Chapter 249 - Down the Rabbit Hole (2/2)
She covered his hands with hers and squeezed tightly. ”No, you're wrong there. I am now your family too, and together we will build our own family!”
He gave her a weak smile as he nodded. ”You're right...” He lowered and gave her a tender kiss. He let out a long m.o.a.n as he stepped closer and pulled her tighter into his arms. ”It's been too long since I've last held you in my arms.”
Cam pushed lightly against his c.h.e.s.t. ”Though I agree and would love nothing more than to remain in your arms the rest of the night and every night from here on, there is something I must show you!” She took his hand leading him toward the main entrance to the bedroom and out into the hall. Her eyes caught on deep claw marks running down the hall and quickly moved her gaze back up to him in question.
He followed the deep gashes down the hallway, embarrassment coloring his words. ”I may have gone on a bit of a rampage when you collapsed on me...”
An amused smile curved her lips. ”You don't say...” She shook her head as she continued leading him through the palace until they reached her old room. She paused outside the door and pulled a key from her pocket. Her eyes moved back to him as the door opened. ”Remember all those nights when I used to come to your room convinced something had been watching me or moving around in my room... well, I don't think any of it was dreams or the imagination of a young girl.” She waited until he was inside before locking the door behind them. She walked directly over to the dresser and scooted it out. She held his confused eyes as she pressed her hand against a panel and it popped open. ”I'm convinced someone was coming into my room while I slept.”
Ales walked over cautiously. He bent and looked into the dark hole, and true to her words, there was a passage running along the wall. He lowered to the ground and pushed inside the narrow space for a better look. ”It would be an incredibly tight fit... but someone could fit through easily enough...”
Cam frowned as she settled to the ground beside him. ”That's not all. I became curious when I discovered it and decided to see where they lead. Ales, they lead all through the palace! They are much wider in most places; full-grown men could easily move around within the main passages.”
He sat back on his heels moving his stunned eyes back and forth between the passage and Cam. ”Can... can you show me?”
Cam nodded. She quickly stood and pulled her gown over her head, revealing a pair of his old slacks and a thin dressing shirt. She smiled down at his wide-eyed expression. ”I'd hoped you would ask me to do as much.” She frowned as she lowered back to the ground and moved toward the hole. As she struggled to squeeze fully inside, she turned and eyed him up and down. Frowning, she added, ”You may want to take the wolf form, otherwise it's going to be snug with the both of us inside at the same time.”
Ales nodded and turned away from her as he began stripping off his clothes and shifting. Cam watched with fascination as he did so. Once the wolf turned to face her, she swallowed hard and moved to the side to make room for it. ”This way,” she whispered. She led them through the narrow passage until they reached an intersection. Pointing down, she said. ”I'm not sure if you'll have to shift to do this, but this ladder leads to the bottom floor and the main passage system.” When the wolf nodded, she swallowed hard and turned to start her climb. She watched as the wolf's back legs struggled to find the narrow steps, before finally disappearing back into the above passages. ”Ales?”
Anxiety built until he finally called down, ”I'm not going to be able to make it down that in the wolf form... turn away and I'll climb down.” He called.
”Oh... ok...” Cam called back up to him. He glanced into the hole to see if she had turned. When their eyes met, Cam swallowed hard and began to spin around stopping when a perfectly sculpted leg stepped over the side. Her eyes widened as two well-rounded buns came into view. Her lip ached when she bit into it to stifle a m.o.a.n as she watched him make his way down.
Ales stepped off the ladder and met the heated gaze of the eyes that he'd been able to feel burn into his back. He wanted to reprimand her for not doing what he'd asked, but the way her eyes moved wantonly over the length of his body he couldn't bring himself to say a single word. He could feel a slight blush creep up his cheeks and the twitch of something else as her gaze froze on his growing erection. He cleared his throat and forced his body to shift back into the wolf form. He nodded for her to follow him as he looked around the wide passageway they had entered. His eyes caught on a door under what should be the main staircase.
Cam shook away the images of his perfect body as she followed the wolf's gaze. She nodded to him as she made her way quickly over and pulled it open. She looked from the spiral staircase over to the wolf. ”More steps... Will you be able to go down them in that form... or... or...” She could feel the burn of her cheeks as she thought of seeing his perfect body once again. When the wolf nudged her toward the stairs, she whispered. ”Alright, I'm going... I was just wondering.”
Though the wolf struggled a bit, they made it to the bottom within a few minutes. ”This way.” She whispered in a lower voice as she led him down a narrow path away from another door and the other wider pathways. She bent by a box and pushed it aside. There was a small hole in the wall. Once it was moved faint voices could be heard and a faint light flickered through slats of wood. Cam pressed her index finger against her lips as she crawled through the hole and waited for him to follow. She pointed toward the largest of the cracks of the slats.
Ales's eyes scanned over the contents of the room. There were several tables scattered about and each had full chemistry stations set up. His eyes widened when they landed on one of the tables. There were at least thirty veils filled with the same white powder as the one in Fern's office. He moved around inside the narrow space as he tried to study the other tables and the men inside.
They were just about to leave the hole when the sound of a door opening, and another familiar voice called out. ”I've another for you to test it on Sire.”
”Good, good...” Fern's distracted words sounded off to the side directly above their hiding place. ”I'm nearly finished...” Several long minutes passed in silence until movement overhead could be heard and Fern's legs began to move into view. ”What do we know about this one?”
One of the men answered. ”He's a wolf, Sire. Picked up a few times for petty thievery. The papers said he lives alone, no living relatives or family to speak of...”
Cam and Ales watched as Fern nodded and stepped closer, lifting the man's chin and studying his features. ”I would have preferred one younger and in better health... but I suppose he'll do. Open and drink.” He ordered the bruise-covered man who was still being held by the two men. No sooner had the man swallowed the liquid did he start choking and spitting up foam. Fern took a few steps to the side as he studied the man. P.l.e.a.s.u.r.e and satisfaction could be heard in his voice. ”Perfect! This should do nicely.” His hand lowered by his side as the man was dropped onto the floor as his body burst into a fit of convulsions. The amber liquid inside the decanter sloshed slightly as Fern stepped over the man's body as it went rigid then still. ”Dispose of that before you head back to your posts.” Fern called as he made his way out of the room still carrying the decanter.
The wolf's wide eyes met Cam's worried ones. Ales stepped protectively in front of Cam as she moved toward the hole. When her confused eyes met his, he shook his head nodding toward the men still moving around inside the room. Understanding dawned and Cam nodded her head. Cam wrapped her arms around the wolf's thick neck as they waited in silence, forced to watch the guards dispose of the now-dead man. Once the men were gone and both the room and the passageway were completely silent, Ales stepped out from the hole surveying their surroundings as he went.
When they made it to the ladder he shifted into human form. This time instead of asking her to look away, he pulled her into his arms. ”I'm sorry I doubted you... all this time...” He shook his head as he squeezed her tighter. ”I just couldn't believe my own brother would do such a thing... and what's more... if this is true then... the possibilities of the other things...” He met her unsteady gaze; pain and torment radiated through his beautiful cyan eyes. ”My own brother could have... have killed our parents...”