Page 64 of Red's Beast

Grandmother moans in the cell next to me, distracting me from my thoughts. “Are you okay?”

“What hit me? Did anyone catch the broom that whacked me?”

I move as close to the bars as I can and reach through them to twirl her gray locks between my fingers. “Two of his men were standing next to you. I’m not sure what they did to you, but you dropped after. Neither hit you. Now we are in the dungeon beneath the alpha house.”

“Those worthless imbeciles. They are supposed to protect the pack, not injure them.” She looks up at me, her eyes sunken from not feeling well. “I feel rough and there is a spot on my back that is too sore.”

My eyes roam down to her wrists, where the cuffs gleam in the dim light. “It’s the silver cuffs. Have you ever noticed that Corbin and his dad can handle silver without it bothering them?”

She chuckles. "That blasted witch left some secrets, after all."

“What are you talking about?” I gently lift my hands and rest them against the bars between us.

“I can only say so much,” she whispers.

"I do, but what if I tell you what I know and see if you can shake your head if I'm on the right track? Do you think you can do that?”

She looks at me suspiciously before slowly moving her head to look at the bottom of the staircase. "Okay, let's try that."

“You are not going to like this, but I can talk to the beast in the woods.”

Oddly, she doesn’t say anything for a solid minute, which causes me to panic. Then she laughs. “It’s about time.”

“I’m going to ignore you for a moment, so we can hopefully figure things out. He told me it was a witch who cursed him because he didn’t fall for her. So, she got mad and cursed him to roam the woods, except for two nights. Once during the new moon and once during the full moon. He used the night of the new moon to roll in my bed, which is why I was gone for a week after. His scent caused my wolf to surface.”

“Wait, are you serious? That is what happened to cause your wolf to come out?” She struggles to sit up with the chains burning into her wrists, but eventually she does and pulls the sheet over herself. “I knew something happened, but you didn’t tell me about this.”

“I’m sorry, but it’s not like I can proudly proclaim I can hear the beast in my mind. Anyway, a bit ago, I told him about the story my parents told me about the woman longing to become a wolf to be with her lover. His emotions felt weird.”

She looks down at her hands, watching the silver cuffs biting into her skin. “You are close, Lillian. So close.”

“Did the beast run from the witch and end up getting cursed? But it’s not because she wanted to become a wolf. It’s because she was angry that her magic didn’t work on him?”

She sighs heavily as she glances up at me. Then her head dips down.

I finally have my answer, but how do I free him?

Before I can ask her, she looks up at me with a solemn gaze.

“You have a hard choice to make. Though no one can tell you the full story because of being bound, when that choice comes, you’ll know. You will have to mean what you claim. That is all I can tell you without evoking the binding. You speaking to him in your mind should be a clue about what is the right choice as well. Time reveals all.”

“We don’t have time. I have days until the full moon. Less than a week to be accurate. He will keep me in this dungeon until the night of our ceremony.”

"Things are never as they seem, my sweet child. The answer is under your nose, and you'll figure it out." Her eyes close as she drifts off against the wall.

I pull away from the bars and lean against the wall again. Now that I have a clearer picture, there are only a few things left to find out.

How do I free him?

Will freeing him save my grandfather’s pack as well?

Will they accept us as their alphas?

What if I’m making a huge mistake?

Right as I close my eyes, one detail stands out. A white wolf was in the story. What if a white wolf is the key to his freedom?

White wolves run in our family, but none have been solid.

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