Chapter 36

Lucian

I learned several things from my interviews with the captive Rogues. The most important detail was the name of one Alpha who had hired them, Alpha Silvestre. Now I had a place to start.

And once my brother and I found our fated mate and stabilized our wolf-bonds, Alpha Silvestre's pack would be our next target. If he'd attacked us openly, with a challenge or with his pack, I'd respect that. Pitting strength against strength is the way of our world.

But this sneaking approach, hiring Rogues and spies, was not something I would tolerate. It was the same trickery that had cost my parents their lives. It sent my brother and myself into nearly a decade of exile. I would not let that happen again.

First, though, I needed to find out who had spoken to the Rogues about Zara. Someone in my pack had discovered the vulnerability Zara represented, and tried to use her against us. It was unclear whether they knew what she did for us, or if they just saw how much time she spent near us and assumed we held some affection for her.

Hopefully, keeping her imprisoned would convince the pack that she did not have any emotional importance to me or Kieran. The pack would see her being punished and that we weren't keeping her close. Hopefully those rumors would spread as far as the rumors which had endangered her.

I realized that keeping her in the tower was a temporary measure. She hadn't actually tried to kill us. Punishing her for something she didn't do was unfair. Life was unfair, and I was trying to keep her alive.

Still, Zara was stubborn and willful. She would see the injustice of her situation and not the peril.

I didn't care whether she hated me, so long as she was alive to feel that hatred.

A knock at my office door interrupted my plans.

“Enter,” I called, resting my pen on the desk blotter.

One of the tower guards stepped inside and proceeded to shift from foot to foot, visibly nervous.

“What happened?” I asked.

“The prisoner in the tower, er, Zara,” the guard stuttered, and before he finished speaking my wolf began to thrash within me.

I tightened my grip on my wolf, took a deep breath, and nodded for the guard to continue. I refused to lose my composure in front of one of my wolves.

“She's gone,” the guard said.

“How? Was there any sign of intruders?” I demanded.

“No, the door was closed, and locked, and the morning guard was trapped inside. He babbled something about an Alpha's orders, but there's no Alphas here besides you and your brother.”

“Bring the guard to me,” I growled, “Now.”

I knew my brother hadn't given any orders counter to my own. He didn't agree with keeping Zara imprisoned, but he would have been in my office arguing if he wanted her out that badly. He certainly wouldn't trap a guard in her cell.

So who had done it? There were a few wolves in our packs strong enough to be Alphas, but none of them were dominant enough to countermand my direct orders.

The guard returned, with a younger wolf in tow. This one was barely old enough to have been given guard duty. I'd have to find out who'd left him there alone; he should still have a partner to back him up. He visibly trembled as he stepped into the office.

I wracked my brain for a moment. I hadn't had a chance to learn all the new wolves' names. I'd only been Alpha of the former Sawyer pack for a short time. Still, I would learn all of their names eventually.

This wolf had brown hair and eyes, and a small scar on his left forearm. I think it was from a training accident. I remembered, then, the pack's beta mentioned a young guard by the name of Eric with just such an injury.

“Hello, Eric, correct?” I asked.

Eric's eyes widened almost comically and he nodded.

“Yes, Alpha,” he said.

“I understand you lost a prisoner,” I said.

Eric dropped to his knees, and his faint tremble became visible shaking.

“I am sorry, Alpha. I don't know how it happened.”

“Stand up,” I ordered. “Begging won't improve your situation. A clear, concise explanation might.”

Eric staggered to his feet, keeping his head bowed. “Yes, Alpha.”

“Tell me everything,” I ordered.

“Yes, Alpha,” Eric said. “I took breakfast to the prisoner one hour after dawn, as I was ordered to do.”

That aligned with the orders I'd given, so I motioned for him to continue.

“I unlocked and opened the door, and passed the tray to Zara. To the prisoner,” Eric corrected himself hastily.

“You may use her name,” I said. “We both know who you're talking about.”

“Yes, Alpha. I passed Zara the tray. I moved to close the door, and she asked me to wait. I thought she wanted to talk for a moment, and I wasn't ordered to isolate her entirely, so I paused. Just to see if she needed anything, more water maybe. I was told she could have as much water as she wanted.”

“That is correct,” I agreed. “What did she want?”

“She begged me to let her out of the cell,” Eric admitted. “I refused, of course. I know my orders! But she kept pleading. She said she only wanted to see out of a window, just for a moment. Because of the full moon tonight. She claimed it was affecting her.”

“She's a hybrid, though,” I pointed out. “Is she affected by the full moon?”

“I'm not certain,” Eric said, “She doesn't shift, we all know that, but she does have a wolf. You can see it in her eyes sometimes. And she howls with the pack, on the full moon. So maybe she feels it, even if she can't change and run with the rest of us.”

“You pity her,” I said, guessing.

“I feel... sympathy, yes,” Eric admitted. “It must be hard. To be pack, to feel the moon's call, and never be able to answer.”

“Did you pity her enough to let her out despite my direct order?” Lucian asked, voice calm.

“No! I swear, I didn't. I wouldn't. I don't understand...” Eric trailed off.

“Don't understand what, exactly?” Lucian asked.

“I was going to walk away. I reached for the door, to close it, and she told me to stop and I did. I didn't mean to. I didn't want to. But she said it and I did it, and then she told me to stand aside, and to step into the cell, and I did it. I don't understand. It was like... like the Alpha voice, but not.”

“What do you mean, exactly? Was it an Alpha voice or not?” Lucian demanded.

“Well, it felt like a command, but, um, gentle. Like, my wolf wanted to obey, not like it had to. I didn't even realize I was moving until she closed the door on me.”

Lucian scowled. How could Zara possess an Alpha voice? She was a hybrid, for one. And surely someone would have noticed if she was strong enough to be an Alpha before. Wouldn't they?

Eric cringed, and moved like he was going to kneel again. Probably expecting punishment.

Lucian waved him towards the door. “Gather a search party. Keep it quiet. You know Zara's scent, so you'll lead it.”

“Me, Alpha?” Eric gasped.

“You let her escape, I am giving you the opportunity to correct your mistake. Do not waste it.”

“I won't, Alpha!” Eric bowed, turned, and bolted from the room.

Lucian sent a message to his brother. “Kieran, come to my office. We need to talk about Zara.”