CHAPTER 23: 23

NYLAH

I remembered my meeting with Sofia and how she looked taken aback by my words and fell silent afterwards, making me even more confused.

How I found myself thinking about what I said and asking myself if I said something wrong or out of place.

She should understand that it was hard for me to stay here. She should know how I felt.

"Did I say something wrong?" I asked, unsure why her countenance changed all of a sudden.

"I don’t know how to tell you this, Nylah, but there’s no escape here. Except the Alpha orders for you to be taken out of the pack or he takes you out himself, there’s no escape." She said with pity on her face.

Like she was telling me that I didn’t know what I had gotten myself into yet. I shook my head slightly. My voice was barely above a whisper, I asked.

"What do you mean by that?"

I hoped that she would laugh and tell me she was playing pranks on me and ask me when I wanted to leave and how we could start planning my escape, but she didn’t budge; she didn’t laugh or even blink.

She just held her pathetic expression. I sighed in pain, suppressing the urge to tell her not to look at me like I was a lost child. But I knew that there was not much difference between me and a lost child.

Alpha Xavier’s absence even makes it worse.

"I’m sorry, Nylah, maybe this was the reason why Alpha Xavier brought you to the pack; it’s too tight and secured for you to even plan an escape. You can’t be gone without anyone taking note of you." Sofia’s words sent all my hopes crashing down.

It felt like I was being pocked in my chest with nails digging deep into me.

The realization of what I’d gotten involved with now dawned on me. But maybe it was the level of bitterness the truth held, or I just didn’t want to accept that I would be bound within the walls of the Blue-Stone pack, I protested.

"What if we take our time to plan it well? We could escape at midnight or during an event like the bonfire night when everyone was distracted." I reasoned, but before I could even finish my idea, Sofia was shaking her head.

"That can’t work. It’s not possible. The guards never sleep. So midnight is a very bad idea, and occasions are not an excuse for them to slack. Even though the guards are not at the gate during events, the gate is locked with strong and heavy restraints and sealed with magic." At the mention of magic, my heart sank.

I knew that there was nothing much that could be done once magic was involved; I knew from the deaths I’d witnessed as a child.

"All the others that had ever tried to escape didn’t end well." Her expression was like that of a child whose traumatic experience was replayed.

"You can’t escape, Nylah." She said again, raising my inquisition.

"What’s the worst that could happen?" I asked nonchalantly.

"The guards would see me trying to escape and take me to the Alpha; maybe that’s what I need to get his attention; who knows?" The words must’ve sounded so stupid in my mouth because the way Sofia looked at me after those words got me even more confused.

"That is if the guards don’t kill you on sight. It was declared that whoever was trying to escape the pack was a traitor, so the Alpha instructed the guards to kill on sight. Anyone they saw trying to escape the walls of the pack. Many people were killed, Nylah, so many that I’ve forgotten some of them." We were silent for some minutes, both of us having different things playing in our minds.

While we were on the topic of how many people had been killed trying to escape, I remembered what Rex said about how many ladies had gone missing since being involved with Xavier.

Maybe they were unhappy like I was and tried to escape but were killed by the guards on the spot. Just maybe, that was the only thing that could explain their disappearance. But I wasn’t too sure so I asked Sofia.

In a bid to change the topic that seemed like a hard one to talk about.

"I heard that there were other ladies like me, who the Alpha owned." Sofia’s expression shifted to me.

"What happened to them? It’s almost like they disappeared into thin air." I sighed deeply as if a huge log had been let off my chest, I’d finally asked the question that had been bothering me for long.

"I wish I knew Nylah. I wish I knew what happened to them, but I was still mourning the death of my parents, still locked up in my shell. There are a lot of things that happened within that period, and I am alien to them." I could hear the worry in her voice, but I didn’t relent; I threw more questions.

"Where is Rex? I met him at the mansion but I suddenly stopped seeing him after he told me something concerning the Alpha. What’s their relationship like?" I asked, hoping that she would have answers to these particular questions.

It would help me solve a part of my mystery. It was after Xavier saw me with Rex that he changed towards me, and I’d wondered if my closeness to Rex had anything to do with his disappearance.

"Alpha Xavier and his brother Rex never agreed on a thing. Rex was a result of his father’s infidelity and the then Alpha knew that the pack didn’t approve of his infidelity yielding a male cub, so he sent Rex and his mother to Atlanta and often paid them visits"

"So they both had different upbringings and different lifestyles. Don’t get involved in their fight, Nylah, for your own sake." I nodded at her words, not knowing whether she’d be the right person to ask of his whereabouts.

I decided to keep it to myself and take the bits I was given.

The truth remained that I was in hell, but without the physical flames, I could be the one burning people or be subjected to the flames it produced.

I had to be smart, tough, and wield power, but at the same time, I shouldn’t talk or interfere in some cases, or I’ll be like the others whose deaths are used as tales.

Maybe I should brace myself for the repercussions of talking to Ivy in such a manner or the fear and power I’d get as a result.

This whole thing was tricky and nerve-wracking, but I couldn’t leave.