Chapter 200 The interrogation

Chapter 200 The interrogation
Chapter 200

DARIUS

After Raven left, I called some of the pack warriors, Dorian, and Marcus, and we headed into the woods to search for Selina and Caleb.

Dorian walked beside me, his expression serious. "It'll be easier if you use Raven's scent to track them. It'll lead us faster."

I nodded. "Good idea."

I shifted my focus, filtering through the dozens of scents layered in the air until I found hers.

It was faint—so faint I almost missed it—but I couldn't mistake my mate's scent.

We followed it deeper into the woods, passing through areas where the earth had been disrupted violently—deep gouges in the ground, trees with claw marks, blood splattered across roots and leaves.

My chest tightened.

What the hell had Raven gone through out here?

We turned multiple times, following the twisting path her scent created.

Marcus frowned, glancing at me. "Are you sure you're still following Raven's scent?"

"I'm sure," I replied firmly.

We rounded a thick cluster of trees, and that's when I saw it.

A dead wolf.

I bent down and sniffed it carefully, my stomach twisting.

"He died at Raven's hand," I said quietly.

We stepped further.

Another dead wolf.

I bent down again, inhaling deeply.

"This one too," I confirmed. "Raven killed him."

We moved forward and came to a clearing.

Five bodies sprawled across the ground, unconscious or dead—I couldn't tell yet.

I stepped over them carefully, searching for Selina and Caleb.

But they weren't there.

I noticed a trail of blood leading away from the clearing and followed it quickly.

It came to a dead end. And the scent disappeared completely.

I frowned, confusion gnawing at me.

How could a scent just vanish like that?

I returned to find Marcus and the other pack warriors shaking the figures awake.

My stomach dropped when I recognized their faces.

These were my father's personal guards.

I knew every single one of them.

But my father had said they were on holiday.

Why would he order his personal guards on holiday during the pack festival—the one time he needed protection more than ever?

And why weren't they on holiday but instead working with Selina and Caleb to kill Ravenna?

And how had Caleb and Selina gotten up if the rest of these men were still knocked out?

Which meant there was another figure here. Someone I didn't know about.

Someone who had woken Caleb and Selina up.

I looked back toward the woods where I'd trailed the blood.

I could still smell Selina's scent faintly. And another one—probably Caleb's.

But why had their scents disappeared at that particular point?

Had someone helped them escape?

The warriors began binding the men's hands and feet with iron chains.

"Take them back to the house," I ordered. "Put them in the dungeon."

Marcus nodded. "You coming?"

"Not yet," I replied. "I need to check something."

They started heading back, dragging the bound men with them.

I stayed behind, scanning the area carefully.

I sniffed the ground again, moving slowly through the clearing.

I saw a patch of blood on the floor and bent down to examine it.

Raven's.

This was probably where they'd tortured her. Where they'd given her the wounds on her back.

Rage surged through me, hot and violent.

I sniffed the area one more time, moving to the east and west sections of the clearing.

But everything was off. The scents were muddled, like someone had deliberately masked them.

I turned, deciding to leave, when I saw a figure lurking near the edge of the woods.

My heart skipped a beat.

I grabbed the iron rod I'd been carrying and stepped quietly toward the figure, my movements silent.

The figure came out at the last second to peek around a tree.

Meanwhile I'd raised the rod, bringing it down hard and then it touched him.

We both jerked back violently, a shock of recognition slamming through the bond.

"Dorian?" I gasped, lowering the rod.

Dorian was staring at me, his eyes wide. "What the hell kind of play was that?"

I exhaled sharply. "I didn't know it was you."

He frowned. "You didn't smell me?"

I shook my head. "There's something off about this area. Every scent seems distorted."

Dorian's expression darkened. "Then we should leave. I don't know what you're doing lurking around out here."

I raised an eyebrow. "I saw you leave with Marcus."

Dorian shrugged. "Marcus sent me back to stay with you in case anything happened. I was planning on scaring the shit out of you."

I laughed despite myself. "You deserved this metal."

I raised it threateningly.

Dorian's eyes widened, and he screamed, turning and fleeing through the trees.

I yelled after him, grinning. "I'm coming after you!"

I chased him through the woods, both of us laughing like idiots.

We arrived back at the house panting hard, doubled over with laughter.

Dorian looked at me, his face flushed. "When was the last time we played like this?"

I shook my head, still catching my breath. "We're not kids anymore."

"Clearly," Dorian replied with a grin.

We headed down to the dungeon where Marcus was already interrogating the men.

I stepped inside, the smell of blood and sweat thick in the air.

"Have they spoken?" I asked.

Marcus shook his head. "They're refusing to say a word."

I rolled up my sleeves slowly, deliberately.

Then I let my claws extend—long, sharp, gleaming in the dim light.

I smiled and stepped closer to the bound men. "Who wants their face disfigured first?"

They all looked at me like I was joking.

I nodded slowly. "Alright then."

Before anyone could react, I moved fast.

I grabbed the man in front of me and raked my claws from his left temple down to his jaw in one brutal stroke.

It was so fast he didn't even feel the pain at first.

When I stepped back, blood was sprayed all over my clothes.

The man looked at me, confused.

Then he saw the blood dripping down his face.

That's when the pain hit.

He screamed loudly, raw.

The other men saw it and their faces went pale with terror.

I tasted the blood on my fingers and smiled savagely. "Who's next?"

The men started talking immediately, their voices tripping over each other. "We'll talk! We'll tell you anything you want to know!"

I looked downcast and pouted dramatically. "I missed doing this. I thought you were going to play with me."

Marcus laughed and patted my back. "You'll still get to do that."

He turned to the men. "Why did you go after the Alpha's son's mate? Did Richard ask you to do this?"

The men went quiet.

One of them finally spoke. "We can't give you that answer."

Marcus turned to me and gave me a look.

I stepped forward, my eyes locking onto another man.

I grabbed him roughly and let my fangs extend. Then I bit down hard on his hand.

He screamed.

Marcus looked at the others. "Talk if you want to save your friend. Or Darius will bite his hand off."

I lifted my head, the man's hand still clenched between my teeth.

Then I bit down harder.

There was a sickening crack.

I pulled back, holding half of the severed hand in my mouth.

I spat it out onto the floor and looked at Marcus. "Too late. I already did it."

I turned to the other men, grinning. "What a trophy. My collection never had a hand, a leg, or eyes before. Now I've got a hand—well, half of one. But I have this feeling I'll be getting a leg and eyes from you lot soon."

The men panicked immediately.

One of them broke. "I'll talk! I'll talk!"

I stepped closer. "Go on, then."

The man was shaking now, his voice trembling. "We're not Richard's men. Richard was never part of the plan."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"It's all a higher power's plan," the man continued quickly. "But they wanted to make it look like Richard was behind it. So you'd get carried away thinking it was him whilst they continued their real plan."

I looked at Marcus and Dorian.

Then I turned back to the man. "Why do you look like my father's men?"

The man suddenly went quiet, his mouth clamping shut.

Dorian groaned. "Are we really going to do this? Just tell us!"

I glared at him. "What's the meaning of that?"

Dorian sighed. "Your investigations are always messy. That's why your father never wanted you around the dungeon. You'll kill them before they talk."

I looked at him like he was insane. "I'm just being thorough. This is how investigations are done. Torture for information."

I paused, my voice hardening. "And point of correction—my father ordered me not to be down here after one of our apprehended prisoners tried to murder me."

I turned back to the men and smiled devilishly.

"Now. Where were we?"