CHAPTER 144: DESPERATE ATTEMPT

[ Old world - Skarthheim Pack territories ]

Most of the outer court was still bent over Autumn.

Except for Vera.

She sped towards the outgates where the torches flickered against the towering stone walls.

Her breathing was shallow, heart hammering against her ribcage as she approached the gates with a bundle of folded dresses clutched tightly in her arms.

Her footsteps were light but quick.The hem of her skirt swished over mud and puddle.

Two guards straightened the moment they saw her approaching.

"Hey! Halt mate!!!What do we have here? A maid? " One stepped forward, his axe slung lazily across his shoulder. The other leaned against the lever that opened the heavy exit door (or boulder, whatever you wanna call it).

"Where do you think you are going?" the first guard asked, eyes narrowing.

Vera adjusted the dresses in her arms, trying to appear composed.

"The Princess had asked me to take these to the tailor in the market," she said calmly, lifting the garments slightly. "They need to be fixed before morning. She was very specific. Said her mother used to wear this one..." she nodded to the deep burgundy silk. "And she wants it fitted properly for a... something...I dunno what she needs them for. I need to hurry."

The guards exchanged glances.

One raised an eyebrow. "Tailor?At this hour? That old man’s half blind and mostly asleep by dusk."

Vera smiled, just a little too brightly. "Exactly. He dozes off early. But he agreed to wait if I reached before midnight. Please...don’t make me go back and tell the Princess her favourite dress didn’t get done because you stopped me. She’s not doing well, haven’t you heard?She fell sick...suddenly!"

The guards exchanged looks. Of course they heard about the crisis though they didn’t know about the details. Still, they didn’t budge from the entrance.

Desperation flared behind her smile.

So Vera leaned in.

With just two fingers,Vera undid the top three buttons of her shirt, pushing her modest breasts upward with a subtle squeeze of her arms.

The shadows danced over her skin. She bowed slightly, arching her back just enough for the torchlight to glint across her cleavage.

"They say Alpha Thorgar’s going mad with worry over her. Wouldn’t want his wrath to fall on you because his daughter didn’t get her dresses done, would you?" she whispered, voice like silk dipped in threat.

The first guard blinked.

The second licked his lips. "This new one’s hot. We haven’t tasted a new one in what?...weeks?"

He stepped closer, brushing a finger along her arm.

"Alright..alright! You go ahead, run your errand fast. When you come back we are going to feast a little on that..." he grinned, as his eyes darkened , focusing on the barely contained peek of her nipples, staining through the fabric.

Vera forced a flirtatious smirk and brushed her chest against his shoulder as if by accident. "Of course. I have never tasted a Skarthheim before... sounds like a tempting offer..."

The second guard chuckled and stamped a ’temporary passage tag’ on her wrist.

Then both moved to pull the lever. The massive boulder groaned open with a shudder that shook the ground.

"Go on, sweetheart. Make it quick. We will be waiting."

"Mmm. Can’t wait." Vera winked, then darted through the gap the moment she could squeeze past the exit.

The moment her boots hit the jagged path, her facade shattered.

She ran.

Her legs burned. Her lungs screamed. But she ran.She wasn’t heading to the tailor... of course not.

She had no interest in those market stalls or sewing needles.

She was heading to the ’storage quarters’...Holds, as the locals called them.

The Holds were places where those girls meant for the next auction were kept live...stocked like chicken...

No one talked about it much but Vera was able to squeeze out some little info.

Her boots almost slipped in the damp soil as she turned down a narrow back lane, one that twisted behind the butcher’s street. She didn’t slow down. Her feet bled from running too fast through that jagged terrain for too long.

She needed to find that place... the Hold... She didn’t have much time left...

Because if anyone could save her from that hell it was Kieran Blackmoon and she just got her hands on his confirmed return ticket to the Old lands.

It took her nearly half an hour,three wrong tunnels and a scraped knee before she finally found it.

Because she was looking for a Hall, a room, a house... or something of that sort. But the Hold wasn’t a place to be found that easily. Yet it was there in plain sight. Right under the street there were coops, built along the drainage system of that city.

The grated stone opened beneath a slab, hidden beneath a fruit cart. A small wooden chute led downwards. She climbed fast...half falling into the musty dark.

The stench of unwashed skin filled her nose.

The cages were too small, rusted, cruelly stacked like pens...lined on either sides of the wall.

She could hear whimpers. Murmurs. A single cough. Then a soft scratching sound.

"Sshhh... just breathe... it’s okay..." someone was whispering from the darkness.

Vera leaned close to one of the tiny grates and knocked twice. Then again. Then she tried a low whistle...

Silence.

Then too much noise... before Vera could wonder if she made yet another mistake...

A hand shoved through a ventilation slit. Fingers scraped against the air.

"Help me...I am right here...please..." the voice cracked, frightened. "You came back...Get me out... please... get me out of here!"

Vera dropped to her knees. Her heart leapt into her throat.

It was her. The girl tied to Kieran. The one he had bound .

She was still there.Still alive.

Vera grasped her hand tightly.

"Listen to me. You want to get out? I have good news." Her voice shook only a little. "But you have to do your part. Do you hear me?"

The girl whimpered. "Yes... anything...just get me out..."

Vera leaned in so close her breath warmed the girl’s hand.

"You still have his ring, right? I need you to send him a message through it.My link is severed since they made me their slave.I can not connect directly.Feel through the link you have. Use your mind. Use your blood. I don’t care how...just send him this one message..."

She paused, her eyes burning with urgency.

"Tell him..." she whispered, "His mate is alive. And that she is in the Skarthheim Pack."