Chapter 227

Almara’s Pov

The familiars have backed off, though not by their own accord. I look around and among the newly freed-up space is Delfino, standing tall with a look of irritation.

His long black robe trails behind him, and his hands are laced together and hidden in his over-sized sleeves. His one eye is squinted, while the other twitches, and his mouth is a cross between a grimace and a snarl. The thin blue squiggly veins are his paper-white skin pulsate.

I search the now emptied space and find Arthur standing weakly. The gash on his forehead has been reopened and he has blood matted all over his fur it’s hard to tell the source of the injury. Zack stands with much trouble, gripping at his side. His lip is split and his one arm dangles at an awkward length.

“Follow me,” Delfino says while turning his back as the crowd continues to part and make way for him to pass through. He doesn’t look back to see if we follow, but I’m worried if we don’t the familiars will go in for the attack again. At least he’s walking towards the scent of Grace.

Arthur and I take our places next to one another, he puts a protective arm around my waist. Zack limps behind us.

Aside from a couple dirty glances and damning stares from familiars and some vampires, no one else bothers us. As we near the castle up some cobblestone, I notice that it is new.

Not just that, but on the front of the door isn’t a bat or even one of the Councilmen. Instead sitting high and commanding importance is a statue of some kind of gremlin. A familiar I assume.

The castle is poised on a tall hill, guarded by a tall pointed fence. When we come up to the gates entry, Delfino turns his face towards the right where a lamppost casts a dim light over us. Then the gate opens.

We follow him up the winding black top, as best we can. A couple of grunts escape from Zack as we make the climb but Delfino doesn’t slow his pace. Arthur releases me to support Zack up the hill.

We’re lead to a side door that’s made out of wood and barred with metal. Delfino pulls a ring of keys out from his pocket and opens the door, unfortunately no light comes out. It’s pitch black and there’s no way to tell what lies on the other side.

Delfino snaps his fingers and a torch is lit on the side of the wall. He grabs it and holds it up, illuminating just a few feet ahead. I can see it’s a narrow passage, we’d have to walk in a straight line.

The walls are made up of brick and the floor is cement. Delfino continues on, again not looking back to see if we’re following and hesitantly we do. When we’re all inside, the door automatically shuts behind us. The closing of the door echoing down the hallway.

Arthur slips his band into mine, and I squeeze back. Our palms are sweaty despite the chilling temperature the further down the hallway we walk. I sense a draft and that’s when I begin to wonder if we’re descending into the ground.

Grace’s smell grows more faint and instead what seeps through these walls is the aroma of the cool damp earth.

The hallway never seems to end, until we come up to another door. Delfino puts his bony hand up to the center, and the door opens the rest of the way.

This time, Delfino turns to face us. “You wait here,” Delfino says looking past Arthur and me. We turn to see Zack who doesn’t look so good. His face his pale and beads of sweat cluster on his forehead, his breathing is shaky. “Rest, why don’t you?” Delfino says apathetically.

Still, Zack looks as though he’s just received the greatest orders. He slides down the wall to his knees and keeps his head pressed back against the cool bricks. “We’ll come back for you,” Arthur says and I know he means it. But what he doesn’t say that’s the true meaning of his kind gesture is, we won’t leave his body to rot here.

Zack rolls is head towards the sound of Arthur’s voice and looks up at him through glossy eyes. “Fighting along side of you has been an honor, Alpha.” Zack manages to say between a few strained breaths and then he lowers his head out of respect.

Arthur stiffens and I know this is the most challenging part of being Alpha. Your friends and family dying for you, and thanking you for it.

The sound of Delfino’s foot steps fading down the other end of the hall tell us we need to get moving.

Arthur and I leave Zack and catch up to Delfino. Eventually, we come to a turn in our path, a new hallway to walk down. This path is sorter and at the end is a cell. Delfino again unlatches the lock and slides the barred door open. “Go in,” He says.

Though Arthur and I can’t literally read each other's minds, I know him well enough to be doing the math in his head. It’s two against one now. We could kill Delfino. The only problem is that would escalate another war.

“Where’s Grace?” Arthur asks, standing tall and puffing his chest out.

“I don’t know,” Delfino says.

“Liar!” Arthur barks, but it’s true. One of the traits of being a werewolf is the sense of loyalty, which means it’s very obvious to us when someone is lying no matter how good of a liar they think they are. Delfino is telling the truth.

“I could smell her when we came in,” Arthur says in a low growl.

“That could have been one of the familiars masking as her,” Delfino says like he couldn’t be bothered one way or another about it. My heart sinks at the realization that might be true.

“Now we can stand here and go back and forth, or we can make some progress,” Delfino says, the impatience bleeding through his tone.

Reluctantly, we enter through the gate. Delfino closes the door, with him on the outside. Arthur lunged and swiped a paw as Delfino swiftly inserted the key and locks us in. Arthur is successful as knocking the keys from Delfino and by the hiss of pain and sudden movement Delfino makes it’s clear Arthur scrapped at him.

“You stupid beast,” Delfino says his eyes ablaze.

“I’ll kill you!” Arthur says and yanks on the door, only mildly successful at bending some of the metal bars. It’ll take some time, but eventually, we’d be able to escape. I place my hand on his back and settle him.

“Yes, well you won’t want to do that,” Delfino says unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. Arthur throws his head back and laughs madly.

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted to do!”

“Why are we in here?” I ask coming up to the bars. There has to be a reason, something Delfino wants that we can negotiate.

“Because I don’t trust you,” Delfino says his tongue lashing out into a hiss. Arthur’s lips curl into a mischievous smile. “I want you in here while I propose to you a plan,”

“A plan?” I say dumbfounded. “You want to make a plan with us?”

“The only plan we have is to get our daughter and destroy you and all the familiars,” Arthur says.

Delfino tucks his hands back into his oversized sleeve and lifts his nose to the air. “Yes,” he says and looks between the both of us. “We have a common enemy,”