Chapter 160

Hannah

“Let me get this straight… you’ve been here for 10 years?!” I gasped, staring at Caroline in disbelief.

She had led us to her underground home which was located just outside the city. It was inside a vault that was kept in a cave. It was completely hidden out of anyone’s view and enchanted to keep outsiders away. I sat on her couch in the living room portion of the vault, staring at her with dismay. Liam sat beside me, staring down at his hands and tugging at his fingers. I knew he was nervous about being here; he made it clear that he didn’t want to go against the king, and he certainly didn’t want to go against our mother. But he wanted to return to his body before it was too late.

Sebastian stood in the corner with his arms folded; he was glaring at Caroline as she told us the story about how she escaped from the palace the first time.

“I need you to rewind the story,” Sebastian said, eyeing her carefully. “You initially told me that his brainwashing didn’t work for you. But you just told Hannah that you were brainwashed. Which one is the truth.”

“I lied to you,” she said, staring at him. “I wasn’t sure if you would trust me if I told you Xander had gotten to me. I certainly wasn’t sure if I trusted you. But as soon as I saw Hannah locked in her room, I knew I could trust you both.”

“So, tell us what really happened,” Sebastian urged.

“When I first got here. Like everyone else, I was brainwashed. That’s how I know what it’s like to be under his control. It’s like there’s a part of you screaming that this is wrong and that you don’t want to be here. A part of you that knows who you are and where you came from. But then there is another part of you, the part he controls, that tells you that if you run, you die. If you don’t obey his orders, he will kill you or punish you to the point where you almost wish you were dead. A part that tells you that living like that is normal and that we should be thankful he’s giving us that opportunity. That part of us does terrible things because we feel we owe him. He pulls the strings, and we oblige to his every command. He evokes a fear that is so great, that the small part of us that knows it’s wrong, is silenced. He beats us, and we think we deserve it for disobeying him.”

“So, how did you wake up?” Sebastian asked. “How did you get rid of that control? Or are you still under his control?”

“No, I’m not,” she said, her tone hardening. “I went to bed as I normally do, and when I woke up, the locket was on my pillow just as I told you. I don’t know how it got there or why. But it was the same locket I had before Magnolia killed me. I couldn’t believe it was there. I took the locket and put it around my neck. As soon as it touched my chest, it was like waking up from a nightmare. I didn’t know what it meant, but I had a feeling I could wake up others too. I just wasn’t sure how. I stayed in the palace and pretended that I was still under his control until I could figure a way out.

“What about Scott?” Sebastian asked. “You said he was awake too.”

“Wait… who’s Scott?” I asked, raising my brows at Caroline.

A small blush crept on her face.

“A guy I befriended during my brainwashing stages. Neither of us knew what was happening to us and why we wanted to obey this vampire king. But as soon as I woke up, I knew it was bad and I knew it was Xander to blame. I tried to get through to Scott, but he dismissed me. That’s when I stopped trying and pretended everything was normal and that I wasn’t awake. Then, one night, Scott and I were alone. I was planning on leaving in a few days; just until I could figure out how the locket worked and then return to help the others. I found a vent I could leave through, but I didn’t want to leave without him. I told him my plans, and he begged me not to, saying that Xander will kill me. He told me he would have to report me right away or he would get in trouble too. I understood and told him if he must, then he should.”

“And he did…” I breathed; it wasn’t a question.

She nodded her head once as tears formed in her eyes.

“I thought he would at least give me a chance to leave first. I was planning on leaving that night. I had everything planned out.” she answered. “He reported me, and I was found out very quickly. Xander saw my locket and knew it had to have been that. He took my locket and locked me in my room. He was planning on brainwashing me again… or killing me. I wasn’t sure what he decided. But either way, I was stuck.”

“How did you get out?” I asked, keeping my eyes on hers.

“Scott was in charge of getting me my food each day. At first, he would drop the food off and leave. I held some resentment toward him and wouldn’t speak to him. But after a few days, we started talking a bit more during his food drop-offs. It was like I had my friend back. He apologized for turning me in and to show him that I no longer held resentment… I kissed him.”

I stared at her in shock for a moment.

“That woke him up…” Sebastian finished her thought for her.

She blinked away the tears that lingered in her eyes.

“Yes,” she confirmed. “It woke him up and he was a complete mess. I told him he needed to pretend that he was still under Xander’s control if he wanted to survive. He helped me to escape the palace. I wanted him to come with me. But he couldn’t. That was 3 years ago, and they still haven’t found out that Scott was the one who helped me. He was only in charge of delivering my food; he told them when he went to deliver my food, I was gone. Before Scott got me out of there, he promised that when the time was right, he would escape too and find me.”

“Why didn’t he go with you in the first place?” I asked curiously.

“His sister is here,” she answered, meeting my eyes. “It was stupid of me to think he would come with me while she was still under his control. You should know how difficult leaving your sibling behind is. He couldn’t just leave knowing she was still here. I couldn’t blame him.”

“Caroline…” I whispered, standing to my feet. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m so sorry you ended up here. When Magnolia killed you…”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said, stopping my words.

She wiped the remaining tears off her face and gave me a strong smile.

“I’m glad I got to see you again,” I whispered to her as we hugged. “I never got a chance to say goodbye... or thank you for all you have done. You were my first friend and I love you so much.”

She hugged me tightly, neither of us wanting to let go. But now that we had the scepter and we had our wolves, I knew it was time for us to leave. It was only a matter of time before Xander found out that we took back the moonstone scepter. The scepter was powerful enough for Xander to sense and he will find us quickly.

“We can’t stay,” Sebastian said, mimicking my thoughts. “Xander will sense the scepter and track it to your hideout.”

“We can open the portal from outside,” I said as I pulled away from Caroline, wiping away my tears. I looked at Liam who still seemed uncertain but took my hand and stood to his feet.

“There’s something else you need to know,” Caroline said, looking between all of us. “Xander had more power over us in the werewolf kingdom than we ever knew. He has vessels there; more vessels than you know about. You can’t trust anybody. I fear that even if you do leave this underworld, you are still in grave danger.”