Chapter 162
Emily’s POV
Varga tilted her head, her gaze mocking.“…Silas is long gone. You won’t find anyone down there.”
Bad feeling hit me.
We descended into the underground chambers anyway. The deeper we walked, the colder the air became,
melling of damp earth and old iron. Finally, we reached the prison room.
Empty.
The heavy iron chains hung open. The stone cell was completely abandoned.
Nathan stared at the open restraints, his face darkening. “…What the Hell?”
Varga’s laughter echoed off the dungeon walls, sharp and gleeful.
“You destroyed the curse rotting inside him,” her smile widened cruelly. “When you drained Silas, you took the
Moon Goddess’s decay into yourself.”
The words from the Fates snapped back into my mind. Balance restored. “No…”
“And then,” Varga continued, nodding toward Zynair, “through this idiot, you healed him.”
Zynair went pale. “What?”
“The dagger Alpha Titus used against Silas was double–bound,” Varga’s grin stretched wider. “Titus and the Rogue King shared the wound. Every time you poured healing into Titus… the same healing flowed straight into Silas.”
The realization hit me, cold and heavy. All those grueling healing sessions.
“Emily,” Varga whispered joyfully, “you gave the Rogue King a second life.”
Her laughter filled the dark corridor.
“The curse is gone now. No rot. No decay. No weakness,” her eyes glittered with pure malice. “And there are still o many heirs left carrying his blood.”
The breeder barracks flashed through my memory. The pregnant she–wolves.
A hard, burning rage took over my mind.
“No. They will never belong to him again.”
Varga’s smile thinned, her eyes narrowing. “You can’t guarantee that.”
“Maybe not,” I said, stepping closer and looking down at her. “But I can make sure every child he ever tried to >wn grows up free.”
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“There are a lot of witches who want payback for what she did,” Zynair said flatly. “Honestly, I think every single Oven is going to want a piece of her.”
“Good,” I said coldly “She’s all yours.”
Varga snarled, her chains clashing against the stone as Zynair dragged her away.
When the sound died down, Nathan stepped closer to me, looking stressed.
“…So Silas is free?” he asked.
I looked at the empty chains, my hands tightening into fists.
“Yeah,” I said, barely keeping my temper in check. “But we’ll find him I don’t care about whatever balance the vitches are talking about–I’ll tear this whole place apart myself if I have to.”
Nathan stared at me for a second, then let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair.
“I already called some of our people through the portals,” he said. “A few awakened Betas from here are helping tabilize things too. Most of the Alphas are dead. Declan and Silas made sure of that.”
The dungeon suddenly felt even colder.
“We’ll clean this place up,” Nathan continued. “Figure out who’s alive. Secure the castle. Track where Silas scaped to.” He looked back at me, his gaze softening. “But first, I’m taking you home.”
No.”
Nathan blinked. “…Emily.”
“I’m not leaving you here alone to deal with this.” I crossed my arms, refusing to budge despite the heavy fatigue ulling at my muscles. “And we still have unfinished business.”
“Don’t tell me you’re planning to save them, too?”
“Yes, Nathan, and we’re going to the breeder barracks.”
Nathan went still, his face darkening. “…Emily. Those women are carrying or nursing babies fathered by Silas and is highest–ranking rogues. Are you sure you want to do this? We can’t risk his bloodline surviving to start another
var.”
“No,” I cut him off sharply. “I saw those women, Nathan. They are completely innocent, and so are their babies. What’s your alternative?”
Nathan looked away, his expression grim and unyielding. “If it keeps my pack safe? Then kill everyone in there if
ve have to. We don’t know who carries Silas’s blood and who doesn’t.”
“No,” I snapped, stepping closer to him. “They are victims in this war, and I’m taking all of them with us. I’m not
eaving them behind.”
PP
2:04 pm P PTM.
Nathan looked like he wanted to argue, but when he searched my face, he saw I wasn’t backing down. He let out a ough breath and nodded.
‘Alright.”
The Breeding Pens sat deep beneath the castle. The farther we walked, the worse the air became, thick with damp
tone, sour milk, and sweat.
We opened the doors to the first barracks slowly, and the sight inside made my muscles lock. The sound of crying abies echoed through the dark stone halls. Dozens of exhausted women looked up from filthy mattresses scattered Icross the floor. Some instinctively curled around their swollen stomachs the second they saw us enter. Others
ooked too broken to move.
There were newborns everywhere. Too thin. Too pale. Too quiet.
Nathan muttered a curse beside me. He placed a steadying hand against the small of my back, holding me up.
“…We’re getting them out,” I whispered, the words scratching my throat.
One pregnant girl stared at me from her mattress, her eyes wide with clean shock. Slowly, she raised a trembling and and pointed toward the white wolf crest still glowing faintly on my skin.
“…Moon Goddess,” she whispered.
A sharp pang went straight through my chest.
“No,” I said softly, kneeling in front of her. “Just Emily.”
The woman beside her burst into tears. “Please,” she sobbed. “Please don’t leave us.”
Nathan stepped forward.
“You’re safe now,” he said, and the sheer weight of his Alpha King aura made everyone look up. “We are taking all if you home.”
The sudden wave of relief in the room was overwhelming.
The relief in the room was huge. Women started crying, and some just sank onto their mattresses from xhaustion. One woman reached out to take Nathan’s hand, but he gently pulled her back up to her feet.
“No kneeling,” he said quietly. “Not anymore.”
Outside, Nathan’s guards ran down the row of three long wooden buildings. They kicked open the doors of the econd, and the third Breeding Pens.
Pregnant women and mothers holding newborns poured out into the fresh air, blinking at the daylight.
We guided them across the entire castle grounds. It was a massive line of hundreds of women walking slowly in a laze–some heavily pregnant, others holding tight to their newborns.
The weakest women could barely stand, but they weren’t left behind. Some of the rescued rogues- the wolves
2:04 pm PPTM.
had just freed from the mind control–stepped up to help.
They supported the shaking mothers and helped carry the babies.
We led them all the way to the entrance of the Crystal Cave.
We all went down into the cave. Deep underground, large crystals formed a perfect circle, creating a glowing curtain of light like a lake. One by one, the families stepped through the portal.
“Follow us,” Nathan called out to the crowd, his voice echoing in the cave. “We have cars waiting on the other
side.”
I took Meredith’s other side, wrapping her arm around my shoulder to keep her steady. Nathan held her from the eft, and together, we stepped into the glowing light first.