The Past 17:
Alie’s hands trembled violently as she read the ominous ssage again. She initially decided she must tell Gabriel about it, but the terrifying fear of losing him, of the witch harming him if she knew Alie spoke up, made her stop.
She blinked rapidly, her breathing becoming uneven and shallow. She had personally seen how easily Anaya had kidnapped her and used a powerful spell to immobilize Gabriel. And so far, Ophelia hadn’t been caught.
’But if I don’t tell Gabriel and act on my own, things could go terribly wrong. I should trust Gabriel more than any witch, right?’
Her inner voice strongly advised her to tell everything to Gabriel, trusting his Alpha strength and judgnt.
Taking a deep, calming breath and caressing her wildly beating heart, she reached out, trying to mindlink with Gabriel.
’I have sothing important to tell you, Gabriel,’ she thought, projecting the ssage with all her might.
However, the mindlink didn’t establish. There was only silence.
"Why am I unable to connect with him?" Alie murmured aloud, her worry spiking even further at this unexpected barrier.
She tried again and again, but got no response. Not wanting to waste another second, she rushed out of her room. The living room was empty, as her parents were also busy packing their belongings in their room.
As Alie stepped out of the house and onto the porch, a masculine voice stopped her instantly. It was Draven, one of the spies Gabriel himself had planted for her protection.
"Miss Alie, where are you going?" Draven asked, stepping into her path respectfully but firmly.
"To see Gabriel. Where is he? I’m unable to connect to him through the link," Alie revealed instantly, too worried to be cautious.
Draven furrowed his brows together and tried to establish a connection from his end. But he, too, couldn’t establish a mindlink with Gabriel. He then quickly tried to form a link between himself and Soren, the Beta, but that didn’t happen either.
"You can’t connect either, can you?" Alie pressed, her fear escalating into panic. "Sothing has happened. We have to save Gabriel," she said with a concerned, pleading tone.
"Miss Alie, I will imdiately ask soone to check on the Alpha Prince. You should stay right here, inside the house. And please, try not to panic," Draven told her, keeping his tone calm and humble, attempting to manage the situation.
"How can I not be panicked?" Alie’s voice rose sharply in distress. "Gabriel... He’s in danger." She then showed him the crumbled threatening note clutched tightly in her hand. "See this. Ophelia sent this terrifying ssage directly to ."
Draven quickly took the crumbled paper from her and began reading it. His eyes widened slightly at the explicit threat and the ti specified, but he quickly regained his composure. "Who gave you this letter, Miss Alie?"
"A maid," Alie replied, her mind racing to recall details.
"Which maid?" Draven pressed, needing precise information imdiately.
"Uh... Wait, let’s go inside," Alie said, needing a place to focus away from the open doorway.
The two of them walked back into the house when Alie spotted another servant heading toward the kitchen.
"Did you see Teresa?" Alie’s urgent question stopped the maid instantly.
"Teresa? Yes! She’s helping Madam in packing her clothes upstairs," the maid replied.
"Please call her here imdiately," Alie urged in a strained tone.
The maid nodded and went straight to complete her task. A few monts later, Teresa ca down to the living room and imdiately saw the troubled, anxious expression on Alie’s face.
"Teresa, who gave you the letter ant for Miss Alie?" Draven questioned, his tone authoritative.
"The envelope you brought in earlier," Alie clarified, pointing toward the direction of the table where she had placed it.
"It was inside the mailbox outside the gates, Miss," Teresa replied, looking confused by the intense questioning.
Draven and Alie imdiately rushed outside, thinking the guards must have seen the person who left it there. But upon interrogating the guards stationed at the gate, they found nothing. The mailbox was not constantly visible from the posts, and no unauthorized person had been sighted approaching the periter.
"What will I do now?" Alie stated, looking desperately at the ominous threat in her hand. "Gabriel is indeed in danger. And the only way to save him is if I et Ophelia in the backyard alone, exactly as she asked." Her heartbeat kept increasing with the passing ti, and the internal restlessness grew unbearable.
"Miss, I will go and check on the Alpha Prince myself. You absolutely don’t have to worry," Draven reassured her firmly. "We have plenty of wolves to fight this witch. You can’t do anything alone; you must keep that in mind. Maybe the mindlink is simply blocked for so standard military reason."
"Then, you must go to the area of Ophelia’s house imdiately," Alie insisted, rejecting his calming assurance. "But not like this, Draven. You need protection. What if I am not able to establish a link with Gabriel because of sothing at the place where Ophelia was kept? Maybe she left a charm or put a spell there which affected all the wolves investigating the site, including Gabriel and Soren!?" Alie theorized, her mind racing with the possibilities of dark magic.
"You’re right, Miss Alie. I’ll be cautious," Draven assured her, nodding at her valid fear of residual magic. "Don’t worry. I’ll co straight back to you after I bring the Alpha Prince’s ssage or find out his location. But please, under no condition, are you to step out of this house before I return. Ophelia must be playing a dangerous ga with us. And we simply cannot afford to give her any more leverage over us. I hope you understand what I an."
"Yes. I won’t step out of the house," Alie stated, forcing the words out. Though her mind was screaming at her to ignore him and imdiately search for Ophelia herself, she knew she couldn’t risk it. If the note was truly a trap, Gabriel would fall into even greater trouble if she disobeyed.
"Great. I’ll return soon," Draven stated, giving her one last concerned look before he turned and left her sight, moving quickly to organize a search party.
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