No Escape

Chapter Forty-Five

The walk to the dungeons was an awkward one. Lily and Jackson walked next to each other, holding hands, while Nora walked several steps in front of them. There was no conversation between any of them, as anything Lily and Jackson said to each other would be heard by Nora and neither of them knew what to say to her.

Lily's mind came up with a hundred different scenarios of how this would end and none of them turned out well. They all ended up in the destruction of their pack or her death. She knew Weston couldn't be banished from the pack and made a rogue because he would just come back to harm or kill her, but that didn't mean she wanted him dead either. She didn't want any one else to die no matter who they were or what they had done; she'd seen and experienced enough death to last a lifetime.

Jackson could feel his mate's anxiety rolling off her in waves. Her thoughts were dark enough that he thought she might spiral if they continued. He squeezed her hand and tried to send a wave of calm to her through the bond. Everything is going to be okay. I've got you and that's all I'll ever need.

A small smile grew on Lily's face at the sentiment; she wanted nothing more than to just be with him and be happy. She hoped with everything she had in her that this was the last obstacle blocking that pathway. I love you, Jacks.

I love you too, Lil.

As they approached the cells, Jackson braced for an unpleasant reaction from his mate, but surprisingly her face remained neutral. They tried to keep the cells as clean as possible, but because it went underground it always smelled of mold or mildew. There was also the permanent scent of rogue that lingered down there. Though Jackson knew her sense of smell was being overwhelmed, Lily didn't let it show once.

The three of them made their way to the interrogation room. Weston was already in there chained up with silver chains around his ankles and wrists. They locked into the ground below him so he couldn't make a move towards Lily or Jackson. Nora went straight towards him, placing her hands on each side of his face and resting her forehead against his. Tears fell from her eyes as she struggled to form words.

Lily was finding her actions difficult to understand. She knew that they were mates but with everything that he had done, how could she still support him? Love him even? It didn't make any sense. Was it the bond that was doing that? Or was it Nora?

Jackson again squeezed his mate's hand then wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him. He kissed her forehead and took in a deep breath of her scent to calm him. He had felt tense and angry at his father for doing all this and hearing Lily's thoughts about his mom's reaction wasn't helping him. He pulled the two of them over to the chairs that were on the other side of the table from Weston and Nora.

Silence spread among the four of them for several minutes. Lily and Jackson not knowing where to start while Weston and Nora sat there waiting. Eventually, Jackson spoke up, "now is your chance to explain."

Weston laughed, if this was his sons interrogation tactic, he would not last long as Alpha, "and I should do that because..."

"We already know what you did and we even know the why, for the most part, we just don't know how." Jackson elaborated.

Lily sat there and studied Weston's actions; he was confident in this situation. He didn't seem worried or scared. He knew what he was doing. She thought back to the events of the other day, remembering Erin's words. Suddenly she realized what had happened. She furrowed her brows in frustration for not coming to this conclusion earlier, "you knew his plan all along." She stated, she didn't need to ask because she already knew. "You ordered Erin to go in there as a traitor, to spy and get a hold of Nikolas' plans. And when she did, you told her to keep in contact with him, to let him in at the borders to drop the bodies. You knew he would take Charlotte and use her to get me away from the pack, so you let him in to the pack house. And you knew you could intercept me along the way to wherever his base camp was."

Weston smirked, amused though she could tell a bit of his confidence wavered which made him angry. He looked over to his son, "now I know why you like her so much. She's smart, she figured it all out, didn't she? Well, sweetheart, you got one thing twisted in your theory." Weston's smirk grew into an evil smile before he continued speaking, "I never let him get all the way to the pack house for that girl. I simply had her delivered to him at the border. I bet you can figure out who I let do that. Too bad she's already dead."

Anger flared up within Lily as she clutched tightly in to Jackson's hand. Everything part of her body was screaming at her to attack him, but she knew that she couldn't. She tried her best not to her frustration show, but knew the tension in her body was betraying her.

Jackson tried running circles on the back of Lily's hand with his thumb to calm her down. It worked a little bit, but he could tell that she was still tense, do you want to go?

No, if I leave now he'll just think I'm weak. I want to be here when these options are given. I need to see his face and to be here when he chooses.

Okay, take a few deep breaths. I'm right here. Jackson told her, then waited a few minutes for her to calm down. Are you ready to continue?

Lily only have a small nod as she stared at Weston. Jackson was the next one to speak, "why stop her from shifting?"

The question made Weston momentarily shift his glance towards his son, but he didn't say anything, so Jackson continued, "this whole time you've been saying that she's not like us, she's weak, she can't be Luna and the moment you realize that she is one of us, you stop her mid-shift. Why?"

Weston smirked, "for fun."

Lily lost it.