Wolf-less Omega Luna novel Chapter 68

Alana’s POV


The pack would be worried sick. Tyler and Coral should have the pack taken care of but a pack could only go so far without their Alpha. Crescent Moon pack had been left exposed. Emily will be worried sick for her brother. Lexi too, for me.

For some reason, I hadn't been able to communicate with anyone in Crescent Moon pack. Maybe I didn't know how to, or it was just impossible. I tried. Or maybe they did something to me. 

I hadn’t seen Axel either for hours since he left and it was now nighttime.

Thankfully, they deemed it fit to not let us starve to death, so they fed us. But as soon as I swallowed the last of the atrocity they called food, it hurled out of my stomach and onto the plate. I ended up having to drink just water.

It gave me strength in some ways but my limbs were failing me. The wounds on my hand were healing, but slowly. I wasn’t eating or even in the best condition, so I could understand why.

My thick hoodie, jeans, and boots that helped me in my previous escape did little to nothing to help me from the cold weather in the dungeon. It being underground added tremendously to the cold. I was shivering. My teeth rattled so much that if they did so any harder, they would break into pieces. I was falling sick and I didn’t think I’d last a few more days.

My dad, on the other hand, looked like he had been here long enough to adapt. He looked weak and cold, but he didn’t throw his food up or occasionally burst into tears.

“Alana, baby,” my dad started after I had calmed down from my third round of whimpering.

“Yes, Dad?”

It still sounded unreal to me. After all this time, I got to call him dad again, and he was here to respond. That was one thing I had to be grateful for. I sat up, brought my knees up to my chest, and clasped my hands over them to keep me warm.

My eyes traveled from my cell to his, meeting his warm oceanic eyes.

“You have to be strong. I saw the determination in your mates’ eyes. I’m sure he’ll come back for you.”

He was right. “He’ll come back for us,” I said. 

My dad gave me a stiff nod like he didn’t believe that part but he let it slide either way. As for me, there was no way I was leaving this hell replica without my father.

“Tell me about your pack. How was it when you first came? And how’s it now?” A warm smile stretched his lips that reached his eyes.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Dad,” I frowned.

“What?” He asked innocently.

“You’re trying to make me forget that if someone doesn’t come to get us within the next day, I’ll probably freeze to death, so you’re making conversations to take my mind off it.” 

“That’s false,” he feigned ignorance. “I’m just trying to catch up on what I missed out on with my daughter. Is that so bad?”

His furrowed brows almost made me guilty. “I still don’t believe you,” I chuckled.

“Fine. It’s that obvious then?”

“Very.”

“Well, is it working?”

“A little bit,” I gestured with my fingers. It was working. Whenever I laughed or I saw him laugh, a warm breeze replaced the cold for a few seconds. It warmed me to my bones.

I hadn’t even had the chance to hug him or smell him closely but I felt like we were already closer than we ever were. It was…perfect, to say the least.

“Good. So tell me.”

I expelled a long sigh. “Where do I even begin?”

“It’s not like we’re going anywhere so you might as well take your time. I want to hear every detail. If I wasn’t there to experience it with you, I'd be doing so now.”

I nodded.

Somehow, we lost track of how much time I spent talking my dad's ears off. It could have been minutes, an hour, or more. My bet was on “more”.

My first few years in Crescent Moon pack weren't all that rosy so I cut that part short. We were already in a pretty rough situation so adding my experience to it wouldn't have done us any more good.

But I did tell him about Lexi, my best friend. Coral, the badass fighter, Tyler, who I wouldn't really consider as one of my closest friends since he was always so calm and quiet, only talked when needed or spoken to, and the exact opposite of his sister, Coral. 

My nemesis, Britney, wasn’t left out. But I didn’t accord her the time and energy I did with others. She wasn’t worth it.

Then I got to the good part. All the parts Axel was in, and all the parts I experienced after I discovered myself. I told him about how I was with the kids on the pack, and both our eyes gleamed with excitement as I went on.

When I finally ran out of breath and felt like I was going to collapse, I left the rest of the stories for another day. 

“You've had a full life,” he said wistfully. “I’m proud of you.”

I smiled contentedly. 

“I haven’t had the best though. Especially since after you left. Your mom too.”

I smiled sadly. “Why dwell on the past though? When we’re out of here, we’ll have all the time in the world to make our own memories. New ones. Interesting ones. Good and bad.”

The small smile he had on deflated even more. After a few seconds, he looked at me, lips slightly parted like I was an artifact or something, and he was starstruck.

“Dad, is everything okay?” I asked, a bit concerned.

He inhaled sharply and wiped his face with the back of his hands. “You’re exceptional. I never thought this was the woman you’d grow up to be. You amaze me. Your mother,” he shook his head slowly, trying to find the words. “She’d have been so. So. So. Proud.”

A lump rolled from the back of my throat and settled somewhere at the front. I couldn’t say any words for fear that I would burst out crying before I finished the first sentence. My lips trembled as I shook quietly.

I thanked the Moon Goddess silently. I thanked my dad silently. I sent a prayer to my mom silently. My chest was somehow filled to the brim. Joy? Gratitude? Fulfillment?

The steel doors to the dungeon were pulled open and I didn’t have enough time to revel in what those feelings were. My heart shot to my throat as the unknown walked in.

“Hello, Princess,” Axel smiled. Even when covered in dried blood and bound in chains, he was still hands down the most dangerously gorgeous being alive.

“Axel,” I could not describe how the word came out. It was almost a squeak. A high-pitched one with a hint of desperation.

I stood up to my feet, away from the bars, and roamed his entire body, and that of the two guards that led him inside. He looked like he was supposed to be in pain but his facial expression gave off the exact opposite.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” he shook his head like that wasn’t the major concern. “I’m getting you out.”

“And you?”

“I’ll be right behind you.”

“We’re leaving together.” I folded my hands over my chest. If Axel wasn’t leaving, I wasn’t too.

“I can’t come with you. Not now.”

“What about my dad?”

He turned to face my dad who had stood up in his cell, watching us in silence. Axel stood in thought for what felt like forever.

“He’ll go with you. But Tyler will keep an eye on him. It’s just precautions.”

I wanted to argue that my dad wasn’t a spy, but I didn’t.

“Why can’t you come with us?”

Silence.

“Axel,” his eyes didn’t meet mine. My heartbeat was beginning to pick up. “Axel. What did you do to get us out?”