28
Jester’s POV
“Where am I?!” I roared.
Footsteps echoed down the hall. A guard appeared and casually leaned against the bars. “Where do you think you are, Jester?” he sneered. “You’re in prison. King Elias kept this special hole just for you. And soon enough, your head will roll. So get comfortable.”
“No!” I shouted. “I am Director Smith’s son! Do you hear me? Smith’s! My warriors will burn this place to the ground! They’ll kill you all!”
I
The guard laughed, shaking his head as though I were nothing more than a madman rambling into the void. *Smith? You mean the man you killed? Shut your mouth. Hell’s already digging your grave.
His footsteps retreated, leaving me with my thoughts–dark, unrelenting thoughts. My chest heaved as I
struggled to suppress the anger and fear that boiled in my gut. I needed control,
I closed my eyes and reached out for the one thing that had always been there. My wolf. My anchor. But there was nothing. No growl, no presence. Just silence.
“No,” I whispered, panic clawing its way up my throat. “Where are you? Answer me!” I grabbed my head, shaking it violently as if the motion could summon him back. The shock hit me. The wolfsbane. It hadn’t killed me, but it had taken him. My wolf–my other half–was gone!
For a moment, I sat, trembling. “I’m nothing without you,” I whispered. Tears burned my cheeks, but they only fueled my rage. No. This wasn’t the end. I wasn’t finished. Not yet!
“Guard!” I barked. “I have something for you.”
The footsteps returned, slower this time. “What now?” the guard asked in annoyance.
I forced a weak smile “The nascends to muenta. ¡P’e usura
8:40 AM
The ed
From Ashe
0
want it all for yourself?”
He hesitated, greed shifting in his gaze, then stepped closer, leaning in Fool. The moment his head was within reach, my hands shot out, and with a swift, brutal twist, his neck gave way. The body crumpled to the ground, lifeless.
I retrieved the keys from his belt and freed myself
I stood outside the hospital, thinking about my ultimate plan. I would use this place to get Mauve because she cared for this hospital. And because of that, I didn’t need to chase after her. She would come to me in no time.
I would use her weakness. Care.
I couldn’t help but recall how Mauve used to take care of me back in our pack. The way her hands checked on my forehead, her voice soothing my rage from a stressful hunting. The way he cooked my favorite meals after a long day of patrolling. The way she smiled when I returned home, covered in dirt and blood.
But how had I repaid her? By seeking comfort in others. By blaming her for something she couldn’t control.
“I can fix this,” I murmured. “We can go back. Mauve and I. We can start over.”
The back door was unguarded, just as I had planned. I slipped inside, heading straight for the stockroom. My eyes landed on a barrel of mountain ash. A voice, deep and unfamiliar, whispered in my mind
“You’re immune now as you have no wolf. Use it”
It wasn’t my wolf’s voice–how could it be? But it spoke with the same authority. I didn’t question it. Hours passed as I spread the ash around the building. It dulled the senses of every guard and staff member, leaving them. unaware and blind to the game I was playing.
The voice guided me further, teaching me how to construct an improvised bomb. My hands moved with precision, my mind alight with manic pride. When the device was finished, I stood back to admire it. Perfect.
I picked up the office phone and dialed her number. Of course I knew her number. That was the first thing I accomplished when I sat as director. “Come to me. Alone.”
I waited in the shadows, my patience thinning with every passing second.
Then finally, I smelled Mauve. Her scent was intoxicating, familiar, and for a moment, my heart ached with extreme longing.
“Mauve!” I called, stumbling toward her scent. “I’m here!”
Her voice answered, trembling. *Jester? Where are you?”
As I moved toward Mauve’s voice, my foot hit something on the floor. I froze, my gut twisting, but before I could react, a faint puff of powder rose into the air. My nostrils flared as the sharp, acrid scent hit me, and then a blinding. searing pain tore through my eyes like fire.
“Argh!” I screamed, clutching my face. It felt like someone had poured acid into my eyes. Darkness consumed me, and I stumbled back, my hands clawing at my face as if I could scrape the pain away. But it was no use.
“No. Not now! Not when I’m so close!”
I forced myself to keep moving, my movements jerky and unsteady. “Mauve! I’m here! Please–answer me!”
My steps were blind but I couldn’t stop. I wouldn’t stop. Her scent was my only guide.
“Just a little more,” I murmured to myself. I reached out into the void, my hands flailing, hoping to feel her, to
know she was there.
“I’m here,” I repeated, reaching out blindly.
And then my hands found her waist.
But then she screamed.
But then she screamed.
“Don’t touch me, you monster!”
Her words sliced through me. “Monster?” I hissed. “Mauve, it’s me. Your mate. Why can’t you see that?”
“You’re not Jester!” she cried, struggling in my grip. Her fists pummeled my chest, reigniting the pain from my injuries.
“Stop!” I bellowed, my control slipping. “Why won’t you trust me?!*
In my fury, I slammed her against the wall. The moment her body went limp, the anger drained from me, replaced by cold, paralyzing horror.
“No,” I whispered, cradling her in my arms. “Mauve, please. Wake up. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to….”
Blindly, I stumbled through the building, carrying her lifeless form.
Then, the ground disappeared beneath me. I fell, crashing into a pool of water below. Pain radiated through my body, but I held onto her, refusing to let go.
“Help!” I screamed into the darkness. “Somebody help us!”
A voice answered, cold and taunting. “You will live alone. You will not die until someone kills you.”
It was then that I finally recognized his voice. “Smith, you dirty old man! This is your doing!”
But he no longer responded.
I sat there, clutching Mauve’s still body, my screams echoing into the void. This was my punishment. My hell. Anyhow, I was happy since Mauve was by my side, even in death.
