166 Chapter 166
Betrayed by Blood
The stench of rot and damp walls clung to the air. Hugh sat against the cold wall, his jaw clenched so tightly it ached. His body was now bruised and filthy, stripped of the power he had carried for years. Across from him, Lucian stared with pure, undiluted hatred, his clothes torn from the months he had spent locked up. His mother sat beside him, her arms wrapped protectively around Lucian’s sick father, whose breathing was shallow and wheezing.
Lucian’s eyes burned as he finally spoke, his voice hoarse but filled with bitterness. “This is your fault.”
Hugh’s fingers twitched.
“You stole my pack. My people. My future. You murdered those who refused to bow, and for what?” Hugh exhaled sharply through his nose, his patience fraying. “Shut up, boy.”
Lucian ignored him, his anger spilling over. He was betrayed and tossed aside like a damn dog, like he was worthless. All for what? “Was it worth it? Look at where you are
now. Look at you.”
Hugh shot forward, grabbing Lucian by the throat and slamming him against the stone
wall.
Lucian coughed, choking under the pressure, but even as his breath hitched, he glared at Hugh like he was something less than human.
“Go on,” Lucian rasped. “Prove me right.”
Hugh bared his teeth. “You were weak. That’s why I took everything from you.” With a sneer, he shoved Lucian aside. The young man collapsed to the ground, his mother gasping as she rushed to his side.
She looked up at Hugh, her face sneered with hatred. “You’re a damn demon, Hugh! I regret ever agreeing to that contract with you. If only I was smarter, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” She spat out.
Hugh rolled his eyes. “Oh, shut up. You wanted the same. Power, wealth, and attention.
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You’re only mad I outsmarted you.” He spat out irritably.
Lucian’s father made a weak noise from his corner, but Hugh didn’t bother sparing him a glance. Instead, he looked at the iron bars that caged him. His fists clenched at the mockery of it all. Of all the cells in the dungeon to put him, he had to be put in the same one as these dimwits.
He had spent years forging his rule with blood and fire. He had ripped power from his undeserving brother. And now? Now he was nothing but another prisoner rotting in this dark, smelly place? He didn’t deserve this. His teeth ground together, frustration spilling over yet again. There had to be a way out… there had to be-
Suddenly, a scream tore through the dungeon.
Hugh froze, his blood turned to ice. It couldn’t be…
Another wretched, agonized scream soon wrecked the walls of the dungeon.
It was Dean.
Hugh lunged at the bars, gripping them so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“DEAN!” He screamed, but there was no answer. Only more screams.
He slammed his fists against the bars, rage and fear intertwining in his chest. His breath came out ragged and frantic. “DEAN! Answer me!”
Still, nothing.
Outside the cell, one of the guards smirked. He leaned against the iron with a sick sense of satisfaction. “Hurts, doesn’t it?” he mused. “Knowing you can’t do a damn
thing?”
Hugh’s vision blurred with anger. That was his son being tortured, being dehumanized and abused. He couldn’t take it, every vein in his body stood as he growled loudly, rattling the bars, but the guard only chuckled before walking away.
Powerless.
For the first time in his life, Hugh understood what it meant to be powerless.
And it destroyed him.
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Avery sat on the edge of the bed, Emma in front of her, holding her hands tightly in hers as though she needed to believe that Avery was truly there.
Avery smiled, her throat tight with a lump. She lifted her hand and caressed Emma’s cheek softly, and Emma closed her eyes, a tear slipping out.
“I–I can’t believe you’re really here. Like this,” Emma murmured, looking at Avery again. “You look absolutely beautiful too. I’m just so thankful to see you alive and healthy,” she said through tears.
“Me too, Emma. I’m glad to see you alive too.”
Emma sniffled, wiping her tears. “You know, after you left, I spent months with Agatha,” she paused suddenly, and Avery instantly took note of it. She glanced at Lydia, who had been watching the two of them silently.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” She asked. Agatha was another midair Avery had
been friends with.
Emma swallowed hard, wiping her cheeks dry. “She was sold to another pack by Alpha Hugh. After he executed her parents for contesting your supposed death in the midst
of the other families.”
Avery’s fingers tightened around Emma’s as a cold chill ran down her spine. “Sold?” she whispered.
Emma nodded, “He sold everything and anyone available. Said the pack was overcrowded and he didn’t need deadweights. The firsts were the omegas.” She
paused, hesitantly looking at Avery. “Don’t know, there’s the omegas brothel down the
corner?”
Avery’s face paled. “The what?”
“Omegas brothel. There, the omegas deemed worthless are taken there as sex toys for…” she trailed off, looking away.
Avery’s heart hurt with everything she was hearing. Her mother and father prided themselves in their pack only for Hugh to ruin it this way.
“When news of your supposed death and what you had done was announced. Some people didn’t believe it, and Hugh raided every home of those still loyal to your father and you. He took everything they owned. Over a hundred people imprisoned. The ones
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who refused to submit? Dead.”
Avery’s heart clenched. “And those who remained?”
Emma’s lips pressed into a thin line. “They had no choice but to accept him as Alpha permanently.”
Avery couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She knew her uncle was cruel, but she didn’t think he was evil. To do things like these to innocent people?
Emma exhaled sharply, her gaze drifting toward Avery’s hair, toward the streaks of white. Her brows furrowed as if something had just clicked into place.
“You have these too,” she murmured, but Avery caught it.
Avery frowned. “Have what?”
Emma hesitated, then murmured, almost to herself, “The white streaks on your hair.
Your mother… she had the same streaks in her hair.”
Avery stilled. “She did?”
Emma nodded, “You don’t remember?”
Avery shook her head. She tried racking her memories to remember her mother with the white streaks on her hair, but nothing came forth.
“I don’t.”
Emma looked at her, puzzled. “That’s odd. Granted, you have a lot more streaks on your hair than the Luna did, but she had. Not just her, your grandmother had too.”
Avery’s pulse quickened. “My grandmother? How would you know that?”
“The frames. Luna kept her mother’s frame on the wall. I saw it once when I was cleaning.” She paused, looking at Avery. “I’m certain, your grandmother had this many white streaks on her hair. It was more than the Luna’s too.”
“And the frame? Where is it now?”
Emma glanced between her and Lydia hesitantly. “Alpha Hugh angrily packed it all, but it’s in his office. Where? I don’t know.”
Avery stood up, glancing at Emma. “Take me to it.”
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