CHAPTER 46: BELIEVING MY OWN LIES

Fourteen pairs of eyes, all belonging to men who commanded thousands, the Alphas, were fixed on me. And I, Bambi, a once-forgotten Omega and the Alpha’s alleged ’breeder,’ had just marched in and commanded their leader.

Dawn was the first to move. He didn’t stand, but the slight tilt of his head was enough to demand silence. It was a sprinkle of pure authority that instantly muted the low, gathering murmur of the foreign Alphas. His dark eyes, however, held a confusion that quickly morphed into something else, not anger, but a dangerous irritation at the public interruption.

I stood my ground, my heart hammering, a sound only Freya can hear.

"Alpha Dawn," I repeated, my voice now softer, but still firm. "It’s urgent. It can’t wait."

A large, imposing Alpha seated three chairs to Dawn’s left, a man with a thick, silver-streaked beard and eyes the color of cold granite, slammed his palm flat against the mahogany table. The sharp thwack made me jump.

"Who in the hell are you?" the Alpha boomed,

I didn’t flinch away, though every instinct screamed at me to turn tail and run.

"I am Bambi," I said, keeping my gaze locked on Dawn. I didn’t see the need to offer any titles.

The Alpha snorted, a sound of obvious disdain. "Bambi. Is that a name or a child’s toy? And what gives an unnamed female the audacity to burst into the high-council meeting of fourteen Alphas?" He leaned forward, his massive arms resting on the table, his eyes narrowing to slits. "You interrupt a meeting of this magnitude, disrespecting every man in this room, and you offer no apology, no title, no respect?"

The room seemed to shrink, everywhere getting tensed. The other Alphas were now watching with curiosity.

"You have committed a crime of grave disrespect," the man continued, his voice rising with condemnation. "A crime that, in my pack, is punishable by severe whipping and being barred from the pack house for good. But for an offense of this magnitude—interrupting a strategic council—I say you deserve to be put down. Killed. To teach the rest of your Pack the price of such unforgivable insolence."

My breath caught. Killed. His words weren’t a threat; they were a sentence, final words.

A sudden, sharp sound interrupted the tension. It was the scrape of Dawn’s chair as he stood up, the movement quick and commanding. He didn’t raise his voice, yet the single word he spoke was a whip-crack that instantly silenced the booming Alpha.

"Enough, Alpha Theron."

Dawn’s voice was low. He finally turned his intense gaze onto the silver-bearded Alpha.

"Watch your tongue," Dawn stated, his words clipped. "You will watch how you speak of her."

Alpha Theron, though clearly startled by the Head Alpha’s sudden defense, did not back down immediately. "Dawn, with all due respect, the female has shown an unforgivable lack of decorum! She has disrespected all of us. Such behavior cannot be tolerated."

Dawn took a slow and deliberate step away from the table, his presence now fully confronting Theron. The casual black shirt he wore did nothing to diminish the terrifying pressure of his authority.

"She is my breeder," Dawn declared, the word breeder delivered not as a slight, but as a stamp of possession and power. He paused, letting the implication sink into the room. "And I do not take kindly to men threatening the life of my property. You will cease your threats against her, or you will deal with me."

The room held its breath. Theron’s face flushed, his eyes flicking between Dawn and me, the challenge dying in his throat instantly.

Dawn didn’t wait for a response. He looked down at the table, his expression one of a man who had suddenly lost interest in a complex equation.

"The meeting is adjourned," he stated, his eyes moving to me for the briefest of seconds.

Murmurs immediately erupted around the table.

"Dawn, you can’t just end it!" one Alpha protested. "We are in the middle of a crucial strategic discussion!"

"We cannot continue without you," another called out. "You are the Head Strategic Planner for this sector, Dawn. The meeting is nothing without your guidance."

Dawn was already walking toward me. His eyes were cold, distant, and focused on the exit.

He stopped just in front of me, his massive frame blocking the view of the astonished Alphas. His hand shot out, wrapping around my wrist. It wasn’t a gentle touch; it was a tight, possessive grip that felt like a shackle. Or the handcuffs that clipped my wrists that night.

He paused with his back to the Alphas.

"Use your discretion, gentlemen," he said, "You know the parameters. You will wait for my call."

Then, without another word, he tugged my wrist, pulling me sharply through the door and slamming it shut behind us, leaving the fourteen most powerful wolves in the region in stunned silence.

Alpha Dawn Private Quarters

His pace was fast, yet he never once let go. I stumbled once, trying to keep up with his long, purposeful stride, but he merely tightened his grip, pulling me closer to his side.

We bypassed my own quarters and continued down the hall, taking a detour toward the private, secluded wing that housed his own suite. Finally, he stopped at a solid, unmarked door and pushed it open, shoving me gently inside before following and closing the door behind him with a thud.

I found myself in a richly paneled study. The place smelled of old paper, leather, and his unique scent of cedar. It was a private sanctum, completely cut off from the noise of the Pack House.

The moment the lock clicked, breaking the oppressive silence of our walk, the dam broke.

"Dawn, I am so sorry!" I burst out, spinning around to face him. My voice was shaky. "I didn’t mean to barge in like that. I know I shouldn’t have. I didn’t know what came over me, it was just... I needed to see you, and I didn’t think—"

He crossed the small space between us in two steps. Before I could finish my frantic apology, his hands were cupping my face, his thumbs gently sweeping across my cheekbones.

"It’s fine, Bambi," he interrupted, his voice was a low, rough murmur. Which made my stomach flip. "It’s fine. You’re here now."

He didn’t lecture or condemn me. He didn’t even seem angry about the interruption. His focus was entirely on me.

He leaned down, and I closed my eyes, anticipating his mouth on mine. Instead, I felt the soft, tender brush of his lips against the tip of my nose. It was a surprisingly sweet, almost possessive gesture.

He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes, his thumbs moving gently over my skin.

"Where were you last night?" he asked, his voice now lower, mixed with a seriousness that made my blood run cold. "I looked for you, little doe. Everywhere. I almost went mad thinking the Marked Rogue took you." He took a ragged breath. "I was about to call a full search led by the pack warriors, but as I neared the Pack House, I caught your scent. Strong, and safe."

I nodded slowly, the memory of the five mutilated bodies, the blood on my hands, and Freya’s satisfaction flooding my mind. This was it. The moment of truth. I had to tell him. I had to confess before someone else found the evidence and pointed a finger at me.

"I was in the woods, Dawn, and something happened—"

"Do not tell him."

The voice, Freya’s, was an intimate, icy intrusion in my mind, a warning that felt instead like a slap.

I froze. Dawn’s hands were still cupping my face, his eyes searching mine, waiting for me to continue.

"Listen to me, Bambi," the inner voice, my wolf, the one I have always anticipated, predatory purr is now back. "He will use it against you. He will use it to lock you up, to control the power he gave you. He’s the Alpha. He can’t afford a loose cannon with this kind of power in his Pack. Say nothing."

I swallowed hard, the words about the massacre dying in my throat, choked by my wolf’s powerful instinct for self-preservation. I stared into Dawn’s expectant eyes, a blinding panic suddenly seizing me. I couldn’t risk it. Not yet.

What was I supposed to say? My wolf? What would she say that about Dawn? Why would he lock me up?

"Bambi? What is it?" Dawn prompted, his expression shifting from concern to an Alpha’s impatient demand.

I took a shaky breath, forcing a lie to my lips.

"I... I just had a message for you," I whispered, weakly repeating the excuse I had given Luna Odessa. "A message I couldn’t deliver earlier. I had to tell you about the traitors, the ones I heard at the brunch. Luna Odessa and Christopher were discussing it. And, I’m scared they might suspect me as the one who told the rogues where to find you last night."

He watched me for another long moment, his dark eyes searching for any sign of deception. But I was getting better at this game. He couldn’t also tell that I was lying. I have learnt out to make myself belief my lies so, it wouldn’t be sensed as one.

He finally let go of my face and stepped back.

"And that is why you risked being killed by an international Alpha and ruined a high-stakes, strategic meeting?" he asked, his voice back to its usual cold, controlled command. "To warn me of a few gossiping sycophants?"

The question was a test. I knew I had to sell the lie.

"No, Alpha," I lied, letting a genuine tremor enter my voice. "I risked it all because I couldn’t bear the thought of you believing it. I couldn’t bear being suspected by you of the one thing I promised I’d never do to you. I needed to see you and convince you I was innocent."

I held my breath, watching him. He stared at me for another second, his chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm. He didn’t look convinced, but his frustration had dimmed, replaced instantly by a composure.

"The traitors will be dealt with in due time," he stated, dismissing the entire Pack structure with a single wave of his hand. He then walked over to his large, polished mahogany desk, sitting down and leaning back in his leather chair. He picked up a solid piece of obsidian carved into a wolf’s head, turning it over and over in his hand. "Now, little doe. Since you interrupted the most important meeting of my year, tell me the real reason you needed to speak with me so urgently."

His gaze was fixed on the obsidian wolf, not on me. He was waiting. He knew there was more. The question was, how much more was I willing to risk?

"It was just as I said, Alpha," I insisted, forcing a look of honesty. "I needed to be safe. I needed to know you wouldn’t believe their lies."

He finally raised his head, and his lips curved into a predatory smile.

"Fine," he said. He put the obsidian down. "Then, for forcing me to cancel my day’s work, you can spend the rest of the day right here. With me. As my punishment. You won’t leave this room until I have finished my work, and only when I take you out of it myself. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Alpha," I whispered, the relief washing over me. I was safe, but I was also trapped. But I can deal with that.

"Good," he murmured. "Now, come closer."