CHAPTER THIRTY SIX


    +25 Bonus


    CHAPTER THIRTY SIX


    Nn’s POV


    The stone corridor reeked of mildew and damp metal. Two Silverfang guards nked me on either side. They were clearly ufortable with my presence.


    Good. I didn’t care if they were ufortable. They should be afraid of me.


    I had requested this inspection under the pretense of assisting Silverfang with their recent rogue issue. In truth, I was hunting one specific creature: a feral rogue with red eyes who had evaded Blood Moon’s scouts more than once. Its erratic behavior and the cracked ck veins all reminded me of my father before he went mad.


    We stopped before the heavy barred gate that led deeper into the dungeon. The guards pushed it open, hinges groaning. The stench intensified, rotting flesh mixed with sweat and fear.


    Each cell held a rogue in varying states of filth and fatigue. A few cowered from the lighting in through the open door. Others watched with lifeless eyes..


    I stepped forward, and the rogues reacted instantly. A few flinched and shrank back into the shadows. Others tried to hold my gaze, their eyes defiant but faltering when my wolf stirred under my skin. One by one, their eyes dropped, their bodies trembling with the weight of my Alpha aura.


    My wolf pushed forward eagerly. He wanted to tear into them, to prove dominance. I reined him back in. ‘No,’ I told him.


    I walked slowly down the corridor. Cell after cell, the same story repeated. Lifeless eyes. Filthy rags clinging to skeletal frames. The hollow stares of wolves who had long since given up and those that hadn’t realized they were not getting out alive.. I scanned each of them carefully, searching for the signs I remembered: the frenzied energy, the red gleam in the eyes, the ck veins. None of them matched. 1


    This was a waste of my time.


    “I’m done here,” I said, turning away.


    “Alpha Ryker,” a hoarse voice rasped.


    I froze. The name made the guards stiffen. Slowly, I turned toward the sound. It hade from the veryst cell.


    I nced at the guard. “I will speak with him alone.”


    The guard frowned. “He’s senile. An old rogue who mutters nonsense.”


    I let my Alpha aura re. “Do not make me repeat myself.”


    The guards stiffened, exchanged nervous looks, then backed up to the far end of the corridor. Still close enough to watch me, but out of earshot,


    I walked to thest cell. The man inside sat slumped on the straw-covered floor, thin and sickly. His face was almost hidden beneath a wild, matted beard, but unlike the others, his clothes were clean. That detail caught my attention immediately. Someone was keeping him in better condition than the rest. That fact alone made me even more curious.


    The old man lifted his head to look at me.


    “Alpha?” he rasped. “Alpha Ryker?”


    “I’m not Ryker,” I responded. “Who are you?”


    196 Bonus


    The man squinted and shook his head weakly, “Vorgive me. The resemnce is uncanny. You even talk like him.” My wolf growled in my chest, unsettled by this rogno, “Who are you?”


    “I was once a servant of Alpha Ryker,” he rasped. “My name is Gideon. Are you his son? Do you remember me?”


    I stared at him. I didn’t remember him, but his name did sound familiar. “Vaguely,”


    Gideon gave a weakugh. “No, I suppose you wouldn’t. You were young. I suppose I aged poorly,”


    “Why are you here?” I pressed.


    “silverfang locked me away. Years ago, I tried to speak of connections between your father’s death and the rogues that infiltrated the banquet. They called me a liar. They said I was mad. I was thrown down here, and here I stayed,”


    I stepped closer to the bars. “And now you expect me to believe you?” My wolf surged, demanding I break the bars and tear the man apart for daring to speak my father’s name.


    “I only want to be useful before I die,” Gideon rasped, “I saw what happened that night at the banquet. Your father was calm, speaking as he always did. Then he took a sip of wine, and everything changed. His eyes burned red. His voice broke into something that wasn’t his own. He lunged at Luna like a rabid beast.”


    My jaw tightened. That fragmented memory still haunted me. My father foaming at the mouth, his eyes unnatural, his body shaking as though possessed.


    “You’re saying it wasn’t madness?” I demanded, “The wine poisoned him.


    Gideon shook his head. “Not madness. A toxin. I overheard one of the rogues speak of it before the chaos. He said It came from a bite, that it spread through the blood like a weapon. Experimental. Dangerous. They meant to unleash it, but your father was the first to fall victim.”


    A toxin would exin the red eyes and the sudden frenzy. My wolf snarled inside me, ‘And why did he not say anything? That was a good question.


    Gideon knew about this and didn’t say anything until it was toote. My hands itched to snap his neck. “And you waited this long to tell someone?” I growled.


    “At first, I was terrified. I didn’t want to be like your father,” Gideon whispered. “Then, I attempted to search for information. No one would believe me. They thought I was crazy. Silverfang caught me, I told them the truth. They thought I had gone senile and put me here,”


    Gideon’s fear was genuine. His scent didn’t lie. I felt anger for him. Another person screwed over by Silverfang and I was helpless to do anything about it, but not for long,


    I crouched down, lowering my voice, “If what you say is true, I’ll get you out of here,”


    Gideon smiled weakly and said, “I don’t expect kindness, Alpha. Only justice for Alpha Ryker.”


    “You’ll get both,” I said.


    I stood abruptly, the iron bars rattling under my hand. Without another nce, I turned and walked down the corridor. The guards straightened as I approached, but I gave them no acknowledgment.


    I left the dungeon with my thoughts racing, my wolf restless beneath my skin.


    This changed everything.