CHAPTER 53: III (UNDERGOING EDITING)

The air outside the Alpha’s private office still tasted metallic, a blend of Alpha Dawn’s musk and my own fear. I’d walked away from the humiliation, away from the watchful eyes of the pack members, but the anxiety clung to me like a second skin. Celeste’s words—He was a rogue, Bambi. Before he became an elite wolf, he was one of the worst—echoed in my mind, planting a cold seed of dread.

I didn’t stop until I reached the small, secluded common room on the Omega floor, the one only the lowest-ranking servants used after their shifts. It was almost empty now, save for Sable, who was sitting on a frayed old armchair, meticulously polishing a pair of worn leather boots. She looked up when I stumbled in, her expression instantly shifting from concentration to concern.

"Bambi? What happened to you?" she asked, her voice hushed. "You look like you just saw a ghost."

I practically collapsed onto a dusty wooden chair across from her, scrubbing a hand over my face. "It’s Dawn. It’s... a lot. I need to talk to you. I need your help, Sable."

She set the boot down, the cleaning rag forgotten in her hand. Her dark eyes, usually bright with gossip, were focused and serious. "What is it? Did the Luna finally catch you doing something? Is it about the new Alpha’s decree?"

I took a deep, shaky breath, trying to form the chaotic thoughts in my head into coherent sentences. "It’s more than that. I think I might be in real danger, Sable. Deep, deep trouble." I leaned forward, lowering my voice even further. "My wolf is telling me to run. To be careful. It’s not just Dawn, either. Celeste, and another person I can’t tell you about, they all said the same thing—Dawn is dangerous. A ticking time bomb. A rogue."

Sable’s eyes widened, her jaw slackening. "Your... your wolf? Bambi, you shifted?" she whispered, the shock evident in her tone. "How? Omegas rarely ever hear their wolf, let alone shift without a strong catalyst!"

I shook my head, my urgency overriding her surprise. "It’s a long story, Sable. A really long story, and we don’t have time for it right now. What matters is that I have to get out of here. I need to escape the pack. And I need to do it before Alpha Dawn gets his claws so deep into me that I can’t break free."

I grabbed her wrist, my fingers digging in with desperation. "I need a way out, Sable. A quick, clean escape. My wolf keeps pushing me towards someone. Calandra."

Sable pulled her hand back gently, still reeling. "Calandra? Who is that? I’ve never heard the name."

"She’s a... a witch. Not the pack’s healer, but a real, old-world witch, from outside the territory," I explained, the words tumbling out. "She’s my only ticket. The only one who can make me truly invisible to an Alpha like Dawn. I just need to find her. I need to meet her." I looked at my friend, pleading. "Sable, you’ve been here longer than me. You know people. You hear things. Will you help me find Calandra?"

Sable hesitated for a long moment, studying my face, as if weighing the risk of helping me against the danger I was in. Then, a slow, resolute nod. "Okay, Bambi. I’ll help you. I can start asking around in the lower city, the places the Pack usually ignores. People there talk. We’ll find your witch."

A wave of relief washed over me. I wanted to cry. "Oh, Sable, thank you! Thank you so much." I squeezed her hand once more. I had one more urgent question. "Is Gideon around? I need to tell him, too. He’ll understand."

The gratitude in my heart turned to ash in my mouth the moment I saw Sable’s face crumple. Her whole body seemed to deflate, her gaze dropping to the floor.

"Sable? What is it? What’s wrong?" I pressed, the sudden change in her countenance chilling me to the bone.

She took another deep breath, her eyes welling up. "Bambi... I’m so sorry. I should have told you right away, but you were so upset about the Alpha..." She trailed off, struggling to speak. "Gideon has been arrested."

My blood ran cold. "Arrested? For what? Sable, what are you talking about?" Gideon wouldn’t hurt a fly. He couldn’t.

"The Marked Rouges. The ones that were killed. They pinned it on him," she whispered, her voice cracking. "It was an order. Directly from Alpha Dawn. They took him away a few hours ago. He was dragged out of the library by the pack soldiers."

Alpha Dawn. My mind went blank, save for those two words. He did this. He took Gideon. It wasn’t just a threat anymore; it was an action. An act of pure, calculated cruelty, aimed at hurting me.

Without another word, without a thought for my skirt or my hair or the fear that was still coiling in my gut, I surged to my feet.

"Bambi! Wait! Where are you going? You can’t—" Sable’s cry was lost to the wind.

My feet hit the polished floor and I didn’t stop to think. I didn’t know how, but the fear—the pure, blinding rage that Alpha Dawn was using my disabled best friend to punish me—fueled a speed I hadn’t known I possessed. I burst out of the Omega quarters and into the twilight outside.

I sprinted toward the woods, toward the main pack buildings, toward the Alpha’s territory. The ground beneath my worn shoes disappeared in a blur. I was faster than I’d ever been, faster than I should have been. It felt as if my legs were pistons, pumping with effortless, unnatural force. I was being carried by a power that wasn’t entirely my own.

Gideon. Innocent. Dawn. Bastard. The words hammered in time with my heart.

Suddenly, a scent slammed into me, sharp and overwhelming, like a physical blow. Alpha Dawn’s musk. It was rich, dark, and utterly dominant, a scent of pine and rich earth and something dangerously male. It was everywhere.

I stopped dead, gasping, my lungs burning. I wasn’t far from the Alpha’s private cabin, a detached, secluded house he used for official business and solitude. The powerful musk was coming from there.

I started running again, not pausing for breath, my feet following the intoxicating, commanding scent until I reached the massive, rustic log structure. I didn’t bother to knock. I didn’t hesitate. I just threw my shoulder against the front door and jerked it open.

The heavy wood crashed against the wall. The cabin’s interior air was immediately saturated with the Alpha’s presence, the scent hitting me stronger, thicker, and more possessive.

My eyes scanned the room and locked onto him. Alpha Dawn was seated in an enormous leather armchair by the stone hearth, a glass of amber liquid—liquor, no doubt—in his hand. He hadn’t even looked up at the violent intrusion. He was simply swirling the drink, utterly unbothered. He looked like he was waiting for me.

"Where is Gideon?" I demanded, my voice raw and trembling with anger, the sound of my ragged breathing filling the sudden silence.

He lifted the glass to his lips, took a slow, deliberate sip, and set it down on a nearby mahogany table. He still didn’t look at me. "Good evening to you too, little doe. No manners, as always."

"Don’t play games with me!" I stepped further into the room. "You arrested him! For the rogue murders! He didn’t do it! You know he didn’t!"

Dawn finally raised his head. His dark eyes were cold, completely devoid of emotion, and they swept over my heaving chest and frantic state. "And how, pray tell, are you so sure of that, Bambi? Did you hold his hand the entire night of the attack?"

I stared him down, trying to match his coldness with my own rising fury. "Stop. You know the truth. You’re the Alpha. You know he’s innocent! You probably even know who really killed them." I took a step closer, my whole body shaking. "You did this to punish me. To send me a message. You’re punishing me for daring to cross you."

A flicker—something like dark amusement or predatory interest—crossed his intense gaze. He leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees, his eyes finally locking onto mine with full, dangerous attention.

"Punish you?" he drawled, his voice a low, gravelly sound that always sent a shiver down my spine, even now. "Who, exactly, do you have in mind, little doe?"

"Me." My voice was flat, final, and full of conviction. "You know I’m the one you’re punishing."

I stared him down, trying to match his coldness with my own rising fury. "Stop. You know the truth. You’re the Alpha. You know he’s innocent! You probably even know who really killed them." I took a step closer, my whole body shaking. "You did this to punish me. To send me a message. You’re punishing me for daring to cross you."

A flicker—something like dark amusement or predatory interest—crossed his intense gaze. He leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees, his eyes finally locking onto mine with full, dangerous attention.

"Punish you?" he drawled, his voice a low, gravelly sound that always sent a shiver down my spine, even now. "Who, exactly, do you have in mind, little doe?"

"Me." My voice was flat, final, and full of conviction. "You know I’m the one you’re punishing."