Two hours and twenty-seven minutes after Hunter had been escorted out of the throne room, I was still pacing up and down our shared room. And because I had listened to him this morning, we still hadn't marked each other. This meant I had no way of contacting him.
He's not, Edria said for the hundred and fifth time. There's been a mistake.
"It was a mistake," I repeated her words, hoping that saying it aloud would somehow make it go away. "How can you be so calm? Aren't you supposed to be his friend?"
I stopped at the foot of the king-sized bed and pinched my lips at Ren's figure sprawled over both sides of the bed. She had her arms folded behind her head and her eyes closed, which made her look like she was caught in a peaceful slumber. The only thing that ruined the effect was the rapid rhythm of her breaths.
"I'm not calm." Despite her words, her voice sounded like a tranquil melody. "I just know Hunter. He would never work with human scumbags."
She's right, Edria nodded her wolf head. This has to be a mistake.
"How can you be sure?" I dug my fingers into my hair and went back to measuring the length of the room with my restless steps. "The Alpha King said he has proof. That he only needs to find out how many other Black Moon members are in on it."
"He's not the Moon Goddess. He can be wrong, too."
"But what if." Despite both Ren and Edria's conviction, the dark thoughts wouldn't allow me to stop wondering what if... "What if it wasn't a mistake? What if Hunter is working with hunters?"
"Then I'm going to kill him for doing something so stupid."
"You won't lay a finger on our mate." Edria's growl vibrated through my throat, however, before she could say anything else I reeled her back in. "Sorry. We're both on edge right now."
"Already possessive? Good." The tinniest of smiles tugged at the corner of Ren's lips. "He deserves a good mate."
After another heartbeat I went back to my pacing, however, this time it lasted for only three minutes. Then the last shred of my patience snapped. They were taking too long.
"I can't do this anymore." I stopped in the middle of the room. "I need to see Hunter. Right now."
"Finally." Ren snapped her eyes open and jumped into a standing position. "Let's go."
"What? Aren't you supposed to try to talk me out of doing anything rash? It's, after all, the reason why Blake asked you to stay with me in the first place."
"I've been itching to hunt Hunter down from the moment Blake mind-linked me about what was going on." Ren rolled her eyes.
"Then whyâ"
"Because of Blake and the stupid mate bond. He'll be pissed if I'm the one to suggest finding Hunter, but he'll be more lenient if you're the one who suggested it. I just followed to keep you safe."
What kind of logic is that? Edria tilted her wolf head to the side.
"What are you waiting for? Let's go."
I shook my head and resigned myself to never understand what kind of bizarre thought process Ren worked with.
Without wasting another moment, we exited the room and entered the empty hallway. Edria expected to find warriors stationed outside to make sure we wouldn't leave our room. However, there wasn't a single sign of anything living in our proximity.
I dashed down the length of the hallway to the nearest turning and peeked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. When I glanced back at Ren to motion for her to follow me, I found her strutting down the middle of the hallway. Her every step echoed through the empty space, making Edria sink her canines into her tongue to keep herself from lashing out.
"What are you doing?" I asked when she stopped a step away from me. "I don't think we're allowed to roam the castle on our own. We need to be careful not to get caught."
"What are you doing?" Ren crossed her arms in front of her chest. "We don't have time for games. Follow your nose and track down your mate."
I don't think she knows the verb to sneak, Edria huffed.
I took in a deep sniff through my nose and focused on the scents bumping against my nostrils. If it were anyone else, the surrounding scents would have been too overwhelming for me to pick up one distant scent. However, because Hunter was my mate, his scent pulled me to him no matter the distance between us.
Once the sweet mixture of lemon and honey reached me, I dashed in the said direction. With Ren right behind me, we descended the staircase down to the first floor and then crossed several more hallways, until we reached a dark staircase leading even further down.
The direction where Hunter's scent was coming from.
"What are you doing here?"
A female voice caused me to freeze with my foot on the first stair. Slowly I turned my head to the side, to find Elena's hips swaying down the hallway, right toward us.
"Who the hell are you?" Ren glared at her the moment Elena stopped two steps away from us. "And why do I keep running into you whenever I'm with someone from Blue Moon?"
"I'm theâ"
"Beta Female, I know." Ren glared at her. "And I don't care."
"These stairs lead down to the underground tunnels." Elena moved her eyes past Ren and stopped on me, where I was still standing at the top of the dark staircase. "And the castle dungeon. No one but Silver Moon members are allowed down there."
"Should I take care of her," the sharp points of Ren's canines peeked past her lips, "or will you?"
Let Ren take care of her. It's time Elena got what she deserves.
Focus, Edria. We're here for our mate.
"The Alpha down there." I nodded with my head to the darkness below me. "The one accused of working with the hunters. He's my mate. And I know he's innocent."
Elena's entire body stiffened at my words; exactly the effect I knew it would have on her.
Mention Naia and Jared, Edria urged me on.
I don'tâ
Do it. Or don't you want to find Hunter?
"You once stood between Naia and Jared." I forced myself to ignore her wince. "Have you learned nothing? Will you keep me away from my mate as well?"
"Naia and Jared?" Ren glanced between Elena and me. "Who the fuck are you?"
Elena ignored Ren and instead continued to squirm under the penetrating gaze Edria was forcing on me. Getting to Hunter was all that mattered to her.
"Fine." Elena's shoulders slumped. "You can have ten minutes, but that's it. After that, I'm coming to get you."
I opened my mouth to thank her, but Edria's growl had me snapping my mouth back close.
Don't you dare thank the traitor.
I settled for a nod in Elena's direction and then darted down the cold stone stairs. Ren's footsteps echoed right behind me, but I paid her no mind. Not when Hunter's scent was so close.
At the bottom of the stairs we entered a long room, with barred openings filling both the left and the right side. The beginning cells were occupied by shadowed creatures, but I flew past them without sparing them a single glance.
I stopped only in front of the sixth cell on the left side and grabbed onto the bars. On top of a stiff-looking cot lay Hunter, with one of his hands covering his eyes.
"Hunter?" I breathed out.
He jumped into a sitting position as if he'd just grabbed onto a charged electrical fence. His dark eyes snapped to my blue ones and for a second neither of us moved.
"Molly?" Before the last letter of my name slipped from his lips, he was already standing right in front of me. "You can't be here."
"I don't care." I entwined my fingers around his hands that were wrapped around the bars separating us. "I know there's been some kind of mistake. You would never work with hunters. And I'm going to prove it. I'll do everything in my power to get you out of here."
"You can't be here." He pulled his hands out of my hold and moved out of my reach. "You need to leave."
"Acting strong, are we?" Ren stepped out from the shadows with her arms folded in front of her chest and her eyes narrowed at Hunter.
"Ren? You shouldn't have brought Molly down here. You need to take her back to our room."
"If you think I'm the one who brought her here, then you don't know your mate as well as you think you do."
"You both need to leave." His eyes dared over the surrounding cells, while he edged another step backwards. "Ren, take Molly back to our room, and don't let her come back here."
"No." I shook my head. "I'm not leaving you here. You're my mate, and I know you didn't do anything wrong."
"Molly." My name came out as a strangled plea, while his eyes dared to the bared door of his cell where Ren was standing. "You both need to leave... Please."
The word please on an Alpha's lips had my throat retracting and my nails digging into my palms. This was the second time.
We can't leave our mate here, Edria pleaded. We need to... We...
Before I could join Edria in forming some kind plan on how to free our mate, Ren grabbed my wrist.
"I understand." She nodded at Hunter and then turned in the direction we had come from.
"No, Iâ" I twisted and turned my arm, but nothing worked. Ren's grip was too tight.
I dug my heels into the cement floor, but even that didn't deter her. She yanked on my arm and continued to pull me behind her.
"Hunter!" I arched my head in his direction, however, he had already stepped deeper into the cell and disappeared from my view. "No. Don't do this. Hunter!"
Nothing worked as Ren continued to drag me down the cell-covered hallway. Not even when I grabbed her arm with my free one and dug my nails into her skin. I drew blood, yet she didn't falter for even a single step.
With my head turned to the side I caught a pair of dark empty eyes in one of the cells we passed. The eyes felt like someone was hammering a nail into my memory, however, Ren was too quick for me to get a better view. All I could be sure of was that I had seen those eyes before.
I was still trying to tear my arm out of Ren's hold when we reached the top of the dark staircase. Elena was leaning against the wall, and she straightened the moment we stepped into the light of the hallway. She opened her mouth, however, both Ren and I moved straight past her.
I would have continued to struggle all the way up to my and Hunter's room, but I remembered where exactly we were. Despite already out of the dungeon, I knew we weren't yet out of the woods. This is why I ceased dragging my feet and quietly followed Ren down the carpeted hallways. She, however, didn't loosen her grip on my wrist for even a fraction.
The moment we rounded the corner onto the hallway in front of my and Hunter's room, Blake and Dyson flew through the door.
"Weâ" Blake began.
"Shut up." Ren snapped and shouldered our way right in between their imposing figures.
She dragged me inside the room where she finally let go of me. I grabbed my now free wrist and eyed the vicious red hand imprint on my skin. Yet I didn't make a single peep about the pain; just like Ren didn't about the small trail of blood my nails had carved into her forearm.
"Where were you?" Blake asked the moment Dyson closed the door.
"With Hunter. Where else?" Ren rolled her eyes. "What did you find out?"
"I told you not to leave the room." Blake glared at his mate.
"We got nothing," Dyson shook his head. "We don't even know what kind of proof the Alpha King has."
"I think it's a ruse," Ren said, which had all of our heads snapping in her direction. "Hunter's cell wasn't locked."
"What?" I tried to think back down to the dungeon, however, all I could see was Hunter trapped inside the stinky cell. "No, I would have noticed if his door had been unlocked. You must have seen wrong."
"You were too busy ogling your mate to notice." Ren rolled her eyes. "Something is definitely going on, and I think Hunter is in on it. Whatever it is."
Told you, Edria howled inside my mind. Our mate would never work with hunters.
"What do we do?" I asked, looking from Ren, to Blake and even Dyson. "We need to do something. Even if it's all part of some big plan, we can't leave him there."
"We do nothing," Blake said. "Not until we know what exactly Hunter got himself into."
"You can't beâ" Ren glared at her mate, but he had already turned to face Dyson.
"I'll keep Ren out of trouble, so I need you to keep an eye on Molly. They obviously can't be trusted on their own."
I expected Ren to either scoff at her mate's order or even kick him for his audacity. Yet when I glanced at her, I found her turned toward me with her head tilted to the side.
"Hunter's my friend. I know he wouldn't want his mate alone in a room with a male, even if it's only Dyson. Right, Molly?"
"Yes." The way she spoke my name finally caught me onto what she was thinking. "If someone has to watch me, then it should be Sasha. It's what Hunter would want."
***
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