My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

343  Exploring the Castle

"The great thing is that no lycans can scent you," Penelope spoke quietly to August who was preparing to venture out and explore the castle. "If you see him…" she emphasized the last word, "or anyone for that matter, then just act lost or something. But don't take too long and hurry back."

"Why don't you just say his name? What is the big deal? Zagan. See? I said it," August replied.

Penelope winced with the sound of his name. "Focus on what you're about to do. And don't go walking around the castle saying his name, for Goddess' sakes."

August grumbled something under her breath and peeked her head out of the doorway, looking both ways down the hall before she finally walked out and turned to give Penelope a big grin.

"I honestly don't think you are going to find anyone here. I haven't seen anyone," Penelope told her. "They are likely on another part of the island."

"It doesn't hurt to look. We have to start somewhere," August shrugged.

"If someone tries attacking you, just blast them with whatever you've got," Penelope said, biting her lip afterward at the thought of something like that happening. Hopefully it didn't come to that.

"I got it," August nodded.

For whatever reason, she was supremely confident about this exploration mission. It was like there was something telling her that regardless of what happened, she was going to be okay. Maybe the talisman also helped in that regard—giving the wearer the belief and confidence in their abilities.

"Can I make myself invisible?" August whispered to Penelope.

Penelope scoffed. "If you could, don't you think I would have suggested it already?"

August giggled and Penelope watched as she walked away as if this wasn't dangerous at all. Maybe it was a bad idea letting her explore like this, but August was set on doing something other than just sitting around waiting. She was impatient. She wanted to get back to her mate. That was something Penelope could understand, but only as an outsider. Being alyko, she would never know the feeling of a mate bond.

Penelope had given August an idea of how the castle was laid out from her minimal time traversing it, but August had her own ideas about how this adventure was going to go. She was going to explore Zagan's room and office if she could, and then she was leaving the castle to find the alyko.

She couldn't get Graeme's memories of Maggie out of her mind. She wanted to find Maggie for her mate. He had dealt with guilt revolving around the supposed death of the alyko for so long, and she wanted to see them reunited. That would make all of this more than worth it.

The hallway was so dark. This entire castle, at least the parts she had seen other than the infirmary, reminded her more of a crypt than someone's home. Was Zagan here all of the time? How depressing.

She missed the forest where even the cool autumn season was so bright and cheerful. As she ventured into Zagan's dark office, she imagined the forest that Graeme had made her home being tucked into her heart, lighting her with an unending warmth and belonging from the inside.

And she needed that inner warmth, because a heavy sense of dread immediately surrounded her as she walked to the black wall on one side of his office. There were outlines that made it look like it was a map. Was this an alyko map? There were no lights that appeared as she stood staring at the foreboding wall, but this had to be where he viewed them.

She grimaced and made her way to his desk. There wasn't much else to the room aside from the gray stone floor and walls and a sad looking fireplace that didn't appear to have ever been used.

His desk was clear, and there were no drawers. This was not turning out at all how she expected. She hoped there would be a stack of papers on his desk with photos and details about each of the alyko that were kept here—or maybe a video feed of where they were held. But there was nothing of the kind. No incriminating evidence to indicate what he had been doing with alyko all these years.

There was a room adjoining the office, but when she went to grab the door knob, it wouldn't budge. There seemed to be something blocking her from entering—not a lock, but something else. She could see it with her use of the Veiled, and it reminded her of when she saw Zoe for the first time in the dungeon of the pack house. It was of a black thread-like nature that was barring the material of the door. This must be how Zagan's power manifested.

"Dammit," August cursed under her breath.

She walked to the tall arched window in his office and peered out. There was nothing visible but trees bending over and blocking the sky. If she were going to venture out to look for the alyko, it might be one heck of a journey. It was difficult to say. But what else was she going to do? Sit around and wait for him to… to what? And all while Graeme and the rest of the pack were waiting for her to return, unsure of where she had gone and what had happened to her?

Without further hesitation August left the room, first glancing both ways once again before she jogged on her tiptoes further down the hallway where Penelope said there should be a side staircase leading down. But wow the hallway was long! And there were so many rooms, all with doors closed. She wondered if she should stop and search any of them.

For some reason, she just didn't imagine other alyko being up here shuttered in bedrooms on the same floor as Zagan. When he had an entire island at his disposal, why would he keep them here?

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