Episodio 8
1629 Words
“What? I'm curious to know what you're going to do now that you've found your mate,” I said to Maddox.
I looked at Elena curiously.
“I don't know. The idea of rejecting Maddox never crossed my mind. I mean, they say that if you reject your mate, it causes them too much pain. I don't want Maddox to suffer,” Elena replied.
I could see a proud smile slowly appearing on Maddox's lips. He was delighted with Elena's response.
“Good to know,” I said.
As time passed, I couldn't help but notice that Elena didn't emit the rancid, stinky smell of other renegades. It was as if she wasn't a renegade at all.
“Can you show me your wolf eyes?” I asked, intrigued. Elena looked back at Maddox.
“It's okay, show us your wolf eyes, mate,” Maddox said calmly.
“That's the problem. I can't show you my wolf eyes,” Elena replied hesitantly, causing him to frown. Maddox shrugged, seemingly as perplexed as I was.
“Why not, Elena?” I asked.
“It's not that I don't want to. It's just that I can only transform into my wolf form on every full moon, and that happened last night.”
Maddox and I shared an expression of deep confusion. Our brows furrowed as we looked at Elena.
“What does that mean?” Maddox asked his mate.
“I know this sounds crazy, but I wasn't born a werewolf. I'm a witch. My mother cast a spell to turn me, but there's no such thing as a perfect spell; I can only transform into my wolf form during a full moon,” Elena confessed.
An oppressive silence surrounded us. I couldn't help myself and burst out in a dry, humorless laugh.
“That's a pretty nice story, Elena,” I commented, leaning back in my chair. Maddox stared at Elena, frowning, still processing every word of her confession.
“You don't believe me? Well, you're not the first. But I'm telling you the truth, I have proof,” Elena said with conviction. She turned around and slowly lifted her dress.
I heard Maddox gasp as he saw the wounds and bruises on Elena's back. I could still smell the fresh blood oozing from them.
“Those wounds are from last night. Why aren't you healing?” Maddox asked, suddenly feeling anxious for her.
“I wasn't born a werewolf. I don't have all the advantages that a natural werewolf has. My wounds don't heal after an hour; this will take weeks or maybe months,” Elena replied, slowly lowering her dress to prevent the fabric from rubbing against her wounds.
“I'm going to kill Henry,” Maddox said through clenched teeth.
“But you should thank him,” I said. Maddox looked at me instantly, his eyes flashing and his nose flaring, ready to attack me.
“What? I mean, if Henry hadn't captured her, you wouldn't even have met your mate. Henry is doing his job, and you're not going to use this against him, Maddox.” I said emphatically. Maddox took a deep breath and then slowly nodded.
“Fair enough, then we're abandoned,” Maddox replied.
“Okay, I'm not saying I don't believe you, Elena. But the thing is, you're still a renegade, so let me walk you back to the basement,” I said.
Maddox was about to object when Elena took his hand and stroked it gently, signaling him not to do anything.
“All right,” Maddox said, taking a deep breath. “But can you wait outside, mate? I just need to talk to Logan.” Elena nodded and left my mini-office.
“You're up to something, Logan. What the hell are you doing? You're taking my mate back to the basement, that's so damn chivalrous of you, should I thank you?” Maddox said loudly, his tone thick with sarcasm.
My jaw tightened as I listened to him accuse me of something sinister.
“I'm not going to do anything to hurt your mate, Maddox. Calm your damn t**s down now because my head is starting to hurt from listening to you complain and accuse me.” I replied, getting up from my swivel chair.
“As you always say, Logan, you hate renegades so much that you can't blame me for thinking the worst of you now. Why do you insist on taking my mate back to the basement? I can do it myself. In fact, I'm taking my mate to my suite right now,” Maddox said firmly.
He was about to leave, but I stopped him.
“That's enough, Maddox. I'm taking your mate back to the basement, and you're staying here. Don't you dare follow us, or I'll break my promise not to harm your mate. I'll talk to you when I get back.” I spoke to him and quickly left my office without giving him another chance to reply.
Elena was outside and seemed surprised to see me. Perhaps she thought I had changed my mind. I raised an eyebrow and motioned for her to follow me.
I could sense her nervousness; she stayed a meter away from me, as if preparing to run at the moment I made a move.
I don't know why, but I felt satisfied to see a renegade terrified by my presence. That's why I loved going to the basement.
They are strong and arrogant when they are together, but once captured, they are like frightened puppies, cowering in their cage.
Maddox would probably beat me up for treating his mate like this, but I couldn't help it.
I suspected Elena might be telling the truth, but I couldn't trust my instincts. Elena was still a renegade to me, and the only reason she was safe was because of Maddox. This was no time for internal conflicts.
“I don't know if I'm allowed to ask this, but where are you taking me, Logan? I don't think this is the way back to the basement.” I couldn't help but smile when she realized we were taking a different route.
Instead of leaving the pack house, I was taking her to a storage room where the secret door to the basement was located.
“It's okay, Elena. For a witch like you, you're very tense. I know you could kill me with just a snap of your fingers,” I replied as we entered the storage room. The place was dark, but my eyes adjusted to see the stacked items clearly.
“I can't see the way, it's too dark,” Elena complained.
I went to a corner and grabbed an old lantern. I poured some gasoline on the lantern's cloth and lit it.
“Follow me, Elena,” I ordered. I stood next to a large shelf and with one hand pushed it aside, revealing a huge door behind it. The ancient carvings on the door made it eerie.
“What are we doing here?” Elena asked, her voice trembling with surprise and nervousness.
“I'm taking you to the basement,” I replied. She swallowed, and I couldn't help but smile as I watched her lost in thought.
Why would he take me to the basement via a secret route?
“As much as I'd like to see you tremble with fear, I'm not going to torture you in the basement or cut up your body to feed to the renegades. So you can relax now, Elena,” I said.
Her eyes widened. Clearly, that didn't help her calm down.
A wooden staircase leading down into the darkness of the basement was the first thing I saw when I opened the door. I turned to Elena, motioned for her to follow me, and then stepped onto the first step, descending slowly.
It took us less than a minute to reach the basement. It was still a dark place even though I was holding the torch; the basement was huge, and the light wasn't enough to illuminate it completely.
“There's a torch attached to every corner of this room, Elena. Light them,” I ordered.
Her eyebrows immediately furrowed at my request. “I can't do that. I already told you, my ancestors forbid me from using magic. Witches are nothing without their ancestors,” Elena replied.
I ignored her excuse. “Your ancestors are dead. Witches are better off alive than dead. You are alive and can still practice magic without their help,” I said, and then began to walk slowly through the basement.
I could barely remember the last time I had been here. This place was filled with old memories that caused me deep pain.
“Wait, you believe me now? That I'm a witch and not a werewolf?” Elena asked me.
I shrugged. “They say witches and vampires don't exist anymore, but I dare to disagree with that,” I replied, which made her frown.
“Your point is?”
“I think you're a witch. When you showed us your back earlier, the first thing I noticed wasn't the fresh wounds that smelled like human blood. It was the mark of an eye on the back of your right neck. It's the same mark my mother had,” I confessed.
It took her almost a minute to process what I had just said.
“Your mother is a witch,” Elena said quietly.
I just nodded.
It was true. My mother was a witch, but she had been expelled from her coven for having a werewolf mate. She always told me the story of how she sacrificed her witch status just to be with my father.
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