Alpha's Betrayal, Luna's Revenge

Chapter 7

Garth’s POV

With Cal telling me he could smell wolfsbane, I took a deep breath, covered my face with my shirt, and held it in place against my nose.

Why wouldn’t Axel and Jaxon tell me what they had been doing down here? I questioned, as we are supposed to be united in protecting the pack. There should be no secrets between us. “Perhaps they caught a rogue while we were with the trackers. They could have held them for questioning.” Cal suggested. It sounded reasonable as I had been gone for a short while.

Given my size, rogues usually take one look at me and back away from a fight. But if there is a trapped rogue down there, they could be mindless. That would make them dangerous. I cautiously took my first step down the wooden steps into the interrogation room. Cal was going crazy because he knew there was an open source of wolfsbane down here somewhere. Any signs of trouble, and I will get out of here. Don’t worry, Cal, I’ll be careful,” I assured him.

As I neared the bottom, I kept my eyes peeled in case. Focusing on my surroundings, something on the step caused me to slip. But I quickly regained my composure and realized it was the missing butcher’s cleaver from the kitchen. I picked it up. “What the goddess is this doing down here?” I questioned. Compared to all the silver blades down here, this is useless.

I worriedly looked around the room and couldn’t help but notice the cupboards were open. I couldn’t believe Axel and Jaxon would leave the place in such a mess. They know how dangerous the stuff in those cupboards is.

Although my nose was covered, I could still smell something foul coming from inside the cell. I walked toward it to see what was rotten, only to see the rogue was in human form, which meant they weren’t mindless.

All I could see was the bare back of the person. From the size of the person in the fetal position, it could either be an older teenager or a small woman. Their skin was gray, and they had s***h marks across their back. They didn’t move as I approached the cell, which meant they were either dead or near death.

I quietly unhooked the keys from the hook and opened the cell door, not to startle the rogue inside. I pulled my shirt from my face as I needed both of my hands to open the cell door. As I got closer to the person, the stench coming from them brought tears to my eyes.

The ground was wet. I hoped it was water, as I was wearing my new sneakers. But from the odor, I knew it wasn’t. I wanted to vomit thinking that my friends had left someone to die like this; it’s inhuman. Cal agreed as there would be no honor in torturing someone this way.

As I approached the body, I could see how badly infected the wounds were. It would cause intense pain to the person if I moved them, but I needed to know who it was that Axel and Jaxon were keeping captive. I squatted and cautiously pulled the shoulder of the body. My heart nearly stopped as I saw Samantha’s thin, gaunt face.

My fingers shook as I reached out and touched her neck, hoping I could feel her jugular pulse. Her skin was cold to the touch, and her face was grayer than the rest of her body. I choked back a sob when I couldn’t feel anything. “Samantha,” I wept as I shook her shoulder, trying to wake her. When that didn’t work, I touched her neck again. Hoping I had missed it the first time, my heart broke knowing what it meant that I couldn’t feel anything. “No. No. No. You can’t have her,” I shouted at the goddess. I scooped up Samantha’s cold, rigid, naked body, pulling her onto my lap, hoping my body heat would warm her. I pulled her head into the crux of my neck. “Samantha. You can’t leave me,” I cried.

As if someone was listening, I heard a heartbeat. It was only once. But I heard it. I had to get her out of here. Getting to my feet, I lifted Samantha’s naked and frail body. “Hold on. Garth’s got you.” I told her as my tears of sorrow turned to tears of hope. Cal was furious. Zola is Cal’s true Luna, Cal has a spiritual bond with her. Stronger than with anyone other than her mate. “It’s our job to protect the Luna and look at her. How did this happen to her and we didn’t know about it?” He yelled, I deduced it could have only been one person who did this to her. Jaxon, but why? I lay her on the island in the kitchen, took off my shirt, and began rubbing her body, trying to warm her up.

I then grabbed the turkey baster, sucking up the water from my glass on the side. I placed the tip on her dry, cracked lips and let a drop fall into her mouth. Cal was telling me he couldn’t reach Zola. Which can only mean one of two things: she’s dead or dormant.

“Dormant. She has to be dormant. Carry on trying to reach her,” I instructed. I couldn’t face the possibility that Zola was gone. She had to be dormant. I had confidence that the goddess wouldn’t want Samantha to die like this. With frantic movements, I used my shirt to warm up her body and put drops of water on her lips, hoping it would revive her.

“I can’t reach her,” Cal growled in frustration after he couldn’t reach her this time. I remembered the wolfsbane. She must have too much of it in her system. That is the only poison that could kill Zola before Samantha.

“The Gamma gift, use it. I consent,” Cal shouted at me in desperation. Everyone knows that a Gamma can tap into their Luna’s emotions. But not everyone knows that a Gamma wolf can offer their Luna a share of their life force. It takes a massive toll on the Gamma Wolf as it severely weakens them. But to save their Luna, it’s a sacrifice any Gamma would make.

“She’s not marked. It may not work,” I reminded Cal.

“I don’t care, we try.” He yelled at me. We both knew that if we couldn’t get Zola back to heal Samantha. She would die. With only hope in my heart and a slim chance of this working. I pressed my forehead to Samantha’s. I listened to the clock ticking as Samantha didn’t respond. “Come on. Come on.” I pleaded, hoping we weren’t too late. “Come on, Samantha, you can’t leave me,” I whispered as I pushed our foreheads closer together. This had to work.