Angel’s POV
The Alpha turned to look at him.
And sothing passed between them - a look I couldn’t decipher but that made my skin prickle. Understanding. Permission. Sothing dark and knowing.
"Don’t kill him until he talks," the Alpha said.
"Understood."
Uriel nodded once, then turned and walked toward where the warriors were gathering supplies.
I watched him go, my stomach churning.
That look. That exchange.
Uriel wasn’t just a kind warrior who protected . He was soone the Alpha trusted with torture. With extracting information through pain.
He had killing in his blood. Just like the monstrous Alpha.
Maybe I didn’t know him at all.
Maybe the gentle man who’d held my hand and smiled at was just a mask. And underneath...
Underneath was soone who could inflict suffering without flinching.
Who probably enjoyed it.
I stood rooted to the spot as Uriel returned carrying tools I’d never seen before. Sharp things. Cruel things. Implents designed for one purpose only - causing pain.
"Grab him," Uriel ordered two warriors. "Bring him."
They hauled the bound man to his feet, dragging him toward the edge of camp, away from the main gathering.
Uriel followed, the torture tools held casually in his hands like they were everyday objects.
And I just... watched.
Watched the man who’d shown kindness walk away to do terrible things.
Watched and felt sothing inside crack a little more.
My arms wrapped around myself instinctively, trying to hold the pieces together.
I needed to move. Needed to do sothing other than stand here.
My tent. I’d go to my tent and just... be alone for a while.
I was halfway there when Lyra’s voice stopped .
"Luna? Are you alright?"
I didn’t turn around. "I’m fine."
"Can I co in? Just to make sure..."
"Fine."
I pushed into the tent, and Lyra followed hesitantly.
But I didn’t want her there. Didn’t want anyone there. My spirit was still struggling to accept this girl, still flinching away from the mory of her cruel words.
And honestly, I just wanted to be alone. To process everything that had happened. To understand why my presence seed to bring nothing but chaos to this pack.
First, my whole existence as their Luna, then the snake. Now a hired assassin.
All because I’d been matched to an Alpha I didn’t want.
"There seems to be a lot on your mind," Lyra said softly, sitting carefully on the edge of the tent.
I opened my mouth to respond...
A scream split the air.
High-pitched. Agonized. Inhuman in its intensity.
The man. Uriel was torturing him.
I flinched, my hands instinctively covering my ears.
But the screams continued. On and on. Rising and falling like so terrible music.
"Gods," Lyra whispered, her face pale. "Uriel is really brutal. Even more brutal than the Alpha sotis."
I lowered my hands slowly. "What do you an?"
Lyra looked at , seeming to asure her words. "I’ve been watching him since we joined your group. The way he acts... it’s strange. He talks to the generals in a way that should get him killed. Even talks to the Alpha with a tone that borders on disrespectful. And yet they listen to him. They defer to him."
She paused, wrapping her arms around herself as another scream echoed through camp.
"At first, I thought maybe he was the Beta - the Alpha’s second. But I asked around. The Beta is back ho, managing pack business. Uriel is supposedly just another warrior." She shook her head. "But that doesn’t make sense. Warriors don’t act like that. Warriors don’t have that kind of authority."
"Why are you telling this?" I asked.
"Because you’re close to him." Lyra t my gaze. "I know he doesn’t like . I know I’ve given him every reason to hate . But I still... I care what happens to him. And I worry that his behavior will get him killed eventually."
She looked down at her hands.
"Maybe you could talk to him? Tell him to be more careful? The Alpha might tolerate his attitude now, but Alphas are unpredictable. One wrong word and..."
"And what?"
"And Uriel might not survive it."
The screaming intensified outside, then cut off abruptly.
In the sudden silence, Lyra shivered.
"I know you probably don’t want advice from ," she continued quietly. "But Uriel... there’s sothing different about him. Sothing important. I can feel it, even if I can’t explain it."
I nodded, not trusting my voice.
"Is there anything you need?" Lyra asked. "Anything I can do?"
"I’d like to be alone for a while," I said. "I’m feeling... down."
"Of course, Luna."
She stood and left without argunt, closing the tent flap softly behind her.
I sat in the dimness, trying to close my ears to the sounds of torture filtering through the canvas.
But I could still hear it. The occasional cry. The murmur of voices.
At so point, the screaming stopped completely.
I allowed myself a mont of relief.
Then...
Shouting. Loud, angry voices erupting across camp. Orders being barked, warriors running, complete chaos.
I caught fragnts through the tent walls:
"...can’t believe..."
"...check the periter..."
"...how did this happen..."
Then the Alpha’s voice, clear and furious, cutting through everything else:
"WHOEVER FINDS THE PERSON WHO MURDERED THE ASSASSIN WILL BE REWARDED HANDSOLY!"
I sat bolt upright, my heart suddenly racing.
Murdered.
Soone had murdered the assassin.
The man who’d tried to kill was dead.
But how? He was being tortured. He was surrounded by warriors. How could soone...
Oh God.
Oh no.
Uriel.
Had he killed the man? Had he lost control during the torture and gone too far?
Was he on the run right now? Being hunted by the very pack he’d been protecting?
My hands shook as I pushed out of the tent.
The camp was in complete disarray. Warriors running in every direction. The Alpha issuing orders with barely controlled rage. Gareth organizing search parties.
And at the center of it all, near where I’d last seen Uriel take the assassin...
A body.
Covered in blood.
Very, very dead.
But where was Uriel?
I scanned the crowd frantically, searching for that familiar face, those dark eyes.
Nothing.
He was gone.
And I didn’t know if he was hunting the real killer...
Or if he was the one being hunted.
Reviews
All reviews (0)