Avelora, poised, unflinching Avelora had gone pale by now. It was the first crack I’d ever seen in her otherwise unshakable composure since I t her today, and it shook more than everything that was happening.
She had played a part in releasing the Varcolacs, so she could use them as a distraction to carry out her plans and to bring there.
And now Darek was missing after the Varcolac attack, leaving his post and duty.
Avelora leaned closer to the monitor again, her brown eyes locked on the two Delta guards again as if she could will them to leave right through the screen. But I knew she wasn’t just looking for the guards now. "This...this isn’t right."
The soldier at the door shifted uncomfortably. "Ma’am?"
"They should be out there," she snapped, her tone soft but laced with irritation. "All of them should have been out there scouring the Do walls and checking for more breaches. They should have been tightening protocols until their bones broke with exhaustion."
Her hand hovered above the monitor, trembling just faintly. "But they’re not. Which ans..."
She cut herself off abruptly.
"Which ans what?" I pressed impatiently.
Avelora looked at , the flicker of sothing almost like pity glinting in her eyes before her expression hardened. "Which ans I miscalculated everything."
What?
"I assud," she continued, voice steadier now though her knuckles were bone-white, "that the Do would always co first for the Alpha. That his duty towards the Do and everyone at Parthenn, would outweigh all of his personal..." Her lips tightened, and then the truth slipped like a blade from her mouth. "Obsession."
The room almost tilted. "With...?"
"Yes." She didn’t flinch or soften the predicant. "I thought his priorities were predictable and that he would keep his soldiers in line with the security protocol, and keep them buried in endless inspections for any other breach, leaving us invisible for long enough to prepare for what cos ahead. But he’s abandoned it all now. And he’s left his post. If he isn’t at Parthenn, then he’s probably out looking for you, Maeve."
She finally said it, the one thing that I had been dreading.
If he isn’t at Parthenn, then he’s out here.
Looking for .
"But...what if he’s dead?" I blurted out as a last resort. "What if the Varcolacs got to him and that’s why he’s not found?"
Slowly, she shook her head.
"No."
Her tone was final as though the idea itself was impossible. "Darek is not the Alpha Commander for no reason. He has walked into the mist and returned unhard when no one else could do it alone. Do you understand that, Maeve? Alone. With absolutely no other companion."
I’d heard the stories of the monthly journeys that the high-ranking Lycans had to make, out from the protection of the Do and into the mist to scavenge for resources, and to gather more information about what lay out there. But no one would have dared to do it if Darek hadn’t accompanied them, guiding them right at the forefront. That was the one rule drilled into every one of those stories.
But Avelora’s voice cut through my thoughts.
"Darek is the only Lycan who can endure it on his own. Which ans a few Varcolacs won’t make any difference to him because he has survived worse. And I’m pretty sure he has survived it this ti too."
Her certainty made my skin crawl.
Because if he were alive, then he would still be coming for .
Avelora’s face hardened and she turned sharply to the man lingering at the door. "Activate ergency protocol right now."
The man straightened instantly, relief flashing across his features at finally being given direction. "Yes, ma’am."
"No need for evacuation as of yet. But make sure to seal every entry point. I want it to look like nothing exists down here. Definitely not a place that harbours the rebels."
The soldier nodded once and bolted out of the room imdiately.
"Even if we are ready to face Darek, you aren’t, Maeve. We need to hide you before he finds you. If we lose you right now, there is no way we will be able to get you back after he decides to do what he wants with you. His fixation has only grown if he’s gone to these lengths, ignoring everything else."
If he takes , they may never get back.
Valden’s face rose in my mind, his warmth and his steady presence, and the way his hands had always anchored when I thought I’d drown. And then Darek’s cold and burning gaze replaced it unwillingly, the mory of it still seared into my skin.
My voice trembled. "What...what would he do if he found ?"
Avelora studied for a long mont, and her face finally reverted to its calm deanor. "Whatever he wants to."
She softened just slightly, as if she regretted the bluntness. "That is why you must stay hidden, Maeve. Why we must buy ti. You have not awakened what’s inside you yet. Until you do, you are extrely vulnerable. And if he finds you before that, I cannot guarantee your safety."
If Darek found right now, it wouldn’t matter how deep this place was burrowed underground, and how many soldiers Avelora commanded, or how much Valden loved .
Because Darek would take . And he wouldn’t let go.
Avelora straightened, her face once again the mask of control, but the faint pallor lingering beneath her skin betrayed her unease. She strode toward the monitor, flicking through the feeds as the images of the cavern began to shut down one by one, lights dimming and doors sliding closed, the entire hallway outside the room vanishing into darkness. Hopefully, the soldier had already warned everyone else.
One by one, the signs of life in this underground city were snuffed out, until the place looked as barren as the land above it.
I hugged my arms around myself, staring at the empty screens. And waited for Darek to find .
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