Luna doing it.

I see Hugo lick his lips, trying to moisten them with whatever saliva he has left in his mouth.

“He came to me, one night. In a dream. Or well, a nightmare. He promised me that I would have Loretta till the end of time, that Elijah would be taken care of and she would run back to her one true love…me. He said that all I needed to do was cause havoc for you and the ranked members and to try bringing more of the wolves on my side to start rioting. He said that when this is starting to work, to allow entry to a few of his army to infiltrate the pack….he never said he was going to murder them….my Father. It’s all my fault.” He sobs, his head flopping forward as he looks to the ground.

“How did you gain his army entry?” I command and he obeys.

“He gifted me a bracelet. It was black and had weird symbols.”

“Where is it now?” I ask.

“At home.” He says through his teeth, as if he didn’t want to part with the information.

“Where!” I ask, forcefully, feeling Athena back me.

“Under my Prism, next to my bed.” He says weakly.

I remove myself from the room, saying nothing more, slamming the door and locking it behind me. I now had all the information I needed. I mind-link Markus.

“Markus, I’ve got what I needed, I’m heading over to Hugo’s house.” I cut off the connection and knock on the door wanting to leave the Dungeon. Liam opens the door for me to exit and closes it as soon as I’m through. I hand him the key.

I waste no time with formalities and I head out towards Hugo’s house, knowing where it was from my previous suspicions of him. I see Markus waiting for me outside the front door. I’m not surprised he wants to get involved.

“What is it he’s given to you?” He asks insistently, and I look towards the house. I nod towards it and head towards the door.

He stops me before I walk past him to open the door. “What happened to you out there Aliana? You return, your hair changed, an eye changed to gold. You look as though you’ve not slept a wink since leaving and you’ve certainly not eaten properly.” He asks me in a softer voice and I see and feel his worry.

“A lot, too much to mention Markus. I found power which has caused the change. But my physical body has taken a beating. I feel everything he feels Markus. I need him back.”

He sighs, understanding I mean Lukas. He steps aside to allow me entry and I walk in, him following close behind me.

I walk up the stairs, knowing that the bedrooms to the cottages are upstairs.

I don’t have to know which room to go in, as I feel the power the object is omitting as soon as I entered the house. I look at Markus. “I can feel the power coming off that thing. Be careful.” Is all I say, not knowing if it can cause us any issues.

I walk into the room and see the triangular prism sitting on the bedside table. I walk over to it and lift it, revealing a black leather bracelet with small beads which each had a different symbol. I see an unused napkin to the side and grab that, using it to pick up the bracelet and place it into my pocket.

I look at Markus. “I’ve no idea if this thing is hexed, or can cause us issues. I don’t think we should touch it till we speak with Nuria. She may know more about this object than we do, and she may have an idea on how to bring Fedori out of his hiding spot.”

Markus says nothing and follows me down stairs. I feel the power humming off of the bracelet but keep it secure in my pocket.

We walk out of the house and head towards the pack house, ready to summon Nuria to see if she can help us figure out a way to bring Fedori forward.