Chapter 152 Surviving the Dark Cave

Chapter 152 Surviving the Dark Cave
The night wind blew fiercely through the gaps of the foliage at the northern forest border, carrying a biting cold that chilled them to the bone. Amidst the dimness of the night, Mr. Hary brought his steps to a halt and turned to face Sera, who walked beside him with ragged breath.

"Let’s stop here for a moment, Sera," Hary said softly as he adjusted the position of Baby Leon's sling on his back. "This place is well-concealed from the guards' view."

Sera nodded weakly, leaning against the trunk of a massive oak tree to support her exhausted body.

Hary stared intently at Sera, his panicked expression shifting into profound confusion. "What... what actually happened to you all this time, Sera? You vanished without a word, without a trace, as if swallowed whole by the earth. The entire world thought you were dead!"

"I never wanted to vanish, Hary," Sera answered, her voice trembling as she held back a surge of emotion.

"Then why didn't you ever contact anyone? Why did you leave us all living in uncertainty?" Hary pressed, his eyes narrowing. "The Aria Company collapsed, Alpha Rolex went nearly insane, and yet you hid yourself behind the mask of a maid named Ana?"

"Do you think I enjoyed this disguise?" Sera cut him off sharply, her eyes welling up with tears. "Do you think I wanted to be in that mansion as a maid who got humiliated every single day?"

"Then explain it to me!" Hary exclaimed, holding his breath. "Explain to me where you went all these years!"

Sera took a deep breath, clenching her hands until her knuckles turned white. "All of this... was Maya's doing."

Hary gasped, his eyes widening. "Lady Maya? The elegant woman who always seemed so sympathetic to the pack's grievances?"

"Don't be fooled by her angelic face, Hary!" Sera whispered in a tone filled with hatred. "She is the true demon. On the night of the attack three years ago, she was the one who framed me. She kidnapped me, drugged me, and hid me in a place no one could ever imagine."

"Where?" Hary asked, choked up. "Where did she hide you?"

"Inside the forbidden cave at the western edge of the valley region," Sera replied, tears of bitterness finally falling down her cheeks. "A terrifying, damp, dark cave smelling of poison. A place where sunlight could never penetrate."

"The forbidden cave?" Hary froze. "That place is surrounded by magic that suppresses wolf auric bonds!"

"Precisely," Sera said with a bitter smile. "Maya knew that if I was there, my mate bond with Rolex would be completely severed. Rolex would never be able to catch my scent or feel my presence. Inside that cold cave was where I was locked up, bound with silver chains that burned my skin every single second."

"My goodness, Sera..." Hary muttered in disbelief, his chest heaving as he heard his friend's suffering.

"She tortured me, Hary. She fed me just enough to keep me from dying, while constantly whispering poisonous words that Rolex had forgotten me and chosen another woman," Sera continued, her voice raspy. "Every night I cried on the cold stone, enduring the pain in my body, and the most agonizing part... I had to fight to keep the baby inside my womb alive!"

Hary lowered his head, his eyes glistening as he imagined the cruel fate that had befallen the woman before him. "How could a woman have a heart that cruel?"

"Maya wanted everything," Sera said firmly. "She wanted the top position in the pack, she wanted the Aria family's wealth, and she wanted to possess Rolex! I was the only major obstacle in her way. Therefore, she made me suffer slowly inside that rotting cave."

"Then how did you get out of there and end up in her mansion as a maid?" Hary asked inquisitively.

"A few months ago, as the time for me to give birth drew near, the suppression magic in the cave weakened due to a silver storm," Sera explained. "I managed to take advantage of her guards' carelessness, injured them, and escaped. But I realized I didn't have the strength to fight out in the open. So, I created this magic mask, disguised myself as a mute maid named Ana, and infiltrated Maya's mansion to save my child."

"You hid right under your enemy's nose," Hary whispered, awestruck by Sera's courage.

"Yes. I gambled my life there. Every day I swept her floors, listened to her plans, and watched her play the pious woman in front of the public," Sera said, her features hardening.

"Now you are free, Sera. What are you going to do?" Hary asked seriously.

Sera straightened her body, roughly wiping away the tears on her cheeks. The gaze that was once filled with sorrow was now replaced by a burning spark of vengeance.

"I will not run anymore, Hary," Sera asserted, her voice cold and lethal. "I went through hell in that cave, and I survived for only one purpose."

"What purpose?"

"I am determined to repay everything she did. I will tear down all the false masks that Maya wears!" Sera declared with emphasis. "I will report every crime and torture she committed before the clan's high council and the entire world!"

Hary looked at Sera with awe mixed with worry. "Fighting Maya won't be easy, Sera. She has strong influence in the council and many guards."

"I don't care how strong her influence is!" Sera cut in sharply. "The evidence of her crimes is with me, and this baby is living proof of her grand lie. Maya must pay for every drop of tears, every whip mark, and every second of pain I felt inside that terrifying cave!"

"Will you involve Alpha Rolex in your revenge?" Hary asked cautiously.

Sera paused for a moment, looking at Baby Leon sleeping soundly on Hary's back. "Rolex will learn the truth at the right time. But tonight, my main focus is to gather what strength I have left. I am going to make Maya feel for herself what it's like to lose everything."

Hary took a deep breath, then patted Sera's shoulder with firm confidence. "If that is your decision, then I will stand beside you. I will help you report her crimes and exact your revenge."

"Thank you, Hary," Sera whispered sincerely. "Justice will soon come for us all."

With an ever-burning resolve, the two of them resumed their steps through the darkness of the night, leaving the dark past behind toward a new battle that would unmask every neatly hidden crime.