CHAPTER 47: ROGUE

Avelora, poised, unflinching Avelora had gone pale by now. It was the first crack I’d ever seen in her otherwise unshakable composure since I met her today, and it shook me more than everything that was happening.

She had played a part in releasing the Varcolacs, so she could use them as a distraction to carry out her plans and to bring me there.

And now Darek was missing after the Varcolac attack, leaving his post and duty.

Avelora leaned closer to the monitor again, her brown eyes locked on the two Delta guards again as if she could will them to leave right through the screen. But I knew she wasn’t just looking for the guards now. "This...this isn’t right."

The soldier at the door shifted uncomfortably. "Ma’am?"

"They should be out there," she snapped, her tone soft but laced with irritation. "All of them should have been out there scouring the Dome walls and checking for more breaches. They should have been tightening protocols until their bones broke with exhaustion."

Her hand hovered above the monitor, trembling just faintly. "But they’re not. Which means..."

She cut herself off abruptly.

"Which means what?" I pressed impatiently.

Avelora looked at me, the flicker of something almost like pity glinting in her eyes before her expression hardened. "Which means I miscalculated everything."

What?

"I assumed," she continued, voice steadier now though her knuckles were bone-white, "that the Dome would always come first for the Alpha. That his duty towards the Dome and everyone at Parthenn, would outweigh all of his personal..." Her lips tightened, and then the truth slipped like a blade from her mouth. "Obsession."

The room almost tilted. "With...me?"

"Yes." She didn’t flinch or soften the predicament. "I thought his priorities were predictable and that he would keep his soldiers in line with the security protocol, and keep them buried in endless inspections for any other breach, leaving us invisible for long enough to prepare for what comes ahead. But he’s abandoned it all now. And he’s left his post. If he isn’t at Parthenn, then he’s probably out looking for you, Maeve."

She finally said it, the one thing that I had been dreading.

If he isn’t at Parthenn, then he’s out here.

Looking for me.

"But...what if he’s dead?" I blurted out as a last resort. "What if the Varcolacs got to him and that’s why he’s not found?"

Slowly, she shook her head.

"No."

Her tone was final as though the idea itself was impossible. "Darek is not the Alpha Commander for no reason. He has walked into the mist and returned unharmed when no one else could do it alone. Do you understand that, Maeve? Alone. With absolutely no other companion."

I’d heard the stories of the monthly journeys that the high-ranking Lycans had to make, out from the protection of the Dome and into the mist to scavenge for resources, and to gather more information about what lay out there. But no one would have dared to do it if Darek hadn’t accompanied them, guiding them right at the forefront. That was the one rule drilled into every one of those stories.

But Avelora’s voice cut through my thoughts.

"Darek is the only Lycan who can endure it on his own. Which means a few Varcolacs won’t make any difference to him because he has survived worse. And I’m pretty sure he has survived it this time too."

Her certainty made my skin crawl.

Because if he were alive, then he would still be coming for me.

Avelora’s face hardened and she turned sharply to the man lingering at the door. "Activate emergency protocol right now."

The man straightened instantly, relief flashing across his features at finally being given direction. "Yes, ma’am."

"No need for evacuation as of yet. But make sure to seal every entry point. I want it to look like nothing exists down here. Definitely not a place that harbours the rebels."

The soldier nodded once and bolted out of the room immediately.

"Even if we are ready to face Darek, you aren’t, Maeve. We need to hide you before he finds you. If we lose you right now, there is no way we will be able to get you back after he decides to do what he wants with you. His fixation has only grown if he’s gone to these lengths, ignoring everything else."

If he takes me, they may never get me back.

Valden’s face rose in my mind, his warmth and his steady presence, and the way his hands had always anchored me when I thought I’d drown. And then Darek’s cold and burning gaze replaced it unwillingly, the memory of it still seared into my skin.

My voice trembled. "What...what would he do if he found me?"

Avelora studied me for a long moment, and her face finally reverted to its calm demeanor. "Whatever he wants to."

She softened just slightly, as if she regretted the bluntness. "That is why you must stay hidden, Maeve. Why we must buy time. You have not awakened what’s inside you yet. Until you do, you are extremely vulnerable. And if he finds you before that, I cannot guarantee your safety."

If Darek found me right now, it wouldn’t matter how deep this place was burrowed underground, and how many soldiers Avelora commanded, or how much Valden loved me.

Because Darek would take me. And he wouldn’t let me go.

Avelora straightened, her face once again the mask of control, but the faint pallor lingering beneath her skin betrayed her unease. She strode toward the monitor, flicking through the feeds as the images of the cavern began to shut down one by one, lights dimming and doors sliding closed, the entire hallway outside the room vanishing into darkness. Hopefully, the soldier had already warned everyone else.

One by one, the signs of life in this underground city were snuffed out, until the place looked as barren as the land above it.

I hugged my arms around myself, staring at the empty screens. And waited for Darek to find me.