The Alpha Weredragon's Favorite
CHAPTER 44

Ryan

After Conner's link, I wasted no time in reaching the Cells. I nodded to my soldier, who unlocked the bars.

I stormed into the cell, my eyes narrowing as they landed on the prisoner huddled in the corner.

Jacques.

The very name left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"I hear you've been getting cozy with Lyra," I sneered, my voice dripping with disdain. "She's been visiting you every day, hasn't she? Bringing you treats, talking for hours..." Jacques remained silent, but I could see the flicker of something in his eyes. Fear? Defiance? I couldn't quite place it, but it only fueled the jealous rage simmering in my veins.

I leaned in closer, my face mere inches from his. "What's your game, wolf? What are you trying to accomplish with her?" These weren't the questions I wanted to ask, but as soon as I saw him, I feared he might be trying to win Lyra's heart, challenging my claim on her affections.

He met my gaze steadily, a hint of a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth. When he responded his voice was flat and without feeling. "Jealous, Thornton? Afraid she might prefer my company?"

I snarled, slamming my fist against the wall beside his head. The sound echoed through the small space, but Jacques didn't even flinch.

I was angry.

Angry that he was right. Angry I was in so deep. Angry that Lyra didn't feel the same way.

"Don't test me," I warned. "I know what you're up to. Trying to worm your way into her good graces, gain her trust... But I see right through you."

He remained mute. Staring at me with an empty gaze.

That look woke me up, and I finally asked the question I should have started with. "What do you know about Lyra Evergreen?" When he still didn't answer, I got in his face. "You will tell me what I need to know, one way or another."

He remained stiff as a board and just as blank. I was about to shake some life into him when his eyes flickered wildly, darting between me and the wall I'd just punched, his breaths coming in short, panicked gasps. "I-I can't," he stuttered, his voice trembling as much as his body. "They'll kill me."

"And I'll kill you if you don't," I growled, my patience evaporating like morning mist under the midday sun. I leaned in closer, my eyes boring into his, daring him to defy me.

He whimpered, his body trembling. "Mercy, Alpha Thornton. I beg of you."

He dared step into my territory, threaten Lyra's life, and then beg for mercy? "Mercy is for the innocent," I spat, "And you, wolf, are far from it."

My fury had reached a boiling point, the mere sight of him stoking the flames. I hauled him up and let my Alpha voice surge forth, its power rattling the stone as it echoed off the walls. "Tell me who sent you." My command pinned him as effectively as any physical restraint. "Now," I added, shaking him like a rag doll.

The man's mouth worked furiously, his face contorting as if he was fighting an invisible force. His tattered shirt ripped when he fell to the ground and curled into a ball, his body shaking with the effort to speak.

I watched him struggle, his face a mask of agony, and my frustration grew. Something was preventing him from speaking, some external force. A spell, perhaps?

I turned to the soldier standing guard, my voice sharp. "Find the witch in the woods. Bring her here. I need to know if a spell has been cast on him."

The soldier nodded, his eyes wide, and hurried off to follow my command.

I paced the stone floor for what felt like hours, the dragon's fury a mirror of my own. It clawed at my insides, a raging beast demanding retribution for Lyra's pack's betrayal. Each year, it grew stronger, hungrier, threatening to consume me whole and leave me nothing but ash and rage.

"Alpha?" The witch stood before me. "How can I help you this evening?"

"I need you to check for a spell," I said, gesturing to the prisoner. "He's unable to speak."

Her eyes gleamed with knowledge, with power. She studied the prisoner, her fingers tracing invisible patterns in the air.

"It is indeed a spell," she confirmed, her voice low and melodic. But there was a catch, a hint of hesitation in her words. "To break it... it might kill him."

I clenched my jaw, my decision made in an instant. "Do whatever it takes," I said, my voice colder than frost. I needed answers, no matter the cost.

The witch nodded, but there was a warning in her eyes. "Be careful what you wish for, Alpha," she said, her voice lower than the wind through the trees "The truth can be a heavy burden to bear."

I watched as she began to work, her hands weaving through the air, her words a soft chant. The prisoner's body convulsed. His eyes grew wide with terror. But still, no words came.

The witch's chant grew louder, her hands moving faster. The air around us crackled with energy, the scent of ozone heavy in my nostrils. A searing heat from the power of her magic wove itself through my pores.

With a final, triumphant cry, the witch's hands stilled. The air around us settled, the energy dissipating into nothingness. The prisoner's body slumped, his eyes rolling back in his head, shallow breaths escaping his slackened mouth.

I watched in horror as the witch's magic tore the words from the prisoner's throat. Each syllable seemed to cause him agony, his face contorted in pain as he spoke. The truth spilled out of him like blood from a wound, and I found myself wishing I'd never heard it.

What he had revealed would only cause more hurt, more suffering than I'd ever imagined. The thought of it made my heart ache, made the dragon within me roar with fury.

I pointedly looked at the guard and the witch. "Say nothing to no one about what you have heard."

They both nodded. The guard returned to his post while the witch scurried off.

I couldn't bring myself to look prisoner, couldn't bear to see the pain etched into his features. Instead, I turned on my heel and stalked out of the cell, my footsteps echoing through the corridors.