Page 17 of Wolf Trap

“Lycaon? Is that you, are you…”

“Yes, and no, I’m not cursed. Not now. Who has the keys? I’ve come to set you free.”

“You have a way out of here? Out of the castle?”

“Yes.”

“One of the guards had the keys. They go into that room down the corridor. That’s all we know.”

I stepped forward. “What about my athame? Could we pick the lock with it?”

Smiling, Lycaon took it from my hand and said, “Absolutely.”

I looked at the shifters. They all looked small compared to Dolph. “Are there guards in there now?”

“Yes. They rarely come out, though.”

Lycaon picked at the lock. The blade grated on the iron. He shoved it, trying to force the bolt back. I winced, hoping it wouldn’t break the blade.

Scraping, the bolt struggled back. The shifter puffed up his chest. As he stepped through, I saw a spark in his copper eyes. His warm auburn hair fell to his shoulders, tattoos gleaming under the cold light. Almost as tall as Lycaon, he was more wiry.

He flashed a suspicious grin. “Ah, a witch. Your magical knife worked. Can I borrow it?”

I nodded.

He patted Lycaon on the back and jolted past him. “I’ll get the keys. There are other cells to unlock. If you can wait, a few of us will follow you. Where is the escape?”

Lycaon briefed him, then clenching the spiked baton, he turned to me.

“We’ll go to get the keys.” He followed the other shifter down the corridor where I could see a door.

As he stepped through it, shouting sounded.

The shifters eyed me with suspicion as they flooded out of the cell. They were rowdy, stretching their arms, rolling their shoulders back, ready.

I avoided eye contact, then heard more shouts and grunts before Lycaon strolled out caked in blood. Fire in his eyes, his chest rose and fell heavily. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he eyed me greedily, his smile savage.

The shifter he’d gone into the guardroom with laughed hysterically, thrusting my athame at me. The handle first, as luck would have it. Wide-eyed Lycaon jangled the keys and gave them to the shifter. They were drunk on battle lust. He was acting like a complete moron.

And that’s why I hate packs…

Shaking my head, I turned and made my way back. Jogging towards me, Lycaon slapped me on the back.

I shrugged him off. “I’m not one of your pack. You look like you enjoyed killing those guards.”

His face changed from bright to gloomy. “I did enjoy it. One of the few times I actually relish killing is when the enemy is so cruel, and I wield the power to stop it. Remember, killing is who I am. It’s a part of me. Maybe not normally as a man, but as a wolf...”

“Yes, I know. You eat people. I’m leaving.” I looked behind him. “They’re free. It’s up to them how long they take to get to the portal.”

Narrowing his eyes, he twisted around. “Matt, we’re leaving.”

Matt’s jaw dropped. He nodded, looking forlorn that his party was over.

I wondered if we should’ve left them in there. Even animals don’t enjoy killing.

Miraculously, we got back through the corridors without being detected, and aside from the stealthy shifters at my back, the place still felt dead. Perhaps the members were asleep in their coffins? Still, unease rippled through me.

As we arrived in the passageway outside the room with the portal inside, Dolph and Marrock walked through from the opposite end. Dolph’s stare burned into Lycaon’s newfound friends.

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