The Rejected Mate

Chapter 120

120

Alaric's POV

Listening to the sounds of the soldiers walking into the dungeons, hitting their swords against the steel bars, pulled me out of the shackles of my slumber. I remembered not sleeping early because I couldn't stop thinking about Arielle and her health.

I hoped for her to be well and healthy, knowing how she could be at times. The feasibility in their eyes—I was unable to deny that they all wanted to be serious to scare the prisoners.

“This is a great day, don't you think? You all should say your goodbyes. Some might go out through those gates and never return to these bars, while the lucky ones would return,” he divulged, staring into the eyes of everyone as he walked past.

“I wished no one would try to do anything because they would think he's unarmed, but behind his wrists, I could see the knife he had there,” I mumbled to myself, staring at the soldier who waited for him to walk past him; then he pounced on him.

He evaded the attack as he dropped to the ground, stabbing the knife through the back of his neck.

“Why would a foolish man think a guard walking freely among you all isn't armed?” he chuckled as he wiped his knife clean on his cloth. The knife went back to its former position.

“Some of you think you have the guts to make advances at your captors. We have you trapped; there's no hole in our defense. I'll prove that to you; don't you worry. Some of your folks think they can escape through the tunnels.” At the mention of these words, I needed no soothsayer to tell me that Gabe and his accomplices were caught. I wondered what they would be going through since they hadn't been brought back to the dungeons.

“I would enjoy killing many people today, and I don't mind starting from you.” He placed the knife around my neck. I wasn't fazed by his act, nor did I flinch when he grabbed the back of my neck.

“So you're acting tough; he's acting tough,” he chuckled, staring at his guards who mocked me. I didn't see his fists coming; his punch was heavy, but it never got me to my knees.

“How does that feel, slave? You all think you're high and mighty, but you're nothing but peasants to me—maybe even test subjects.” An unwise decision to let your captives have an idea of their expectations.

“You feel you're strong enough to challenge me?” He wrapped his hands around my neck; I couldn't breathe at some point.

“I wouldn't let you die—at least not now—but I'll keep an eye on you.” He chuckled; I knew he was the Gamma of the pack since everyone respected him.

“Make sure they all walk on a straight line, and if anyone does anything suspicious, please chop off his or her head.” He ordered as he released his hold over my throat.

They were leading us out of the dungeons, finally getting a glimpse of nature and maybe a meal added to it.

“Why are you acting like you're plagued with a disease?” He asked Ryan as I realized that he was weak.

“I would assist him,” I opted to help Ryan, knowing that he was slowly growing weary from the pain he felt in this hellhole.

When we passed the grand hall, I wondered where we were being taken. I hoped that this would be a place where I could see Arielle. I pretended to be stopped by Ryan's weakness so I could get a glimpse of everyone, but before I could get halfway through the prisoners walking,

“You better get back in line and keep moving, or you'll be dropped off, and you'll have to use your back to walk up the stairs.” I joined back in line, pleased that Ryan regained his strength with the water that one of the prisoners had given us.

“Hey Alaric, where are we?” He asked, staring at the dark stairs that we could only see with the help of the torches the guards were holding.

“The stone rooms, and as far as I can tell, this isn't just a new place for us; this is where people are tortured. Listen to the screams beneath us,” I divulged as he gulped.

“We're not involved in the escape, so why would we get punished for a crime we didn't commit?” Ryan's question amused me as he stopped dead in his tracks. I dragged him forward with my words.

“Don't ask me that, Ryan. Just stay close to me… We're not dying today.” I hoped that would keep him relieved, making sure none of the guards had their eyes glued to us.

“We need to watch what we say and how we say it. We don't know who we can trust.” I had to warn him about it.

“Are you talking about last night?” He chuckled.

“Henceforth, we don't talk to anyone until we find Arielle; she must be here somewhere. We have to do whatever it takes to find her.”

“Have you searched through all the prisoners?” He asked.

“I tried, but I couldn't even get past half of them, and some of them are being led in another direction, which is why I say you should stay with me. We can't go our separate ways; it would make it very challenging to plan our escape.” I explained to him in whispers as we proceeded through what I guessed was the last batch of stairs. We were taken underground, but I wondered how they were able to build this deep; it seemed countless people had died in here.

“But we could cover more ground and possibly find Arielle!” He retorted. I expected these words, and he wasn't wrong, but that could jeopardize our plans. What if Ryan trusted the wrong person? That could put his life in danger.

“No one's leaving; we're stuck together, and that's final.” I held my ground as the Alpha of the pack; I knew he had to respect my words.

“Fine.” He conceded to my authority, wearing a smile on his face.

We were led into a room where I stared at Gabe and his accomplices. I couldn't recognize Gabe, but with the injuries, I could tell he was the one in the most distress. The first had lost one of his legs, the second had lost his arm, and the third prisoner was covered, which could only mean he was dead. Gabe was the one with the most bruises.

“You're such an evil man, Alaric. You never told anyone about the ambush. You knew about it, yet you stayed silent. Not only that, but you only saved that man standing close to you by bringing him back into your cell. Likewise, you should have been with us to go through this pain. Furthermore, you convinced most people off my team, yet you allowed us to use the tunnels because we were going to die… Alaric!!!” I paid deaf ears to his words as Ryan whispered in my ear.

“Thank you for saving me.”

“I'm glad that you listened to me.” I wanted no one to know we were conversing.

I was fascinated by the two figures standing in the room. One was wearing a red mask, and the other wore a yellow mask.

“This will serve as a warning to anyone who's thinking of leaving without our knowledge. Yours will be worse than this,” he warned as he stabbed a very slim knife through Gabe's ankles. He groaned in pain.

“Take them out to meet the White Mask so they can be used as test subjects.”