Chapter 281: Chapter 281

Chapter 281 He Still Won’t Talk

Lila’s POV

“Where?” I asked, quickly standing to my feet. “Where is this darkness?”

“I cannot say,” she said, a quizzical look in her eyes. “Darkness is such a powerful force that it feels as

if it is everywhere, and yet nowhere.”

“But you are sure that it’s here?”

“Yes,” she answered. “As sure that I am that you and I are here.”

“I thought the purpose of the barrier was to keep darkness out,” I said, shaking my head with

frustration. “I don’t understand how it can be here.”

“My mother explained that we cannot banish or destroy darkness. If darkness was already here before

the barrier, it will remain. Maybe not be as powerful, and it might feel a bit of discomfort being within

this barrier, but it will not be destroyed. If given the right tools, it can be strong again.”

“The right tool? What kind of tool are you talking about?” I asked.

“There are many,” she answered. “The most powerful is the moonstone.”

My heart fell into my stomach upon hearing her words.

“I thought the moonstone was for protection?” I asked. “How can it give darkness power?”

“The Moonstone is a powerful tool that could protect or destroy. Depending on who wields it and who

what it’s used for.”

I rubbed my bare wrist; my mother had given me a moonstone bracelet on my 16(th) birthday; it was

supposed to be meant to protect me. I took it off days ago and stored it in my jewelry box, forgetting to

put it back on.

I rushed to the jewelry box that sat on my dresser. Opening it, I began to rummage through it.

“Where is it…” I murmured to myself.

The bracelet… it was gone. I could have sworn I put it in here.

Shaking my head, I stumbled away from the box.

“I mustn’t stay in this form. If I’m gone from the barrier for too long, it won’t remain, and dark magic will

be able to enter.”

“You are able to keep dark magic away?” I asked, looking at her. My heart was racing as the realization

that my moonstone bracelet had gone clouded my brain.

She nodded her head once.

“Dark magic cannot enter the barrier and the magic that was here previously has been banished. But

darkness itself remains.”

Chapter 281 He Still Won’t Talk

“What am I supposed to do?” I asked. “I think whoever darkness is using to kill those people took my

moonstone bracelet.”

“Find the one who wields the moonstone,” she answered. Her brightness was intensifying, and I knew

she was leaving. “You must destroy the darkness before it destroys you.”

Those were her parting words before she turned into an orb of light and flew out my open window and

back to the top of the shield.

My heart was heavy as I lay back in bed; I needed to find the person who had my moonstone bracelet.

But how could I find out who that is? I thought I put it in my jewelry box, but maybe I dropped it

somewhere.

“I will be going to the police station in the morning to speak with Scott and find out what I can,” Enzo

said through a mindlink.

I was relieved to hear his voice; I wanted to be with him and have him hold me in his arms. I wanted to

tell him all that I had just found out.

“I want to come with you,” I said in return.

“You should stay here where it’s safe,” he told me.

“The killer is still here,” I said, sitting up in bed. “Nobody is safe.”

“The other students are safer with you there,” he corrected. “We can’t leave them unprotected when

they and the ga mmas think they are safe. We will speak when I return from the police station; I

promise.”

“I wish I could be with you right now,” I found myself admitting.

“I know,” he sighed. “Me too. But soon, my love. I promise. For right now, get some rest. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I said, feeling all sorts of exhausted.

The mindlink ended and I was left in silence. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to sleep, but soon my exhaustion

got the best of me, and I slept.

“You are making a huge mistake by keeping me in here. The longer I’m here, the more danger she will

be in,” Xander spat as my father drew his claws and swiped across Xander’s already bruised and

bleeding face.

“Don’t you dare threaten my daughter,” my father seethed through his teeth.

His eyes were glowing amber as his wolf fought to take control and rip Xander’s throat out. Xander was

shackled and thrown in a dirty cell. There was a pool of blood beneath him, and his body was badly

beaten.

The sight alone was stomach-wrenching, but the scent made me want to vomit.

I looked around, knowing that I was in the calypso pack dungeon; though, I had never actually been

down here before. I’m not even sure how I ended up here, but it seemed that my father didn’t notice

that I was there.

Xander looked more than frustrated.

III

6%

Chapter 281 He Still Won’t Talk

“It’s not a threat,” he coughed; blood poured from his cracked lips.

“Tell me who sent you here,” my father ordered. “Tell me who you are working for.”

“I cannot,” Xander hissed.

“Why.”

“Because they would be in danger if I did,” Xander retorted. “I would never put them in danger.”

They’d be in danger? Who would be in danger?

I stepped closer to them, opening my mouth to speak and ask that very question, but no words left my

lips.

My father grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground; Xander struggled against him,

coughing and gagging.

“Wrong answer,” my father said in a low and threatening tone, throwing him against the wall with a loud

thud. “We will continue to torture you until you give us the answers we want. Until we know for sure that

Lila is safe, we will keep beating you.”

Xander lifted his head weakly and glared at my father through his swollen and bloodshot eyes.

“Until she fights it, she will always be in danger.”

Then to my utter shock, his eyes flickered at me, making me freeze.

“And you know it to be true,” he said the words as if he was speaking directly to me.

Then he lowered his head and passed out.

My father stood over him, covered in his blood. Beta Ethan appeared at the cell gates, standing beside

me. But it was like he didn’t see me. My father turned to face him and could see the grim expression

that crossed his face.

“Still no answers?” Ethan asked, peering down at a passed-out Xander.

“No,” my father answered, taking the clean rag that Ethan had offered to clean the blood off his hands.

“He won’t tell me why he kidnapped my daughter and who he’s working for. He keeps saying we’ve

made a mistake.”

“Like hell we did,” Ethan said, shaking his head. “But I just got word from Enzo; apparently Scott Pierce

confessed to the murder of that student.”

My father’s face went from grim to/shock in a matter of seconds.

“Alpha Emmet’s son?”

“Yes,” Ethan said, nodding his head slowly. “Alpha Emmet isn’t pleased.”

“I can’t imagine he would be,” my father said. “He’s part of the committee. I’ll give him a call and see

what we can figure out.”

III

Chapter 281 He Still Won’t Talk

As my father and Beta Ethan left the area, my eyes remained on Xander. What was he talking about?

Before I could find any more answers or hear any more of that conversation, my eyes were opened,

and I sat up in bed. I was breathing heavily, and I had sweat pouring down the side of my face.

I was back in my dorm room.

What the hell was that?

“Val?” I asked through gasps of breath.

“I’m here…” she said tiredly.

“Did you see all that too?”

“I did,” she answered. “It seems there might be more to Xander’s story than we know. I didn’t feel him

to be a threat.”

“Nor did I.,” I admitted. “He said they’ve made a mistake… what if they really did?”

“Do you suppose he was being controlled by darkness?”

I hadn’t thought about that but now that she mentioned the possibility, it almost seemed obvious. The c

rackling of the speakers that were stored in each dorm and around campus, brought my mind back to

reality.

“Good morning students; I apologize for this early morning announcement. I wanted to inform all of you

bright and early that the murderer has been captured and that the school is once again safe. I

appreciate all your cooperation and I’m giving the next couple of days off to mourn the loss of our

student and those gamma warriors. I will be discussing with the student committee about holding a

memorial service for the victims. As of right now, the lockdown is over. Once again, I thank you for your

cooperation over the last couple of days.”

There was another cr ackling sound and then the speaker faded away.

I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat; I looked over at the clock and saw that it was 5 am.

Our curfew hour was over, and the sun hadn’t risen yet. The vampire curfew started at 7 am.

Which meant, we had some time.

I grabbed my phone and opened my chat with the committee members.

“Meeting in our classroom; 20 minutes.”