Alpha Nocturne’s Contracted Mate by A E Randell
CHAPTER 170 Return to The Coven
The trio had traveled for days with Ely as their guide to see them safely through the treacherous terrain that they had found themselves in.
Ada had made the mistake of falling behind due to her exhaustion, but she had been met with nothing but scorn from both her mother and her new-found uncle. There was no sympathy or allowances made for the fact that she was pregnant and unfamiliar with this sort of physical activity. The fact that she hadn’t eaten properly for days also seemed to bear no weight with either of them.
They had uncaringly left her in an exhausted heap on the floor and carried on without her when her legs gave way and if it hadn’t been for Ada’s terror at the prospect of becoming a meal for one of the many terrifying wild beasts that roamed the landscape and hid in the shadows at night, she would never have found the willpower to keep moving.
Her mother had made it very clear once she caught up with them, that if it happened again, she would leave her behind in a heartbeat. So Ada had fought desperately to ignore the exhaustion and persevered as best she could, remaining mostly silent about her difficulties throughout the rest of the arduous trek.
She wasn’t entirely sure that this was any better than a death sentence. Out here, her unborn child’s life was not guaranteed, and at this point, that was all that mattered to her.
Although her mother refused to engage her in conversation for too long, other than biting ad disparaging words, Ely didn’t seem too averse to engaging her in conversation. If anything, he seemed to enjoy the irritation that their chattering brought to Narcissa.
As Ada discovered, he had heard of their incarceration and impending trial from one of his sources, but because of the speed thatthe trial was conducted at, he simply didn’t have the time to gather the necessary components to launch a rescue attempt beforehand.
As it turned out, his perfectly executed rescue mission in the barren landscape that surrounded the Containment facility was almost flawless.
No one had seen it coming, and no one would have the slightest idea of where it had come from in the first place.
The creations that he had utilized in his attack had mostly been failures for one reason or another, so he had no problem unleashing them on the hapless convoy to face their almost certain death. They had already served their purpose in enriching his knowledge on the intricacies of fleshcraft, and he had no further use for them.
He had been pleased with the performance of his flesh golem though. That beast at least seemed to have some level of intelligence, although it was closer to a child’s simple thinking and teamed with the unwavering loyalty of a dog. Yet this still bode well for future situations in combat and he had already begun to envision situations that it could be deployed in.
Ada had been horrified at not only the sight, but the smell of the rotting corpses that had greeted her as she left the confines of her cage, but before she could dwell too much on it she had been f*orc*efully whisked away by Ely, and f*orc*ed into an arduous trek that she had felt sure would be the end of her.
However, as they had approached the sanctuary and the end of their journey in silence, Ada’s heart had seemed to sink to new depths of despair the closer she had come to it. It looked to be nothing more than a crumbling ruin and an eerie silence hung in the air of the surrounding untamed undergrowth, making her skin crawl.
There was none of the subtle, ambient sounds of wildlife within these ruins and for once in her life, she actually wished that she had paid a little more attention to the tutoring she had received in regard to survival skills.
Perhaps it might have given her the confidence to part ways with these two madmen and try to at least scratch a living for herself and her child without the interference and input of her mother someplace far away.
Unfortunately, she knew all too well that if she was separated from either of them out here in the wilderness, there was no way that she would be able to survive this far away from civilization.
Ely and Narcissa’s expressions were impassive as they passed through the barrier that barred entry to their
Coven’s sanctuary to all but its members, but Ada’s face had already twisted into an expression of apprehension and uncertainty as she tried to study her surroundings carefully without her mother or newly discovered uncle, catching on.
If she could at least remember the way they had come, then perhaps she could find allies within the coven and escape on her own. But as Narcissa and Ely disappeared before her very eyes, she panicked and ran forward to the spot that they had stood at only seconds before, all thoughts of escape now dispersed from her mind with the fear of being left alone.
Before she had fully registered what was happening, she suddenly felt herself burst through an invisible wall of pressure and emerge into a large cavern that was bustling with people.
Ada yelped in surprise, completely unprepared for the sight that had greeted her and Narcissa turned to her with a scowl, casting her eyes over her disdainfully.
“Such a disappointment.” She tutted, her words loaded with hatred as she glowered at her for a moment more before Ely interjected.
“You can’t expect her to be as hardy as us. You raised her around the weaklings and that is who she has learned from. If you really want someone to blame for her inept*itude, then it’s your fault alone, Narcissa.” Ely stated with a shrug, drawing a furious hiss from Narcissa.
“You know nothing, brother! If I had been discovered then it would have been the end of that plot! I couldn’t risk losing everything we had worked so hard for!” She reasoned.
Ely laughed mockingly at her as he began to make his way down the roughly hewn steps into the wide expanse of the cavern below.
“Then, again, you would have failed, dear sister and it would have been yourfault for not being more careful. You failed anyway so this conversation is pointless.”
“I did not fail! Everything was going as planned until Ada failed to control herself!” Narcissa hissed with a murderous glance over her shoulder toward Ada as she hurried down the steps after Ely.
“I would call that a failure, sister. As will our Lord.” Ely shrugged nonchalantly. “You know that everything is black and white when it comes to him. There are no areas of grey at all. It either is or it isn’t.”
Narcissa laughed bitterly.
“So, what are you saying? This wasn’t a rescue? You simply brought us back to face his judgment?” She asked incredulously.
Ely stopped suddenly and turned to face Narcissa with a bored expression, causing both Narcissa and Ada to stop suddenly.
“Us? Oh no, dear sister, you have it all wrong.” Ely grinned unnervingly, “It seems that you’ve spent so much time away from us, that you’ve forgotten how things work. Ada does not shoulder any of the blame for this farce at all.”