79

CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE.

ROSALIE'S POV.

I was in Jacqueline's room, waiting. The walls of his chamber which had always been so comforting to me, now felt like they were closing in on me.

My thoughts were a rollercoaster, rolling all around and running to him. 'Is he safe? Is the pack holding its ground? Should I be panicking? Should I check it out?'

A lot just kept running in, and every scenario my mind conjured up only made the intestines in my stomach tighten.

I tried to sit, to calm myself down at least, and I did, but the moment I sat down and stopped moving, my chest felt like it was being trampled under the weight of my worry.

I jolted back up.

''He's out there, facing… who knows what," I muttered to myself, running my fingers through my hair.

Rose began to growl at me. *Stay calm. Sit down, I'm trying to rest.*

But how could I? How could I sit here, useless, when Jacqueline is out there and might need me?

*Just calm down, he will be here in a bit.*

Most times, Rose behaved like she knew it all, and well, many a time, she was mostly right.

So, I decided to listen to her this once, although I couldn't sit down. Instead, I had to rest on a wall and fold my hands together, waiting.

The minutes dragged on, each one an everlasting heaviness in my heart. I couldn't stay still and fold my hands any longer, I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I wrestled with my reasoning faculty.

I wanted to wait. I needed to wait.

But I couldn't!

"I have to go," I said aloud to myself, as if hearing the words would make them truer. Anyway, I knew I had to go.

Without any more thought, I strode to the door, making sure my steps were hurried. But the moment I opened the door, I was met with an unyielding barrier. The guards.

'When were they released from that deafening sound?' I wondered to myself, 'No wonder I can hear myself when I speak.'

I decided to religiously ignore them and leave, but...

"Luna, you must remain inside," One of them said, and bowed to me, obstructing my way.

I glared at him, throwing his respect aside. "I need to go to the territory. I need to see what's happening there."

"The Alpha's orders are clear," The second guard said, his stance as rigid as the first, but he was not looking at me in the eyes. "For your safety, you must stay here, says the alpha."

"For my safety?" I repeated, scoffing, "Do you think I care about my safety when my mate and the pack are out there? Let me through!"

They didn't budge. Their expressions were unreadable, but their stance was unshaken.

Rose growled out in me in frustration, echoing my own all around my head.

"Please," I tried again, my tone softer this time. "I just need to see him. I need to know he's okay."

But they were immovable. "We can't, Luna. The Alpha would have our heads."

I opened my mouth to argue further, but a sudden noise cut through the tension, causing more tension. It was faint at first, but it grew louder, more urgent.

The guards and I stiffened, their heads snapping toward the hallway. I bet they all were thinking that we were under another attack like the previous one.

I knew that was what was on their minds because that was what was on mine too.

"Stay here, Luna," One of them ordered me without a glance my way. He was already moving toward the sound.

"Like hell I will," I muttered under my breath, "I surely will."

They left me after I gave them my fake words. I huffed and began to follow them at a safe distance. My heart was racing, but I couldn't let that weigh me down.

As I rounded the corner in the hallway, I saw them, the guards, now gathered around two figures in the dim light. It took me a moment to recognize the figures, but when I did, I was not surprised.

Briana and Lennox.

'But how are they out of the dungeon?' My breath caught when that question slipped into my mind.

They shouldn't be here. They should've been locked away, secured in the dungeon where they couldn't cause any more harm.

Yet here they were, looking dreadful like homeless cows, surrounded by guards who looked just as stunned as I felt.

My anger flared, hot and sharp, and I didn't mind getting seen when I flared up.

"How?" I demanded, stepping forward. The guards parted slightly, paving a way for me to go through. Their gazes dropped on me as I approached. "How did they get out?"

No one answered. Briana and Lennox met my eyes, their expressions were unreadable.

My wolf growled low in my chest, her hackles rising. Something about this felt wrong. So off.

Then, I realised I was supposed to be somewhere, so I turned to the guards, "Cease them right back into the dungeon where they belong and investigate their escape from it." I instructed them.

"Yes, Luna." They chorused and bowed to me.

I nodded at them and made to walk away to begin my journey to the territory, but Briana's laugh pierced through the tense air like a blade, sharp and grating.

It was sudden and unexpected, and it sent a chill down my spine.

I stopped in my tracks, turning to face her as she leaned back against the wall, held by the guards who were glaring at her for her laughter was echoing through the hallway.

I said nothing, I was just watching her with narrowed eyes. Rose stirred uneasily within me, she was ready to jump on Briana and rip her head, but I forced her to calm down, not ready to stain my hands with the blood of a sinful soul.

"Enjoying yourself?" I finally asked, crossing my arms as I stared her down.

She didn't answer immediately. Instead, she laughed harder, as if I had just told the most hilarious joke in the world.

The guards shifted uncomfortably around us, unsure of what to make of her laugh, while I let her laugh to her satisfaction.

Finally, Briana's laughter began to subside. She wiped her eyes dry from the teasing tears, then let out a mocking smile which plastered on her face as she straightened.

"Don't you think something is amiss?" She asked me with her voice dripping with false innocence.

"What's amiss?"

"Something or somebody somewhere."