Chapter 398: Did You Leave My Sister To Die?

Chapter 397: Did You Leave My Sister To Die?

The path to the dungeons lay beneath the eastern wing of the pack compound, half-hidden behind a row of old stone archways buried with snow that most people barely remembered existed anymore.

Brynhild walked it without hesitation. Daniel and the others just let her do what she wanted to do. There was no need to stop her, after all.

The air changed the deeper she went.

It grew colder—not the natural chill of stone underground, but the heavy, stagnant cold of a place long abandoned by purpose. Torches burned low along the walls, their flames weak and wavering, casting crooked shadows that stretched like grasping fingers across damp stone floors. Dust clung to the corners of the ceiling in thick webs, disturbed only when footsteps echoed too loudly.

The dungeons had once been a place of judgment.

Years ago, during darker times in the pack’s history, traitors had been held here. Wolves who had betrayed their own blood. Spies. Conspirators. Those who had tried to fracture the pack from within. Orion had done a stressful job of picking them out with his ability. The stones still remembered the screams, the pleading, the broken promises whispered into the cracks of the walls.

But that era had ended.

For a long time now, the dungeons had been reduced to something almost laughable in comparison. A temporary holding place for petty thieves who stole from market stalls. Drunks who started fights they couldn’t finish. Some young ones who took their pranks too far and endangered others.

Minor crimes.

Minor punishments.

Most of the cells sat empty, iron bars rusting quietly, straw bedding untouched for weeks at a time. Sometimes months.

No one had been thrown down here with real intent in years.

Until today.

Brynhild’s boots echoed sharply as she descended the final stone steps, her presence cutting through the stale silence. The dungeon corridor stretched ahead, narrow and dim, lined with heavy doors spaced evenly apart. A faint smell of old metal, damp stone, and extinguished torches lingered in the air.

At the far end of the hall, she saw them.

Pete stood with his arms folded across his chest, his expression tight and guarded. Nia leaned against the wall nearby, her jaw clenched, eyes sharp and restless. Cat stood closest to the cell, her posture stiff.

And beside them, the prison guard—an older man with graying hair and tired eyes—was just finishing securing the iron lock.

Inside the cell sat Holly.

Brynhild slowed her steps as she approached, each footfall deliberate.

The guard straightened when he noticed her, nervous tension flashing across his face. Pete shifted uneasily. Nia glanced between Brynhild and the cell door, while Cat swallowed.

But none of them uttered a word.

Brynhild stopped in front of the cell and turned her gaze to the guard.

"Open it," she said calmly.

The guard hesitated for less than a heartbeat—just enough to register the weight behind her words—then immediately reached for the keys. The iron lock scraped open with a metallic click, and the door creaked as he pulled it wide.

Brynhild stepped inside the cell without looking back.

"Lock it," she said over her shoulder.

The guard obeyed at once, the door slamming shut behind her, the sound echoing down the corridor.

Inside the cell, the air felt tighter.

Holly sat on the narrow bench against the wall, her wrists bound tightly in front of her, the bandage biting into pale skin. A thick gag muffled her breathing, her eyes wide and rimmed red. Strands of her hair clung to her face with sweat and dried tears.

She looked small.

Not the sharp-tongued, proud girl who had strutted through the pack like she owned it.

Brynhild glanced back at them through the bars.

"Is there any other restraint on her?" she asked evenly. "Anything I should know about?"

Cat cleared her throat. "Just the gag and the bandage we used as a restraint. Nothing else."

Brynhild nodded once. "Help me remove it."

The guard unlocked the door again, visibly uneasy now. Cat stepped inside carefully, avoiding Brynhild’s eyes. She knelt in front of Holly and untied the bandage binding her wrists, then removed the gag.

Holly sucked in a shaky breath, coughing slightly as circulation returned to her hands. Her fingers trembled as she flexed them.

Cat stood and backed away quickly.

"Thank you," Brynhild said quietly.

Cat nodded and stepped out of the cell. The guard locked the door again. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Make sure it stays locked," Brynhild added, her gaze never leaving Holly’s direction.

"Yes, ma’am," the guard replied.

Silence settled again, thick and uncomfortable.

Holly lifted her head slowly, swallowing hard. Her voice came out small, fragile, nothing like her usual sharp edge.

"What... what do you plan on doing to me?"

Brynhild studied her for a moment, expression unreadable.

"I only want to ask you questions," she replied calmly. "Depending on your answers... you may get more injured."

Holly’s throat bobbed as she swallowed again.

Brynhild took a slow step closer.

Then another.

Her boots scraped faintly against stone until she stood only a few feet away.

"Did you leave my sister to die?" Brynhild asked.

Holly frowned in confusion, brows knitting together. "When did you... get a sister?" she asked weakly. "Your sister is dead."

Brynhild stared at her for a long second. Holly didn’t like how Brynhild’s gaze made her feel. For someone who couldn’t see, she was very threatening—more so than Orion.

Brynhild nodded slowly, then laughed softly, but it held no amusement or warmth whatsoever.

"You really have no idea," Brynhild said softly. "I don’t know how young Orion ever thought you were a good person to date."

She stepped closer until Holly had to tilt her head back to meet her gaze.

Brynhild’s energy was restrained only by sheer control.

"I lost my twin sister to the Enclave," she continued quietly. "Blood of my blood. Soul of my soul."

Holly’s breathing quickened.

"But I gained another sister," Brynhild said. "In Sophia."

Holly’s lips parted slightly, confusion flickering across her face.

"So I’ll ask you again," Brynhild said calmly, her voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Did you leave Sophia to die when the Trihydras attacked? Did you leave my sister to die?"

Holly opened her mouth. "Your sister is a demon—"

Brynhild’s hand moved and immediately met Holly’s cheek hard.

Holly’s head snapped sideways, her body jerking with the force of it.