Alpha Charming | Rheon

TWENTY-THREE

There was no way of telling how long we've been in that cave. It could be minutes, it could be hours, but all I knew was my ass was hurting like a bitch from sitting this long. Clemmy has been uncharacteristically quiet and hasn't spoken for... I had no idea. If only there was a gap in the roof, a crack in the wall, or anything that could help me determine how long it's been since the ball.

"I'm hungry," Clemmy whispered behind me. It was the first time I heard her voice in Goddesses know how long.

My stomach cramped at the thought of food. I haven't had anything to eat since the afternoon before the ball. "Yeah, me too."

I didn't expect Lucine to bring us food or anything. We're her prisoners to toy with until she grows bored and kills us. When she'll kill us was also a mystery. I imagined she was pissed at me for nearly ruining her ten-year plan of conquering the werewolf world. I could also imagine she had a lot of frustrations she needed to take out on someone.

The wound on my arm stung as a reminder of how Lucine burned me with a single touch. It crossed my mind that, if not treated soon, the wound might get infected. Chances of survival; minus one. And if it was up to Lucine; minus seven.

"What was that?" Clemmy asked warily.

"Just calculating how chances of survival," I replied, realizing I must have said all of that out loud.

"And are the odds in our favor?"

"Not really."

She exhaled slowly and said with determination, "Rheon will find us. He will get us out of here."

A frown tugged at my lips. "He would if he could. Lucine said no one would find us here and even if he could, Rheon has no sense of smell. The curse is permanent now. I failed."

"Oh no, don't start with the 'I'm a failure' act." Her sharp tone of voice surprised me. "I know you think you're responsible for saving everyone, but you're not, Ash." Clemmy sucked in a deep breath before continuing, "Lucine deprived Rheon of his sense of smell so he couldn't find his mate. But you found him. Somehow, even while human, you found a loophole. You can still break the curse."

"In case you haven't noticed, we're tied up by magic," I pointed out, "I don't think there's a loophole to that."

"Maybe she can't keep the spells up when she's unconscious," Clemmy wondered out loud, "Listen, that night at the ball when you and Rheon snuck out, Kenna and I followed you and we saw Edda turn into Lucine. I told Kenna to go tell the others while I try keeping Lucine distracted long enough for the packs to show up. They know we're gone, and they know who took us. If all the packs work together, they'll find us. I just know it."

"That was actually clever," I admitted, truly impressed by her strategy. There was only one problem. "But how do you suppose we knock Lucine out long enough to escape - that is if she drops the magic."

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Clemmy look upwards at the stalactites dangling from the cave ceiling. "Those seem a bit unstable, don't you think?"

A tiny spark of hope ignited within me as I recalled how they rattled as I screamed when Lucine burned me. And there were hundreds of them above us.

"I don't think I can scream that loud, though," I muttered.

"No, but I can howl."

The plan wasn't perfect, but it could work. It's all we had. All we had to do now was wait until Lucine returned.

It turned out we didn't have to wait long either. The cave floor flooded with dark red smoke to announce Lucine's arrival. It pooled around her ankles as she emerged out of the dark with her brother short on her heels. The torch against the wall flickered at her presence and I swear I could feel the air turn colder.