Chapter 134 Unexpected Ally pt 2
Seren
“My name’s Alexis. I’m a warrior from Forest Lake Pack.”
Forest Lake was one of our allies. Alpha Braxton is Duncan’s cousin. I’d met him briefly during the ceremony days ago, but we hadn’t had a lot of time to really talk. If she was his pack, I needed to help get her home.
“How did you end up in these cells?”
She blew out a breath, sitting cross-legged close to the bars, but not close enough that they would burn her. “I was at my cousin’s pack visiting when they were attacked. Hundreds of rogues came in, killing everyone in sight and corralling the omegas. Then, Alpha Brian's Beta and his team came in behind them and finished the job. They killed the leaders of Iron Fang and took all survivors captive. I got caught up in the fight. He got rid of the prisoners about a month ago, I think? I’m not entirely sure. Time runs together in here. But he decided to keep me. Apparently he wants to break me, have fun with me, before he sends me wherever he sent them. It’s proving harder than he expected.” That light flashed in her eyes again, her spirit still strong despite the torture she’d been enduring.
I watched her, looking for any sign that she was lying to me. I wish Gideon was with me now. It would be nice to know for sure that she was being truthful. As it stood, I only had my gut, which was telling me to trust her. Groaning, I sat up on the cot, getting a little closer to her. “How many guards are on rotation here? Do you know?”
“Two on eight-hour shifts. But we have no way of getting through the locks. They’re electronic, controlled from somewhere else. Even if we could overpower the guards, we can’t get out through the doors.” Frustration colored her tone. “If they take you from here, one comes down with a silver collar and leashes you while the other manages the door locks. It’s degrading.” She spat on the floor.
We fell silent for a moment.
“What’s your story?” she asked.
I huffed out a laugh. “Well, it’s not my first time in a dungeon, I’ll tell you that.” I picked at my nails as I debated how open to be with her. To hell with it. “I’m Seren. Princess Seren.” That was getting easier to say, though it still sometimes felt unreal. “I’m also Luna to Crescent Moon Pack. My ceremony was two days ago. Rogues attacked our pack today, and one of my own pack members betrayed me.” The anger that flared up at the thought of Lenore burned in my chest. Mercy would not be her fate when I finally got back. “Alpha Brian was there. They injected me with something—wolfsbane, maybe silver—and kidnapped me.” I shrugged like it was not a big deal. Really, it was laughable at this point. This is the second time in my life I’ve been kidnapped. At least I’m aware of it this time.
I looked up at her, meeting her eyes. They were wide, shocked, even as her jaw hung open. The corner of my lips tilted up. “You can close that now.”
She snapped herself out of it. “Holy shit. You’re our princess? The one who went missing years ago? That princess?”
I nodded. “Yup. That’s me.”
Her head slowly shook back and forth. “Sorry about your luck, Princess.” Her tone was dry. There was a beat of silence, then laughter was rolling through the cells as we both lost it. Hysteria or something else, I didn’t know, but it felt good to have the release of some sort. I wiped tears from my eyes as we calmed and realized my headache was almost gone and the fog between Kara and me was slightly thinner. I still couldn’t reach my powers, and I started to wonder what else was in that mixture that would cause the suppression. If I could get back to Elaine, I could ask her.
“Well, Alexis, my gamma is on his way. He’s only got a small party with him, but if we can do what we can to sneak out from this end, then he should be able to get us out. We’ll get you back to Forest Lake Pack. Are you up for that?”
“Hell yeah. But how are we going to get out of the cells and past the guards?”
A small, quiet voice whispered from the shadows. “I can help you with that. Just please, take me with you.”