Chapter 11: The Missing Ring
“So, you’ve never seen Bessie before?” Elmer, carrying a black bag, asked Hazel, while Eloise listened intently.
“I swear I’ve never met this woman,” Hazel felt everything was absurd. Since her return to the Pack, so much had happened. Cyril’s attitude was terrible, and she kept finding mysterious notes under her pillow. The once clear spring had been declared off-limits, and now there was Bessie, who seemingly wanted to kill her. Oh God, what was happening to her?
The three of them walked through the forest, and it was eerily quiet. Hazel had a nagging feeling that something was amiss. She turned to look behind, but all she saw were trees; not even a bird flew by. Was it just her imagination?
“Hazel, what’s wrong?” Eloise inquired, also glancing backward.
“Nothing, I guess I’m just a little jumpy,” Hazel shook her head. Lately, she’d been overly paranoid, and it wasn’t a good habit.
“Could Bessie have been a former classmate of yours?” Elmer chimed in, scratching his head and looking somewhat comical.
“It’s possible,” Eloise nodded in agreement, “Hazel, your former classmates, don’t you know them?”
Hazel furrowed her brows; she was overwhelmed and decided to leave everything to Cyril. But then, she remembered Cyril. She had almost forgotten to thank him. Without him, she might have been seriously hurt. But she didn’t want to hear anything that might displease her from him.
Hazel felt her mind in chaos. She was carrying too much.
“Let’s just go home; I don’t want to stay here,” Hazel picked up her pace. She felt uneasy, sensing something strange.
Eloise and Elmer shrugged and followed her quickly.
After the three left, a pair of black shoes emerged from behind a tree.
Hazel returned home, collapsed on the couch, and felt exhausted. Her encounter with Bessie had left her weary; Bessie’s fighting skills were indeed impressive.
She relaxed her shoulders. “Hazel, I heard about what happened today. How are you feeling?” Theo walked into the house, placed some things down, and sat beside Hazel.
“Cyril saved me,” Hazel’s eyes appeared vacant.
“Are you hurt?” Theo stared at Hazel, hoping she was fine and that this had nothing to do with those people.
“I’m okay; a few days of rest will do the trick. Don’t tell Grandmother,” Hazel smiled, not wanting to worry her.
“You two having a secret conversation?” Grandmother walked in from outside, holding freshly picked fruits. “What’s going on that you can’t tell this old lady?”
“We were discussing why you haven’t started making afternoon tea yet,” Hazel steered her grandmother towards the kitchen. She didn’t want to talk about it anymore.
“You little glutton,” Grandmother chuckled and started preparing a delicious afternoon tea. Hazel let out a sigh of relief.
“I’ll go rest for a bit,” Hazel yawned and told Theo.
Theo nodded and watched Hazel ascend the stairs, his face showing the first traces of concern. There were some things he hadn’t told Hazel.
Hazel went back to her room, removed her clothes, put on comfortable home attire, and lay on her bed. Sleepiness quickly overcame her.
Two hours had passed. The sweat on Hazel’s forehead reminded her that she had just had a dream. In the dream, a voice sounded somewhat familiar, repeating the same sentence, “Hazel, I’m back.” But Hazel couldn’t see his face, making it a strange dream.
Hazel wiped her forehead and got up from her bed. She walked to the dressing table, her face looking somewhat pale.
“Hazel, what’s bothering you?” Rita snorted, sensing something was off with Hazel’s mood.
“I can’t explain it,” Hazel touched her chest, feeling like she was overlooking something.
“You’re probably just sleep-deprived. The recent training must have left you exhausted,” Rita comforted Hazel.
“Maybe,” Hazel tried to smile.
Hazel wanted to put back on the ring her father had given her. She believed it brought her luck. She opened the drawer but found it empty. Hazel never kept unimportant things in the drawer; only her most precious ring was there. But now, the ring was gone.
Where could her ring have gone?
“Theo, Theo!” Hazel opened her door and shouted downstairs.
Theo, upon hearing Hazel’s voice, rushed to her room. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Have you seen my ring?” Hazel urgently asked, it was a gift from her father, something she couldn’t afford to lose.
“What? A ring? No, I haven’t seen any ring,” Theo shrugged. He really hadn’t seen it at home.
“Think carefully. It’s the pearl ring my father gave me, with some small diamonds and my name engraved on it,” Hazel grabbed Theo’s arm.Content protected by Nôv/el(D)rama.Org.
Theo racked his memory. Hazel was probably talking about the ring her father gave her on her 16th birthday, but he truly had never seen it.
Theo shook his head.
“Grandmother, have you seen my ring?” Hazel quickly ran downstairs to ask her grandmother.
“I haven’t seen any ring either,” her grandmother looked puzzled.
“It’s really gone. I remember leaving it in the drawer,” Hazel sat on the couch, covering her face. She had lost the ring her father had given her.
“Little Hazel, are you okay?” her grandmother held Hazel’s hand. Hazel looked quite upset.
“Grandmother, I’m fine,” Hazel managed a forced smile, “I’ll go back to bed.”
After saying that, she got up and returned upstairs. She stood in front of the drawer, her face looking grim.
“Can you smell the ring?” Rita spoke softly. “If it’s nearby, you might be able to catch its scent.”
“I can’t smell it at all,” Hazel closed the drawer.
“It’s strange. How could the ring suddenly disappear from the drawer?” Rita didn’t want to say too much, fearing it would upset Hazel further. It was Hazel’s most precious possession, and she had always taken good care of it.
Hazel stared at a photo of herself and her father, holding it tightly. She lay on the bed, covered her head with the blanket, and silently cried.
In the Iron Star Pack’s dungeon.
“You can’t keep me locked up; I won’t say a word,” Bessie remained expressionless, showing no fear on her face.
Parrish and Rankin exchanged a glance; this woman was incredibly noisy. Since coming in, she had been talking non-stop, making them almost want to punch her to make her stop.
“Alpha.” Parrish and Rankin adjusted their postures upon seeing Cyril’s figure.
Cyril entered the dungeon with a stern expression. He had heard Bessie’s words, and her actions were indeed mysterious; she had no fear of death.
The dungeon had a small transparent window through which the people inside could see the outside. Bessie saw Cyril through the tiny window, and if it weren’t for Cyril’s intervention, that woman Hazel would have been dead by her hands.
However, maybe not. Hazel had the strongest defense she had ever seen.
“Hey, why haven’t you killed me yet?” Bessie taunted Cyril. “Are you afraid? Do you want to know something? You’ll never find out.”
Bessie almost hysterically burst into laughter.
“Are you really not afraid of death?” Cyril suddenly inquired, looking at Bessie.
Bessie paused, not sure what he meant.
Cyril signaled for Parrish and Rankin to open the door and take Bessie out.
“Who sent you? You must know someone related to Hazel, right?” Cyril grabbed Bessie’s throat, revealing a bloodthirsty smile. His expression was terrifying.
It was only at this moment that Bessie truly realized how ruthless Alpha Cyril was. However, she had no way out.
“I’ll say it again; I won’t say a word,” Bessie felt herself trembling with instinctive fear in the presence of Cyril.
“Hope you have a chance to remain defiant,” Cyril increased the pressure on her throat. Just when Bessie felt like she was about to suffocate, Cyril suddenly released her.
“Take her back in and watch her,” Cyril said, then got up and left the dungeon.
Bessie looked puzzled. She didn’t understand what Cyril’s words meant. Why hadn’t he killed her?