CHAPTER 96: CHAPTER 96

I couldn’t stop shaking, even hours after leaving the Alpha’s quarters. Every breath scraped against my throat like shards of glass, and my knees still ached from kneeling on the cold stone floor. His words—"you look like a wild flower by the roadside"—echoed inside my skull, over and over, until I wanted to tear them out with my own hands.

I didn’t even know why those words scared me more than his silence, but they did. They felt too human. Too gentle. And coming from him the man everyone called the Psycho Alpha they were more terrifying than any punishment.

By the time I stumbled back into the omegas’ quarters, the first morning rays were sneaking through the cracks in the shutters. The place smelled of soap and damp linen, and faint snores filled the narrow room. I stood there for a long time, unsure whether to wake anyone or just curl up on the floor and vanish into the cracks like a ghost.

Then I saw Joan sitting on the edge of her bunk, combing her hair. She froze when she saw me.

"Elie?" Her voice was a whisper of disbelief. "What happened? The Alpha brought you here last night himself. Do you even know what that means?"

I blinked. The Alpha brought me back? I hadn’t realized. My memory was foggy after fainting, fragments stitched together only by fear.

Joan rushed to me and gripped my shoulders. "Elie, say something! Did he hurt you? Did he—"

I shook my head quickly, cutting her off. "No... no, he didn’t. He just—" My voice trailed off. How could I explain? That the most dangerous man in the entire pack had stood inches from me, studying me like a scientist observing a rare creature, and then whispered a line that made my blood run cold?

Joan’s dark eyes were searching mine. "He just what?"

"He said something," I murmured.

Elara stirred in her bed. "He spoke to you?" she said groggily, pushing her blanket aside. "The Psycho Alpha? You’re lying."

"I wish I was," I said.

They both exchanged glances with fear and shock written all over their faces

Joan lowered her voice. "What did he say?"

I hesitated, hugging myself. "He said I look like a wild flower by the roadside."

Silence. Then Elara burst out laughing, too loud, too sharp.

"The psycho Alpha compliment you.

"Shh!" Joan hissed, glancing toward the door. "Do you want the guards to hear you?"

Elara pressed a hand over her mouth, still giggling, though there was something brittle in her laughter. "A wild flower. Goddess, Elie, he must’ve hit his head."

But Joan didn’t laugh. Her eyes were full of something else pity, or maybe dread. "That’s not normal," she said quietly. "He doesn’t talk to anyone unless he’s angry. The last person he spoke to like that was..." She trailed off, biting her lip.

"Who?" I asked.

"His sister."Joan said finally. "Before she died."

My stomach twisted. "What do you mean?"

Elara rolled her eyes. "Joan and her stories again."

But Joan wasn’t joking. She lowered her voice until it was barely audible. "The Alpha’s sister used to call him her ’wild flower boy.’ She was the only one who could calm him when he lost control. After she died, he... changed. No one dares mention flowers around him now. You should never repeat what he said, Elie. Not to anyone."

The room suddenly felt smaller. My breath came fast. "Then why would he say it to me?"

No one answered. The only sound was the wind whistling through the cracks in the wooden wall.

The rest of the morning passed in uneasy silence. The other omegas whispered in corners, pretending not to stare at me, but I could feel their eyes everywhere. The Psycho Alpha had brought me back himself. That alone was enough to make me an anomaly a rumor, a target.

When breakfast was served, I barely touched my porridge. The spoon trembled in my hand. Joan kept stealing glances at me, her worry written across her face.

"Elie," she said softly. "Maybe you should rest. You look pale."

I nodded but didn’t move. Rest was impossible when every time I closed my eyes I saw him his calm expression, the way his lips moved without sound before I realized he was speaking through his inner voice. The same voice that only wolves in his bloodline were supposed to hear. But I had heard it.

And that was what frightened me most.

But the memory was too clear. His inner voice had been low, smooth, and almost tender you look like a wild flower by the roadside.

And then, something darker whispered right after it, a tone I hadn’t recognized until later but wild flowers don’t survive the storm. I hadn’t told Joan or Elara that part. I couldn’t.

I tried to distract myself by cleaning the hallways, scrubbing until my fingers went numb. But whispers followed me like shadows.

"That’s her," someone murmured.

"The Alpha spoke to her."

"No, he carried her back last night."

"She must’ve done something."

"Maybe he’s going to kill her himself."

Each rumor was worse than the last. I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood and kept my head down. The air felt heavier with each passing hour. I sat outside the quarters, staring at the fading light. The forest around the packhouse looked strangely peaceful too peaceful for how my heart raced. I told myself I’d imagined it all. That it was just exhaustion. That the Alpha didn’t mean anything by it.

But then the door creaked open behind me. Joan stepped out, arms crossed. "You’ve been out here for an hour. Come inside before the guards think you’re trying to escape."

"I just need air," I whispered.

She sighed and sat beside me. "You’re still thinking about him, aren’t you?"

I didn’t answer.

Joan looked up at the sky. "You know, when I first got here, I thought the Alpha was a monster too. But sometimes I wonder if he’s just... broken."

"Broken people don’t terrify everyone," I said.

She smiled faintly. "Sometimes they do. Because they don’t know how to be anything else."

Her words lingered as the night deepened.

When I finally went inside to sleep, the room was dark and cold. Elara was already snoring softly, her blanket pulled up to her chin. Joan had curled up with her back to the wall. I lay down, closing my eyes but the moment I did, I heard him again.

That same inner voice. Faint, like an echo traveling through stone.

"Wild flower.

I froze. My eyes flew open. The room was empty, quiet except for the rustle of blankets. But the voice had been real I was sure of it.

My heart hammered painfully. Was he nearby? Was he inside my mind again?

I pulled the blanket tighter around me, trembling.

Then I heard it again slightly amused this time.

"Inner voice: You’re trembling.

I buried my face in my pillow, willing the tears not to fall. I wanted this to be over. I wanted to be invisible again.

The next morning I woke with a jolt to the sound of commotion. Omegas were whispering frantically. Joan stood near the doorway, pale.

"What’s happening?" I asked groggily.

"Elie," she said, her voice trembling. "The Alpha’s coming here."

The words made my blood freeze.

Before I could speak, the door swung open. The Psycho Alpha stepped inside.

Everything stopped. Conversations died mid-sentence. The air seemed to vanish.

Every omega bowed instantly. A few even ran to the back of the quarters, too terrified to stay in the same room.

I remained rooted to the floor, my pulse deafening.

He stood tall, his presence filling the small space effortlessly. His eyes swept the room once and then landed on me.

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips when he saw me. My legs felt weak.

"Elie," he said, voice calm, almost casual. "Walk with me."

I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. But something in his tone gentle yet absolute left no room for refusal.

Joan’s hand brushed mine, a silent plea to hurry up and go, or else one of us is going to become a dead meat.

"Yes-yes Alpha I said running out.

Outside, the morning air was sharp against my skin. He didn’t speak. We walked side by side in silence, our footsteps echoing on the stone path.

His presence was overwhelming, yet eerily calm. I kept my eyes down, afraid to look at him. Minutes passed. Still, he said nothing. Even his inner voice the one that had haunted my dreams was silent. That silence was worse than words. It felt deliberate. Like he wanted me to feel the weight of it, to drown in it.

Finally, when we reached the edge of the courtyard, he stopped. The wind caught his hair, and for a brief second, his eyes softened.

But he still said nothing.

When he turned to leave, I almost collapsed from the release of tension. My knees buckled, and I had to grip a tree for balance.

As he walked away, I thought I heard his inner voice again faint, almost regretful.

"Inner voice: Even wild flowers fear the gardener.

When I returned to the quarters, Joan and Elara were waiting. Their faces were pale, their questions ready. But I couldn’t answer any of them. My mouth felt dry, my throat closed up.

Because deep inside, I knew something had changed.

The Psycho Alpha had looked at me not with hatred, not with lust, but with recognition.

And that scared me more than anything else.

I wanted him to fall in love with me, but now his love is making me scared