Chapter 212

Chapter 62: Briggs Mina and I made it down to the cellar after she made a couple of phone calls. She believed she had some resources that may help us. It didn’t take us long to realize what the summons was about when we met up with the others. Theo was helping to lower a ladder down to the exposed level below as Alpha Torin and Harmon were gathering lights.

“You coming down?” Theo asked me as he secured the ladder.

“Do you have to ask?” I said with a smirk.

I took a flashlight and followed Theo down. We ended up in a corridor. It wasn’t as tall as the floor above us, but we could at least stand up all the way. We had two options – left or straight.

“Dad, you and Harmon go left,” Theo instructed. “Briggs and I will go this way.”

As we made our way down the stone hall, the whole situation started to feel familiar.

“This feels like the tunnels under the Onxycrown packhouse,” I told him.

“Well, let’s hope there aren’t any traps down here then,” Theo -replied.

“They probably would have been triggered when we retrofit the cellar,” I said hopefully.

The place was less of a maze than the Onyxcrown tunnels, but we did come across some doorways. Most of the rooms/were empty. A couple had the remains of very old furniture and crates, but nothing interesting. It was when we came to a locked metal door that we stopped. The door took up the entire wall. Theo pushed against to see if age allowed some movement, but it didn’t budge.

“Let’s get Dad and Harmon here,” Theo said. “Maybe we can try cutting it open.

I stepped closer to the door and ran a hand over the surface, removing the layers of dust. There were faded etchings engraved in the metal.

“I’ve seen these before,” I said, my gut tying in knots. “You grab them. I’ve got to make a call.”

We made our way back to the ladder. I left the cellar while Theo filled in the others. I dialed Kingston’s number. I had some questions and hoped this time I would get honest answers.

“Beta Briggs,” Kingston answered. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“What did you find in the Onyxcrown tunnels?” I asked calmly. “I know you were looking for something. I’m pretty sure you found it. I need to know what it was.”

Kingston was quiet for a moment. He was weighing his words. “Why do you need to know?”

I forced a hand through my hair, trying to control my anger. Starting a pi ssing match with him wouldn’t benefit us. At the end of the day, we all agreed that he wanted to protect Ayla.

. “I think Theo has a deeper connection to Ayla’s past than we thought,” I admitted. “Jack knew something we didn’t. There’s a reason he put Ayla in Theo’s path. We’re still trying to figure out what that is, but I think we just found something that could prove that theory. If only I knew what that theory was.”

“What do you mean?” he replied quickly, his interest piqued. “What did you find?”

“We’ve been working on a better entrance to the cellar and we’ve found another floor below,” I told him. “We came across a door with some of the same symbols I saw in the Onyxcrown tunnels. I think you and I both have a hunch this is connected to whatever you found down there. I need to know what that was.”

Kingston sighed. “Are you able to get through the door?”

“I think we’re going to try cutting through it,” I said.

“Okay,” he replied. “That should work, but it’s going to take some time. I’ve got something to take care of here, but I’ll be there sometime tomorrow.”

“That’s not how this is going to go, Kingston,” I snapped. “What do you think is in there?”

“Honestly, I don’t know,” he insisted. “But if it is related, it could either be really good or really bad.”

“I’m not asking again, Kingston,” I said angrily. “Tell me what the hell you took from the tunnels.”

“The Moonstone.”

I fell silent.

“No, it’s not a myth,” Kingston said, sensing my disbelief.

“That’s why my father taught me how to navigate those tunnels,” he continued. “The Onyxcrown Beta was always in charge of ensuring the stone was secure. The Domins family had been protecting it for centuries.’

“Why the f**k would you take it out then?” I shouted. “No one would have ever known...”

“Why the hell do you think Harry was there?” Kingston interrupted. “All it takes is one determined believer, Briggs. If he got that close, it was only a matter of time before someone else went looking. I took it to keep it safe.”

“And you didn’t tell Ayla?” I replied. “It’s rightfully hers. She should be the one to decide what to do with it.

“I’ll be there tomorrow,” he said. “She’ll find out soon enough.”

He disconnected the call.

This was... Well, I didn’t know. The Moonstone was a holy relic. According to our lore, the mood goddess used the Moonstone to create the first werewolves. There were many stories about the power of the stone and what it was capable of. But we had no way of telling what was fact or fiction. It was a thousand years of stories passed down over every pack.

Even if it ended up being a hunk of useless rock, the intrinsic value to our species would make it dangerous. If the Waar P ak got a hold of that stone, they could have every religious zealot on their side in no time.

But what does any of this have to do with Theo and the Greytooth Pack? I was more certain that this was all related. I needed to spend some time with Jack’s research. We needed answers fast.