Chapter 95
Chapter 95
I sat up so fast the blanket slid to my waist.
Damien pushed himself up beside me, one hand going straight to my back. “What is it?”
I stared at the dark room, fingers gripping the sheet. “Alice.”
His face changed. “What about her?”
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I looked at him, breathing through my nose like that would make the scent clearer. “I can smell her near the broken window. The one the rogue came through.”
Damien went still. His hand stayed on my back, but his fingers stopped moving. “Are you sure?”
I turned to him with furrowed eyebrows. “I don’t know how to explain it, but yes. Her perfume is there. And something else. Something nervous.”
He swung his legs off the bed and reached for his shirt. “Get dressed.”
I blinked. “Now?”
“Yes.” He pulled the shirt over his head, then grabbed his boots. “If your senses caught that, I’m not ignoring it.”
I got up fast and pulled on leggings and his hoodie. My stomach kept twisting because this was Alice. Annoying Alice, fake smile Alice, always lurking where she was not wanted Alice, but still. Accusing someone of letting rogues in was not small drama. That was pack destroying level messy.
We walked back into the main hall ten minutes later. Damien had already called the warriors who abandoned the border. They stood in a line near the long table, all of them looking rough, ashamed, and defensive at the same time. Alice stood by the wall in a pale dress, arms folded, lips pressed together. When she saw me beside Damien, her eyes flicked over my hoodie and then my face.
I watched her right back.
Damien stopped in front of the warriors. “Tell me why half the east border was empty.”
One warrior swallowed. “Alpha, we were given new orders.”
Damien’s jaw tightened. “By who?”
The warrior looked at the others, then back at him. “We don’t know. A written order was delivered to the post.”
Damien stepped closer. “You abandoned the border because of a note?”
The man lowered his eyes. “It carried the old security mark.”
The room got quiet.
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Chapter 95
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I glanced at Damien. His face was stone, but I could see the way his fingers curled once at his side. “Show me.”
Another warrior pulled a folded paper from his jacket and handed it over. Damien opened it. I leaned closer without thinking. There was a dark symbol stamped near the bottom, almost like a claw wrapped around a
crescent.
Damien’s voice dropped. “Only the inner circle knows this mark.”
The first warrior nodded quickly. “That’s why we followed it. We thought it came from you or the council.”
Alice pushed away from the wall, face tight. “Then someone stole it.”
I looked at her.
She noticed too fast and lifted her chin. “What? It’s obvious. If only the inner circle knows it, someone copied it or stole it.”
Damien turned the paper over in his hand. “The mark is not stored anywhere public.”
Alice shrugged, but her fingers rubbed the side of her dress. “Then maybe one of the elders leaked it. They were just doing rituals under the packhouse like psychos, right?”
A few warriors shifted awkwardly. Clara, standing near the back, flinched at that.
I kept staring at Alice’s hand. Rub. Stop. Rub again. My wolf stirred under my skin, not fully awake, but close enough to make my chest tighten. The scent hit me again. Perfume. Nerves. Lies. I dragged my fingers through my hair and stepped a little closer.
Alice looked at me. “Why are you staring at me?”
I tilted my head. “You seem nervous.”
She gave a small laugh. “Girl, rogues just attacked the pack. Everyone is nervous.”
I nodded slowly. “Sure.”
Her smile thinned. “You think I did this?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.” She looked at Damien. “Are we seriously listening to her now because she suddenly has a wolf?”
Damien’s eyes snapped to her. “Watch your mouth.”
Alice’s lips parted, then closed. For once, she looked like she remembered who she was talking to.
One warrior stepped forward. “Alpha, I swear we didn’t mean to abandon our posts. The order said the east border was being rotated because of a threat at the south gate.”
Damien looked at him. “And none of you confirmed it?”
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Chapter 95
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The warrior rubbed the back of his neck. “The mark was there. We thought confirming it would look like disobedience.”
I folded my arms, trying to stay calm. “Who delivered it?”
The warriors looked at one another.
The second one answered, “A servant boy.”
Damien’s head turned slightly. “Name.”
“I don’t know. Young. Dark hair. He ran off after giving it to us.”
Alice clicked her tongue. “That could be anyone.”
My wolf reacted again. My nails pressed into my palms, and I forced my hands open. “You keep answering really fast.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “Because I have a brain.”
I took another step closer. “No. Because you’re scared of silence.”
The room shifted around us. Someone sucked in a breath. Damien looked at me, not stopping me, just watching like he trusted what I was doing.
Alice laughed again, but it sounded off. “This is actually insane. Yesterday everyone thought she was a curse. Now she’s sniffing people and playing detective.”
I smiled a little, but there was nothing nice in it. “And yet you’re sweating.”
Her hand flew to her neck. “It’s hot in here.”
“It’s not.”
Damien unfolded the paper again. “Alice.”
She looked at him fast. “What?”
“Where were you when the window broke?”
Her face changed for half a second, tiny but I saw it.
“I was helping people,” she said.
“Where?” I asked.
“In the hall.”
“Which hall?”
She glared at me. “Why are you questioning me like I’m some criminal?”
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Chapter 95
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I leaned closer, lowering my voice. “Because my wolf wants to rip the answer out of you, and I’m trying to be polite.”
Damien’s hand touched my lower back. Not to stop me. Just enough to ground me. My whole body wanted to move forward, but his touch reminded me to breathe first. I pressed my tongue to my cheek and kept my eyes on Alice.
Before Alice could answer, loud footsteps came from the entrance. Two warriors dragged someone inside. A rogue. Alive. His hands were chained, face bruised, blood dripping from his mouth. The room pulled back from him like his body carried bad news. Even Damien noticed right away, too, because his fingers tightened against my hoodie.
Everyone turned.
The rogue lifted his head slowly.
His eyes went straight to Alice.
AD
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