CHAPTER 48: CHAPTER 48

I tiptoed down the hallway like I was walking across a minefield. Every board creaked like it had a personal vendetta against me. I pressed all my weight to the edges of my toes, arms held out like a tightrope walker, silently begging the universe not to expose me. The psycho Alpha’s room was only a few doors down, but every step felt like crossing a continent. My nightdress brushed against my ankles, whispering traitorously, and my stupid hair kept falling in my face. Finally, I reached his door. My heart hammered so hard I thought it might break a rib. This was insane. Utterly insane. What kind of lunatic sneaks into the psycho Alpha’s bedroom in the dead of night? Apparently me. I swallowed, wiped my sweaty palms on my dress, and slowly, slowly pushed the door open. It squeaked. I froze. My lungs shut down but everywhere was silent.

I peeked in. The moonlight spilled across the room, silvering the edges of the furniture. And there he was.

The psycho Alpha himself.

He was sleeping, I almost fell over. He wasn’t pacing like a beast in a cage. He wasn’t muttering about ripping throats out. He wasn’t sharpening invisible knives with his teeth. He was lying there like... like a normal person. His chest rose and fell. His brow was smooth. His jaw unclenched. His lips twitched, like maybe he was dreaming something pleasant.

"Wait. Hold on. WHAT?" I whispered furiously at the moonlight. "Why do you look peaceful?!" It’s Suspicious. Extremely suspicious.

Maybe he was pretending to sleep, and waiting for me to get close so he could jump up and yell, Boo! Or worse, "Caught you, noodle thief!"

Still, I had to know. I crept closer, each step slower than the last, until I stood right beside his bed. My shadow hovered over his face. My heart thudded so loudly I was sure it would wake him.

"Okay, Ellie," I whispered to myself. "Step one: confirm breathing." I hesitated, then leaned down and gently pressed my hand over his nose. Warm puffs of air brushed against my palm. He was breathing. Relief nearly made me melt into the floor. "He’s alive. Thank Moon Goddess."

I peeked again, just to be sure. His chest rose. Fell. Rose. Fell. Perfectly normal.

I straightened, grinning like I’d just won the lottery. "Mission accomplished. Omega one, psycho zero."

Time to sneak back to my room. But then it hit me. What if I escape now? I froze mid-step, staring at the door. He was asleep. His scary inner voice the one that usually growled in my head like a chainsaw was quiet. The house was silent. For the first time since I’d been stuck here, the coast was clear. I could leave. I could sneak out, run into the night, find a village, beg for help, sell my soul for a cup of ramen anything but stay another second with Captain Crazy Eyes. Adrenaline surged through me. My palms went clammy. My knees trembled.

"Ellie," I whispered, clutching my chest. "This is the dumbest, most reckless, most dangerous idea you’ve ever had."

Pause.

"But it’s also the smartest."

I nodded, decision made.

I tiptoe Back into the hall. Down the stairs. The boards groaned under me like they wanted to expose my crime. My heart hammered, each beat chanting, freedom, freedom, freedom. I reached the front door. My fingers trembled as I touched the knob. This was it. The end of my suffering. The beginning of a brand-new life. I pictured myself racing down a dirt road, my hair streaming behind me, and then click.

The knob turned under my hand.

"Going somewhere?"

I screamed so loudly I nearly summoned the dead.

Because there he was. The psycho Alpha. Standing right at the door.Blocking my escape. And smiling. Not a kind smile. Not a normal smile. An evil, bone-melting grin, sharp at the edges, as though he’d been waiting for this moment all along. His eyes glittered like he’d just caught his favorite prey. My stomach fell to the floor. I screamed again, spun on my heel, and ran like the hounds of hell were chasing me.

"Don’t kill me don’t kill me don’t kill me!" I shrieked, bolting up the stairs, my nightdress flapping behind me like a surrender flag.

The hallway stretched on forever. My door looked miles away. But I made it, slammed it shut, and dove under my blanket as if thin fabric could protect me from an Alpha with claws. My heart thundered in my throat. My lungs heaved like I’d run a marathon.

And then I heard it. A chuckle.

It was Low, dark and Right outside my door. I froze under the blanket. My skin prickled. My brain short-circuited.

He knew. He saw me. He didn’t even have to chase me just stood there, smiling, and I nearly died. I clutched the blanket tighter around me, whispering furiously.

"Ellie, you absolute idiot. You just tried to outsmart a psycho Alpha. Congratulations, you’re officially the dumbest omega alive."

I squeezed my eyes shut, whispering, "Moon Goddess, if you’re listening, I swear I’ll never touch a doorknob again."

But then my imagination kicked in, because apparently, my brain hates me. I pictured him dragging me out by my ankle, laughing, tossing me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. I pictured him dropping me in the middle of the woods, telling the wolves, Dinner’s served. I pictured myself standing in front of the pack, everyone pointing, shouting, Witch! Noodle assassin!

I whimpered. "Why am I like this?"

The chuckle came again, softer this time, like he was enjoying my panic.

I wanted to crawl into the floorboards and never come out. I buried my face in the pillow, blanket pulled so tight around me I couldn’t breathe. If I suffocated, at least it would be my choice, not his.

But then it went silence. I waited. One minute. Two. My heartbeat slowed, though my body was still shaking like a leaf. Maybe he left, or he was satisfied watching me humiliate myself. I peeked out from under the blanket, eyes darting to the door but it was still closed. At least I’m still safe for now. I lay back, staring at the ceiling, my mind buzzing. He’d been waiting at the door. How? Was he psychic? Did he have cameras? Motion sensors? A secret pack of ghost wolves reporting my every move? I groaned into the pillow.

But then I heard it.

A low chuckle. Right outside. The sound of it slithered into my ears, curled down my spine, and squeezed my lungs until I couldn’t breathe.

And then his inner voice. That dreadful voice that slid into my skull like a blade through silk.

"Inner voice: Run back to your room like a scared little rabbit, and hide under your blanket. Do you really think that will save you from me?"

I froze, my fingernails digging into the wood of the door. "Oh God not again.

But his words only grew heavier, darker, each one sinking like chains into my skin.

"Inner Voice: You thought you could sneak away. You thought you could touch the door of my house and leave me behind. Foolish omega. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice?"

My throat tightened. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth.

"Inner voice: I should tie you down," he murmured, his voice curling in my mind, hot and cold at the same time. "Bind you to your bed until morning, so you’ll finally learn what it means to be mine. Every time you try to run, I’ll remind you that your body belongs here. To me. Under my roof. Under my control."

I slapped my hands over my ears, shaking my head wildly.

But his voice was louder than my pulse, louder than the air in my lungs.

"Inner voice: You’re trembling. I can hear it. I can smell your fear from here. Do you know how intoxicating it is, little rabbit? That helpless sound of your heart racing, begging me not to come in? It’s almost enough to make me break down this door and pin you where you stand."

I stumbled back, tripping over my blanket, and collapsed against the edge of the bed. My knees scraped the floor, but I hardly felt it.

"No," I whispered. "I’m finished.

"I didn’t mean it," I whispered, my words tumbling fast, desperate. "I wasn’t leaving, I swear! I was just just checking! Just walking! I wasn’t going anywhere, please" he went silence again. The absence was worse than the sound.

Because silence meant he was waiting. Listening. Smiling. I buried my face in the blanket, my breath coming in shallow gasps, but then.

"You’re mine, Ellie. Say it."

I shook my head violently. "No

"Say it."

The force of the word pressed against my skull, making my vision swim. My throat convulsed, like he was squeezing the word out of me from the inside. I clamped my lips shut. My teeth dug into the flesh. No. I wouldn’t.

But then his laugh, low and certain, slid into me.

"If you don’t say it, I’ll tie you to that bed tonight. I’ll leave you there until morning, helpless under my gaze. I’ll watch you struggle, and you’ll learn that there’s nowhere to run."