Chapter 164: The Mines

Alaina pulled her hand away but her expression still held contempt as she stared down at Winnie. What was it about the little swine that had everyone obsessed?

She closed her palm and placed it by her side. Winnie’s threat was an upset to her plan, and she had seen the look in her eyes. Her puny sister had no intention of backing down.

This was the thanks she got for taking care of her all these years. However, there was nothing to worry about—even if Winnie did tell, it wouldn’t matter when Maya got to the High Alpha’s hands.

"Where is she?" She asked again when Alaina took too long. She had no plans to budge; she would find Maya no matter what she had to do.

"The mines," she said bitterly.

"The mines!" She yelled out in horror. "How could you?!"

"It’s better than what she deserves," Alaina sneered.

"You devil!" She yelled. "You know that’s not true. More than any of us, you know!"

Alaina scoffed. "We both know who the devil is! Besides, even if you can find her, Alpha Keenan wants nothing to do with her. In a few hours, I will have her sent to the High Alpha."

"What do you mean, even if I find her? Where did you put her?"

"That’s for you to figure out. You asked where she was, right? I just told you."

The mine was huge—or rather, deep. It went underground through haphazardly made tunnels. There were several sections, and it would take ages to find Maya if Alaina had taken her deep into the mines.

However, finding her wasn’t the only problem. The mine tended to flood when the tide was high. It was fine near the entrance, but the deeper they went, the more dangerous it became.

It was one of the many reasons it was abandoned, despite the fact that it was the property of Verlassen now.

The High Alpha had emptied it by the time he was ordered to let it go.

A few pieces of gold were found near the entrance or floating in the beach every now and then, but nothing huge. Besides, it was such a sad reminder to a lot of families that they often avoided it.

"You didn’t take her deep inside, did you?" Winnie asked.

Alaina shrugged. "You don’t have to worry. She is safe. She should just experience what her father put us through for so many years. If you’re too impatient to roam the mines looking for her, you can wait and I’ll bring her out by first light—but I don’t think you’d see her, though," she touched her chin and let out a loud cackle, "since she would be returning to her father."

Winnie turned in the direction of the beach. Any moment she wasted was precious time that Maya didn’t have. She doubted Maya was as safe as Alaina claimed.

Besides, how safe could she be after losing that amount of blood? Was she still bleeding out?

She shifted into her wolf and set off in the direction of the beach. Winnie ran as fast as her paws would allow. She was exhausted, and it was way past her bedtime, but she had to keep going.

She made her way through the town in the dark of the night. Moonlight had drastically reduced as clouds covered the sky, but in her wolf form, she didn’t need too much light to see.

She reached the beach slower than she liked. The faster she tried to run, the more speed she lost. She was glad Alaina believed her bluff. There was no way she could have outrun her in this state.

The sand felt loose under her as she reached the beach, and she lost even more speed. Half-burnt wood lay discarded on the beach. The fire had been put out, but the wood remained.

Water crashed onto the beach, drawing closer than when she was there earlier. She really hoped Alaina was telling the truth when she said Maya was safe earlier.

After walking the length of the beach, she finally reached the entrance of the mine. It was hidden behind some rocks, and from the dirt—branches to seaweed that lay on the beach—it was clear this section wasn’t frequented. She hopped over the rocks before making her way through the dark hole.

Winnie cursed internally as she walked into the entrance. It was so dark she couldn’t see in front of her. It felt like she had her eyes closed.

How did Alaina take Maya into the mines in this darkness? She shifted and nearly lost her footing on the uneven ground. Her paws had more balance.

"Maya!" She yelled.

A response would help her out in the darkness. There were too many tunnels to go through; she could spend all night looking and still not find Maya.

"Maya!" She yelled again and took a careful step forward.

She had to be very careful. One wrong step and she could fall into the wrong hole and wouldn’t be able to get out by herself.

"Maya!" She yelled out again, but all she heard once again was the echo of her own voice.

"Maya!"

"Fuck!" She yelled and shifted again.

Her vision had adjusted to some extent, and she could make out the different pathways that led to different areas of the mine.

She took a step forward, and her front paw hit a metal object. She squinted her eyes as she tried to get a better look, and it looked like a pickaxe.

It was clearly abandoned. She kicked it out of her way, listening to the sharp metal scrape across the uneven floor. It seemed to vibrate against the walls as the metal hit the rocks.

Suddenly, Winnie froze. If she weren’t in her wolf form, she wouldn’t have heard it. A whimper floated into her ear in the midst of the metal.

"Winnie," the voice called again.

She burst forth into the darkness in the direction of the voice, not caring that she could hardly see.