CHAPTER 47: TRAPPED WITH MY SECRET I

The scent of cedar and old leather in the Alpha’s private study was rich and totally soothing. It was the total opposite to the panic that still built up beneath my skin. I took a slow, deliberate breath, trying to steady my racing heart. I was safe, for now. Trapped, yes, but safe from the public eye and, more importantly, safe from having to confess the bloody truth about the rogues.

Alpha Dawn was seated at his massive, polished mahogany desk. He looked less like a fierce Alpha and more like a CEO, his casual black shirt is a dangerous softness against the hard lines of his focus. He had picked up the obsidian wolf carving again, his long fingers tracing the sharp edges of its snout with a slow, almost absentminded grace. The sun slanted through the tall window, giving his profile a perfect shadow, making him look impossibly handsome and equally remote.

I, Bambi, was perched on a leather sofa nearby. Acting like a plush silent spectator to his silent work. This was my punishment: to be be beside him, yet utterly separated by the wall of his concentration. It felt less like a punishment and more like an intense, extended form of being watched.

The silence grew longer and even more intense, interrupted only by the occasional rustle of paper as he signed a document. It was a slow-paced, tense quiet, the kind where you can almost hear your own thoughts too loudly.

"Alpha?" I finally whispered, unable to stand the suffocating silence a moment longer.

He didn’t look up immediately. He just finished the line he was writing, his pen scratching quietly. "Yes, little doe?" His voice was a low, smooth baritone.

"I... I was just wondering," I began, fidgeting with the hem of my skirt. "Before I... before I interrupted your meeting... what were you all discussing? It seemed so urgent."

His hand paused on the document. He placed the pen down with a faint click, then slowly, deliberately, he leaned back in his leather chair. His dark eyes finally lifted, meeting mine across the space. The intensity of his gaze made my breath catch.

"Council matters, Bambi," he said simply. "Confidential information that cannot be disclosed."

I nodded, feeling a familiar sting of dismissal. Of course. Why would an Alpha share strategic secrets with a mere ’breeder’? I knew the rules of the Pack. I was an outsider, always would be.

"I understand," I murmured, dropping my gaze to the floor.

He watched me for a moment longer, while wearing a subtle, unreadable expression on his face. Then, he released a quick, impatient sound, almost like a sigh.

"Fine. You’re here now anyway, and I have nothing left to hide from you." He paused, his voice dropping slightly, making it feel like a secret shared only between us. "We were discussing the rogue attack from last night."

My heart, which had just started to slow, lurched and began to pound again. It was faster this time, it was a frantic drumbeat against my ribs. Marked Rogues. Five dead, at my hands. The phrase hit me like a hard brick. I fought to keep my expression blank, my eyes steady. I had to appear merely curious, not terrified.

"The rogues, yeah." I managed, my voice sounding a little too thin, a little too innocent. "Was it a large group? Where were they? I only heard a few information from Christopher."

He picked up the obsidian wolf and began to turn it again, his eyes focused on the carving. "Five. Five dead Marked Rogues. They were found near the western border of the Pack territory."

"Oh," I said, a wave of cold dread rushing inside me. Near the western border. That was close to where I had been. "Did you... did you find out where they came from?"

"We did. The intelligence confirms they were from the North," Dawn stated, his voice now crisp and professional, the Alpha’s tone returning. "A particularly aggressive and organized group. They’re testing our borders. We’ve had to issue an immediate, complete border closure to try and stop them from infiltrating further. It’s a costly, high-alert decision."

He sighed again, running a hand through his jet-black hair. It was a rare, human gesture of tiredness.

"The meeting was about organizing the defense and deploying our best tactical units to patrol the North." He gave a short, dry chuckle that held no humor. "Alpha Frederick, ever the dramatic one, even made a joke."

"A joke?" I asked, trying to sound genuinely interested.

Dawn smiled, a flash of teeth that made him look like the predator he was. "He suggested we stop wasting time on traditional patrols. He said the person who killed those five Marked Rogues yesterday should be sought after and used to fight all the rogues back from henceforth."

The humor died in his eyes as he held my gaze. "He suggested we find this killer and simply point them north and let them go to work."

The killer. My heart slammed so hard against my chest wall that I was sure he could hear it. Freya’s voice, sharp and cold, echoed in my mind again: "Do not tell him."

The urge to confess, to spill the whole bloody, impossible story and beg for his protection, was overwhelming. My mouth was dry. I parted my lips, ready to speak, ready to ruin everything and be locked away.

But what if he locks me up? What if Freya is right?

I closed my mouth, forcing a shaky breath. I couldn’t risk it. Not with so much uncertainty about my wolf’s intentions and his own reaction.

"That’s... quite an idea," I managed, sounding like I was discussing the weather. I tried to push the conversation forward, away from my guilt. "Are you making progress in finding this person? The one who killed the rogues?"

Dawn watched me closely, his gaze full with intention and something else I was struggling to catch. He put the obsidian wolf down on the desk, the heavy carving making a soft thud. The smile was completely gone. His expression was serious, unreadable, and intensely focused on me.

"No, Bambi," he said, his voice reducing to a low, intimate growl that sent shivers down my spine.

He then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk, his hands clasped in front of him. His eyes became dark and unwavering, as he looked straight into mine, holding them captive.

"Because I know who the person is."

My world spun at that. My heart slamming violently against my chest, and the silence in the room became evident.