Chapter 8: A Dark Secret

Kyra's POV 

Roderick left the room looking utterly horrified.

I chased after him, but by the time I stepped out the door, he was gone. How did he disappear so fast? It was like he was never in the room with me.

"What's going on?" I asked one of the guards who hurried past me, but he didn't answer.

It seemed like they had other urgent things to attend to that were more important than answering my naive questions.

The pack warriors stood in lines like they were ready for battle. They had formed a strong defence, their eyes fixed intently on something in the distance.

 I followed their gaze but saw nothing.

"What's going on?" I asked another guard nearby, my voice almost a whisper. If nothing else scared me, the tension in the air and their blatant disregard of my questions did. 

I remembered how Roderick had left earlier… It was alarming.

The guard's face was grim, and his eyes scanned the area nervously. 

"Rogues, Luna," he finally answered. "They're attacking the pack." 

“Rogues?”

 "How? That's impossible." I argued.

They were rebels, yes, but could they really attack twice in one day?

"It's not really impossible. The pack was attacked today, and we won. We would be too exhausted to engage in another battle, so the rogues thought it was the perfect time to attack again. Fortunately, the Alpha predicted this." 

"Luna, you need to get back to your room. It's not safe out here," he said, before rushing off.

There was chaos everywhere. People were moving in every direction. I didn't know if going back to my room was a good idea. 

Was my safety guaranteed there?

I stepped back, glanced around, then froze. A shadowed figure stood in the dimly lit room nearby.

I stared at him in shock.

I knew the face but couldn't place where I had seen it.

“Who are you?" I asked, getting ready to bolt if need be.

"I'm a friend, and I'm here to help you.” He smiled, but his expression looked more sinister than comforting.

“Roderick is not who he seems to be. He has a dark secret that could put you and the entire pack in danger. I'm here to help if you'll let me,” he said.

I was certain that I had seen him talking with Roderick earlier, so what secret was he talking about?

"Luna," Sarah called, distracting me for a second. I looked in the direction I'd heard her voice. She stood at the doorway and beckoned to me to follow her. When I turned back to look at the stranger, he was gone.

What the hell?

"Luna, the pack is under attack. Come with me." She beckoned, and I just stood there questioning my sanity. 

I was certain I hadn't just imagined everything.

Or was I going mad?

"Luna, now!" She shouted, snapping me back to reality. She led me to the back of the pack house.

"Where are you taking me? We should be hiding back in our rooms, not going outside where there are more threats." I protested and pulled my hand from her grasp. 

"I know you want to leave because the Alpha has been hard on you. I want to help you.”

“Our last attempt failed, so I want to make this one succeed. You're too kind, Luna. You deserve better." My eyes softened, and I nodded. 

We didn't even take more than three steps when we bumped into him. 

It felt like I already knew he was there before he even spoke up.

"Where are you going?"

His voice echoed through the empty hallway.

"Luna got a cut. We were just going to get her treated." Sarah said, stepping in front of me.

She pulled a dagger I didn't know she had been holding and cut me skillfully.

I gritted my teeth together, trying not to make a sound so Roderick wouldn't notice.

"A cut? How and where?" He asked with a suspicious look. 

I stepped forward and showed him the cut.

He scooped me up in his hands and went to the pack clinic, got supplies and cleaned the cut himself. 

When he was done, he carried me back to the pack house.

But what frightened me the most was the fact that he wasn't asking any questions, not even how I got the cut.

"You can put me down now, I'm sure I can walk by myself." I protested as he carried me towards the room.

He ignored my protests, acting like he hadn't heard me at all when I knew he had.

The pack was now quiet, and though I didn't know much, I knew that they might have defeated the rogues. The cheers of the pack warriors made it easy to tell.

"Did you hear me?" I asked in a calm voice, unlike the harsh tone I used on him regularly.

"Stay quiet, Kyra." He hushed me. 

For a moment, he looked more like a god, sent to protect me rather than the demon who had punished me at every refusal.

He looked like some kind of god that had come to protect me rather than the demon who kept trying to sleep with me and punish me when I refused him.

The thought that constantly lingered on my mind was why he hadn't tried to force himself on me.

No matter how hard I tried not to let my thoughts dwell on it, it always came up when I stared at him.

"But, I'm really okay. I can—" I started, but shut my mouth when he glared at me. 

For a moment, I thought he was taking me back to the dungeon, but as he walked further into the house, my doubts were cut short because he opened the door of his room and walked in, placing me carefully on the bed. 

"Kyra, I don't want to hear your voice again, or you'll lose it." He warned.

For once, I decided to stay quiet. He had saved me, after all. 

"Why am I here?" I questioned out of curiosity. 

Every single thing in this room made me more aware that it was Roderick's.

"I told you earlier that you would be staying here, didn't I?" He rolled his eyes as he said that.

I admired the artwork in his room when I realized that I hadn't heard Roderick's voice in a while. I looked at the corner of the bed where he'd stood, but he was gone. The next second, he emerged from the closet… completely naked.

Heat rose to my cheeks.

"Maybe give me some warning next time?!" I yelled, covering my eyes with my palm.

He didn't even spare me a glance as he walked into the bathroom and shut the door. I heard the sound of running water a few minutes later. 

Hopefully, he’ll come out with a towel. My poor eyes can't handle another shock.

Every muscle in my body ached. I didn't know if it was caused by all the running I did while trying to escape, or the fact that I was this close to being kidnapped. Although I'm not sure that's considered a source of pain, so it's definitely the first.

“You know,” I half-yelled, “it would be a shame if you didn’t have a towel in there.”

Thankfully, he did. 

I wanted to give a snide remark as he stepped out of the bathroom, but he cut me off.

“Who helped you escape?”

The question made my heart sink. It came out of nowhere. 

His dark gaze lingered on me like he was trying to see through me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Your encounter with Norway."

"No one, I escaped on my own." A lie, but I didn't dare betray Sarah. That would be considered inhumane, and I still had a conscience.

“Don’t lie to me, Kyra. Who helped you escape? I won’t ask again.” He was suddenly in front of me.

"I said it was no one!” I shouted."I know I'm weak, but I know when to escape danger." 

"I don't believe you. You're not clever enough to pull off an escape like that by yourself." He said, casually buttoning his shirt halfway, leaving his chest exposed as if to entice me.

"I'm telling you the truth." I insisted, trying to sound firm. I wasn't used to lying, and I hoped I wouldn't get caught this time, like always 

He stepped closer, eyes boring into mine.

“I know someone helped you.” His hand brushed my face, almost too gently. “And I’ll find out who. You’re not a very good liar.”

 "I'm not lying," I murmured, trying to stay calm, but my heart thumped so loudly that I was certain he could hear it from across the room.

“Was it Sarah?”

My blood ran cold at the mention of Sarah's name. How did he know? I tried to keep my face normal, but I was panicking inside. 

“Was it Sarah?” he repeated, his voice turned dangerously low.

 My mouth went dry. 

I tried to speak, but my voice caught in my throat. 

I couldn't answer, or deny it.