The Female Alpha’s Sanctuary

Chapter 234

“We thought you died.”

My head snaps back to Fio who went on and on unceasingly.

“Draxyn said he got to you. You and that-that little girl. Said he threw you two along with the Alpha and Luna. We sent another letter after that. I help write it, you know?”

Her face brightened,

“I was the one who helped Xeneron send out the threats to Duskfall. Told your father you died with that girl. We were tying to guilt him you see… Didn’t work though… Draxyn must be so angry you’re still alive…”

She blinks and then her face voids of emotion. All traces of her joy are replaced by this blank canvas. It’s unsettling. The switch of her personalities puts me on guard. She cracked.

“Where’s Val? You said you’d bring my mate.”

There’s a struggle now as she tries to swivel her head from side to side. She wants to get a better look around the cell. Perhaps she thinks her mate is here, just not in eyesight. Fio whines as she tries to pull free from the straps. Burns from the silver embedded into the harnesses marks her skin but she doesn’t care. If anything it encourages her behavior.

“Val!”

She shouts, aggravated.

“Val! I’m here! Val!”

She turns her venomous glare at me,

“Bring him here you dead b itch! It’s all your fault, all your fault! You should’ve stayed dead! Should’ve burned like the lot of them!”

She continues to screech and shout but none of her words mean much to me. The descent to her instability is awful to watch, but is isn’t something I can feel guilty about. As cruel as it sounds, I can’t imagine anything more fitting for her. She’s unrepentant about what she’s done. She only regrets being caught. I sigh, shutting my eyes for the briefest seconds.

That’s how Benicio knew I was close to Lila. He must’ve connected the dots when he read the letter of my attempt to escape with her. But Draxyn… he

ldn’t handle the humiliation of being bested by me. So he told everyone he killed me off…

“Your confession is appreciated, Fio.”

It’s the calm of my voice that lulls her back from her berserk episode. She sniffles, eyes teary and face pale. She licks her lips in consideration. The expression on her face twists once again to something more pensive.

“And Val?”

I can only offer her a nod,

“Of course. I keep my end of the bargain.”

Her body sags in relief. I could feel her rage simmer and quell. She’s at peace again.

13:14

The Female Alpha’s Sanctuary

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“Thank you… thank you…. thank you…”

She keeps saying it as I turn to leave her behind. She doesn’t stop even as I shut the door on her.

I never tell her about Val’s awaiting fate.

That his actions, and conspiracy with Xeneron had cost him his life. That he was going to be doomed regardless of her confession. That she shares the same fate as him.

I don’t tell her, but she’ll feel it all the same.

She’ll feel the snap, the disconnect of their bond and she’ll know what it means. She’ll feel it and it’ll be the final thread that kept her from completely snapping. In the end, she’ll beg for death.

She’ll feel the exact way I felt that night at Duskfall.

Helplessness.

Rage.

Heartbreak.

But she’ll still feel that hope. Hope that she was misunderstanding something because I promised. I promised her she’ll see her mate. I swore.

It’s that hope that’ll keep her breathing. The hope that will be mercilessly crushed.

Sometimes, hope is far more lethal than any kind of punishment.

***

The day we visited Duskfall was deceptively quiet. All content © N/.ôvel/Dr/ama.Org.

When Raizel and I petitioned to claim the land, one of the biggest issues we needed to oversee was whether Duskfall was inhabitable. Four years of isolation and the prior attack on it would’ve been damaging to the area beyond repair. It wasn’t the buildings that held importance. Those could be rebuilt or replaced with little to no issue. The priority was whether or not the land was fertile enough to prosper on.

The stress of realizing that we weren’t completely out of the woods regarding Duskfall’s condition doubled the concerns I had over what Fio had said about the gift. I couldn’t say for certain I was the one Fio was talking about. I wasn’t entirely sure it was a person they were looking for either. Looking at it from an objective standpoint, between Hestia and I, I found myself caught up in more trouble than anyone should ever have to be involved in. It would only be natural I’d also have a homicidal psychopath trying to hunt me down.

Keeping all of this to myself would be unwise. I knew that. On the off chance I was right about Xeneron, I needed as much people as I could on it. It’s why I decided to speak to Raizel about my guesses after we visited Duskfall.

I didn’t want to risk anything going wrong pre-visit.

“Are you ready?”

(000000ooooo I know you see me standing here-)

I blinked up at the gated entryway and tried desperately to stop the shaking of my hands. No matter how much I told myself to breathe, calm down, I couldn’t. Every single memory I had of this place flash through my mind like never-ending film strips. The happy, the content and then the absolute

horrors of flaming houses and sc aattered bodies.