Chapter 87 Closure - Amelia’s POV
A simple question, but loaded with concern. I took a deep breath, arranging my thoughts. "I need closure," I explained. "I confronted Elena at the ball, but that was just a moment. Marcus... he was different. He was the alpha, the one who could have stopped it all. I need to look him in the eye, on my terms. Not as a prisoner being dragged before him for punishment, but as..." I hesitated, the word still strange on my tongue. "As the Alpha Queen."
Aleksandr set his cup down, his jaw tightening. "He doesn't deserve your time," he said, voice dropping to that dangerous register that made most wolves cower. "Or your consideration."
"This isn't about what he deserves," I countered, surprising myself with my steady tone. "It's about what I need."
'Tell him the rest,' Kaela urged. 'Tell him the truth.'
I swallowed hard, my fingers fidgeting with the edge of my napkin. "I think... I think it might help with shifting," I added quietly. "Not immediately, but... Kaela and I are carrying so much. So much fear, so much anger. Maybe if we can let some of it go..."
I didn't finish the thought. I didn't need to. Aleksandr understood immediately, his expression shifting from resistance to thoughtful consideration. Three days of watching me try and fail to shift had left him as desperate for solutions as I was.
"It could be dangerous," he said, though I could tell he was wavering. "He may try to manipulate you. To hurt you with words if he can't use his hands."
"I know," I nodded. "But he can't hurt me anymore. Not really. Not with you there."
That got his attention. His eyebrows lifted slightly. "You want me to come with you?"
I blinked in surprise. "Of course. Did you think I'd go alone?"
The tension in his shoulders eased visibly. "I wasn't sure. You're so determined to handle things yourself sometimes."
A small smile tugged at my lips. "I'm determined, not stupid. Besides..." I reached across the table, resting my hand atop his much larger one. "We're in this together now. All of us."
'Damn right,' Kaela agreed fiercely. I felt Skoll's answering rumble through our bond, his presence warm and protective.
Aleksandr turned his hand beneath mine, engulfing my fingers in his grip. "Alright," he conceded. "But at the first sign that it's causing you distress, we leave. No arguments."
"Agreed," I said, squeezing his hand before withdrawing to finish my breakfast.
An hour later, we descended into the bowels of the royal castle, to the secure cells where traitors awaited trial. The guards stationed at each checkpoint snapped to attention as we passed, their eyes widening at the sight of me walking alongside the Alpha King. I felt their curiosity like a physical weight—the infamous wolfless girl from Frozen Mountain, now the Alpha Queen who had shifted into a massive wolf to save her mate, but hadn't been seen in wolf form since. Rumors about my condition had undoubtedly spread throughout the castle. I kept my chin high, refusing to show how their scrutiny affected me.
The cells were located in the deepest level of the castle, far below the opulent halls above. The air grew cooler as we descended, the elegant decor giving way to functional stone and iron. Guards flanked the heavy door that led to the highest-security section, where Kane and Marcus were being held separately from Blackthorn and the other conspirators.
"Alpha King," the guards murmured in unison, bowing deeply before opening the door.
Aleksandr's hand rested at the small of my back, a subtle support as we entered the dimly lit corridor beyond. Six cells lined each side, though only two were currently occupied. Kane's was at the far end, but we stopped before the first cell on the right.
Marcus Blackwater sat on a narrow cot, his once-imposing frame somehow diminished by the confines of his cell and the silver restraints around his wrists. Those restraints were a precaution rather than a punishment, they would prevent him from shifting, from accessing the full strength of his wolf. His head snapped up at our approach, eyes widening as they landed on me.
"Amelia?" His voice was rough with disuse, but I recognised the tone, the same bewildered disbelief he'd shown when I failed to shift at sixteen. As if I continued to surprise him with my inadequacy.
"Alpha Blackwater," I replied coolly, my voice steadier than I'd expected. I didn't use his title out of respect, but as a reminder, of what he'd been, of what he'd thrown away. Of the responsibility he'd betrayed.
He rose slowly from the cot, approaching the bars that separated us. Aleksandr tensed beside me, a low warning growl building in his chest. Marcus stopped, eyes flicking between us.
"I didn't expect to see you here," he said, gaze settling back on me. "Came to gloat? To see your former alpha brought low?"
"No," I said simply. "I came for answers."
He laughed, a hollow, bitter sound that echoed off the stone walls. "Answers? After all this time?"
"Yes." I stepped closer to the bars, ignoring Aleksandr's subtle attempt to keep me back. "I want to know why. Why you took me in as a child only to throw me away when I didn't shift. Why you let Dominic hurt me. Why you looked away when Elena—"
"Because you were a disappointment," he cut in sharply, the words like a slap. "We gave you everything, raised you as our own, and you couldn't even give us a proper wolf in return. Do you know what that did to our standing? To have a wolfless girl as our adopted daughter?"
'Liar,' Kaela snarled in my mind. 'We were always here. Always.'