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Chapter 55: An Old Friend
Ethan
Don’t look at me. I will come to you.’ Otto’s voice filled my head as I tried to maintain eye contact with
the Alpha of Lycenna. I nodded, once, in response to Otto, who I knew was looking right at us.
Otto had been one of my best and most loyal warriors. He had also been a friend, someone who
Rosalie and I had loved dearly. Otto had been a large part of our lives when Maeve and Rowan were
young. He had asked to be part of the expedition team, and I had let him. I blamed myself for what I
believed was his death.
And now? What the hell was he doing here?
“Alpha King,” said the Alpha of Lycenna, dipping his chin to his chest in a short, dramatic bow. I
furrowed my brow, narrowing my eyes at the man as he reached for a goblet, his hand shaking as he
brought it to his mouth.
“You laid hands on my son,” I said, my voice booming.
“Ah, yes. A misunderstanding, I’m afraid. You are our guests, here. Welcome to Lycenna. I am Alpha
Julien, and these are my elders,” he motioned towards the group of men who flanked him on either
side. The word elder seemed a strange choice, given that the men were much younger than him. I
swallowed, looking them over, steeling my expression as they stared back.
“If we are guests,” I began, “Then we will be leaving,”
“So soon? I’m afraid that’s impossible at the moment. A storm, you see.”
“We can fend for ourselves,”
“Come, sit with my pack. Eat and rest. Tomorrow morning, we will give you what you need to continue
your journey north.”
‘Don’t drink the wine,’ Otto said over the mind-link, his voice harboring a plea. I fought the urge to look
at him, keeping my eyes forward and locked on the Alpha instead.
Two men stepped up beside Rowan and I, ushering us to another table where we were seated, plates
of food set in front of us.
The conversations around us began again. Every once in a while, someone craned their neck to watch
us. Rowan chewed his food slowly, his jaw obviously bothering him. I made a mental note to ask about
the warriors who had so roughly apprehended us. I would beat the living hell out of the one who had
dared to hurt my son.
Rowan reached for his mug of wine, and I reached out, taking it from him. He blinked, looking up from
his plate. I shook my head, slowly, pretending to roll my neck and shoulders to hide the motion. He
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtlicked his lips, mouth dry, and continued to pick at his food
I took a moment to look around, noticing everyone seemed to look alike here. There were two types of
people; one group had dark hair, pale skin, and dark eyes. They were slightly shorter than their lighter
counterparts who had tawny hair and darker skin, their eyes a strange, deep gray. I felt a chill run up
my spine as I scanned the
room.
Something wasn’t right about this place. Not at all. How had I never known about Lycenna? Or that a
pack lived in this unreachable place?
“I’ll show you to your room,” said a man who had appeared behind Rowan. He
grabbed Rowan by the shoulders, pulling him to standing. I jumped to my feet, clasping the man by the
shoulder and shoving him away.
“Keep your hands off of him!” I growled, taking Rowan by the arm. The man held his hands up in
surrender. I glanced up at the Alpha, who was still seated, his beady black eyes watching me with
interest.
We followed the man out of the room, and I stole a glance back to where Otto had been standing, but
he was gone.
***
Rowan was sitting up against the pillows, his head leaning back against the bed frame as I paced the
room, trying to come up with our next move..
We were obviously underground in some kind of cave system that had elongated with rooms carved
out of the rock.
I didn’t have a single good feeling about this place or its people. Especially the Alpha, who had been
watching me throughout our dinner. I hadn’t liked the way he looked at me, but especially at Rowan, a
strange, unreadable glimmer in his eyes as he looked at my son.
The door swung open then snapped shut again, breaking me from my musings. Otto turned the lock,
clicking it into place before crossing the room and throwing his arms around me. I squeezed him,
fighting back tears as I clapped his back.
“Where the f*ck have you been?”
“It’s a long story, Alpha,” he replied, letting go and taking a step back, his gaze turning towards Rowan.
“I’ve missed so much.” He shook his head, looking Rowan up and down with a sober smile on his face.
“You were just a boy when I saw you last.”
Rowan nodded, but suspicion was lining his face as he looked at Otto.
“How is Rosalie? And Maeve?”
“That can wait,” I said in a hushed voice, grabbing Otto by the shoulders to face him toward me, “How
did you end up here? What happened to the expedition?”
“You need to get out of here. Come with me. I don’t have time to explain!” He pulled on my jacket, but I
pushed him away, squaring my shoulders.
“Tell me, Otto. What happened? It’s been fifteen years!”
Otto looked at me helplessly, fear moving through his face as he swallowed. He shook his head,
looking down at the floor.
“We had stopped to rest in one of the caves for a few days. The weather was bad, it rained constantly.
The river wasn’t where Seraphine thought it would be. We could hear landslides in the distance and
knew we needed to stay put until the weather turned. Seraphine, she… she argued with us about
stopping. She was terrified. No one understood why.”
“Seraphine-is she here? With you?” I said, my voice sounding desperate.
Otto opened his mouth, then shut again, his eyes misting over. “No, she she died a few years ago. I
was with her.”
i nodded, a fresh wave of loss washing over me. I stole a glance at Rowan, who was looking down at
his hands resting in his lap. Poor Gemma.
“How did she die?” I asked.
“She was sick. They let me be with her while she passed away. She… said you’d come. She held out
hope.”
i swallowed hard, feeling like an utter failure. We had, of course, sent scouts out to find the expedition,
but the mountains were too vast, and their tracks had disappeared in the wind, the rain, and the snow.
“I lost the others. I left the cave site with Seraphine. She was trying to leave on her own. We were
ambushed. I never saw the rest of the party again.”
“We found the cave,” Rowan said behind me, his voice soft and steady, “Found the bodies.”
“Could they have been killed from exposure-“| began, but Otto cut me off.
“No, they were deliberately killed. I didn’t know it then, but now…” He paused, inhaling deeply, “Listen.
This pack is different, okay? Not different in a good way. They don’t worship the Moon Goddess. They
worship Lycaon, you know the fable? Anyway, some of them have special powers and they-”
“What? They don’t worship the Moon Goddess?” Rowan said, shocked.
“Go on,” I said tersely.
“They… they selectively breed here, Alpha. They choose mates based on the probability certain
powers will be passed down,”
“That’s insane, Otto. You must be mistaken-”
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm“They’re going to kill you, Alpha. But they need Rowan.”
“Need me for what?” Rowan quipped, sitting straight up in bed.
“They’re looking for your mate. Her mother was born here.”
“Hanna?” Rowan narrowed his eyes, “Why? How would they even know about her?”
“I don’t know for sure, but somehow, they know all about the two of you. They
Hint. they think you’ll bring her here. They mean to use you as bait to draw her in
Slow down, Otto!” i demanded, my head beginning to spin, “We‘re getting out of here, okay? All three
of us. Do you know how to get out? Is there an entrance,”
Otto nodded, then shook his head, looking down at his feet. “I can get you out. People have escaped
before. But I can’t go with you.”
Why not?” Rowan said, swinging his feet out of bed.
Otto looked up at me, pain behind his eyes. “I have a wife. We have five children. I can’t leave them
behind.”
“Five children?” Rowan whispered in disbelief.
*They will come with us, of course—”
You don’t understand what I’m trying to tell you, Alpha. These people…they are dangerous. This
religion they follow, their rules, their customs. I can barely make sense of it and I’ve been here for
almost two decades. Shelly, my wife, she was born here. She’s ingrained in this culture. She wouldn’t
leave if she wanted to, and sometimes she does. She won’t-”
Im not taking no for an answer, Otto. Bring her, and your children. We’re getting out of here tonight. If
we have to physically carry her out of here over our backs then we will. Be prepared to leave in an
hour.”
Otto looked from me to Rowan, a silent plea behind his eyes.
‘I am still your Alpha. I refuse to leave my own behind. That includes your family, Otto. You can explain
things to me when we’re on the move. For now, tell me what we need to do to get out of here.”
*The children are young-”
“Well carry them. There will be four adults between us, including your wife.” Rowan said quickly.
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if we got caught, Alpha. You don’t know what they do to people
here. My children-”
“Don’t worry about that. I am your Alpha. I am the Alpha King. I am demanding this
of you, Otto. Prepare your family. You’re going home.”
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