261- Judgment Beneath the Stone
POV Aldren Valmorin:
“You are right, son.” Only the eyeless one spoke, but the other two inclined their heads in assent.
I stood, determined to end it once and for all.
“Is Felibér in the southern or northern wing of the underground?” There were two clusters of cells, accessed by a spiral staircase from the first floor, sealed by a kind of magic.
No one entered or left without the elders’ explicit permission.
“In the south, separated from the others so they won’t hear you,” replied the eyeless one, rising along with the others. “We permit your entry and that you do whatever is necessary to rid Valmorin of traitors, but we will not tolerate any more time passing without meeting the Queen of Eldoria’s sister.” His voice was authoritative.
Even being a creature of very few certainties, one of the few I possessed was that no one wanted my well-being and protection more than those three. Hiding Elowen—and my feelings for her—from them bordered on a betrayal of trust.
I drew a breath into my lungs and faced their time-worn, pallid faces, prepared to reveal something even my own ears could scarcely believe would leave my mouth.
“I am hopelessly in love with Elowen, and I intend to become engaged to her.”
The eyeless one’s mouth fell slightly open, and the two pairs of weary eyes widened.
“Son, so quickly?” they asked at the same time.
“I know what you will say, and I appreciate your concern, but Elowen is real, and this is no trick. My humanity wants her, and my beast does as well. Even if she is not my destined mate, I wish to spend my last hundred and fifty years on Earth beside her.”
“Are you certain of this, son? We cannot dismiss the possibility of deception, like Samsara’s, which devastated all of us,” the earless one pointed out.
“We never again leave an enemy alive or free to plan revenge.”
My own words crystallized what I already believed: for animals like us, life was only an option for loyal, law-abiding members.
An enemy at large, and our entire existence became threatened.
I knew it. They knew it. Everyone knew it.
Even those who chose betrayal, risking their own fate.
Half-transformed, I entered the dark, moss-covered underground, the smell of mold and urine growing stronger. I stopped in front of one of the five iron-barred cells—specifically the central one, where Felibér hung suspended.
The filthy space, devoid of any dignity, measured less than four meters deep and two wide.
His arms, marked by trails of dried blood, were bound overhead by chains covered in rust. His legs were free, but only the tips of his toes touched the floor.
“What are you doing here?” he snarled.
“You can’t imagine why, you son of a bitch?” I shot back, my voice rough and beastlike from the partial transformation.
“No.”
I let out a sinister laugh, filling the putrid stone walls with scorn. I pushed open the barred door and stood in the entrance, unleashing the pheromones of my fury upon him.
“You piece of shit, you orchestrated sabotage and made deals behind my back.”
“ARH!” he screamed, the sound tearing from his chest with the pain of someone feeling every bone break. “My alpha is… Arh! Kehin Maliko!” he declared through a dry choke.
My beast demanded to surface completely, determined to rip Felibér apart, but I held control. His words only confirmed that the information Kehin had provided was true.
“Who joined you in poisoning my female?”
Felibér howled, his eyes bleeding instead of crying tears. I ceased the pheromones, because if I continued, I would kill him before dismembering his body and, finally, snapping his neck.
Grinding his teeth, he shook the chains with the strength of his body.
“Not even after death will you find out, you bastard!” he roared, the muscles in his face trembling with rage.
“This is your last chance. Give me all the traitors, and I will grant you forgiveness.”
Felibér laughed mockingly, throwing his head back.
“What makes you think I want to keep living in Valmorin without Kehin, my true alpha?” He frowned in disdain. “Killing me would be doing me a favor. Go on! Do it!”
My beast clawed at my insides, demanding to end it immediately. It felt as though molten lava pulsed beneath my claws, destined to cool only after I drew blood from that filthy traitor.
“Do you know why I’m here, you treacherous piece of trash?” I took three steps forward, pointing a raised claw at his face. “Because your beloved alpha, Kehin, gave you up before he was sent here. Stupid omega.” I spat in his face before stepping back.
His expression twisted into a confused mix of shock and rage.
“Stop lying, bastard,” he snarled, shaking his face in disgust to rid himself of the spit.
“The only reason you’re not dead is because I wanted to discover your accomplices, you son of a bitch. I asked Kehin for a name, and yours was given without effort. I know he discovered your plan and hid it from me after you pissed your pants begging for mercy. I know everything, you fool.”
Felibér let out a painful, deeply satisfying howl—the cry of someone struck by betrayal.
“Now I don’t want to live anyway! Kill me! I’ll die happy knowing I poisoned the female instead of helping Kehin escape with his destined mate. Weakling! I wanted her dead because she was pulling him away from our purpose!” he shrieked, confessing his guilt.
— ELOWEN IS NOT KEHIN’S DESTINED MATE, DAMN IT! — I roared, bestially, so loud and powerful that the chains rattled.
— Of course she is! Only a partner could make such a strong and experienced wolf lose control! — He hurled the words with the certainty of someone who believed he knew every truth. Each of his words only fueled my beast’s fury.
Wrong. Felibér was wrong.
I exhaled noisily, feeling every fiber of my being stretch, pull, demand the freedom to act.
There was no more room for diplomacy or any trace of mercy. The beast inside me howled, ready to be unleashed, and I no longer saw any reason to restrain it.
With a roar that seemed to tear through the air, I lunged at him. My claws met the flesh of his face, piercing until they broke through the skull. The sound of his screams mingled with the thunder of my own savage roar.
I forced even more supernatural strength into the blow, until the bones shattered with a dry, audible crack. His eyeballs bulged outward, and the gelatinous mass of his brain leaked through the fractures of the crushed skull.