Chapter 73
RYDEN
We barely made out alive before the huge explosion that came from the basement of the house.
I stared in horror and shock as another explosion followed, debris flying everywhere, fire erupted from all windows, and dark smoke consumed the entire house.
“What the fuck?” I patted Walker’s shirt on fire, and it didn’t stop. “Roll on the ground, Walker.”
He did it right away which killed the fire. I instantly smelled of burned flesh. He got a small spot of his back burn.
“Amelia!” My heart nearly stopped.
She hadn’t come out, but I could feel her in my thoughts. She was scared, her heartbeat rising.
With my mind jumbled, I couldn’t think straight if I should go inside the burning house or wait for her. But I was sure, I wouldn’t make it behind the door.
Ren came out with Theia in his arms, coughing. “Where are the others?”
“Amelia!” I called her again, and the house was already wrapped in fire. A thick smoke leaked from the door, and there was no way to get in. “Ren, give me a small door to get in the house. From the window.” I pointed at the window of the first floor.
“Are you out of your mind?” Walker gripped my arm. “You will get roasted before—”
“Don’t fucking say a word!” Fear consumed me as I glared at him. “Our friends are still in there.”
“No one could—”
I punched him in the face as regret gutted me. “You set us up. I should have listened to Amelia!”
With a bloody nose, he stared at me. I instantly saw the pain in his eyes before he dropped his ass on the ground. “They’re my friends, too.”
“It’s still hot, but we could climb up.”
“What?” I stared at Ren with my blurry eyes from the smoke while my heart was tearing apart.
He pointed at the half of the house with no more on fire, but smoke and charcoaled windows.
“How did you—?” I shook my head and stopped asking as I breathed hard. My mind was still blank. Think. Think.
“Take a breath, Alpha. You can do it.” Theia came and gripped me in the arm. “Zarah is a witch. She would survive in this. Well, Amelia can manipulate fire. I’m sure, she’s okay. Trust me, we’re not that easy to kill.”
“Yeah.” I smiled sadly at her with a little hope growing in my chest.
“Come with me.” Ren kneeled down. “Put your foot on my hand so you don’t have to climb the hot wall.”
“Thank you.” I followed as he said, and he threw me to the window with broken glasses. I managed to get inside. It was smoking, burning my eyes. The room was hot, and the fire was still alive in each corner were wood planks.
Ren followed me. “Can you talk to her through the pack link?”
“No. Our comm was jammed, and so did our pack link. Alec knew we were coming. Our plan was compromised from the very beginning.”
“Do you think Walker’s cover is burned?”
“Or he’s the mole.” I snorted, shaking my head.
“But Zarah and the alpha king cleared him.”
I looked at Ren. “I’m emotionally compromised. I care about Walker and I believe him. In your point of view, you can see clearly without anything clouding your judgment. What do you see?”
“Walker is a good guy. I don’t think he would sell you out, but I have something to do later once we’re out of here.”
Explosives.
“Motherfucker.”
“What is it?” he asked when I cursed.
“Alec was the one who blew us up in the apartment. He sent those men to the pack house knowing Amelia and I wouldn’t be there.”
“He likes to play with explosives. Why?”
“He doesn’t want to get his hands dirty. He let his goons do the job, blowing us up won’t leave much evidence.”
“You’re right.”
“Amelia, can you hear me?” I called her again, but still no response. Although I knew she was alive, it still terrified me that she might be injured.
Ren stopped me and did with his hands, the air blew the entire floor, flowing in like a breeze. If someone said you couldn’t see or touch the air but feel it, I would smack them in the face because right now, I didn’t just feel it, I saw it, and I could probably touch it, too. “They’re not here.”
“Downstairs? I thought the explosion started from the basement.” Every step I made, it made a crunch sound, and it was only a matter of time before the foundation of this house would fall on us, but I was desperate to find my mate and the others.
“Rich people have panic rooms.”
I sighed as hope rose in my chest and followed him to the basement. “I hope you’re right, but it was not in the blueprints.”
“Only the owner and the company that installed the panic room have the knowledge where it is placed, and I know where it could possibly be, a room near to the master bedroom.”
“It doesn’t even feel hot, and I don’t inhale smoke anymore. Your power is pretty convenient.”
We went downstairs. In just a few steps, we were standing before the thick door made of steel.
I knocked on it, and Ren held my arm and pointed at the camera. “Just say something and tell them to get out of the door.”
“Are you sure it’s not toasted?”
“Look.” He was right, it was working. The red dot was blinking.
“We might as well, expose ourselves to the enemy.”
We were pretty confident the plan would work. Dane jammed all the cameras installed. What went wrong? I didn’t have a clue. Alec was again two steps ahead of us.
I grabbed the phone from my pocket.
“No service, Ryden.”
“I know.” I began typing.
STAY AWAY FROM THE DOOR.
“Do it.”
One strong blow from Ren’s power, the door cracked from its hinges. He pulled it outside and threw it behind us.
“Well, good to know you’re alive,” Zarah said sarcastically.
“Good to see you guys.” I let go of a shuddering breath.
“Ryden!” Amelia ran in my direction, threw herself at me, wrapped her legs around my waist, and hugged me tight. “Did everyone make it on time?”
“Yeah.” I inhaled her scent into my lungs, so grateful she was not harmed. “Where’s your clothes?” I inhaled her brother’s scent on her.
When we pulled apart, Zeph had no shirt, and Dane was wrapped in a curtain.
“Don’t ask. I could be ashes right now if it wasn’t for Amelia.” Dane chuckled in amusement.
“I’m glad you’re okay, or Kailin and Victor will hunt me down to the end of the world.”
“Let’s get out of here before the reinforcements arrive.” Zarah pulled us apart by our arms. “You can continue your reunion once we’re back in Italy.”
We were all back in the living room in the castle, shocked, disappointed, exhausted, and we smelled barbeque without the sauce. Amelia managed to put a robe on before she curled up into a ball on the sofa.
“Aren’t we gonna talk about what had just happened back there?” Theia sounded so pissed, but so did everyone.
“What do you want to talk about, Theia? That our plan sucked, that it was compromised from the start, that Alec is ten steps ahead of us?” Amelia snorted bitterly. “I swear I will kill him if I get a chance, and I will get a chance. At least, I did this world a huge favor even if I die in the process. We’ll continue the fight in hell.”
“Zarah.” Ren gestured to her which had me confused.
Zarah stood up and raised her hand at Walker, gesturing her finger as if she was about to squeeze him in the neck.
“Zarah, what are you doing?” I was instantly on my feet when Ren pushed me away and pinned me against the wall with his power.
“Calm down, Ryden. Trust me on this, and it won’t kill Walker.”
“Then what the fuck is going on?” Alarmed, I tried to get off the invisible power that held me.
Walker started coughing, wheezing as if his lungs were imploding. When his face turned red, eyes bulging out, I started to worry that he might die.
“Stop it! You’re killing him!” I looked at Amelia and Theia, asking for help, and they did nothing. “Amelia, help him.”
“Trust me, Ryden, I would but I know what they’re doing,” Amelia said as she watched them do whatever magic they’d done to Walker.
Sebastien busted in the door with a jar in his hand. “The wraith in the jar is gone.”
Then Walker began to gag yet nothing came out. “Alpha, help me, please?”
“Stop!”
“Alpha—” He coughed continuously until dark smoke expelled from his mouth.
“What the fuck?” I breathed heavily.
“Ready when you are, Zarah.” Sebastien opened the jar lid, and Zarah drew the wraith into the jar, trapped it, and locked the lid tight. Then Zarah sealed it with a spell.
Walker’s body dropped to the floor, unmoving.
“Take him to the infirmary,” Zarah ordered, pointing at me. “You just have to trust me, Ryden. What I’m doing is for everyone’s welfare. And we have a bigger problem.”
“What is it? Worst than losing the wraith?”
She responded with, “Brace yourself.”
Before she waved her hands strongly in the air as if she was moving something. My mind was still processing what she meant when things started to feel weird. And she was right, we should have listened to her and braced ourselves.
We all fell on the floor like a strong magnitude earthquake hit the castle, shaking everything around us, and spinning the entire ground.