Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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I followed Alice’s scent before I could talk myself out of it. Damien had gone to check the border reports, and I knew if I told him first, he would come with half the pack behind him. I needed proof before Alice smiled her way out again, so I pulled my hoodie tighter and moved through the side hallway.
Her perfume was faint, but it stayed there, sweet and sharp under the smell of smoke and old wood. I stopped near the old storage wing and raked my fingers through my hair. “Okay, Sienna. Either you find something or you look insane. Cute options.”
The door at the end of the hall was half open. I pushed it with two fingers and stepped inside. Dust covered the shelves. Broken chairs leaned against the wall. Old blankets were stacked in one corner. I almost turned around until my wolf pushed forward inside my head.
Look lower.
I crouched near a loose floorboard and hooked my fingers under it. It lifted too easily. My heart kicked. Underneath were folded maps, a small black pouch, and cloth wrapped around something hard.
“No way,” I whispered.
I spread the maps on the floor. Red circles marked the east border, the broken window, the safe room, and the underground chamber. I grabbed one map and held it closer. Rogue symbols were drawn in the corners, the same ugly marks I had seen on the paper from the captured rogue.
My mouth went dry. “Alice, you stupid little snake.”
I opened the pouch. Silver dust spilled over my fingers, and I jerked back, rubbing my hand against my jeans. Then I unwrapped the cloth. It was stained dark brown, like old blood. Alice’s perfume clung to it so strongly my nose burned.
I reached for the maps, ready to take everything, but the door slammed shut behind me.
I spun around fast. “Hello?”
The lock clicked.
My stomach dropped. I ran to the door and grabbed the handle, twisting hard. “Hey! Open the door!”
No answer.
Smoke started sliding under the bottom of the door, thin at first, then thicker. I stepped back, coughing, and pressed my sleeve over my mouth. “Are you serious right now?”
I kicked the door once. Twice. Pain shot up my foot. “Damien!”
The smoke filled the room fast. My eyes watered, and I dropped to my knees, dragging the maps toward me. I shoved one into my hoodie, but coughing tore through my chest so hard I folded forward. My wolf snarled in my head, angry and scared.
Shift.
11:49 Thu, May 21
Chapter 102
“I can’t shift in here,” I choked out. “I’ll burn with the room.”
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The air got hotter. I crawled toward the far wall, knocking into a shelf. Something fell and smashed beside me. I curled one arm over my head, coughing into my sleeve.
Then the door exploded inward.
Damien came through it like a nightmare, shoulder first, eyes black and furious. He found me on the floor and dropped down, grabbing my face. “Sienna.”
I coughed and pointed behind me. “Evidence. Maps. Cloth. Alice.”
He didn’t waste time arguing. He scooped me up and carried me out, one arm locked under my legs, the other around my back. I buried my face in his neck, still coughing. His chest shook against me.
“I’ve got you,” he said, voice rough. “Breathe, baby.”
People were already running toward us. Linda shoved through them with two warriors. “What happened?”
Damien set me down but kept his arm around my waist. “Someone locked her in.”
Alice appeared behind the others, one hand over her mouth, eyes wide. “Oh my god. Sienna, are you okay?”
I lifted my head and stared at her. “You know I’m not,”
She blinked like I had slapped her. “I was worried.”
“No, you weren’t.” I coughed again and pointed toward the storage room. “The proof is in there. Maps. Rogue symbols. Blood cloth.”
Damien turned to the warriors. “Search it.”
They rushed inside. I leaned against Damien, gripping his shirt with smoke still scratching my throat. Alice rubbed her arms and looked around at the gathering pack members.
“This is horrible,” she said softly. “But she has been under so much stress. What if she went in there during one of those wolf episodes and got confused?”
My face burned. “Excuse me?”
Alice stepped back, pretending to be scared of my reaction. “I’m not accusing you. I’m saying maybe we should be gentle. She has new senses. She hears voices. She could have smelled things that were not there.”
Whispers started immediately.
“She did say her wolf talks.”
“Maybe she imagined it.”
“She has been unstable.”
Thu, May 21
Chapter 102
I pulled away from Damien, humiliated and furious. “I did not imagine it.”
Alice’s eyes softened in that fake way. “No one is saying you did on purpose.”
“That makes it worse,” I snapped.
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The warriors came back out. One shook his head. “Alpha, the room is empty. No maps. No cloth. Nothing.”
My stomach fell through the floor. “No. I saw it. I touched it.”
Alice looked down, lips pressed together. “Sienna.”
I turned on her. “Don’t say my name like you care.”
Damien stepped beside me, close enough that his arm brushed mine. I waited for it. The question. Are you sure? Did you maybe panic? Did the smoke confuse you?
Instead, he looked at me and said, “Tell me exactly what you saw.”
I stared at him, throat tight.
He held my gaze. “Every detail.”
I swallowed and nodded slowly. “Maps of the borders. Red marks on the window, safe room, and chamber. Rogue symbols in the cornersblood stained cloth that smelled like Alice.”
The whispers got louder. Alice’s face tightened for one second, then smoothed out.
Damien looked at Linda. “Lock down the wing. No one leaves without being searched.”
Alice folded her arms. “This is ridiculous.”
I looked at her sleeve.
Black soot stained the pale fabric near her wrist.
11:49 Thu, May 21
