Chapter 45 045

Chapter 45 045

Dante's POV

I walked the doctor out, nodding at his instructions about keeping Ria hydrated and making sure she ate when she woke up. The old man seemed pleased with himself, like he had just pulled off some grand miracle.

The moment the doctor disappeared down the corridor, I turned in the opposite direction. Away from Ria's room, my fists clenched in fury as I stormed out of there.

Even with so much going on in my mind. I knew I needed answers and there was only one person who could give me those answers which was why I was headed for her.

Anna had promised me, She had looked me dead in the eye and sworn that Ria would not make it out of that garden alive. That the trial was foolproof and no one survived it.

And yet, there Ria was Alive, Wounded but breathing. And tomorrow she will be crowned a true Luna.

I pushed through the door that led to the lower levels of the pack house and headed for the prison yard.

The cells were down here, tucked away where no one would hear the prisoners.

Two guards stood at attention when they saw me approaching.

"Alpha Dante!" one of them called out but he did not dare meet my gaze.

"Open it" I ordered, jerking my chin toward Anna's cell.

They did not hesitate. The key turned in the lock and the metal door swung open with a groan.

Anna was on her feet before I even stepped inside. Her eyes lit up like I was some kind of savior, hope flooding her features.

"Dante!" she breathed, rushing toward me. "I knew you would come. I knew you would not leave me down here."

I held up a hand and she stopped mid-step, her smile faltering.

"Shut up," I said, my voice flat consumed in my rage.

Her mouth snapped closed but her eyes stayed wide, searching my face for some sign of what I was thinking.

I stepped fully into the cell, letting the door clang shut behind me. The guards knew better than to listen in but I kept my voice low anyway.

"You told me she would not make it back," I said as my eyes were starting to turn red. "You assured me that Ria was as good as dead the moment she stepped into that garden."

Anna's smile returned, confidence creeping back into her expression. "Yes. And I meant it. There is no way she survived that place on her own. Someone must help her or else she wouldn't—"

"She came back!" I interrupted. "With the silver flower in her hand."

The smile died on her face. Her mouth opened but no sound came out. She just stood there, frozen, like someone had dumped ice water over her head.

"What?" she finally whispered.

"You heard me. Ria walked out of that garden. Barely alive, but alive enough. And she had the flower."

Anna shook her head slowly, disbelief written all over her face. "That is... that is not possible. No one has ever gone in there and come out. No one."

"Well, she did." I crossed my arms, studying her reaction. "So either you lied to me about how dangerous that place really was, or Ria is a lot stronger than either of us gave her credit for."

"I did not lie!" Anna insisted, her voice rising. "That garden kills everyone who enters it. Alphas, warriors, everyone. She should be dead right now."

"But she is not."

Anna's hands clenched into fists at her sides. She looked like she wanted to scream or hit something. Maybe both.

"This is bad," she said, more to herself than to me. "This is really bad."

"No kidding." I leaned back against the wall. "And now Lucien has you locked up down here for questioning. So things are not exactly going according to plan."

Anna's eyes snapped to mine, panic replacing the shock. She dropped to her knees in front of me, her hands reaching out to grab at my shirt.

"Please," she begged, her voice desperate. "Please, you have to get me out of here. If Ria finds out I was involved in any of this, she will never trust me again. I will lose any chance I have to get close to her, to finish what we started."

I looked down at her, this woman who had been so confident just days ago. Now she was groveling at my feet like a common criminal.

Which I supposed, she was.

"Ria is not stupid," I said quietly. "She probably already knows something is off. The way you have been acting, the timing of everything. She is going to figure it out eventually."

"No" Anna shook her head violently. "No, she will not. Not if I am there when she wakes up. Not if I can talk to her, explain things and then twist it around."

I raised an eyebrow. "Twist it around how?"

"I can make her doubt Lucien," Anna said quickly, the words tumbling out of her mouth. "I can plant seeds in her mind, make her think he was the one who wanted her dead. That he changed the trial hoping she would fail. She already does not trust him completely. It would not take much to push her over the edge."

That got my attention. I straightened slightly, considering her words.

Turning Ria against Lucien would solve several problems at once. It would weaken Lucien's position, make him look unstable and emotional. And if Ria stopped trusting him, she might start turning to me instead.

Or to Silas, which was less ideal but still better than the current situation.

"You think you can pull that off?" I asked.

"Yes," Anna said with certainty. "But I need to be there when she wakes up. I need to be by her side, playing the loyal maid, the concerned friend. If I am stuck down here in this cell, I cannot do anything."

She had a point. As much as I hated to admit it, Anna might actually be useful. If she could poison Ria's mind against Lucien, create division between them, it would make everything so much easier.

But there was still the problem of Lucien himself. He was the one who had Anna thrown in here in the first place. He would not just let her walk out.

Unless I gave him a reason to.

"I cannot just release you," I said slowly, thinking out loud. "Lucien would know something was up. He would start asking questions."

"Then get Silas's approval," Anna suggested, her eyes bright with desperation. "Silas is soft-hearted. If you tell him I was just trying to help, that I made a mistake but did not mean any real harm, he might agree to let me go. Especially if you frame it as giving me a second chance, besides Lucien says you need the approval of another Alpha Right?."

I considered that. Silas was definitely the weakest link among the three of us. He felt things too deeply, let his emotions cloud his judgment. If I played it right, I could probably convince him that Anna deserved another chance.

And once she was free, she could work on driving that wedge between Ria and Lucien.

"Alright," I said finally. "I will talk to Silas. But you need to be convincing when you see Ria. No mistakes again or slipping up. If she suspects anything, this whole thing falls apart."

"I understand," Anna nodded eagerly. "I will be perfect. I promise."

I pushed off the wall and moved toward the door. "Stay here. Keep your mouth shut. I will come back for you once I have talked to Silas."

"Thank you," she called after me, relief flooding her voice. "Thank you, Dante."

I did not respond. I just signaled to the guards to let me out and left her standing there in that cold cell.

As I climbed the stairs back up to the main level, my mind was already working through the conversation I would need to have with Silas. How to phrase things, what angles to use, which of his soft spots to target.

This could still work. Ria surviving the garden was a setback, sure. But it was not over yet.

Not by a long shot.