Cursed Lycan's Scarred Mate
Chapter 115: Saving Rowan

Chapter 115: Saving Rowan

Having watched through the surveillance jewel scenes himself, Rowan didn’t quite know what to make of the situation. It was as clear as day that his position near the Triune Circle was quite incriminating.

Not even the explanation of his frequent blackouts could justify his confusion about the situation since he never informed Lady Morgana about them in the first place.

Yet still, as obedient as he was, he would never concede to a crime not committed by his hand.

"Lady Morgana," Rowan uttered her name with hope, bowing his head low. "I plead with you... I have done nothing wrong nor tampered with the ritual circle."

Lady Morgana’s gaze narrowed and she gripped him lightly by the throat.

"How do you explain your presence in these ritual chambers from last night then, Rowan? I do not have time for your games. Confess to what you’ve done," she demanded without even a hint of leniency, squeezing his throat.

Rowan’s hands instinctively flew to hers, trying to pry her hand away since her grip was constricting his airflow.

Why was she so cruel to him?

"Lady Morgana..." Rowan said with great difficulty, choking out his words. "Please...you must believe me... I was only...tidying up the circle... and removing excess energy..."

"Under whose orders?!" Lady Morgana raised her voice, tightening her grip, which sent all the blood in Rowan’s body rushing to his face. "I specifically declared to everyone that these chambers were off limits until the ritual was over today!"

Orion didn’t know for how much longer he could remain a silent spectator. It was cruel enough that Rowan was being used as a scapegoat and now Lady Morgana was practically strangling him to death.

The young coven master inhaled a deep breath to keep his cool.

If Lady Morgana continued at the rate she was, all hell would break loose between himself and her.

And as if sensing Orion’s internal debate, Lord Eldric decided to intervene.

"Release him, Morgana," Lord Eldric stated calmly, determined to keep the peace between them. "If you choke him in such a manner, he is likely to die and you won’t find out the truth of the matter."

And as if seeing reason, Lady Morgana heeded Lord Eldric’s words despite her anger and disappointment. She released Rowan, sending the lad into a coughing fit as he gasped desperately for the sweet taste of air.

"Speak," Lady Morgana commanded, sensing a brewing headache on its way to chew her mind. "Tell me who ordered you to tend to these chambers against my orders."

As much as he tried to remember, Rowan couldn’t recall who had instructed him to tend to the ritual chambers. He barely even remembered what he was doing there in the first place if not for the scenes from the surveillance jewels.

There were gaps in his memory.

’That blackout must have caused me to forget...’ Rowan told himself, holding onto the side of his head as he struggled to recall.

There was nothing.

Not even a clue.

And all the while he fought to prove his innocence, Soran remained deathly silent, an unspoken war brewing between himself and Orion.

But it wasn’t for long that Soran remained silent.

He walked over to Rowan’s side, abruptly grabbing the younger Wickan’s arm and lifting it up to show his palm where the black powder was stained on it.

"This should be evidence enough of his crimes," Soran announced, gripping Rowan’s wrist firmly and pointing to the remnants of black powder over one of the markings of the Triune Circle. "These stains on his palm have the same magical properties as that black powder on the circle."

Rowan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Did he truly do that before his blackout?

The evidence was inscribed onto his palm; how could he possibly explain his way out of it?

Despite her duties and obligations to pass judgement on Rowan, Lady Morgana had prayed fervently that his actions proved to be wrong. She hoped that there might have been something that proved his innocence, but with the evidence right before her eyes, she was left with little choice but to make a decision.

Rowan could not go unpunished.

’I must have done it, but why? Why did I do this?’ Rowan berated himself over and over internally, rummaging his mind for memories of his misdeeds but it was to no avail.

Tears threatened to release from the corners of Rowan’s eyes but he reminded himself he needed to be a man and face the punishment of his crimes.

And more than the accusations, Rowan was pained to see that Soran, whom he admired since his childhood, looked upon him with such disdain and disappointment, like how one would look upon a true criminal.

It was devastating.

Soran had undoubtedly lost trust and hope in him.

There wasn’t even an ounce of pity in his eyes for the lad.

Rowan had hoped that the master he studied under would at least debate for his innocence or defend him.

But then again, did a criminal have any right to be defended at all?

Ronan on the other hand, having confirmed that Rowan was indeed the perpetrator, decided he would no longer remain silent.

And neither would Orion

On two opposite ends of the ritual chambers, Ronan and Orion decided to intervene of their own accord.

The Lycan Alpha gently laid Vivian down and marched straight for Rowan without hesitation. He closed the distance between them in just a few strides, reaching for the young Wickan from behind.

However, Orion proved to be faster, flicking out his arm to send a shockwave of energy to impede Ronan’s path. The Lycan Alpha just barely dodged the blue bolt of energy, arching his whole body backwards as it travelled right above him and struck the wall on the opposite end.

Ronan regained his balance a moment later, springing back up to his feet. His expression contorted with anger as he darted a questioning glare in Orion’s direction.

"Nothing has been confirmed yet, Mr. Wolfsbane." Orion spoke boldly without consideration of whom he was speaking to, knowing very well never to challenge a Lycan Alpha. "Until a concrete investigation is conducted, no one touches Rowan."

"My mate almost died because of him," Ronan bit back, barely containing his temper. "What more investigation do you need to do? The evidence is as clear as it is."

"Standard procedures demand that an investigation should be done," Lady Morgana spoke again, agreeing with Orion’s statement. She was in too much pain to continue arguing and resolve the matter on the spot. "Rowan will be temporarily detained until we thoroughly investigate."

Hailing from a military-based background, Ronan couldn’t disagree. His anger was more apparent than his ability to reason that he’d forgotten about such standard procedures.

But when it involved Vivian, standard procedures should have been insignificant.

And Rowan, not understanding why Orion stepped in to save him from a terrible fate, breathed a sigh of relief that he wasn’t ripped to shreds.

Lady Morgana couldn’t remain conscious for much longer. During the ritual binding, when the energy flow became chaotic, as the anchor of the ritual, she was forced to contain as much as the energy within herself.

If she didn’t anchor all the energy to herself, the first backlash of energy would have undoubtedly killed Orion on the spot, and Lord Eldric would have breathed his last.

Lady Morgana didn’t think about herself and the risk that she took.

If not for that reckless move, Vivian would have been burnt to dust from the intensity of the energy alone.

Something bad ruptured within her to cause an internal injury.

She didn’t have the strength to endure it any longer, collapsing to the ground as her consciousness faded.

"Morgana needs treatment," Lord Eldric stated, wincing as he tried to stand up. "We all need to heal and recover. This investigation and matter need to be reserved for another time."

Soran was forced to comply. He didn’t want to press too much, as it would make his efforts suspicious.

Ronan agreed with the Ashenhold Coven Master.

Vivian needed immediate treatment and God knew what else had affected her Umbrafyre curse since the ritual had failed.

"Rowan should be detained for now," Lord Eldric said, deciding to take control of the situation in Lady Morgana’s stead. "Take him to the dungeons, Soran."

Rowan didn’t know what his fate held in store for him.

Some way or the other, he needed to try and regain his memories to prove his innocence.

Lest he meets his fate at the gallows.