Chapter 7 - His Help

"Shit," my voice escaped through clenched teeth in frustration. The jinx still felt like I was lucky to be stuck in this hole, didn't it?

I didn't want anyone else besides Lucy or my papi to see me in such a humiliating state. So, I decided to stay silent.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" Max's voice echoed again. "Let me guess then. The only person absent from my victory celebration is the heir Catriona. Hm..."

He spoke with a tone as if trying to taunt me. Damn, how could he remember everyone who attended his party? Or... maybe it's my clothes. I speculated that when I realized I hadn't changed since the afternoon.

But the tunnel was so dark; how could he possibly recognize me?

"But if you're Catriona, there's no reason for you to be in such a filthy tunnel. Or... you're a spy in the pack," he said as if a brilliant idea had just dawned on him.

I wanted to refute him, but on second thought, it was fine. At least he didn't know that the heir was in such an embarrassing situation.

"Well, just this afternoon, Catriona accused me of being a spy in the pack. How disappointing!" Then he sighed. "I need to bring you to her so she knows how wrong she was."

I chuckled inwardly. He was truly a hypocrite. I could never forget my damn wedding in my previous life.

"Oh, but if only I saw a spy stuck here by myself, Catriona would never believe it. She would find a reason to blame me... Well, I need to call a few more people to witness," Max asserted.

I couldn't keep silent any longer. I would NEVER let anyone but Lucy and my papi see me in such a humiliating state.

I tried to adjust my voice to make it deep enough so that Max wouldn't recognize, "I'm not a spy... nor Catriona."

"Oh~" Max drew out his voice. "Do you need my help?"

"No, I don't want to bother you," I tried to restrain my anger.

"I understand," Max said. "And, remember to keep secret what I told you!"

"What? What did you tell me?" I was surprised, wondering if I had missed any important information.

"Ah, Catriona accused me of being a spy. I still don't understand why she did that to me. She's not so foolish as to do it without a reason," I heard Max sneer.

I bit my lip, enduring his mockery.

"No way! She couldn't want me to have a chance to become her right-hand Beta even though I heard that before joining the pack, a he-wolf named David was already designated as the heir to the right-hand Beta position. And he had a very good relationship with Catriona," a mocking laugh escaped from his mouth. "Don't tell me she did it just to keep David in his heir position. It seems I overestimated her intelligence; she didn't even bother to produce any evidence to accuse me."

I gritted my teeth. Damn! Why did I have to be stuck here and listen to a damn spy belittle me?

"Come... come on, she must have a reason for her actions," I defended myself weakly.

"Maybe. She's not foolish enough to let a weak fool like David become the right-hand Beta," Max said. "Well, I hope you can take care of yourself. I'm leaving."

I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I wasn't stuck here with a damn spy.

As time passed, the clouds gradually covered and then left the moon. I wondered when I would escape this damn place.

"Do you not need my help?"

"What?" I was startled when I heard Max's voice again and didn't have time to adjust my voice.

"Catriona?" It seemed like Max had discovered something. I immediately covered my mouth with both hands to prevent any further sound.

Max remained silent for a moment before he spoke, "If I leave a lady trapped here, I won't be able to forgive myself."

"Oh, come on, let me help you. Anyway, the tunnel is dark enough that I can't see your face," Max tried to persuade me, and I had no reason to refuse his assistance.

I adjusted my voice again and said to Max, "Please, help me."

Max's small laughter echoed in the tunnel. I felt a large hand and a warm grip on my hip.

"Ready?" he signaled to me.

"Y-yes," I said and closed my eyes, preparing to be pulled unceremoniously out of the pit.

But Max only used a small force to pull me toward him a bit. I felt my waist shift.

One more time, I felt my feet touch the ground, and I could free myself from this hole.

Max's hands left me.

Although I had no positive feelings towards him, he had helped me, so, "Thank you… so much," I said but then heard no response from him.

Exiting the hole and groping in the dark tunnel until emerging from it, I realized Max had disappeared.