Chapter 182
92
55 vouchers
As the two of us walk through the base, everyone is staring. She gets closer to me and takes a deep breath. I reach for her hand, and she mumbles something under her breath. I repeat it to Ragnar.
-That means there’s a lot of white people here.-
I clear my throat and just pretend that I didn’t hear that. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a racist remark about someone’s skin tone. We make it to the holding cells. The guards all stand when they see me.
“My Queen,” Ashton, one of the younger Lycans, greets me.
“Hey, they put you on babysitting duty, huh?” he’s been benched a couple of times for overstepping and refusing orders.
“It beats scrubbing toilets,” he smiles. “How can I help you?”
“We’re going to take a walk, see if her daughter is in here,” I inform him. He takes a deep breath and looks over at the man in charge. He waves him over.
“I usually just allow you to do what you want, but this isn’t my area of expertise. It’s my first day here.”
“It’s okay,” I nod. The woman mumbles something a lot longer than the last time. I repeat to Ragnar.
-Can she say anything other than okay?- he translates. I laugh and turn my attention to her. She immediately lowers her gaze.
“Your majesty,” Dustin, the man in charge, finally arrives.
“I want to see if we have her daughter in custody,” I inform him. He bows, shoots a nasty glare at the woman, then punches in the code to let us in.
“I should inform you that we are not allowed to release anyone until Elder Baldr allows it. She would have to wait just like all the other parents,” he sighs.
“We’ll see,” I nod. He holds his arm out to stop me.
“No weapons allowed,” he motions me to the side, where there’s a table.
“Okay,” the woman smirks when I look at her.
“Okay,” I agree.
I remove my surface weapons, my jacket, and my hat before removing my concealed weapons. Ashton laughs, and the woman looks the table over before she looks at my body. She rushes something out, and I try my best to repeat it to Ragnar.
-But you’re so small. Where did you put all of this?- he laughs. I shrug and let Ashton pat my pockets down. Then he pats her down as well.
10:07 Fri, May 15 d.
Chapter 182
“Done?” I ask.
“Yes,” he bows. “Sorry about that.”
༠༡
56 vouchers
“I’ll escort you in. I have all the information we have on the inmates in case her daughter is here.” Dustin bows.
-How do I say, let’s look for her?-
I repeat what Ragnar says and step back to let her move forward. There are a lot more wolves than I thought there would be. They all know that they’re not supposed to come near the base. Lycans have always been very territorial about what belongs to them.
This base, in particular, is off-limits to those without clearance. Everyone here is a certain rank, and the reason for that is that the base is built on sacred land. Obsidian is the only type of stone that can help Lycans control their affinities. That’s what this base is known for. Helping Lycans like Ragnar and me focus our affinity. It also has one of the world’s largest moonstone mines.
We discovered that my hunger is amplified by my werewolf genetics and that the moonstone helps control it more effectively, especially during full moons. Ragnar had jewelry made from both stones for me, and I think I am the only woman allowed to wear them. I try to hide it, but the favoritism is obvious.
The woman suddenly rushes to one of the cells. A little girl runs up to the glass and immediately begins to cry. She looks back at me and frantically taps the glass, demanding that I let her out.
“I’m sorry,” Dustin shakes his head. “She was caught with a group of rebels breaking into the base. They were part of the crew that stole from the shipment last week. She’s here because she won’t give up the names of the lead wolves.”
-She’s part of the team that blew up one of our shipment trucks last week.- I inform Ragnar.
-I figured.- he says. -Repeat after me.-
I repeat what he said, and she rolls her head, defeated, and immediately begins scolding the girl. The girl is shaking her head. She doesn’t look very docile anymore. She’s angry. I repeat what I can to Ragnar.
-Her mother is upset that she’s walking the path she is. She told her she had warned her that this would happen. The girl said that it’s not fair that we dine the way we do while their people starve. She’s just doing her part in helping them survive.-
-What do we do?-
-She’s going to have to be a big girl and sit through this. My father will be here in the morning to let those who were in the wrong place at the wrong time out. Not her, though. Not unless she gives up those names.-
-How do I explain that to her mother?-
-Repeat after me. Pay very close attention to how she reacts.- I repeat what he says, and the woman stands. The anger from earlier returns. The girl looks horrified, and neither says a single word.
-What did I tell them?-
Fri, May 15 &
Chapter 182
233
92
65 vouchers
-The Elder in charge of the executions will be here tomorrow morning. If the names of those who led the raid that cost two lycans aren’t in our system by then. She will be executed along with the others.-
-Ragnar, what the fuck?-
-It’s a threat at most, Moonlight. How did she react?-
-She’s scared out of her mind now. She didn’t say a word. How do I say, I’m sorry, but because of this, I now have to face the families of the people I am sworn to protect?- I repeat his translation. -Two good men died. What was stolen wasn’t any kind of asset to wolves.
-This base is a training facility for Lycans like me.- I repeat his translation and hold my hand out, taking the tears from her face and spinning them into a circle. -There is no money here or anything worth money. Just pups like her who need to learn how to control their own impulses.-
I repeat what she answers back to him.
-She said that should be something everyone around them is informed of.-
-It’s not something we like to make public knowledge. For our protection and yours. I’m only telling you this because this is a very serious matter. Your daughter is in a lot of trouble, and we are offering her a solution to get out of the predicament she’s in. The men who died were twenty-one and twenty-three. In wolf terms, they are her age. Barely shifted. Babies. And I have to tell their parents why they won’t be returning home. She had a part in that.-
The woman glances at her daughter and lets out a heavy sigh.
-She’s sorry. She would like to know if there’s anything she can do to be here when the Elder arrives. He tells me what to say, and I repeat it.
-What did you say?-
-We’re giving them a moment to talk it over. Move away from them.-
I pull Dustin with me.
“I didn’t know you were fluent in their language, your grace,” he says when we are far enough from them.
“Kind of hard not to pick it up, I lie. No one knows that the reason why Ragnar and I are so good at our jobs is that we communicate the way we do. When the woman turns back to us, I know she’s convinced the girl to tell us what we want to know.
-She said the girl doesn’t want to give the information out, but she will.-
10:07 Fri, May 15
