30: The big reveal


    Hisugh was dry which was followed by a long dry whooping cough. He wheezed and I feared he


    might be one of the people infected with the disease.


    After a while of coughing, he stopped and there was dead silence in the room. My breath was slow


    and shallow as different thoughts crossed through my head. He couldn''t be dead. Since he was part


    of the pack, surely, he would know what was going on.


    Must have heard the whispers of people around; guards and maids. He was another person I


    thought could get me information. From the sound of his voice, I could tell he was in his fifties.


    I clutched the bars of the gate in my feeble fingers while my head was pressed to the gate, trying to


    see anything.


    "Hello? Are you alright?" I asked him and was met with silence. The tempo of my heart rate


    increased as the possibility of his death rammed through me.


    "I''m fine," he said in a calm voice. It was aplete contrast to what he went through just minutes


    ago. And my heart came down a bit as I slouched on the gate. My back was against it, my knees up


    with my jaw resting in it. My arms wound around my legs to keep myself in afortable position.


    I contemted for some time if I should ask him the questions bothering me. After weighing the


    pros and cons, I decided to ask. It would take nothing from me.


    I licked my lips, shoving stray hair away from my face. "How long have you been here?" I asked him


    and heughed again.


    "You have questions. These are not the questions bothering you. Just ask what''s on your mind," he


    said and stopped. He continued, "If it doesn''t sh with my principles, I would answer you without a


    hitch."


    Principles? I mused. What does someone who stays in the cell have to do with principles? I didn''t


    say that out loud though. I just wanted answers and it seemed the man was ced on my te of


    curiosity free of charge.


    I inhaled and squeezed my legs, burying my face further on my legs. "What do you know about the


    river by the…" I stopped trying to remember the position of the river. West or East.


    "East side?" The man''s voice came through. Heughed again but this time, there was no mirth in


    it. "It was thend Alpha Ryven''s mother sacrificed her life for. "


    I sat up straighter, "I don''t understand."


    "Well, you see, Alpha Ryven''s mother was not just any werewolf. She was a witch. And she had so


    much power. She was like a blessing to our cursed pack. Before she came, we were being helped


    by a woman named Arielle. She was a direct descendant of the moon goddess. Her powers were


    unparalleled." He stopped and sighed.


    I stood up, and walked closer to the wall, to make sure I got every sentence he spoke. His voice


    was getting faint. I had to strain my ears. I didn''t want to interrupt him for fear of distracting him. He


    seemed to be in the past, recalling the events.


    After some time of waiting for him to continue, he was silent. "And then, what happened?" I dared to


    ask him as my heartbeat in trepidation.


    The name ''Arielle'' struck a chord in my heart but I didn''t know why I felt apprehensive and angry for


    something I knew nothing about.


    "And then, she suddenly died. No one knew how she died. But her death meant there was no one to


    keep the river pure anymore. Ryven''s father was mad and kept to himself. It was rumored he had a


    thing for the woman," he chuckled. "I mean, who wouldn''t? She was the epitome of beauty. Big


    brown doe eyes, hair as light as a feather, her walk…"


    "How did Ryven''s mother die?" I asked him. He was more concerned about the beauty of the


    woman than the story he was telling me.


    "Oh," he caught himself. "Like I said, she was a witch and she had the powers to control the river. I


    mean, to give life to the river to get it pure. "


    "Why was the river cursed?" I asked as the clogs in my brain worked overdrive to put the pieces


    together. But nothing was still making sense. I had a fear. I couldn''t bring myself to think about it


    because it sounded absurd to me. I shook the thought away.


    The hunger was getting to me. Hence, the thoughts. The man coughed long and hard. He wheezed,


    breathing hard.


    "This old man would go and meet his ancestors," he chuckled, which made him cough one more


    time. "I have no idea why it was cursed. I was still a little boy. I can''t remember. And anytime it was


    asked, I always got hushed," he said with something akin to a shrug.


    I stayed silent while I let his words sink into me. "Did you hear Alpha Ryven exchange thend for


    someone?" I asked him and there was another round of silence. I opened my mouth to repeat the


    question, thinking he might have missed the words because of the low tone of my voice.


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    "This is a joke right?" He asked with disbelief in his voice. I chuckled at that.


    "Why would I joke in this kind of situation?" I asked him back and he red.


    "This is insane! Without the river, our pack is dead. We would be overthrown! I''ve always known


    Ryven was a weakling but this? This is unbelievable. His sister would have been better as the


    Alpha."


    I stilled in shock while he ranted. I looked out of the cell to make sure we were the only people. It


    would be bad if anyone heard him.


    "Stop yelling. Someone might hear you," I cautioned.


    "Hear me?" Heughed. "I''ve been through worse here. I speak nothing but the truth. I advised the


    former Alpha to put Ava as the Alpha. And when Ryven became the Alpha, he locked me up. For


    what? For telling the truth that his sister is better than him. He can never measure up to her!"


    "And guess what?" He asked. I could hear his feet shuffling. He was mad. I could hear the anger


    laced in his words.


    "What?" I managed to ask in a small voice.


    "It''sing to pass. But who did he exchange thend for?" He asked when the thought seemed to


    strike.


    I couldn''t tell him. I was the one. The attention I had been getting for the past few days was


    enough.


    "A random girl from another pack," I said. The shuffling of his feet stopped. "What?" I asked him as


    my heart hammered away in my chest.


    "No, it can''t be. Can it?" He mumbled to himself. "She died. Or could it be…" he continued. I had to


    strain my ears to hear him.


    "Can you talk to me?" I asked exasperated. He caught himself and I heard something move from


    the other cell.


    "It''s nothing. But Alpha Ryven must be delusional to think what he thinks I think. Also," he stopped


    and appeared to be deep in thought.


    At that moment, I was almost going crazy from the cut-in sentence. Couldn''t he sessfully finish a


    sentence without letting it hang? I paced in the room while my ears strained to get whatever things


    he had more to say.


    My curiosity was killing me. "Also?" I reminded him.


    "Also, it was rumored the former Alpha killed the woman. Thest descendants of the moon


    goddess who kept our river pure." He sighed long, drawing air away from his lungs.


    "I warned him. But he didn''t listen. I hope I won''t be alive to witness the catastrophe Ryven''s actions


    will cause this pack," he said with sadness tinged in his voice.


    "Don''t say that. I''m sure there''s always light at the end of the tunnel," I said while I sat down on the


    concrete bed. My head was on the cold wall.


    "What if the tunnel is a blind end?" He asked me and I was tongue-tied. Surely, there was a way out


    of this. Alpha Ryven couldn''t be so foolish as to let the pack into ruins.


    Soon enough, there was the sound of footsteps as it made its way to the dungeon I was being held


    in. It was one of the guards that brought me here the day before.


    "Come with me. The Alpha asks for you," he said while opening the lock of the cage. I didn''t attempt


    to stand up. I was too weak. The information I had was too much for me to handle. But it refused to


    answer the one question I had been dying to get answers to - why was I exchanged for the valuable


    piece ofnd?


    The guard walked in and red at me. I took that as a cue to get up to avoid being hit by him. I


    walked past him and waited for him to lock up the gate.


    My feet dragged my heavy body away from the cell. I was eager to see the person I had been


    conversing with for the past half an hour.


    Without waiting for the guard, I walked up to the cell the man was held in. His back was to me. He


    was in faded ck cks and trousers. As if noticing my gaze on him, he turned around.


    He was like I expected. He was in his fifties with a balding head filled with grey hair. He had brown


    eyes that looked like he had seen all the things in the world. The eyes slowly took me in.


    There was nothing in it. It was empty. And suddenly, it began to fill with something - recognition. His


    brows furrowed and he stood up while I stood rooted to the spot as he approached me.


    My heart hammered in my chest. I was nervous. I didn''t know why. Maybe because of the way he


    stared into my eyes like he could see into my soul. I felt like I wasid bare before him. All my


    secrets, past, and memories.


    He stood about two feet away from me and he gasped. "Arielle," he whispered. He searched my


    face while I tried to make heads or tails of his words.


    "You didn''t age a bit. No, you''re not her." He took a step back as his eyes roamed the entire length


    of my body. "My goodness, she had a daughter. But how? I thought… No. Now it all makes sense,"


    he said while nodding his head. I had a feeling I knew exactly what he meant as my blood froze


    faster than a frostbite.