The Alpha's Ruthless Luna

Chapter 19

Diana had not heard from Aiden's mother since they last spoke, which left her disappointed and worried that she was actually stuck here.

She was back at Aiden's mansion, having been dragged back by him after the humiliation.

She'd spent her morning crying into her pillow. Her eyes were still red and swollen, and her bed was in total disarray from her pulling at the bedding. She had even tried pulling at her own hair.

The sky was beautiful, patches of white clouds forming strange and meaningful abstract shapes. It was calming, especially when she allowed herself to embrace the silence that somehow ruled the atmosphere.

"Where are you, Mother?" she asked herself, her eyes unconsciously searching the houses she could see from the window. She rested one arm on the windowsill as she imagined burning down the whole pack in her search for her mother.

"If only I could leave this godforsaken place..."

Without actually thinking about the impossibility of the situation, she found herself walking toward her door, twisting the knob and pulling it open.

She was first shocked that the door wasn't locked.

Then her heart almost leapt out of her chest when she realised the Gammas were no longer guarding her door.

There was no one in the hallway.

Weird, she convinced herself.

Her heart thumped wildly as she looked left and right down the hallway, telling herself that it wasn't real. Perhaps they were simply patrolling the hallways.

Or perhaps it was a trap.

Aiden was probably watching her right now from his room.

Maybe there were even hidden cameras.

So she decided to test this bizarre situation.

She crossed the hallway to Aiden's door and banged on it. She knocked until her fists hurt and almost bled.

He didn't answer.

She shook her head in disbelief and turned the knob, ready to face the consequences if he was inside.

The door was locked.

Either he was inside and unconscious—or dead—or he wasn't there at all.

She bet on the second option and made a beeline for the staircase, running down it as if her life depended on it.

The house was empty.

She was convinced of it.

And she thanked the Moon Goddess for this unexpected opportunity.

The dungeon!

She had to find it and find her mother once she made it completely out of the mansion.

Diana made it out of the mansion, tiptoeing and running through the shadows so she wouldn't run into anyone who knew her.

There was an abandoned, enormous gate visible a few miles from Aiden's mansion, covered in moss and some kind of greenish growth. It looked evil.

As a matter of fact, it looked more like a sewage dump with a very old and rusty gate.

Could this be the dungeon?

If only she'd been in the pack long enough, she'd know where everything was.

The place looked forgotten, not like somewhere that held prisoners or anyone at all.

She moved closer, then immediately took a huge step backward, thrown off by the repulsive stench coming from the place.

If her mother was there, she would drive a dagger through Aiden's heart before leaving.

She really hoped her mother wasn't there.

Diana took a deep breath and boldly stepped closer, pulling the neck of her T-shirt over her nose to block out the smell.

She was about to go in when she heard several noises coming from a patch of woods not far from where she stood.

Her heart caught in her throat.

Whoever was approaching couldn't see her.

She rushed behind a very large well beside the place she assumed was the dungeon.

She curled herself up as tightly as a frightened fetus and held her breath, terror wrenching through her chest.

If anyone caught her, she'd be in serious trouble.

She'd be reported to Aiden.

That was if they didn't hurt her first, especially if they recognised her as the werewolf who had escaped after insulting their Alpha.

Aiden would throw her into the dungeon if he caught her trying to escape.

What would he do to her mother?

Please don't find me, she prayed desperately.

"Carry him carefully. Don't you dare drop him!"

Diana heard the voice clearly as the approaching figures seemed to emerge from the woods and enter the clearing.

Then she wondered what was actually going on.

Was it a crime?

Her head spun with a new kind of fear.

If it was a crime and they caught her eavesdropping...

It would be an instant death sentence.

Her death for another reason.

"Yes, Beta Vince."

The voices chorused together.

Diana, who hadn't realised she'd squeezed her eyes shut, opened them abruptly.

Beta Vincent.

Like Vincent?

Was Vincent committing a crime with his Gammas?

Who had they killed?

The fact that it was Vincent she'd heard was now clear and impossible to ignore.

Gathering her courage, she peeked around the well and saw that there really was a body.

Shock washed over her like a violent wave, followed by a strange, feverish chill.

Her mouth fell open, unable to accept the reality before her.

Vincent was a murderer!?

She strained to see who the victim was, but Vincent's back blocked her view.

What she could tell was that the victim was heavily built and, for some reason, required three werewolves to carry him.

Please turn, she silently begged, straining her neck and eyes.

Vincent did.

And when his back turned slightly, Diana forgot how to breathe.

First, it was the dark hair that caught her eye.

Then those muscular arms that seemed so familiar.

Then his face.

Aiden.

She went completely still, numb as her entire world seemed to spin around her.

"You... You killed him..."

The words escaped her lips as tears ran uncontrollably down her face.

Why was she crying?

Was it out of disappointment in Vincent?

Or because she was sad that her captor had been killed?

She didn't know.

She only knew that she was suddenly on her feet, revealing herself in the most foolish way possible.

Vincent and the other Gammas dropped Aiden onto the ground with a hard thud, startled by the sudden appearance and accusation.

"Holy fuckable Goddess!" Vincent swore with a jump at Diana's voice, then threw his hands onto his hips when he realised who it was.

"Diana!" he exclaimed. "My God, what are you doing here!?"

She marched toward him fearlessly and landed a clean slap across his cheek.

Then she scoffed at the other Gammas before instinctively dropping to Aiden's side.

She looked at him with so much guilt pressing against her chest.

"Please don't die..." she begged, unsure whether it was the doctor in her speaking or whether some part of her genuinely cared that he was still breathing.

She placed her index and middle fingers against the side of his neck, holding her breath as she checked for a carotid pulse.

His pulse beat weakly beneath her fingertips.

Aiden was alive.

In a bad state, but alive.

She immediately released a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding.

"Oh, thank the Moon Goddess. He's alive."