Chapter 53 Punishment I
The urgency in my voice must have finally reached Sable. Her guarded expression softened into a look of genuine worry and sort of concern.
The air around us that is damp with the cool breeze and smelling of wet earth, felt suddenly charged. Like tension charging into it.
"Help you escape?" Sable whispered, her eyes darting nervously toward the main path where Rachel was keeping watch. "Bambi, what are you talking about? Escape Alpha Dawn? Why? Everyone... everyone says you're his new favorite. That you're practically living in his shadow."
There was a hint of jealous dripping from her voice bit I ignored it.
I held onto her shoulders, needing her to see the desperate truth in my eyes. "It's a lie, Sable. It's a cage. A gilded one, but a cage nonetheless. I can't stay here, not now. Not after what I found out."
I took a deep, shaky breath, letting the cool cool air steady my panic. This was my moment of truth. I had to make her understand, even if it sounded insane.
"My wolf, Freya," I started, watching Sable's reaction closely. I saw her eyes widen, but she stayed silent. "She… she spoke to me, Sable. I finally met my wolf. I can hear her. Clearly. She said I was in danger, that Dawn's power over me is a leash, not a gift. She told me I have to run."
Sable's mouth opened slightly. "You saw your wolf? Bambi, how? I thought that only happens when you find your mate, or during your first shift, or—"
"It's a long story, Sable. A really complicated one for a night when I'm trying to save my life," I cut in, impatient with the diversion.
"The point is, it's not just Freya. Luna Odessa, and just now, Celeste—they've all said the same thing. They all warned me he's a dangerous former rogue who will use me and discard me. I don't know what his game is, but I won't stick around to find out."
I squeezed her shoulders again, my voice dropping to a harsh plea. "I need to get out of the territory tonight. But first, I need one thing. I need to find Calandra."
Sable looked utterly bewildered. "Calandra? Who is that? And how can she help you escape the Alpha of the entire Imperial Pack?"
"Calandra is a witch, Sable. She's the one who confirmed my... power a while back. Freya says she's the only one who can safely remove this power Dawn gave me—this leash—and break the tie he's formed with it. She is my only ticket out of here, my salvation." I leaned in closer, my desperation fueling every word. "I have to find her first. I don't know where she is. I need someone to help me search, someone I can trust, someone who can move around the territory without raising suspicion. Sable, I need you. Will you help me find Calandra?"
Sable's gaze dropped to the ground, her shoulders slumping a little. She bit her lower lip, thinking. The silence stretched between us. The silence is thick and heavy.
"A witch," she murmured, sounding less surprised than worried. "Bambi, this is big. This is treason. If Dawn finds out... he'll tear you apart. And anyone helping you."
"Then he can't find out," I insisted. "Please, Sable. He won't know where to look if I can sever this tie first. He won't be able to track me."
She finally raised her head, her brown eyes meeting mine with a firm, determined look. A small, tight smile touched her lips. "Alright, Bambi. I'll do it. I'll help you find your witch. Just… be careful. I'll start asking around discreetly tomorrow, see if anyone has seen her near the pack borders or in the neutral towns. I know a few Omegas who run errands for the council. Maybe they've heard something."
A wave of relief washed over me, so potent it nearly made my knees buckle. "Oh, Sable, thank you," I breathed out, pulling her into another, less frantic hug. "Thank you so much. You're a life-saver."
I let go, my mind already racing ahead. There was one other person I needed to see, one person I knew I could trust entirely.
"I need one more favor," I said, turning my attention to a more immediate concern. "Is Gideon around? I need to tell him what's going on, see if he has any suggestions for an escape route once I get the go-ahead from Calandra."
The moment I spoke Gideon's name, Sable's easygoing composure shattered. Her shoulders stiffened instantly beneath the thin cotton of her dress. The slight smile vanished, replaced by a deep, unsettling frown. Her eyes, which had just shown warmth and relief, now held a cold, sharp shock.
"Sable? What is it? What's wrong?" I asked, instantly terrified by the drastic change in her countenance. Did Dawn hurt him?
She took a slow, agonizing step back from me, shaking her head as if trying to clear a terrible image. Her voice, when it finally came, was strained and barely audible.
"Gideon… he's been arrested, Bambi," she choked out.
The world seemed to tilt on its axis.
"Arrested? What are you talking about? For what?"
"The Marked Rogues," she whispered, fear flashing in her eyes as she glanced at the dark trees surrounding us. "The ones that were found dead a few days ago. The ones with the strange markings. The Pack soldiers came for him a few hours ago, just after dinner. They dragged him out of the library, right in front of everyone."
My breath hitched. Gideon? He could barely walk, let alone fight a pack of rogues!
"That's insane! He couldn't have—he's crippled! He didn't do it, Sable! He couldn't!" My voice was rising, and I fought to keep it down, my heart pounding a panicked rhythm against my ribs.
Sable nodded miserably. "I know, I know! But the Alpha… the order came directly from Alpha Dawn himself. They said it was proof found in his room, but I don't believe it. Bambi, he was taken to the Pack House dungeons."
Dawn. It was Dawn. It had to be. Arresting Gideon, my closest friend, for a crime he physically couldn't commit. This was his punishment, his cruel lesson for me attempting to escape him. Which means he already knows I was escaping.
My blood boiled. The fear I had felt moments ago evaporated, replaced by a blinding, incandescent increasing rage. Freya's warning, Celeste's hushed words, none of it mattered now. He had gone too far.
Without a second thought, without listening to another word Sable might have said, I simply turned and ran.
I pushed off the ground, a raw, inarticulate roar tearing from my throat. I left the woods and sprinted toward the heart of the Pack territory, toward the Alpha's house.
I was running faster than I'd ever run before, faster than my human legs should allow. My feet barely seemed to touch the ground.
They were moving me, pumping, carrying me with a ferocity and speed that felt almost supernatural, completely unlike the slow, clumsy pace I was used to. Was this the power Freya warned me about? The raw physical energy was intoxicating, but my focus was singular: Dawn.
I ran until the smell hit me. Alpha Dawn's musk scent. It was strong, like aged wood and cold fire, a heavy, commanding signature in the night air. It cut through the scent of pine and damp soil, pulling me like an invisible magnet.
My racing feet finally led me to the source: his secluded, dark cabin not far from the main Pack House—his personal retreat. I didn't hesitate. I forced my leaden legs up the porch steps and slammed my hand onto the front door.
I jerked it open.
The musk hit me harder. The scent is a suffocating wave of Alpha power and male scent. I stepped inside, my eyes instantly finding him.
Alpha Dawn was seated in a deep leather armchair by a flickering fire, a glass of dark liquor nestled in his long fingers. He was relaxed, almost languid, dressed in only a pair of dark sweatpants that rode low on his hips.
He didn't jump. He didn't even flinch.
His dark eyes remained fixed on the amber liquid he was swirling, and he brought the glass to his lips, taking a slow, unhurried sip. He wasn't surprised to see me.
"Dawn!" I cried, my chest heaving, adrenaline and fury nearly choking me. "Release Gideon! You know he didn't do it!"
He lowered the glass, but didn't look up, his voice a low, infuriatingly level murmur. "And how, little doe, are you so very sure of that?"
"Because he's not a killer! And he's disabled! He couldn't have done it in a hundred years!" I took a step closer, my voice shaking. "You know he's innocent! You know who did it! You're just using him to teach me a lesson!"
Alpha Dawn finally, finally looked up.
His eyes, usually cold, were now alight with a dark, satisfied amusement.
He placed the glass on the small table beside him.
"And just who," he drawled, his voice dangerously smooth, a predator assessing its prey, "did you have in mind?"
My hands clenched into fists, my whole body trembling with the effort to not launch myself at him.
"Me," I spat the word out, my voice raw with conviction. "You're punishing me. You know I'm the one who killed the marked rogues. You know I'm planning to escape, and you're punishing me by taking the only friend I have left!"