Chapter 0471

Levi Bennett muttered strange words under his breath in a foreign tongue. Nothing happened. With one final powerful strike, Evelyn Reed knocked him unconscious.

Her Lycan strength remained formidable despite the long imprisonment.

Blood splattered across the carpet around Levi's fallen form. Evelyn rose to her full height, nearly hitting the low ceiling. This wasn't the planned outcome. She wasn't supposed to attack him directly. But we could use this unexpected turn to our advantage. We could bring him back to Athena.

Slowly, Evelyn's eyes shifted back to their normal grey hue. "Seraphina probably left some clothes upstairs," I told her. She nodded quickly and hurried from the room. Her heavy footsteps echoed on the staircase.

I searched for the chains Levi had used to restrain me. Instead, I found a drawer filled with syringes. Each contained a thick yellow liquid. Without hesitation, I took one and injected the unconscious Levi in the neck.

His distinct scent vanished within seconds. My racing heart finally began to calm.

"Theodore?" Evelyn's voice was soft as she peered around the kitchen doorway.

"He's alive. You didn't kill him," I confirmed. "I administered a drug. He won't be able to fight us or Athena now."

She nodded slowly. "There's something else." She glanced behind her and moved forward cautiously. Another woman stood behind her. Long obsidian hair framed her face, falling nearly to her navel.

Her scent was barely detectable, as if struggling to break through. It was so faint it explained why I hadn't sensed her presence in the house. Rope burns marked her wrists and ankles. Her trainers were scuffed and dirty. She needed thorough cleaning.

"She was tied up upstairs," Evelyn explained. "This is the right thing to do, isn't it?"

"Absolutely. What's your name?" I asked gently.

"What's yours?" she countered.

"Theodore."

"Jasmine," she whispered. "Jasmine Reed."

"Interesting name," Evelyn commented with a slight smile.

I nodded, hoping her name didn't reflect her actual personality. It literally meant chaos, new moon. "Are you a Wolf?"

"I was." She kept her voice low, turning her face toward Levi. I still couldn't see her eyes clearly. "He took it from me. Now I don't know what I am."

She reached for a knife. Instinctively, I grabbed her wrist. "We're taking him back to the Alpha. You can come with us too," I offered. I felt certain Alexander would offer her sanctuary if she needed help.

"The Alpha?" she asked from behind her dark hair curtain. "Does he transform to look like her?" She pointed at Evelyn.

"One of them does," I told her. Sometimes I forgot that many people still didn't know about Lycans, even though they probably outnumbered us. They had lived hidden in plain sight for generations.

"I don't want to go."

"We have others like you. People who had their abilities taken. They're Lycans though, like her." I gestured toward Evelyn.

"Lycans." She tested the word on her tongue.

"Yes."

"Did he take their abilities too?" She nodded toward Levi. As she lifted her face, her hair fell aside, revealing startling golden eyes.

"Yes."

"But they haven't regained their abilities?"

"No."

"A faint scent?" She frowned slightly.

"They smell completely Human. Did he drug you?"

"No. He muttered something over me." Her brow creased in a small frown. "What will your Alpha do with him?" Her golden eyes held mine intently.

"Skin him alive," Evelyn blurted out. I glanced at her. Her eyes were wide, her lips curved into a smile. She seemed somehow freer. Perhaps hearing the truth from Levi had cleared her confusion.

"You won't do that. I heard him. He called you his sister," Jasmine murmured.

"I just helped you! Don't be a bitch!" Evelyn snapped back.

"I'm not trying to be." Her golden eyes flashed toward me. "Would I be safe there?"

"Safer than here."

She shook her head. "I think it's better if I stay on my own."

"Where's your pack?"

She grimaced. "I was running from them when he convinced me he was my mate."