Chapter 103

Ryan

No matter her departure, I know my mate and I know what she had wanted from me. I cannot bare to mourn her much longer. It has been agonizing so far. For now I allow that pain to subside and instead, I force myself toward the Wilshire mountains, to the spot that Fritz described to me. He hadn't wanted to admit the atrocity, but the news of my mate had pushed him over the edge of the truth.

I have to see it for myself, my wolf pressing me further and further through the valleys until my warriors beg for us to take a break. They plead through the link, exhausted and worn down from the run, but I have yet to break a concerning sweat.

I allow them a moment to collect themselves, my eyes are stuck on the mountain in question, a gaping cave sat above it all, normally useless to the world but for now, it's the one spot I need to be in.

Collecting my warriors, I force them back on their feet and we take off again, making a climb through the wintery conditions. My heart aches. I want to have my mate but instead I am forced with the only option I have left. Alyson would have hated me if I had this news and didn't act on it sooner.

When we reach the peak, the cave open and dark, I have an eerie feeling that passes through me. I feel my mate, I feel her reaching for me, thinking of me; I know that wherever she is, she is saying my name.

Alyson Clark-Alexander, I let my wolf hum in my head. Her name is soothing.

We charge forward into the dark.

I shift back when we reach a structure that resemblances a door, the handle locked with some sort of iron bar, welded by hands that were not formed into this mountainside naturally. I push it aside, rage and hate fueling me, until the door is maneuvered open and my warriors can continue inside the cave behind me.

There are towering marble walls, white tile floors, and an odd scent of poison in the air. It makes me gag. I hold my wrist to my nostrils to keep it from invading my mouth, the taste just as horrid as the smell, and for now I seem to do okay, pushing further into the odd cavern while I spy a few doors on the end of the gaping room.

Approaching the first door, I peer into the small glass window.

A young rogue she-wolf sits on a metal bed, her hands bound by chains that seem to turn her hands a colorless pale shade. She squirms, exhausted as a tube fuels a clear liquid into her veins. The stench is toxic, even from outside this door.

I move to the next door seeing a similar setup with a male sitting up, the IV now instead some kind of bandage around his abdomen, strapped on with tape, the smell of the wolfsbane too much for me to handle now. I lean sideways, vomiting from the smell, hating that this is what is being done to innocent wolves.

There are shifted wolves, pacing small rooms, forced without food or water at their aid, only a small IV, or sometimes not even that, just studied under large machines that keep them pinned under glass frames and magnifying trinkets.

It takes me a moment to collect myself, and another to realize what must be done.

"Unlock the doors and free them all. We will leave this place empty. Understood?"

No one hesitates now, freeing each rogue, no matter how weak or furious they seem to be, they realize slowly I am not the face that has been there to torment them.

I free at least a hundred wolves, maybe more, over the span of time. Thankfully the elders are busy fighting Olivera's army of rogues, otherwise they would be here to stop me; to stop the intent of my mate. She would be so proud of me today, and I couldn't be more pleased, finally nudging the last wolf out of the cave.

She mutters something saddening, and I ignore it at first, blaming the wolfbane that lingers heavily on her scent. She grabs at my shoulder, stumbling, and when I set her right, she grins wide, as if seeing a ghost.

"Alpha Ryan," she hums.

I nod. "Yes, that is me. Keep moving, please, before someone returns to this place."

"The moon goddess mentioned you," she says under a heavy sigh.

I find myself frozen in time. "So she mentioned me by name? Why? How have you been able to speak to her?"

"She told me about Alyson Alexander. A she-wolf who was once Alissa Clark. Clark bloods are special, healing, and she was sent back by the moon goddess, right?"

I worry this is some retelling of my mate's story, but it seems so fresh on this woman's mind that I can't ignore the probability of it. "Yes, continue on."

"The moon goddess sent me back, because of the wolfsbane toxins in my blood, and said she's only done it once before to your mate, a she-wolf she claims is meant to change the world. She said she has sent her back more than once, protecting her and her mate; that's you!"

"Did you say, more than once?" I gasp, feeling estranged from sanity.

"Yes, Alpha. She said she has your mate in her hands at all times, trying to protect her at all costs, like she did with me. She said it's something about her soul, something meant to save us all. Like you've saved us today."

I want to argue but I don't, instead ushering the wolves from this test lab at once. There are a million things I could say right now to rebut that statement but my wolf is far too focused on saving these souls instead.

I didn't save anyone here today; I hear my wolf growl. It was all Alyson.