164: CANE AND MASON

CANE AND MASON

Iris rushed toward the vast meadow, where the grass had long turned yellow. This was the place she saw Ethan from her bedroom's window, but she couldn't find him. He was nowhere to be seen.

She should have run faster. If she had, she wouldn't have lost him now. But then she was not a good runner to begin with, even now, she was panting heavily.

"Where is he?" Iris looked around her and started walking in the direction she thought Ethan had gone. The cold wind made her shiver and her nose started to turn red. If Hanna saw this, she would reprimand her. She got sick easily when it was winter, but here she was, exposing herself to the cold wind.

Iris strode further from the pack house and the more she walked, the more she liked it. It felt so peaceful and refreshing when she could see the world clearly, as it changed its colors to welcome the winter.

She walked toward an oak tree that stood solemnly alone in this vast meadow. From her window, she could see it every time. She knew that the tree must be very huge, and upon a closer look, it was indeed very magnificent, though it had started to shed its leaves.

And there, under the tree, she found Ethan sitting. With his back resting against it, he stared blankly at the clear sky. Although it was noon, the weather was not scorching hot.

Iris walked toward him and sat down beside him. Ethan must have sensed her presence a long time ago, but he chose not to say anything, letting her accompany him in silence.

"I regret not killing him, then my punishment will be worth it," Ethan said after half an hour passed.

But, Iris missed that, she caught movement from the corner of her eyes and turned her head to look at him, but she couldn't catch what he said.

"Hm?" She tugged at his sleeve gently. "What did you say?"

Ethan tilted his head and then grinned, showing his wolfish smile. For a moment, he looked like his usual self again, easy going and carefree. "Nothing."

Silence ensued between them after that.

Iris had never been in this situation before, nor did she know how to comfort the others. She didn't even know the right words to say. If it was Hanna, she would know what kind of comforting words that you could give to your friend.

"Let's go back, I am hungry," Ethan said after two hours of silence. He stood up and patted the dust off of his pants with his hands.

Above them, the sun was already leaning westward and because it was the beginning of winter, it would become dark soon. Day time was so short.

Iris walked beside the gamma and he slowed down his pace on purpose. He didn't ask why she approached him, nor did they talk much, but the silence was not awkward.

========================== 

Jace didn't understand why Cane suddenly wanted to visit Mason in his cell, while they were facing an important problem with the decree from the King. They should have discussed their options thoroughly on how to save the Gamma.

Even if they couldn't save him, the King wouldn't let this go so easily and it would implicate their pack without a doubt.

Yet, Cane chose to visit Mason first.

Most of the time, Jace couldn't read what was actually inside Cane's head. What was he thinking? He always kept everything to himself.

"Leave us alone," Cane said, as he entered the cell. Mason was sitting at a corner, dirty and smelly.

They had never taken care of this cell, aside from giving Mason rotten food to keep him alive, since a shifter wouldn't die so easily from consuming something like that, they couldn't care less about taking care of the other things.

This cell smelled acridly bad. Jace and Will furrowed their brows when they stepped in, but Cane didn't even change his expression.

"We will be right outside," Jace said and then stepped out with Will, leaving the two of them alone.

This part of the dungeon had four cells. Mason was confined in the cell at the farthest end, while the other three were empty.

Inside his dirty cell, Mason wasn't wearing anything. His hair grew so long and messy. People who knew him in the past wouldn't be able to recognize him now.

Meanwhile, the corner of this cell was filled with filth and feces, while not too far from it was a bowl of rotten food that the guard graciously gave to him.

Within a few months, he was already unrecognizable, but his eyes that glared at Cane were sharp enough to let him know that he was still in his right mind to answer his questions.

Cane took his time, he didn't immediately bombard him with questions. Instead, he walked toward the fireplace, placed in between Mason's cell and the one opposite to his. It was long dead. He took his time lighting it up.

The warmth from it immediately dissipated the coldness in this dungeon.0

Once the fire illuminated every dark corner of these cells, Cane walked back toward Mason and stood right in front of his cell.

"Tell me about your mother," Cane asked him coldly. He didn't look like he was in a rush, though the decree told him to come to the palace right away. He had thought it over and had his own arrangements. For now, there was a mystery that he wanted to figure out and it bothered him.

Unfortunately, it was not easy to get Mason to talk when he was determined to keep mum.

Cane waited and even after half an hour passed and Mason still said nothing, the Alpha walked back to the fireplace, where he had left an iron rod, which they usually used during the torturing sessions, to heat up.

Cane held the handle, but the other tip was spiky, it could be used to stab anything.

"You don't need your eyes to answer my question, do you?" He asked lightly, as he entered the cell and approached him.

pqdm.com