Chapter 132

• Callan POV
• I walked down the steep steps of the narrow hidden passage that connected the private quarters of the higher ranks upstairs to the foyer of the pack house downstairs; the exit to the hidden passage was concealed by the wall; on the outside, you couldn’t even see the join where the door was. My shoulders brushed against the stone walls, and I had to duck down so I didn’t bang my head on the ceiling. Most of the hidden passages are just as narrow and low as this one, but it makes moving around the pack house without being seen so easy. All the pack knows we have secret passages throughout the house, or at least they have heard stories about the secret passages, but only my family, closest friends, and most trusted guards know where they are exactly.
• I slip out without being seen; the door is hidden behind the stairs, making it harder to find and less likely to be spotted. I walk around the grand staircase, my footsteps echoing on the sandstone tiles that line the floor of the foyer, and I glance up at that magnificent painting that looks down on us, showcasing the glorious battles of the alphas past. I wonder if they ever thought the future of their once notable pack would ever come into ruins because of one man’s greed. The door to the cellar is underneath the grand staircase. I open it up and make my way down into the depths of the pack house, wondering if I could save this pack from Alister’s destruction. The sound of my feet echoed off the stone walls, and a drip, drip, drip of a leaky pipe seemed to be the only other sound that accompanied me as I went deeper into the belly of my home. I could count on one hand the number of times I had ventured down into the dungeon of the pack house, but in these last few weeks of taking over from my bastard alpha, it was soon becoming a place I frequented. The smell of damp drifted into my nostrils the further down I went, and as my foot touched the floor, I was hit with Pedro’s rage; it was penetrating the stone walls, filling every crevice and empty cell, and his heavy footsteps sounded like thunder rumbling as he paced back and forth.