Chapter 0059

“I don’t know their names. But I believe it was a Witch, or perhaps several, who bound her. No one else possesses that kind of power.”

“That is precisely why I am asking you.”

Caleb shakes his head slowly. “I don’t know what you want me to say, Alpha Alexander. There was no mention of any Witch. Dominic worked tirelessly to keep Silver Creek hidden from other kinds. He didn’t allow outsiders in easily.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?” Alexander demands.

“Whoever bound her as a child… would be the same one who bound her again as an adult.”

“Do… do you know who he’s talking about?” I ask Alpha Alexander quietly. Maybe that’s why he’s been acting so distant.

“Not yet,” he mutters. He turns toward the stairs and holds out his hand. “Come. It’s time for your lesson with Theodore.”

“Lesson? Ooh, what are you practicing? Fighting?” Caleb asks, his fingers curling around the bars. “Is this Theodore handsome too? It gets a bit boring seeing the same faces down here all day.”

“Reading lesson,” I murmur without thinking.

“It’s about time someone taught you to read and write.”

“What… what did you just say?” I’ve kept it a secret for so long. Isabella figured it out. I accidentally told Alpha Alexander. But I never told anyone else.

Caleb says nothing. He retreats back against the wall.

“Answer her,” Alpha Alexander growls.

“It’s nothing.”

“How… how did you know that?”

“My person on the inside told me.”

Alpha Alexander knew I hated talking about it. He knew I would never willingly tell another soul. Even Dominic thought I could read. The truth was, I just learned to recognize things without reading labels.

“Your story is falling apart, Caleb.” Alpha Alexander paces in front of the cell. “I knew there was something off about you.”

“Honestly, that’s what he told me.”

“His name?”

“He never gave me a name.” Caleb looks directly at me. “He was blonde. At least six feet tall. Almost black eyes. Always seemed happy.”

“You trusted someone from the pack who wouldn’t even give you their name.”

“They didn’t want to be caught.”

“Bullshit!” Alpha Alexander snaps. “I’ve heard lies before, but this is ridiculous.”

“He’s… telling… the truth,” I mutter, vaguely remembering someone who matched Caleb’s description.

“This guy wouldn’t know the truth if it bit him,” Alexander says sharply.

“He didn’t come to the house often.” It was like an old memory scratching at the back of my mind. Little pieces flickered through. “He dropped off a list that Marcus had given him. He made a joke about me not reading it… and then read it out loud for me.”

Alpha Alexander is staring at me intently. “Are you sure?”

“My memory is bad. It’s like… most of the good stuff from when I was little is gone. I only remember the worst parts.” The blood-soaked faces of my parents flash before my eyes.

“That’s what Dominic wanted, Athena. If you remembered all the good things, you would’ve been a threat. He had to make you weak,” Caleb mutters.

“Again, you know a lot for someone who was never in the house,” Alpha Alexander growls. He grabs my hand and tugs me back up the stairs and out into the cool air.

“I don’t like him!” he states firmly. “There’s just something about him that rubs me the wrong way.” He grabs my shoulders and turns me around. “Partial truths don’t mean he’s telling the whole truth.”

“You mean like how you’re not telling me why you’re being so weird?”