Chapter 45 45.Serious crime
Tabitha’s POV
After the intense confrontation with the pack Elders, I decide that it’s better to confine myself to the room. I debated if I should return to the Aldair estate but I thought… what difference would it make? The elders will just find a way to somehow ambush me there as well. The better plan is to wait until Reed, Luca, Jace, and Evren return from their duties. Ironically, I feel safer when they are around.
I glance at the clock on the wall. It’s late in the afternoon and I didn’t even eat lunch. Not that I’m hungry. I was too shaken about what happened earlier that I don’t find the energy to eat.
Damn it. When are my stepbrothers coming back?
A heavy pounding shakes my hotel suite door.
“Tabitha! Huxley” Alfred Wix’s deep voice booms from outside. “Come out at once!”
I jolt upright in bed, my heart hammering against my ribs. What the hell? Confusion and dread claw through me as the pounding continues, each strike against the door louder and more urgent than the last.
“Come out!”
What the hell is happening? I walk towards the door that is now practically vibrating from the relentless pounding of the person outside. What is Alfred Wix doing outside my room?
To my surprise, another voice thunders.
“If you don’t come out, we’ll have no choice but to break the door down!” It’s unmistakably Ava’s voice.
My stomach twists. First Alfred, and now Ava? A sinking feeling stirs in my gut. Are there more people outside my room now?
“If you do not come outside right now, then I’ll have no choice but to beak this door and drag you out of here myself,” Ava’s voice is laced with theat.
Is she out of her mind?
For a moment, I think about hiding, pretending I’m not here but the pounding doesn’t stop, and fear mixes with a sudden wave of defiance. I gather whatever courage I can muster, force my shaky legs to move, and open the door.
The sight waiting for me makes my blood run cold. The same five elders who cornered me earlier stand at the threshold. But this time, they’re not alone. A dozen more werewolves from the Crystal Ridge pack flank them. And they look as hostile as the five.
“What do you need now?” My voice wavers, though I try to sound steady.
Eli steps forward with an unnerving composure.
“Tabitha, you have committed a very serious crime. One that betrays not only the Crystal Ridge pack, but the Aldair family as well,” he says in a dangerously calm voice.
“W-What are you talking about? I haven’t done anything!” I declare.
Eli’s gaze hardens. “The Diamond Mountain—the ceremonial seal used during the wedding rites—was found damaged. The box is broken and the artifact inside is scorched. A staff member swore they saw you near the restricted wing of the hotel this morning.”
My chest tightens. “That’s impossible! I was in my room the entire day! You can’t just accuse me of something I didn’t do!”
Eli slowly lifts a clear plastic container for everyone to see. Inside are several strands of long, dark hair that look frighteningly familiar.
“We have evidence proving that you are at the scene of the crime,” he says coldly. “Your hair was found there, along with traces of your scent near the storage door. Do you deny this as well?”
“I-I have no idea how you got that! But I swear to you, I didn’t do it. I don’t even know where the seal was being kept!” I choke out the words as tears pool in my eyes.
Eli shakes his head slowly. “I don’t want to hear your excuses.” He raises a hand, and several men step forward. “Take her.”
Two strong arms seize me before I can react.
“Let go of me!” I scream, thrashing against their grip. “Get off!”
Desperation surges through me, and I bite down hard on the arm of one of the men holding me. He roars in pain, jerking back, but before I can break free, the other snarls and slams his fist into my stomach.
The air whooshes out of me in a sharp gasp. Agonizing pain blooms across my middle, and my knees buckle as my vision blurs.
My last thought before darkness swallows me whole is that no one will believe me when I say I didn’t do it.
I wake up in a dark room. A foul stench hangs in the air, sharp enough to make me gag.
This is not my hotel suite.
The walls are bare, nothing but raw concrete. A tiny slit of a window sits high above me. It is so narrow that even an arm would struggle to pass through.
My stomach twists. This place looks like a prison.
I push myself upright and turn. My suspicion is confirmed when I see the iron bars across the front. Shit. I’m really in a prison!
My knees buckle, and I grab the grills, rattling them with all the strength I can muster.
“Help! Somebody help me!” I scream my lungs out.
The echo of my own voice comes back at me. My head pounds, and my stomach throbs where I was struck. Still, I scream again and again until my throat burns raw. No one comes.
“P-Please… let me out! Please…” my voice break in my last attempt to seek help.
Hours drag by and I’ve used up throat in its full capacity. I cough when I try to shout again. My body sinks to the floor, defeated. I stare at the concrete wall in silence as the dim light from the small window fades, leaving me in the dark.
It’s night.
I don’t know how many hours I spend staring at the paintless wall. All I know is that I didn’t get a wink of sleep that night.
Until morning comes. The scrape of boots against the floor jolts me. A man appears outside my cell. This place is so dark even when it’s morning. I have the squint my eyes to get a better look at his figure. I recognize the Kaelara navy uniform he’s wearing.
He’s a navy soldier!
My heart races. That can only mean one thing—I am locked inside the Kaelara naval base.
“P-Please,” I rasp. “Please let me out. I didn’t do anything! You have to listen to me.”
The guard does not even glance at me. He just slides a plate of bread and a cup of water across the floor and turns away.
“Wait! Don’t go! Please!” I beg and scream as I watch his figure disappear from the darkened hallway.
Shit. I’m screwed.
I pick up the cup and sip and I almost immediately spit the thing out. The water tastes like rust and disgusting sewer water. But I’m so thirsty that I chug the thing down. The bread is stale and scratches my throat as I swallow. I barely eaten half when I decide to set it aside. The thing is not edible.
I lean against the rough wall once again, thinking what kind of torture I got myself into. My stomach aches. My whole body aches. And the cold stone floor offers no comfort. I hug myself as tears blur my vision. I want to escape, but I don’t know how. I stretch on my toes and reach for the window, but it is too high, too narrow. Even if I do reach it, it’s impossible to be used as an escape route. I drop back down, clutching my sides.
This hellhole is designed to keep its prisoners inside and crush any attempts of escape.
I don’t deserve to be here. I’m not a prisoner. I shouldn’t be. I didn’t do anything! I don’t know why they are keeping me here.
“I can’t stay here,” I whisper, but the cell swallows my voice.