Chasing His Betrayed Luna novel Chapter 81

AURELIA

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My curiosity hung in the air as I let my legs carry me towards the voice. With every step I took, my broken heart fell piece by piece. With every cell I looked into, I hurled, the foul smell irritating me.

“How heartless is she really? She clearly had people locked in here.” Inara heaved without hiding her disgust.

In spite of her words, my wolf’s curiosity coursed through me and it only intensified when the same soft whimper reached my ears again, “I can smell y-you. It’s really you…”

Strangely, a tiny part of me seemed to recognize that voice. The feminine ring sounded familiar but I couldn’t place my finger on it.

“Who’re you?” I questioned, taking cautious steps as the space became darker.

As my voice echoed, sending waves back to my eardrums, there came no response from the oddly familiar voice but to my surprise, another voice, not a familiar one, cried out, “Please let me out. Please.”

I inhaled sharply, ignoring the foul smell around me. Inara’s sense of smell also picked up the undying scent of people before their voices resonated, leaving me shocked.

“Please let me go…”

“I won’t tell a soul if you let me out…”

“W-water… I’m thirsty.”

Those cries overlapped and I couldn’t point out just how many people were locked up. The loudness made me wonder how no one had ever found this horrible place. If I was sad before walking into Larisa’s underground prison, my sorrows tripled, and the hate I felt towards that heartless wrench multiplied.

I halted, stopping in front of the first cell with an occupant. A teenage girl. She scooted closer to the metallic door of the cell but distanced herself from it, making me realize that the cell was laced with silver.

Her young face was pale and her eyes pleading, “You aren’t her. Please release me. I’ve to be with my mom.”

I found my voice in the midst of the emotional chaos and asked, “What’s your name? Who is your mother?”

“M-my name is Maya. My mom is the head of servant.” The teenage girl cried, putting effort into raising her voice above every other.

“Nina? Your mother is Nina?” I gasped, putting my hands on the locks without thinking of how Maya would react to me touching silver.

Thankfully, she was too weak and disheartened to notice as she muttered breathlessly, “Yes. Please save me from the Luna. She has been keeping me captive–”

“Save your breath,” I uttered gently, offering her a smile as I broke the lock. “I can see you’re tired but I need you to help me release the others. Can you do that?”

“I can try.” Maya nodded despite her state and that made me realize that she was nothing like Nina.

Without wasting time, I moved on to the next cell and the next, breaking lock after lock without feeling a sight burn from the silver. Inara was right about me being Immune but that was the least of my concerns as I set those people free.

“Thank you.” I heard those two words repeatedly as I broke the locks and I nodded, asking everyone to stay put so I could lead them out of here safely.