Wolves and ghosts

Chapter 27 - We may begin

"Allie..." I can hear her gulping. "He's the king's son".

"...ok".

"OK!?" Jos shouts at my answer. Then I see her take a deep breath and claps her hands, after that she joined her lips tightly, forming a weird smile. As if she was trying to calm herself.

That's interesting, I can't help but feel Jos changed a little since I first met her. As if she's been faster to calm down and also to get tired and worried when talking to me.

I tilt my head confused, why did she look so angry?

"Jos, I don't think she understands with just that" Lucas tenderly explains.

"It's the king's son!! What's there to understand!?" Jos looks breathless after shouting.

Up until a couple days ago they saw the king as a benevolent ruler, but it doesn't seem the mistrust they have towards him is due to the king's recent actions. It seems they knew about Liam since long ago...

Is he famous?

"Allie, do you think the king is bad?" I tilt my head at their questions. Isn't it obvious? "Well, the man in that cell is a lot worse".

"Explain".

...

Jos explained me that Liam has had a bad reputation that has gotten worse this past 10 years. He's been responsible for official pack's destructions, he kidnapped and tortured rogues in way even those under the king's rule find awful, killed humans, among many other things. It's been so bad that the king has locked him in a cell, or so they say.

Liam is seen as a monster, an incontrollable monster.

Slowly, everything I saw the time we met started to make sense. How he wanted to be what his father needed, how he was tortured and chained to a wall.

The first words I heard from him started to make sense in a horribly painful way.

-Help me-

-I'm sorry, I just couldn't do it. I'm sorry father. Please let me go, I'll do anything-

I remembered the way he begged.

-...I don't want to kill anymore-

His unspoken wish.

The lost and sad expression he had while being trapped in a cell.

Every little loose piece started to fall in place and completed the puzzle for me.

I turn around and run towards the cells, I know I shouldn't, I'm busy, I shouldn't go, but I feel that if I don't go, I will regret it forever.

I run at the last cell, the place where he must be torturing his brain thinking I will hate him the next time we meet.

I crash on the door, the silver bars shinning in a cruel light. "Open it!" I shout at Jos.

Jos makes a worried expression, but she does as I asked, she opens his cell. His shackles turn into dust, I didn't need to tell him, Blacky knows I don't want those chackles on him.

"It wasn't your fault!" I hug him. "It wasn't your fault" I repeat softly.

"Y-you know..." I can hear his weak voice, so much sadness held in his body.

"I know" I confirm his fears.

"I... I... I'm a murderer..." he cries, such a broken man, your life should've been better than this, he didn't deserve you, that man didn't deserve to have such a beautiful son.