Chapter 0392

Seraphina

Evelyn paces her cell relentlessly.

Her fingers trace every inch of the cold stone walls.

She searches for weaknesses I know don't exist.

I remain seated, observing quietly.

Perhaps her ignorance of Alexander's influence over Wolves makes her hopeful.

But I knew better.

He would have sealed every possible escape route after Julian revealed how Gabriel escaped.

"There has to be something." she murmurs, more to herself than to me.

She hasn't glanced my way for hours.

Those same words have left her lips countless times since our confinement began.

"Suppose you find an exit." I challenge quietly.

"Do you truly believe you'd evade capture?"

Her hands drop to her sides abruptly.

She turns slowly, her face leveling with mine in the dim light.

The shadows conceal her eyes completely.

"The forest isn't far." she insists.

"I saw when that man brought me back.

No guards were posted."

I find her observation difficult to believe.

Perhaps she missed them during her confrontation with Zachary.

Or maybe she was too distracted yelling at him.

"Evelyn, stop this." I urge gently.

"You're making things worse for us."

"How much worse could it get?"

"Will you say that when they sentence us to the hunt?"

She freezes at my words.

"What does that mean?" she snaps sharply.

"I've been threatened with the hunt before." I explain with a frown.

"That means you'll receive the same sentence."

"The hunt?" she scoffs, resuming her search.

She tests each bar methodically.

"My mate... former mate, told me about Alexander's methods for severe punishments." I continue quietly.

"His wolves hunt the condemned.

They tear them apart while they still breathe."

"Like Rogues?" she questions, pausing momentarily.

She rarely mentioned Rogues before.

I hadn't shared that part of my history with her.

"Essentially." I confirm.

"I don't know if they consume their victims.

Julian never gave me that answer."

"I don't believe it." she shrugs.

"Probably just scare tactics."

"I'm not so certain." I mutter.

I break off a small piece of my protein bar secretly.

The taste is awful, but my hunger outweighs the flavor.

"Even if it's true," she argues, "he wouldn't do that to us.

We're practically Human.

We wouldn't stand a chance."

"I don't think he cares about that." I watch her press against the bars.

She stops suddenly and looks directly at me.

"Do you have food?"

"No." I lie instantly.

Guilt twists inside me, but she's been equally dishonest with me.

Just not about sustenance.

"You're lying." she snarls.

"Share some with me."

"I'm not lying, Evelyn!" I retreat to the farthest corner of my cell.

She must have scented the protein bar.

A Human shouldn't detect such faint odors.

I don't question her though.

I want her to reveal things accidentally.

It always works better that way.

Evelyn shakes the bars violently, as if expecting them to open.

"They should worry about Levi, not us." she mutters while testing different bars.

"Do you think he'll come for Athena?"

"Probably." she answers without hesitation.

"Taking the female Alpha's powers would be quite an achievement."

An achievement?

Strange choice of words.

If she supported Athena, she should express hope against it, not label it an accomplishment.

"Judging by the situation, he'll face significant resistance." I sigh heavily.

"There are many Wolves and Lycans here."

"There really are." she agrees.

"How many do you think?"

I shrug helplessly.

"Alexander's pack is large even without the Lycans.

Athena called everyone.

I have no idea how many responded."

She nods slowly.

"A few hundred?"

"I don't know."

"How many did you see?"

"I wasn't paying attention." I admit.

"I was just hoping I wouldn't die soon."