Chapter 207 Secret Ally
Chapter 207: Secret Ally
Milo pov
The paper slipped from my hands.
The weightless paper now felt like it weighed thousands of kilograms. My fingers trembled as I stared at where it had fallen on the cold stone floor.
This was a secret message from someone. And not just that… the person knew more than they were letting on. They knew about my imprisonment. They knew about the baby. They knew things that should have been impossible for anyone to know.
Ever since my awakening in the lost cave, I had not really had a chance to test the new abilities my mutated bloodline had unlocked. But now, the thought flickered in my head like a stubborn flame that refused to go out.
But one question continued to repeat in my mind, louder and more insistent with each passing second.
Was this person a friend or foe?
Either way, I had to risk it or spend the rest of my days regretting that I did not even try.
I spent the rest of the day testing my limits in small ways. The ability of communicating with one's inner wolf… that was how I had been able to speak to all the pack members at the same time during the battle. It had been instinctive then, born of desperate need.
Daphne had called it mind projection, but we had never had the time to practice it properly.according to her it's a killer ability that even Alphas don't possess. The ability to impose one's will on other wolves.
"Milo, you can command thousands of armies with your powers."
Her words repeated inside my head like an echo. Daphne, being a scriber wolf, made her aligned to nature in ways other wolves could not understand. She had done intensive research when I told her about my second awakening, coming up with so many different theories that had sounded absurd to my ears at the time.
But now, those absurd theories might be my only way out of this hell hole.
When the guard brought my evening meal, I did not immediately bow my head like I usually did. Instead, I met his eyes for a moment, trying to call forth that same energy that had awakened in the cave with Damon. That power that had surged through me like liquid fire.
But nothing happened. No hot sensation in my veins. No tingling feeling. No purple glow. Nothing.
The guard frowned at me, suspicion flickering across his face, but he said nothing. He dropped the food tray with a clatter and left, locking the cell behind him with a decisive click that sounded like a death sentence.
I looked away, embarrassment coloring my cheeks at the stunt I had tried to pull. I had totally made a fool of myself.
As the hours crawled by, I felt even more depressed. No matter how hard I tried, nothing happened. Time was running against me. This was my only chance of escape, and I was failing before I even started.
But I would not stop trying until I succeeded.
Midnight came eventually. The guard outside my cell had changed shifts twice already. The new one was young, barely past his warrior trials. I could hear him yawning, fighting to stay awake in the cold dungeon air.
I heard the door creak open.
I closed my eyes and reached out with all my strength, searching for that power that had felt so natural in the cave. The power that had connected me to every wolf in Damon's pack.
As usual, nothing happened. But I did not stop there. I pushed through my limits, through the pain and exhaustion and fear. I did not know what I was expecting. I just knew that my survival depended on whether I broke through or not.
The guard dropped my food as usual, not even bothering to look at me. He turned to leave, his footsteps already heading toward the door.
"Please, Lior, just come out. Please," I pleaded desperately to my wolf, who had never budged an inch since I arrived at this cursed place.
The guard was already halfway out the door when I felt something stirring inside me. Not the baby… no, this was something else. Something ancient and powerful that pulsed beneath my skin like hidden fire waiting to consume everything.
The power I had been suppressing for so long. The power I had never fully accepted surged into my veins like a dam that had been violently released.
My wolf stirred in ways it never had before. I could feel other wolves in the estate above me. Not clearly, not like full communication. But I sensed their presence, their emotions, like distant whispers carried on the wind directly into my mind.
Lior let loose a loud howl inside my head that threatened to split my skull into two pieces.
I clutched my head, tears spilling down my eyes from the sheer agony, but I did not stop. I could not stop now.
"Hey, what are you doing?" The guard noticed my actions, his hand reaching for his weapon. But it was already too late.
"Sleep," I thought toward him with every ounce of desperate will I possessed. "You are so tired. Just rest for a moment."
I did not know if it would work. I was grasping at straws, throwing everything I had at a power I barely understood.
I braced myself for the sound of a gun, for the pain of a bullet ripping through my body. But nothing came.
After several long, agonizing minutes, I heard soft snoring from outside the cell.
I opened my eyes.
It worked!
I almost let out a shout of joy but caught myself quickly. Now was not the time for celebrating.
My hands trembled as I examined the chains binding me to the wall. They were iron coated with wolfbane, spelled to suppress shifter strength. But there was a weakness where they connected to the stone. The mortar was old, crumbling in places from decades of moisture.
I braced myself and pulled. Pain shot through my wrists as the shackles dug into my skin, drawing blood. But I felt the stone shift slightly.
Again. Harder.
The stone cracked. One anchor point came loose with a grinding sound that seemed impossibly loud in the silence.
I worked frantically, pulling at each chain until they came free from the wall. The shackles still circled my wrists and ankles, heavy and burning against my skin, but I could move now.
The cell door was locked, but the bars were spaced just wide enough. I was thin enough from days of little food to squeeze through if I tried.
It took several painful minutes, scraping skin and bruising bones, but I managed to slip between the bars. The sleeping guard did not stir as I crept past him on trembling legs.
The dungeon corridors were dark and maze-like. I turned around twice before finding stairs leading up. Each step was agony with the chains weighing me down and clanking softly with every movement, but I pushed forward. My baby needed me to be strong.
The east garden was on the far side of the estate, accessible through the servants' entrance. I knew these halls from my days cleaning them. That knowledge saved me now as I navigated through shadows, avoiding the patrol routes, praying to all the gods that I would not encounter anyone.
The garden was dark when I reached it, lit only by pale moonlight filtering through dead branches. Dead plants and overgrown weeds choked what had once been beautiful grounds. I stepped into the shadows of a large oak tree and waited, my heart pounding so hard I was certain everyone in the estate could hear it.
"You came." The voice came from behind me.