Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce!-Chapter 218

Aria’s POV

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The detention cells were underground.

I felt it as we descended—the temperature drop, the way sound changed, got flatter and harder. The stairs went down and down, stone worn smooth by decades of boots, and with every step the air got heavier. Damper. Like the earth itself was pressing in.

Kael’s hand stayed at my waist the entire time.

Not guiding. Protecting. His palm warm and solid against the small of my back, a constant pressure that said *I’ve got you.*

I was grateful for it.

Because the further down we went, the more my skin started to crawl.

We reached the bottom. A long corridor stretched ahead, lined with cells on both sides. Iron bars, thick as my wrist. Stone floors stained dark in places I didn’t want to think about. The smell hit me—sweat and blood and something else, something animal and desperate.

Fear.

My stomach turned.

Kael must have felt it through the bond. His hand tightened slightly. "You can wait upstairs."

"No." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "I want to be here."

He looked at me for a long moment. Then nodded.

We walked.

The cells were mostly empty. A few held prisoners from previous raids—wolves who’d been caught crossing territory lines, scouts who’d been picked up on patrol. They watched us pass with wary eyes, pressing back against the far walls when they recognized Kael.

Smart.

At the end of the corridor, two cells sat side by side.

Garrett Stone in one. Blackwood in the other.

Both were sitting on the narrow benches bolted to the walls, hands still cuffed in silver. The metal gleamed dully in the dim light, and I could see the red welts forming where it pressed against their skin.

Silver burned wolves. Slowly. Constantly.

It was a reminder. *You’re not in control here.*

Ronan was waiting for us. He straightened when we approached, nodded to Kael. "Alpha. Luna."

Kael stopped in front of Blackwood’s cell first.

The older man looked up. His expression was hard—defiant, angry, the look of someone who’d already decided he wasn’t going to break.

"Let’s try this again," Kael said. His voice was calm. Almost pleasant. The kind of calm that made my spine prickle. "You attacked my territory. You followed orders from Magnus Blood Crown. What I want to know is—who else is giving orders? Who else is leading Magnus’s forces?"

Blackwood stared at him.

Said nothing.

Kael waited. Five seconds. Ten.

Still nothing.

"Suit yourself." Kael turned to Garrett’s cell. "How about you?"

Garrett flinched. He was young—maybe mid-twenties, with sandy hair and a thin face that was currently sheet-white. His eyes darted between Kael and Blackwood like he was trying to figure out which one was more dangerous.

"I—I don’t—" His voice cracked. "I just followed orders. That’s all. I didn’t ask questions."

"Smart policy," Kael said. "But you still heard things. Saw things. You know who’s running operations when Magnus isn’t around."

Garrett’s throat worked. "I don’t—"

"Don’t lie to me." Kael’s voice dropped. Not loud. Quieter, actually. But something in it made the temperature in the corridor plummet. "I can hear your heartbeat from here. It speeds up every time you’re about to lie. So let’s skip that part and get to the truth."

Garrett looked at Blackwood again.

Blackwood’s expression was stone. A clear message: *Keep your mouth shut.*

Garrett looked back at Kael.

Kael smiled.

It wasn’t a nice smile.

"You’re weighing your options," he said. "I understand. Loyalty is important. But here’s the thing." He stepped closer to the bars. "Magnus isn’t here. He’s not going to rescue you. He’s not going to trade for you. He sent you into a trap and left you to die—or worse, to sit in this cell until you rot." He paused. "So the question is—what exactly are you being loyal to?"

Garrett’s jaw trembled.

"Talk to me," Kael said. Softer now. Almost kind. "Tell me what you know. And maybe—*maybe*—you walk out of here eventually."

"You’re lying." Blackwood’s voice cut across the corridor like a whip. "He’ll kill us either way. Don’t be a fool, Garrett."

Kael didn’t even look at him. His eyes stayed locked on Garrett.

Garrett was shaking now. Full-body tremors that made the silver cuffs rattle against his wrists.

"Last chance," Kael said.

"I—" Garrett squeezed his eyes shut. "There’s—there’s someone else. Someone Magnus reports to. Or—or works with. I don’t know which."

My pulse jumped.

Kael’s expression didn’t change. "A name."

"I don’t know the name! I swear I don’t. I only heard—" He swallowed hard. "I heard Magnus talking to someone. On the phone. He was angry. He kept saying ’you promised me’ and ’this wasn’t the deal’ and—" Another swallow. "And then he said a name. Just once. Rebecca."

The world tilted.

Just slightly. Just enough.

I felt Kael’s hand tighten at my waist. Felt the way his whole body went rigid beside me, that particular stillness that meant Fenrir was surging forward and Kael was holding him back by sheer force of will.

"Rebecca," Kael repeated. His voice was flat. Empty.

"I—I think so. Yeah. Rebecca. That’s what I heard."

"You’re sure."

"I’m sure! I swear, I’m sure. Please—"

Kael turned to Blackwood’s cell.

The older man was watching him now. Something had shifted in his expression—not fear, exactly. Calculation. Like he was reassessing the situation and didn’t like what he was finding.

"Confirm it," Kael said.

Blackwood said nothing.

"Confirm. It."

Still nothing.

Kael’s hand left my waist. He stepped forward, grabbed the bars of Blackwood’s cell, and the metal groaned under his grip. His eyes had gone full Alpha—not just the color, the *weight*. The pressure that rolled off him like a physical force.

"I am giving you one chance," Kael said. Each word precise. Controlled. "To tell me the truth. One. Chance. After that—" He leaned in closer. "After that, I stop being reasonable."

Blackwood held his gaze for three seconds.

Then looked away.

"It’s her," he said. Grudging. Bitter. "Rebecca Silver Fang. She’s been with Magnus since the beginning. Helped him set up the whole operation. Coordinates the raids. Feeds him information."

My chest felt tight.

*Rebecca.*

Of course it was Rebecca. Of course she hadn’t just disappeared. Of course she’d landed exactly where she could do the most damage.

I should have seen this coming.

Kael was still standing at the bars, his knuckles white where he gripped them. His breathing was controlled but shallow, the way it got when he was fighting something big.

"Where is she?" he asked.

"I don’t know."

"Don’t—"

"I don’t know!" Blackwood’s voice rose. Desperate now. "She moves around. Never stays in one place. Magnus keeps her location secret—even from us. We only see her when she shows up to give orders."

Kael’s jaw worked.

Then he stepped back from the bars. Turned. Looked at Ronan. "Double the guard rotation. Nobody gets in or out of these cells without my direct authorization."

"Yes, Alpha."

Kael’s hand found my waist again. "We’re done here."

He started walking.

I followed.

We made it maybe ten steps down the corridor when I heard it.

A sound.

Wet. Choking.

I turned around.

Garrett was convulsing.

His whole body jerked violently against the bench, head thrown back, mouth open in a silent scream. White foam bubbled at his lips. His eyes rolled back until only the whites showed.

"Kael—"

Ronan was already moving, keys in hand, rushing toward the cell.

Blackwood started convulsing too.

Same symptoms. Same violent jerking. Same foam at the mouth.

"GET A HEALER!" Ronan shouted.

But it was too late.

I watched Garrett’s body arch one final time, every muscle seizing at once. Then he went limp. Collapsed sideways off the bench and hit the stone floor with a wet, heavy sound.

Blackwood followed thirty seconds later.

The corridor went silent.

Ronan stood frozen at the cell door, keys still in his hand, staring at the bodies.

Kael didn’t move.

Neither did I.

I just stood there, looking at two dead men, and felt something cold settle in my stomach.

"Poison," Kael said. His voice was distant. Flat. "Timed release. Probably triggered by certain keywords or sustained interrogation. Magnus gave them a fail-safe."

Ronan turned around. His face was pale. "Alpha, I—"

"It’s not your fault." Kael’s hand was still at my waist, but his grip had gone loose. Distracted. "He planned for this. He always plans for this."

I looked at Garrett’s body. At the way his fingers were still curled, like he’d been trying to grab onto something in those final seconds.

Kael pulled me closer. His chin rested on top of my head for just a moment—brief, grounding.

"Let’s go," he said quietly.

We left.

Behind us, Ronan was already calling for the cleanup crew.

The bodies would be removed. The cells would be scrubbed. By tomorrow, there would be no sign that Garrett Stone and Blackwood had ever been here at all.

But Rebecca’s name would stay.