Chapter 98
Chapter 98
31
B5 vouchers
We sat in the back meeting room with just Linda and a couple trusted warriors. The door was locked, the curtains were pulled, and everyone had that tense look people get when they know one wrong move could get someone killed. Damien spread the map on the table and pointed at a spot near the east border, his sleeve pushed up, his fingers pressing hard into the paper.
“We tell a small group there’s a weak point here,” he said. “Including Alice. If she’s leaking info, the rogues will hit it tonight.”
I leaned over the map, raking my fingers through my hair. My eyes moved across the marked paths, the border lines, the small symbols for guard posts. “We can’t just leave the civilians open. If the rogues come through anywhere else, kids could get hurt. We need safe routes first.”
Linda nodded, folding her arms as she stepped closer to the table. “She’s right. We move the families to the inner hall before dark.”
Damien looked at me. His eyebrows pulled together a little, but his eyes were soft. Proud. I noticed it and looked back at the map fast, pretending I didn’t see, because if I let myself react to that look I’d probably lose focus and start being embarrassing.
I traced a line with my finger. “Put guards here and here. Tell the families it’s a drill. That way if anything goes wrong they’re already safe.”
One of the warriors leaned over the map. “If Alice is guilty, she’ll warn them that this side is open.”
“Exactly,” Linda said, tapping the east border with her nail. “And we make sure it isn’t actually open.”
Damien watched me the whole time I talked. He didn’t interrupt. He didn’t do that Alpha thing where he took over just because he could. When I finished he just said, “Do it.”
For some reason, that hit me harder than it should have. I pressed my lips together and nodded, keeping my eyes on the map like I was not weirdly touched by the fact that he trusted my plan in front of his people.
We announced the fake weak point during the evening meal. I sat next to Damien and acted normal while Alice listened from across the table. My fork moved around my plate, but I barely ate anything. Alice smiled like everything was fine but I saw her eyes flick to the map when Damien pointed it out.
“East border has been unstable since the attack,” Damien said, voice casual enough that most people would not notice the trap under it. “We’re adjusting patrols tonight.”
Alice lifted her cup and took a slow sip. “That sounds dangerous.”
I looked at her over the rim of my water. “Only if someone tells the rogues.”
Her eyes slid to mine. “Are you accusing me again?”
I shrugged. “Did it feel personal?”
Damien’s hand touched my knee under the table, not stopping me, just grounding me. Alice smiled wider, but her fingers tightened around her cup until her knuckles paled.
11:48 Thu, May 21 ♫
Chapter 98
31
5 vouchers
Later that night the packhouse got quiet. I stayed in the main hall with the families, helping settle the kids. Some had blankets. Some had pillows. A few were still crying because kids can always feel when adults are lying badly. Damien kept checking on me every few minutes.
“You should rest,” he said, touching my shoulder.
“I’m fine.” I raked my fingers through my hair. “The kids need someone here.”
He looked around at the children curled up on blankets, then back at me. “You don’t have to carry everyone.”
“I’m not carrying everyone.” I bent down and tucked a blanket around a little boy’s legs. “I’m just helping.”
He crouched beside me, lowering his voice. “And who helps you?”
I glanced at him. “You, when you’re not being annoying.”
His mouth twitched. “I’ll take it.”
He stayed close anyway, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, watching the doors like he could fight the whole world from that spot if he had to. Every time I looked at him, he was already looking at me. It made my chest feel warm in the middle of all the fear, and honestly, rude of him.
Then the alarms went off. Rogues hit the exact fake weak point.
The whole hall jolted. Kids started crying again, and a few adults jumped to their feet. Damien’s face changed instantly. The softness vanished, replaced by something sharp and deadly.
“Lock the inner doors,” he ordered.
Linda rushed past the entrance with two warriors. “Families stay inside. No one moves unless Sienna says.”
I blinked at her, surprised, but she was already gone.
Damien stepped close and cupped the side of my face. “Stay here.”
I grabbed his wrist. “Come back.”
His eyes softened for half a second. “Always.”
Then Damien shifted and ran out with the warriors. I stayed with the families, heart pounding, but I refused to hide. When one servant got cut by broken glass I grabbed towels and wrapped her arm.
“You’re okay,” I told her. “Just breathe.”
She stared at the blood on her sleeve, panicking. I pressed the towel down tighter and looked her in the eye. “Hey. Look at me. Not the blood. Me.”
She nodded quickly, breathing through her mouth.
Some pack members watched me. A couple even started helping when I told them what to do. One woman carried water over. Another pulled the children farther from the windows. I pointed toward the back wall.
11:48 Thu, May 21 ♫
Chapter 98
31
5 vouchers
“Keep them there. Away from the glass.”
The fighting lasted maybe twenty minutes. It felt like hours. Every crash outside made the kids flinch. Every growl made my wolf push under my skin like she wanted out. I pressed my palm to my stomach and forced myself to stay still.
Then the loyal warriors dragged five rogues back alive. They threw them in the cells.
Damien came back covered in dirt and blood. His hair was messy, his chest rising hard, but his eyes found me before anyone else. He walked straight to me and pulled me aside into a quiet hallway.
“You’re okay?” he asked, already looking over my face, my arms, my clothes.
“I’m okay,” I said quickly.
He did not look convinced.
One of the warriors brought over a piece of paper they found on one rogue. It had coded writing and a symbol at the bottom, a thin circle with three lines through it. The same symbol I’d seen on a necklace Alice
wore once.
Damien’s jaw tightened. “That’s from Alice’s family line.”
I stared at the paper. “She’s been helping them?”
Alice walked in right then, calm as ever. “Someone is framing me. That symbol could belong to anyone.”
I turned slowly. “You are so calm for someone being framed.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Would you rather I cry?”
Damien’s voice stayed flat. “We’ll see.”
I felt a sharp pain in my side from earlier. I had gotten cut during the chaos but I didn’t tell anyone. I pressed my hand to it and kept my face normal.
Damien noticed the blood on my sleeve. Of course he did. His eyes dropped, then sharpened. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me further down the hallway away from everyone.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked, voice low and angry. He lifted my sleeve and saw the cut. “You lied by omission. Again.”
I pulled my arm back. “It’s nothing. I was helping people. I’m not going to sit around while kids are scared.”
He stared at me, eyes hard. “You’re hurt and you hid it. I can’t protect you if you keep doing this.”
I looked away, raking my fingers through my hair. “I don’t need protecting every second.”
His hand softened around my wrist. “I know. But I need to know when you bleed.”
One of the captured rogues laughed loud from the cell block. His voice carried down the hall.
11:48 Thu, May 21 ..
Chapter 98
“The made wolf belongs to no Alpha.”
:
5 vouchers
AD
Comment
Send gift
No Ads
11:48 Thu, May 21 ♫
