Chapter 41
Gabriel
It was twilight and despite the fact that every one of the rebel pack members had been caught and contained, there was still an air of unease and panic about the palace.
I let the door to my mother’s quarters swing shut behind me.
She was fine, aside from a few scrapes—in much better shape than I was—and relieved.
“They got it out of their systems,” she’d said. “And we’ve proven we won’t be overthrown.”
With my mind eased just slightly, I took off for the kitchens, knowing that most of the servants would be gathering there. There was something comforting about the kitchens. It was why I’d spent so much time there as a child, and still did. But right now, I had a bone to pick.
Ana was at the far side of the room when I barged in and the group of people shifted, some gasping. I ignored their surprise—and their gazes—as I strode across the floor to her.
“We need to talk,” I bit out, grabbing her by the upper arm and shoving her into a walk-in refrigerator.
The door closed softly behind us and cut off all sound from the outside.
“Ow! Gabriel, what the hell!”
Ana wrenched her arm away, rubbing it.
“You’re okay.” It wasn’t a question, but an observation. She opened her mouth to reply, and I cut her off. “They found Valarie with the rebels, Ana. Do you want to tell me what’s going on here?”
Ana scoffed, crossing her arms.
“What makes you think I know what’s going on!?”
“Well, you two spent an awful lot of time together during the Hunt, didn’t you?” I growled, looming over her.
But Ana knew me well enough to call my bluff, and she got right back in my face.
“Not as much time as you spent with her, isn’t that right, Gabe? You should be ashamed of yourself. Even I’m not dumb enough to believe she joined them—”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Are you daft, Gabe? We’re talking about Valarie. You have to know the only reason she left was because she couldn’t stand not having you. What makes you think she’d ever raise a hand against you?”
I stayed quiet, unable to answer.
She was right. Valarie had made it clear that being close to me after I chose her friend and alpha as a mate would be impossible.
“If I’m being honest, the only reason I think she’d ever consider coming back is if she knew you were in trouble. So maybe you should be a decent person and go ask her yourself.”
She raised both eyebrows at me, arms still crossed, before storming out of the refrigerator.
The cool air sank into me, knocking some sense into me.
She was right. The only way to be sure was to go ask Valarie herself what had happened.
The dungeons weren’t really dungeons, but that’s how I’d always thought of them. It was more fun as a kid to imagine we had dungeons rather than holding cells.
They were, of course, beneath the palace. But they were well lit and well kept. A handful of guards that I’d been able to spare were on duty now, watching the four cells of prisoners.
I’d sent word ahead and expected Valarie to be removed from the others. It was night now and most of the lights were off except for every other one in the hallway leading down the cells.
The guard at the first doorway stopped me, clearing his throat quietly.
“Alpha. I thought you should know. We actually had to remove her before your request. The other pack members—they had her backed into a corner and were nearly beating her.”
My jaw went slack.
“What?”
“They had her in a corner, and were taking turns—one of them would distract her as two others went in. We’ve given her some ice for her leg—”
“Is she okay?”
He looked confused, but not concerned, at my questioning the health of a potential enemy.
“She’s fine, my King. Just separated from the rest. In the last cell, all the way down, to your right.”
I nodded and walked quickly down the hallway, looking into the first four cells.
I recognized a few faces as betas from the Blue Pack who had accompanied their leader.
Morgan herself was in the first cell, being carefully watched.
If she spoke at all, the guards had instructions to jam a cattle prod into the cell and give her a few shocks.
My steps slowed as I got closer to the last cell. It was much quieter down here, the rest of the guards grouped down at the occupied cells. All the lights in this area were off, but the nearest that wasn’t leaked light through the plexiglass sheeting and bars.
Valarie sat on the floor of the cell with one leg stretched out in front of her, a bag of ice on her shin. Blood smudged the floor in a few places—not enough to be worried about but a pang of dread still went through me at the sight.
Her hair when she lifted her head was still hopelessly tangled and the light that came through softened her face, making her look tired. When she saw me, her shoulders sagged forward. I reached out and punched the code into the lock, feeling my breathing quicken.