Lyra dropped to her knees so fast it hurt, her palms slapping against the cold stone floor as if clinging to it would save her.
"I didn't do anything! Please-I swear, I don't know! I don't know!" Her whole body trembled, shoulders shaking, her breath hitching like she could barely hold herself together.
Tears blurred her vision until all she could see were the dark, hulking shapes of the men advancing.
Zane and Axel kept coming, their boots striking the floor with steady, merciless thuds that sounded louder than her heartbeat. Their shadows loomed over her, blotting out the faint light like an omen. She knew where they meant to take her _the dungeon_.
Just the thought sent a shiver so violent through her that she nearly toppled forward. In her mind she couldn't even picture it properly but according to the scary stories she overheard from the maids, that was obviously a torturous place to be in.
"I'm sorry, I'm so... I will never go there again!!" she sobbed, her voice shrill with terror. She clutched her hands together so tightly her knuckles turned white, bowing until her forehead almost scraped the floor. Her cries rose in broken waves, each one sharper than the last, spilling out so quickly. "I beg you, please forgive me, don't take me there!"
But the men were unshaken, their hard faces giving nothing, their hands already reaching down to seize her. She shook her head frantically as sobs choked her words, her trembling body shrunk beneath their looming figures. It was as if her pleas, her tears, her very life were nothing more than a mosquito's buzz.
The commotion Lyra made quieted as the pain on her neck came back fully when Axel picked her up harshly again.
She couldn't even fight back no more.
She resigned to fate, her terrible luck.
"Stop!" Kross commanded, his eyes on Lyra.
For once, Axel placed her down slowly and didn't throw her down. Lyra when she stood down, her weight on her feet, she was hit with a wave of dizziness and her head became heavier.
"Escort her back," Kross said, his voice even, almost indifferent, yet carrying the weight of unquestionable authority. "Take her to the her quarters. Straight to where she sleeps."
His gaze cut to Lyra, sharp as a blade. "No one is to know you were marked. Not one soul."
Kross saw that Lyra was telling the truth. He was good at reading people's emotions and Lyra was too transparent. But again she might be good at hiding her emotions, a manipulator. There was no need to even interrogate her further, Also he felt the ravager's anger, it seemed angry as to how they were treating the person bearing its mark and her cries.
Lyra stood scared not sure of what had just happened.
She was later dragged outside since she seemed to be stuck on the floor.
***
Back in the room.
Noah and Ryan were confused about the ordeal. It was not in Kross to take back his order let alone offer mercy, second chance.
"Why are you two here?"
They had matters at hand that they had to deal with and that was why Kross never bothered to ask why they barged inside like they were under attack.
"Your message," Kross looked at them, his eyes dimmed. "We received your message."
Kross didn't understand what they were saying.
"Through the mindlink,"
"How?" Kross wanted to get what they meant, for what he knew like it was a fact known that after his curse decades ago, the mindlink between him and his pack members was weak. He couldn't relay a message to someone who wasn't near him. And wherever Ryan and Noah were, they were obviously not nearby.
"We came to find out too," Noah stated, "I was near the perimeter when I heard it."
They tried finding out when their mindlink grew stronger. Ryan finished the conversation when he said that they hadn't used it in a very long time when they were far apart and maybe it fixed itself. It wasn't true and they all knew that.
"Watch the girl closely!"
***
Lyra was escorted back to her room by Zane, while Axel stayed behind, guarding the door like a silent shadow. The hallways were quiet, the maids already fast asleep.
When she reached her room, she whispered a soft goodnight to Axel, but he didn't bother to reply, just gave her a cold glance and turned away.
Inside, the room was dim and peaceful. Lyra tiptoed in, careful not to wake Tessa.
She quietly unrolled her mat on the floor, but the faint rustle was enough to stir her roommate. Tessa's eyes fluttered open, and the moment she saw Lyra, she shot up from bed.
"Where were you? Do you know how much I looked for you?" Tessa's voice cracked with worry as she rushed over, throwing her arms around Lyra. She clung to her tightly, complaining and scolding all at once.
Lyra tried to reassure her, whispering, "I'm fine, really," but her words did little to ease Tessa's worry.
What Tessa couldn't see was the wound hidden on Lyra's neck, concealed carefully. Yet as Tessa hugged her harder, the pressure pressed against the wound, making Lyra wince silently.
If Tessa knew about her wound, she would definitely make a big deal. She reassured her for some minutes telling her she'd tell her all about it the next day.
"I'm really tired Tessa, Let's sleep."
Eventually, the two calmed down, curling back into their spaces. The room grew quiet again, and it seemed sleep would finally come.
But just as Lyra's eyes began to close, a sound pierced the silence.
A low voice, murmuring, distorted, gibberish yet terrifying, whispered somewhere in the room. Her heart skipped. It sounded like it was next to her. On her ear. She sat up instantly, eyes wide, scanning the darkness around her.