Otto took the stairs so quickly he almost stumbled over himself.
His boots clattered against stone, echoing through the thick castle walls.
For the first ti in five years.
five whole years
he was inside the pack.
Inside the ho he had refused to step foot in.
Inside the place his wolf had nearly destroyed.
He paused only for a second at the bottom of the stairwell, breath shaking, eyes adjusting to the brightness.
The world downstairs felt different.
The air slled different from the hostile air in his room high up in the tower.
It was so different from what he rembered it to be and then he frowned.
Did he even want to rember?
What difference did it make?
Servants rushed through the hallways with baskets and linens.
Guards walked in pairs. The lingering sll of pastries drifted from the kitchens. A maid laughed softly sowhere around the corner.
Otto blinked.
He hated it.
But he kept going.
His wolf growled under his skin, restless, pacing, sensing danger where there shouldn’t be any.
He tried to calm him down.
A small mistake and it could lose its mind again.
So people in the hall stopped to stare, others took steps back, sensing sothing off about him sothing feral.
He ignored all of them.
He stopped the first maid he saw again.
It was a tiny young girl with braided hair and a basket of folded towels.
"Where is Jasmine?" Otto demanded.
The girl shrieked and stumbled backward, dropping half the towels on the floor.
Her eyes widened in terror.
"S... sir who who?"
He snapped, "I’M NOT ASKING WHO I AM! WHERE IS JASMINE?!"
The maid whimpered, trembling so hard the towels fluttered in her shaking hands.
Her wolf shrank back inside her, terrified
because she could sense what Otto was.
A wolf who had once gone rabid.
A wolf who still carried the scent of danger under his skin.
"T.. they..." she whispered, "t... they t... took her. The guards took her."
Otto’s breath froze.
"Took her where?"
"I I don’t know... I wasn’t there, sir, I didn’t please don’t don’t hurt ..."
He clenched his teeth in frustration and let her go so suddenly she flinched.
He didn’t bother apologizing.
He didn’t care.
He pushed past her and stord into the main hall, trying to rember which hallway led where.
It had been so long... five years of isolation, of avoiding everyone after his wolf snapped.
He got lost twice.
Turned left when he should’ve gone right.
Knocked into a pillar.
Nearly walked into the kitchen.
"Damn this stupid place," he hissed under his breath.
Then all of sudden he saw her!
"Hildegard!"
His voice echoed loudly, bouncing against the carved pillars.
Hildegard turned sharply.
She stood in the middle of a heated argunt with a gamma he could scent, her arms waving, her voice tight with tension. The Gamma looked frustrated; Hildegard looked furious.
But when she saw Otto.
Her jaw dropped.
"Otto?" she breathed, stunned. "What what are you doing down here?"
Even Gamma Rowan blinked in disbelief. Otto avoided eye contact with him completely.
"I need to see Jasmine," Otto said, marching toward her.
Gamma Rowan opened his mouth, but Hildegard raised a hand sharply.
"Go, Rowan. Now. We’ll talk later."
The Gamma hesitated a mont, then left with one last confused look at Otto.
Hildegard turned back to Otto, her expression half shock, half worry.
"It’s been five years," she whispered. "What in the world pushed you to leave your room?"
Otto’s chest tightened.
"Jasmine," he said. "I needed her. And she wasn’t there."
Hildegard’s expression softened in understanding but then clouded with dread.
"Otto..." she said carefully. "Sothing happened."
The fear in her voice made him tense instantly.
"What happened?" he demanded, voice rough.
She sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Jasmine was accused of stealing."
Otto froze. His wolf snarled inside him.
"That’s a lie," he said instantly, anger vibrating through every syllable.
"I know," Hildegard said quickly. "I know, Otto. I know she didn’t. But Auburn swears it. And a maid said she saw Jasmine enter the room."
Otto scoffed harshly. "Of course she was in the room! She was cleaning because of that idiot King!"
Hildegard winced. "Yes... and unfortunately that made her the perfect target."
Otto paced in a tight circle, his breath coming out sharp.
"This is madness," he growled. "Utter madness."
"I agree," Hildegard whispered. "Which is why I’m trying to rally people to investigate properly."
Otto stopped pacing and stared at her.
"What about Rose?" he asked. "What does the Queen say?"
Hildegard’s face fell.
"Rose has her hands tied," she said sadly. "She found the necklace inside the room. Jasmine swore she didn’t do it, but..."
She swallowed.
"...it looked bad."
Otto’s eyes widened. "Rose believes she’s guilty?"
Hildegard shook her head. "No. But she’s forced to act like she might be."
"And the King?" Otto spat.
Hildegard’s jaw clenched. "The King refuses to think otherwise."
Otto’s rage exploded.
"That man. Fuck!"
he snarled, "I’ll go find him right now and tell him exactly what I think about his bastard-
Hildegard grabbed his arm. Hard.
"Otto. Stop."
He glared at her, chest heaving.
"It’s no use right now," she said firmly. "Let work from my side. Let gather people. Let talk to the Beta and the elders."
Otto bit back a growl.
"You," Hildegard said, looking into his wild eyes, "go see Jasmine first.
She needs soone.
She needs YOU."
His anger drained into sothing sharper.
Fear.
Hildegard touched his shoulder gently.
"She’s in the cells, Otto. Go to her. I’ll do everything I can from up here."
Otto looked at her, then toward the staircase leading underground.
His throat tightened.
"Cells," he whispered. "Jasmine in the cells..."
His wolf whimpered inside him sothing that hadn’t happened in years.
Hildegard nodded softly. "Go."
Otto didn’t wait another second.
He ran.
Down the hallway.
Down the steps.
Down into the cold dark.
Toward Jasmine.
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