The Sickened Luna's Last Chance novel Chapter 497

Chapter 497

Lilith’s POV

Lilith fumbled with the silver handcuffs in the darkness, her fingers shaking so badly she dropped the key twice and kept having to start over. Finally, the metal fell away from her wrists with a quiet clink. She rubbed at the raw skin, wincing, and stood just as the cell door creaked open.

A woman stepped into view, dressed in a guard’s uniform. She was young, maybe thirty, with brunette hair and blue eyes. She reminded Lilith of Ella. A little too much for her liking–Lilith didn’t want to consider the idea of her daughter being in a place like this.

Lilith took a step back on instinct, but the woman offered her a faint smile that set her nerves at ease.

“Are you ready?” the woman whispered, to which Lilith nodded. “Okay. We need to move. Now.”

Lilith didn’t argue. She slipped out of the cell and followed the woman down the hallway. The woman moved quickly but quietly, and Lilith tried to match her steps, sticking to the woman’s shadow. They passed other cells, most of them empty, and climbed a set of stairs that led to a maintenance corridor.

Neither of them spoke as the woman led her through a series of narrow passages. The walls were damp and the air smelled like damp earth.

Lilith realized, about halfway, that they were taking the tunnels beneath the packhouse–the tunnels typically used for transporting bodies back during the days when tuberculosis ravaged the territories, back before Lilith’s parents were in charge. They hadn’t been used in decades.

Or so she thought.

Finally, the woman stopped in front of a heavy metal door. She pulled out a key and unlocked it, then pushed it open. The smell hit Lilith immediately.

Blood. Old blood, coppery and tinged with the scent of rust and rot.

“What is this?” Lilith asked, wrinkling her nose. She prepared to shift, just in case she had been tricked.

“The morgue.” The woman stepped inside and flicked on her flashlight, illuminating rows of rusty metal cupboards. The air was frigid, but the morgue looked like it hadn’t been used in a very long time. “I need you to do something when you get out. If you want Richard to be put to a stop for good, that is.”

Lilith’s stomach turned as the woman walked over to a table at the center of the room, where a single plastic sheet was covering something small and round. She gave Lilith an almost apologetic look, then removed the plastic sheet.

The room spun.

Lilith recognized him immediately. Even in death, with his head separated from his body, she still saw the little boy she once knew. The boy who used to pull on her pigtails on the playground. The boy who shared lunch with her and threw paper wads when the teacher wasn’t looking.

Daniel LaRue.

Dead.

Decapitated.

Just a head sitting on a metal table.

“Richard killed him three days ago,” the woman said quietly. “Shot him in his own home and had his warriors clean up the mess. They buried the body, but kept the head. Not sure why. Maybe something to do with Margaret’s sick rituals, or maybe just because he’s a cruel bastard.”

Chapter 497

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“I’m guessing the latter,” Lilith whispered. Her throat tightened. “What do you expect me to do about this?”

The woman pulled out a pair of scissors. To Lilith’s horror, she snipped a piece of the old man’s wiry gray hair, then slipped it into a small baggy and handed it to Lilith. She then reached into the inside breast pocket of her uniform and pulled out another baggy. This one contained a bullet.

“The casing has a serial number on it,” she explained as Lilith took the two bags. “Take both of those to the Alpha King. Everything should be traceable back to Richard.”

Lilith looked up at her. “Why not do this yourself?”

The woman snorted. “My allies were attacked. Many were killed. The rest scattered and went into hiding. The point is, we’re not exactly in a position to be doing this right now. We need you to help us, Alpha. You know what to do.”

She was right. Lilith nodded curtly and slipped the baggies into her pocket. She shot one last glance at the table as the woman carefully covered Daniel’s head again, then turned and followed her out of the room.

The woman led her back through the corridors. They climbed another set of stairs and emerged into a storage area near the back of the packhouse. Through a window, Lilith could see the forest. It was still dark out.

“There’s a car waiting for you about half a mile into the woods,” the woman said. “Keys are in the visor. Go straight to Ashclaw and don’t stop for anything.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll say you overpowered me. The alarm is about to come on, so brace yourself.” The woman opened the door, and the alarm suddenly started blaring, making Lilith jump even though she’d been expecting it. “Hurry!” the woman shouted over the noise. “Before they come looking!”

Shifting mid–stride, Lilith burst through the door and into the night. Behind her, she could already hear shouting. Lights were coming on in the packhouse, dark silhouettes moving within. When she looked over her shoulder, she could see someone accosting her ally, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t.

The forest was dark, but Lilith’s eyes adjusted quickly. She dodged between trees, leapt over fallen logs, pushed herself harder than she had in years. Her lungs burned. Her legs ached. But she couldn’t stop.

She kept running until her legs gave out, and then she collapsed behind a tree, shifting back.

She stayed there for what felt like hours, waiting for the sounds in the distance to fade. When she was sure no one was following

her, she got up and started moving again. Slower, but still vigilant.

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