21. Explosions and Escape

“Is that true, River? You healed the rogue?” the twins asked at the same time. “Did the alpha king know about this? You should tell him, River. You will be a great asset to the alpha king. You will gain his favor!” they said, their eyes twinkling.

My eyes darted from side to side. Anything but not their questioning gaze.

I hated lying straight at their faces. It made me feel sick, but what could I do? I had to protect myself.

Damn that rogue! I knew it. He was never the type who would keep a secret.

I gave them a small smile. “I am not. I do not have that ability.”

“All good. There’s nothing to treat now. The wounds healed cleanly. I thought you said this person is dying?” the doctor who examined the rogue announced.

The guard looked at the rogue confused. “I was definitely right. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“His wolf helped him. That’s the only possible explanation right now.”

“But…”

The doctor packed his bag and went to the other cell. The guard who was guarding him told me he would be back. I waved at him. And I was left with the twins.

I chuckled nervously when the twins were still expecting me to give them the answer they wanted to hear.

“Did the rogue tell me that it was me? He did not mention any names, right?”

Their face fell. “No. But it was none other than you, River. Tell us. You don’t have to keep it a secret.”

Too bad. I have to keep it a secret. I will find another way to gain the alpha king’s favor.

The rogue whistled, amused at our exchanges.

I glared at him, sightly faced him, and mouthed, “Fuck you.”

Then, I smiled at the twins, opened my mouth, and before I could say anything, the rogue said, “It wasn’t her. She’s weak and does not even have a wolf.”

How did he know I did not have any wolf with me? How strong was he to know something about that?

Only my packmates knew about that.

The twins' expressions softened. “You don’t have a wolf?”

I nodded, making my expression sad.

“Aw. That’s the most tragic thing that could happen to us werewolves. That’s okay, River. Perhaps, your wolf will come out when she is ready enough to face the world.”

She won’t, I wanted to say but stopped myself. Instead, I beamed at them as if there was nothing wrong.

I had been calling my wolf since I was young. I called her when I realized I was a werewolf. But no one responded to my call. Not even now. That made me believe I had nothing except for my healing abilities, and I wanted to keep them to myself.

I sniffed, trying to act heartbroken in front of them.

The rogue cocked his eyebrows, unmoved by my crocodile tears. He was starting to get on my nerves.

It was his fault that I was suddenly interrogated by the twins.

“Perhaps the reason why my wolf is absent is that she did not want to suffer hardships as I experienced right now. I cannot blame her,” I said, and sniffed.

Moved by my acting, the twins consoled me, saying nothing but sweet things.

“Everything will be alright.”

-----------------------

The rest of the days passed. And before I knew it, it had already been three days since I was imprisoned in the dungeon. The alpha king did not visit me anymore. Or perhaps I was only wrong that it was me whom he visited.

The twins had been visiting frequently, with an alibi that they would just clean the dungeon and would bring me food and share it with the rogue.

Surprisingly, he was becoming more silent each day. He was always deep in thought, sometimes trying to talk to me for a minute and back with his silence. I let him be and focused on my reflection.

The place was getting better. As well as the smell. Earlier, the guards had bathed the prisoners inside their cell and there was a fresh set of clothes given to them. The servants would wash their clothes and after drying them, return them to the owners.

Despite the small comfort of the dungeon, I was still on edge.

I keep pacing back and forth, waiting for any announcement that the alpha king would now allow me to return to his side.

However, I did not receive any of that.

My hope was getting smaller.

“It is time. It has been ten days,” the rogue mumbled to himself.

I threw him a look.

His pallor was getting better. He was no longer the sickly dude I knew back then. Fats started to come back on his body. If he eats more, then his normal body will return.

I stood and went closer to him. He sat on the ground, his hands resting on one of his knees. His expression turned into stone.

As odd as it sounded, his presence inside was starting to comfort me despite having less than a thousand words of conversation each day.

Sensing I was looking at him, he met my gaze and smirked.

“What do you mean?”

“I will escape.”

He had been saying it but it was still unbelievable. “You will? How?”

“You will see. They will be here in a minute.”

My eyes became round. “Will you really escape?” I asked in disbelief. “But the guards...”

“Still thinking about that? River, you worry too much for someone whom you don't even know.”

I lifted an eyebrow. It was a strange feeling that he knew my name, yet I did not know him.

“Can you blame me? I just saved you from death and here you are wanting to get killed. If I have known about that—”

“I won’t. I will not die,” the rogue said, cutting off my words. “As I said, I will kill Black Heart first before I am allowed to die.”

My expression hardened.

“If you die, die on your own.”

I turned my back to him.

There will be another bloodbath and I could not do anything to stop it.

“I will tell my men not to do anything to you.”

“Will that suppose to console me? Others might say I aided you in your escape.” If it will reach the alpha king, my goal would become elusive.

“You did. Indirectly, River.”

I pressed my lips together. “I never did that. I never help you plan your escape.”

“You did,” he insisted. “By healing me. Right when you entered this cell, I should be dead by that time. I saw the Angel of Death at that moment, River. I thought I would be gone, but you snatched me away from him.”

My nose crinkled. He had a point.

“I had no control over your decisions, so don’t ever dare put the blame on me.”

“At one point or another, you will be blamed, River for what I will do. For that, I would like to offer my apologies.”

A rogue asking for an apology?

My eyes squinted. “Are you really a rogue?”

He gave me a boyish smile. “Why? Am I becoming sickly good? That you fell in love with me? I may look like someone who hasn't washed for a year, but I assure you, I am a handsome young man.”

I acted to puke. “Handsome your ass.”

He chuckled and his face turned serious. “I am grateful for knowing you, River. If you are not only serving Black Heart, I will bring you to our hideout. I will give you anything you want.”

“Do that to your mate. Not me.”

His mouth was set in a hard line. “Mate? I don’t want her to enter my life. She will only suffer on my side. It would be better if we don’t see each other. She deserved someone else better than me.”

“Then make yourself worthy for her. Seeing your mate and being with her is the best thing that could happen.”

I prayed and waited for my mate only to be rejected.

The rogue looked at the ceiling. “You romanticize things too much. It only happens in fantasy, River. If her life will only become difficult and she will suffer on my side, it’s better if I will not see her. How about you?”

“What? Are we friends now? Why are you suddenly acting friendly all of a sudden? Well, I don't one to go with you, rogue, and I will not help you with your plan. You can die on your own.”

He threw back his head and laughed. “We are nothing but enemies. However, we are in a truce right now since we’re both held against our will.”

I sighed in exasperation. “For someone who is imprisoned, you’re quite happy. Lucky you for being positive in life.”

He gave a half-shrugged. “This is the day of celebration. The time of my escape.”

“Good luck with that.”

The tiredness crawled all over my body, making my shoulder slump.

My hands were itching to get out of this place and inhale a set of fresh air.

Silence passed between us. The only thing I heard was the soft snores from the other cell and our soft intake of breath.

The rogue suddenly loomed closer to me.

I raised my eyebrows. “What are you doing?”

“Can you hear that?” he asked, instead.

My eyes bored into him. “What? I do not hear anything. Maybe your ears are only playing tricks on you,” I offered an explanation.

The rogue’s eyes glowed. “You did not hear that, did you?”

“‘Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you’re trying to say.”

His eyes lit up. “The bombs! They are infiltrating this place! Finally! My brothers have come to rescue me.” He laughed as if he was crazy. He looked at me. “I told you I will get out of this forsaken place.”

The smell of death was suddenly hovering in this place. The stench of blood became stronger in my nostrils. Oh, Moon Goddess. A couple of minutes from now, blood will water this place.

A shiver ran down my spine.

I no longer wanted to see blood.

The other prisoners were suddenly up, curious at what was happening outside.

The prison guards were up on their feet barking some orders. I sensed their panic. If there will be explosions inside the dungeon, they will have a hard time controlling the prisoners.

My heart hammered against my chest.

One time we were just waiting and the next thing I knew, something exploded right where we were standing. I instantly went on the floor, covering my nose using my hands. Shouts followed. The iron bars rattled. Someone opened the locks. Someone held my hand and grabbed me, but I turned it away.

“Leave, River! This is your chance!”

It was the rogue.

“I won’t! Leave me alone!”

“They will kill you! Everything is in chaos! I no longer hold on to my comrades. They might hurt you!”

I shook my head a couple of times, but the rogue was determined not to leave me. Before I knew it, he scooped me in his arms and put me on his broad shoulders upside down as if I was a sack of potatoes.

“Let me go!” I said while pounding his chest. “Damn you! I said I will stay in the palace! You cannot force me against my will!”

“Fuck! Stay still, will you, or I will drop you and let you get killed.”

I couldn’t look at my surroundings. The position I was in now made it difficult. All I saw was the rogue’s bottom.

“Where are you taking me?” I said, glaring at his bottom as if it was his face.

“I will take you somewhere safe.”

I stilled.

“Why?”

“Because I have a feeling we will see each other again.”

“It’s not enough to make you do this. Your comrades will doubt you for siding with an enemy.”

“I won’t say you are the enemy but my savior. Now, shut that pretty mouth of yours and let me concentrate. Damn. The smoke is getting thicker.”

I shrieked when another bomb exploded.

The rogue muttered endless curses.

My head spun and the only thing I could do was clung to this man and closed my eyes. The shouts continued followed by moans of pain. Something bumped us. It hit my shoulder but continued closing my eyes.

The rogue sprinted. Funny how I let someone save me.

We were like that until it became quieter. I opened my eyes and saw we were out of the dungeon.

Gently, the rogue put me down on my feet.

Dirt and coat smudge his face. He was taller than I could imagine. I only reached his bare shoulders. I was right. He looked younger.

“This is the farthest place I could bring you. You’re on your own now, River.”

He turned his back to me.

My mouth opened and closed, wanting to call him, but decided to keep it shut in the end. He was an enemy of the alpha king and if I wanted to gain his favor, I should also do the same.

“Oh. By the way, before I could forget. I heard you call him His Highness,” he started.

I folded my arms in front of my chest, trying to act brave when I was trembling.

“What?”

“If you are addressing Black Heart, you should call him Your Majesty since he is the king. Call him His Highness if he is a prince. You should know that because you are his servant. Adios,” he said and shapeshifted into his wolf and sprinted back towards the dungeon.

Of all the things to say?

“Come back!” I called him. "Tell me your name!"

“Who are you calling, River?”

I held my breath and spun and came face to face with the alpha king.