The map is showing me that the wolf is underneath us, but it really fucking concerns me that Asher had no knowledge of a basement being here. He is the son of the original Alpha and Luna Regina, which means that this was the house that he grew up in.
“I think these floorboards have been pried up before,” Ransom says as he studies the floor.
“I would try to pry them up myself, but my telekinetic magic is pretty fickle, and I’m lucky that it did what I asked and rolled the rug up. I need to practice with it a bit more,” River explains, when I look at him.
I nod, “Fair enough. It looks like we’re opening it the old-fashioned way then.”
Using brute strength, the guys have the floorboards up in no time. Unsurprisingly, there is a set of wooden steps leading down.
“If Asher didn’t know that there was a basement here, then I would guess that Derek must have dug it out himself,” Raiden mutters.
A deafening and bone-shaking growl echoes from the depths of the basement.
My eyebrows hit my hairline, as a shiver runs down my spine.
Whoa.
Frowning, I say, “He’s still lower.”
The guys nod grimly, and we all head down the steps.
When we get to the room at the bottom, I can’t hide my look of horror. It’s absolutely drenched with blood. The walls, ceiling, and floor are stained with old and new blood. The room itself isn’t that big, and it’s been pretty crudely made. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all covered with planks of wood, and then there’s a layer of clear plastic that covers it all, making the blood stains even more obvious and horrific.
As I look around, I notice that the shadows seem to be thicker in one of the corners, and as another growl rumbles through the walls, I realize that the wolf must be in that corner.
“We’re not here to hurt you,” River says, as we walk further into the room.
The wolf's growls get louder, more vicious.
“I thought you said that he was nearly dead?” Coen questions as we cautiously approach the corner.
“He is,” Griff replies with surprise.
“Should we be approaching the corner?” Raiden asks with a worried frown as he slows down.
I shake my head, my eyebrows drawing down as I study the map in my mind, “He’s not actually in the corner, he’s lower, there must be another level below us or a hole or something. I’m not sure, the map isn’t clear.”
The guys shoot me a confused look. I can’t say that I blame them. I’m confused myself.
Ransom holds his palm up and creates a small ball of light, which he floats into the corner of the room. When the light hits the shadows, they slink away from it in a way that makes them seem almost alive.
“That’s not normal,” I mutter.
“Definitely not,” Raiden replies, watching the shadows closely. “But Griff did say that he was guarded by spells. It must be one of them.”
Griff nods, “Most likely, be careful, from what I could gather, there were some really nasty ones guarding him.”
Ransom frowns, “It doesn’t seem like the shadows are a part of a spell, but I could be wrong.”
Another roar rumbles through the room, and instead of moving away from the corner and the terrifying sound, we move toward it.
With the help of Ransom’s light, it becomes clear what I meant when I said that he’s lower.
There’s a round opening on the floor covered by thick silver bars. That is something that the humans got right, and silver is toxic to wolves, which is why I own silver bullets for Betty. Although I suppose I don’t need to worry about buying bullets anymore because she just does it herself.
Not the time.
His growls have gotten more intense and louder the whole time we've been talking and approaching.
