Chapter 92: It's Now Or Never
Chapter 92: It's Now Or Never
Alpha Hemming's POV:
There was one question in my head at that moment, about what was happening to me, and I couldn't help but wonder. What were they going to do with me after this little conversation was over? From what I could tell, it didn't seem to be going in my favor.
Did they somehow think I was part of the rival nation after all these years? The ones who could do such a treacherous act against my own nation? The rival nation already went so far as to kill His Royal Highness and Her Royal Majesty, so what makes me think these men won't return the favor, as I was captured right along with them? I then looked over at the man who was asking me all these questions and held my head high. I needed to tell him what I knew about that trip, as I considered this a now-or-never situation.
"If you will permit me," I started to say as they all turned to look at me. "I'll start by disclosing the events that led up to the night I was taken. That way, you can account for who I am, as I will tell you all there is to know about the night in question. Just know this. If I could have returned prior to that day, I would have. But as I've told you before, I was captured and held captive since that date."
I watched the man as he stood in front of me, thinking about what I said. I could tell it was hard for him to believe my words. I understood his point about all this. I knew there would be no way to regain my rank of Alpha, as I was the Alpha of my own pack all those years ago. Despite that, I know I still have the mindset of one.
Being beaten did not beat my mind down, only my physical body, as I still held out hopes that I would one day escape from there. However, I never thought it would be this soon. As for being in this man's position, I understood why he was questioning me the way he was. I would want to know all avenues were examined before I took anything into account when dealing with rivals of any standing.
For now, I bet he would consider me a rival, as I've been out of the nation for so long. I do not recognize him at all, so he probably came into his position after I was sent away on that trip. I then looked back at him, hoping he would want to hear what I had to say.
"I will tell you this," he said as he looked at me and took another step closer to where I was standing there in the center of the room. "I will allow you to tell this story of yours. Only I will do so in a different manner in which you are probably not familiar with. Have you ever heard of a camera?"
I wasn't sure what he was referring to, so I responded, "No. I have not heard that term."
"I thought not," he said as he turned around, taking a few steps away before he turned back to face me once again. "I'll do this for you so that you may tell your side about what happened all those years ago. However, it will need to be set up first. You will wait here till I have a chance to do that. There is one thing that I will tell you first."
Then he took a step even closer to me as he said his next part. "When you tell me your side of what happened, I want to know everything, and I do mean every little detail. As I will be the one you will need to convince in order to keep your life from certain death. Once I tell this to His Highness, I know He will not be thrilled at having to relive the painful memories of His parents' death."
With that, the man turned to walk out of the room. I stood there as I watched all the others leave as well. Only the one man that I recognized remained in the room with me. He even walked up to me after a moment of just standing there, looking at me. I still wasn't sure what he was thinking. Did he somehow wonder if it was a good thing he said anything, or was it a bad thing? However, when he got close enough to me, he did say something I didn't think I would hear.
"Hemming, I do hope for your sake that you convince Beta Maxwell of the truth," Lawrence said in a bit of a hushed tone. "And, trust me when I tell you this. His Highness is nothing to be compared to when it comes to His wrath. He is even fiercer than His beloved father was. If there is something you know, I trust you will search your memory now, as they are going to record your conversation in the next room. That way, they can recall your answers without having to ask you about it later. Even if they need to know something that has already been asked."
Was he trying to warn me in a way? When he said the last part, I could feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as a sign of a warning. If only I could talk to Hash, then maybe I could tell a bit more about what was going on. I looked down once more as I thought about the weight of his words. Then it dawned on me.
"Lawrence," I called back to him in a hushed tone. I needed to know this answer. "Can you tell me this?"
He stopped walking as he was just about to head out the door, turning to face me, asking, "What's that?"
His tone was cautious, yet curious at the same time.
"Can you tell me why I'm not able to contact my Wolf?" I asked him, concerned as to my tone.
I was sincerely concerned for the sake of my Wolf.
"You will not be able to communicate with your Wolf till you are no longer wearing chains. There is an inhibitor in the chains that prevents you from communicating with your Wolf. If you could communicate, then you could transform. That is something they are preventing, as some Wolves are far more powerful than others. If you are anything, as I remember, you are quite powerful yourself."
After he said that, he walked out of the room and left me alone with my thoughts. Could this actually be the case? Could wearing these chains prevent me from talking to Hash? Why was it that I could no longer communicate with anyone from my pack, either? Who was the Alpha now? Did he change things so much that we are out of sync to make this happen?
I was not sure what would happen next, but I had to think about what had happened that day, all those 18 years ago.