Chapter 35

It was very rarely that the Steel mansion was so quiet in the dead of the night that one could very well hear a pin drop. Once it was eleven pm, the servants closed for the day and the lights were put off but a few of them usually lingered till twelve. With the exception of Lucien sometimes doing some work in his study that late in the night, there was usually no one else luring about at that time.

The mansion had about two hundred rooms, combining the west and east wing and as such, all members of the pack had a room. Which was not to say that they all lived there, only that if they wanted to, they could spend a night or a few. A great inconvenience, especially at times like this when running into one of them and having to explain whereabouts at the middle of the time was a bitch.

Nevertheless, a tiptoe downstairs to Lucien’s study confirmed that he was asleep in his room. Ever since Mason’s episode the previous week, Lucien had barely left Olivia alone for more than two hours. It was absolutely disgusting how he fawned over her like an egg that would crack if he took his eyes off it for just a few seconds but right now, it was much appreciated. Getting caught wandering the villa at this time would raise suspicions.

Drawing closer to his desk, the item sought after was lying carelessly on it. Thankfully. The faster this was done, the better. Grabbing the key and tiptoeing out of the study, the walk to the underground rooms was not much of a hassle. As there was no one about, it didn’t take much to open the doors and give access, taking great care so the sound of the keys jiggling would not awaken anyone.

Mason was sprawled across the dirty ground where a soft snore could be heard. He was asleep? Obviously, he was way too comfortable in this state. Lucien should have finished him off, the useless fool.

Hitting the hard bars to jerk him awake, the rusty smell of blood and wet sand filled the dark space.

It worked, as Mason sat upright and jerked towards to the wall with his back, squinting his eyes so he could see clearly in the dark.

“Who is it?’

“You still didn’t learn anything after all this time. How could you come back here?”

“Oh,” he mumbled. “It’s you.”

“Yes, me. Expecting someone else?”

A slight frown formed on his face. Dust covered his entire body; it was difficult to tell the exact color of his clothes from just a glance. An iron bucket was at the far-left corner of the cell, which was probably where that foul smell was coming from and chains planted in the ground held him in place.

“What do you want, Elena? If you’re not going to let me out, you might as well leave.”

Elena drew air through her teeth, rolling her eyes. “Why did you come to the villa?”

“I was tired of being forced to stay in that filth.”

“Not quite the comfort you were hoping for now, is it?” Her voice was filled with sneer as she made show of looking around. “At least, you had the freedom to move around there. What becomes of you now?”

Mason jerked forward so fast she didn’t see it coming. The chains holding him clinked as they reached their limit, bringing him to the middle of the square cell. He stretched a hand out but couldn’t reach the bar. “Fucking get me out of here.”

It was then that she saw the veins that covered his skin. Big, green and ugly, they stuck out like a sore thumb. His eyes were a bright red and his skin was dry. “Wolfsbane.” She murmured, coming closer.

They’d been feeding him wolfsbane to weaken him so he couldn’t transform and escape. She’d wondered how they’d managed to keep him bound for more than a day. Fucking smart bastards.

“Yeah.” Mason murmured wryly, drawing back like as though he were hiding himself from her gaze. “My brother’s a real asshole, isn’t he?”

Elena reminded herself why she’d come here and it was definitely not to pity Mason. After all, he’d brought this upon himself. If he’d stayed put like he’d been instructed to, he would not be here.

Opening the small backpack she carried, she brought out a squirrel she’d killed in the woods earlier and threw it at him. “Eat. It’s all I could manage to carry without causing suspicion.”

He reached forward to pick up the dead animal, lifting it to his nose to smell it. Then without warning, he tore out a large chunk of its flesh with his teeth, so forcefully that it seemed like he’d used his last strength to perform the action.

“Make sure it’s all gone by morning or he’ll know.” She said. “Have you told him anything?”

He met her eyes. “You’d be dead.”

Nodding, she acquiesced. He was right. Ever since Mason had stupidly gone and gotten himself locked up, she’d lived in constant fright that she’d been found out. The thought of leaving occurred to her but she’d come too far to let all her hard work go to waste. Besides, Lucien trusted her with his life. Even if Mason had said anything, it was his word against hers.

“I’d release you but I could only find the key to the underground gate and not to the cells. I think he has them on his person. If so, it will be hard to get them off of him. Lucien has been on high alert since you got yourself caught. Even the villa is on lockdown. No one comes in or goes out without his approval.” It had been a real bitch when Lucien had decided to oversee the ground security himself. Sneaking around the guards might have been easy but Lucien had a nose like a hound dog to sniff out irregularities.

Mason licked his blood-coated lips, then snorted. “Jokes on him. All his enemies are within his walls.”

Elena shared the sentiment. Lucien had no idea what was coming.

“When am I getting out of here?”

“When you learn to not be so disobedient and impulsive.”

“What are they saying about it?”

She licked her lower lip. ‘They’ had been awfully quiet since his capture. “Nothing. Listen, I have to go. Getting caught down here will be bad for business.” Not exactly the subtlest change of topic but whatever.

“Elena.” She made to move but he called out her name.

“Yeah?”

“I’ve been holding on for far too long. Get me out of here soon or names will sing.”

She knew a threat when she heard one. Unfortunately for him, his little threat was directed at the wrong person. When she made up her mind to do this, she understood the repercussions that came with it. Every man for himself. Mason had more to lose than she did. After all, it wasn’t her brother she was betraying.

No. It was just the man who had held her heart for as long as she could remember.

Well, if she couldn’t have him, then no one else could.