Chapter 233

Almara’s Pov

“Sit,” Zayne says just as forcefully as his hand that shoves Arthur and me onto two small metallic seats. Our cuffs cut into our wrists and we stumble over one another as we try to avoid falling off the seats.

Once we’re somewhat settled, Zayne hovers over us. I dislike the difference in height difference as we’re seated and he towers over us. Just as I begin to wonder what he’s doing in such close proximity to us, the ground begins to shake.

It’s not so much a violent movement, rather a small vibration engulfs Arthur and me, from the ground where are feet are to the tops of our heads.

Zayne’s eyes roll back to his head so only the whites are showing and he lazily drapes his paws out in front of him, letting his wrists hang lifelessly. He mutters something and the vibration intensifies.

I want to break my concentration and look at Arthur, but I can’t. Anytime I try to move or speak a numbness pervades in my muscle. More than that, the desire to want to speak or move completely vanishes.

Then suddenly and all at once, it stops. Zayne drops back to the ground and only then did I realize he was slightly levitating, his eyes are back in focus and his hands are at his side. “There,” is all he says.

“What the hell did you just do?” Arthur says jerking in his seat.

“You aren’t leaving until we complete what we’ve come here to do,” Zayne says.

I try to lift myself from the chair, but can’t. Some invisible force keeps me pressed down and the more I fight it, the stronger the force becomes. Soon enough I become winded and decide to stop struggling. I look around the room instead, seeing if anything will prove to be useful.

Zayne walks away and stands behind a camera propped up on a tripod blinking red, indicating that it’s recording. Zayne and his unnamed sidekick stand behind the camera smirking at us. It dawns on me as I look at them that the cold chill I feel isn’t from their menacing stares but from the room itself. It’s freezing in here.

It reminds me of the waiting room before we awaited our trial. The only difference to the left is a wall-to-wall covering of small monitors staggered over one another. I guess that explains the cold, they need to prevent the monitors from overheating.

Hm, that could be useful information. Lil says cocking her head, and I agree. I can feel an idea formulating, but nothing’s clicked yet. Still, it’s good to know that this room can’t get too hot or all the computers will crash.

I look at each screen which all seem to be displaying a different part of the castle.

I see vampires walking along the halls and even rooms where other prisoners are kept. I try to find the one where my parents, Cathy, and Robert are being kept but I don’t see it. I also can’t find the dungeon where Arthur and I were kept.

My face flames with heat as I realize what Arthur and I did in that room, I can only hope there are no cameras. As for the prison cells that my parents are locked in, maybe Delfino disabled the cameras.

Below the screens and along the wall is a control panel with color-coordinated controls, switches, buttons, and knobs. They all blink and flash different colors. I look back at the monitors, I spot the top of Arthur and my head on one screen.

I look up in the corner of the room and see another camera positioned snuggly in the corner staring back at me. Arthur follows my gaze and when he sees what I do, he grimaces.

This is probably where they sent out the mass message for every wolf to look for Grace.

“Earth to Almara,” Zayne snaps at me and I look past the camera up at him. “I know this room is impressive, but we have some business to take care of,” I roll my eyes and look at the camera and wonder if this is live.

We could call for all the gammas back home to come riot and set us free, but if it’s not live then doing so would be pointless, maybe even stupid.

“What do you want?” Arthur says.

“I want you to look into the camera and on the count of three, you’re going to tell all the wolves back home that the war is finally over and the Great Familiars have won. There’s nothing else to be done, but to submit. It’s what’s best for everyone,”

Arthur continues to look at Zayne as though those words will never come out of his mouth.

“You can word it however you please,” Zayne says waving his paw dismissively in the air. “I want it to sound authentic of course, though I have some cue cards if you would find them helpful,”

“There’s no way the wolves back home will concede s oeasily,” Arthur says and Zayne looks unbothered.

“They can learn the hard way, that’s fine with us,” Zayen says and his sidekick nods enthusiastically. “I still need you to relay the message, and I have a little something here that might help you get started.”

Zayne walks to a closed door on the back wall. He opens it, but it’s too dark to see anything. He peers inside. “Come on out, there’s some wolves here who are dying to see you,”

Every hair on my body stands up. I lean forward and keep my eyes on the dark shadows of the door opened in the back. Zayne steps aside and a few painful seconds later, small footsteps emerge.

I gasp and try to jump out of my seat, but I am instantly kept locked in place. Tears start flooding down my face. Arthur starts thrashing wildly about beside me. We both, with every fiber in our being, try to break free.

It’s Grace. Her hair has been cut short and her clothes have been replaced with ripped brown sacks, but it’s her. She stares at us with wide eyes of fear, but worst of all there’s a sense of confusion. I know instantly she doesn’t recognize us.

“Grace, sweetie it’s me. It’s your mom,” I say in between sobs and pitifully try again to get out of my seat but even the chair won’t budge.

“Grace, come here,” Arthur says trying his best to keep his voice together and sound welcoming. Grace takes a tentative step back.

The familiar leans down close to her ear and rage spills out of me, “Get away from her!’ I bark, surprised by my own ferocity in my voice. Zayne doesn’t even startle. He says something in a language I’ve never heard and something changes in Grace’s expression.

Her face goes blank, and her eyes turn hateful. “I’m with them now. I’m glad you never came looking for me. I have a new home now,”

I swear the sound of my heart breaking is loud enough to be heard all the way up to the moon goddess. “Grace, of course, we came looking for you. That’s why we’re here,” I plead with her, but it’s useless. Her face does not indicate that she’s even registering what I’m saying.

“I’m going to kill you,” Arthur says to Zayne, “And I’m going to enjoy every second of it,”