Chapter 146 The Dead Alpha
The bite on my neck was a fire that wouldn't go out. It wasn't just physical pain; it was like a loud radio had been turned on inside my brain. I could hear the trees breathing outside. I could hear the dew forming on the grass above the well. And I could feel Evan. He was a steady, warm hum in the back of my mind.
But that third heartbeat... it was a tiny, frantic drum. It was coming from inside me. It was too fast for a human. It was the rhythm of a hunter.
"Cassia, move!" Mrs. Higgins screamed from the top of the well.
I shook the daze from my head and gripped the ladder. Evan was right behind me, his hand on my waist, guiding me upward. We climbed out of the ink and into the cold morning air.
The yard was a mess. Julian’s body lay still in the library below, but his legacy was all around us. Dozens of wolves stood at the edge of the clearing. They weren't attacking. They were watching. They were waiting to see who the new master would be.
"We have to go," Evan whispered, his eyes scanning the tree line. "The Board is coming. I can hear the trucks. I can hear the metal."
"Where?" I asked, my voice sounding deeper, huskier. "Where is safe?"
Mrs. Higgins pointed toward the North Ridge. "The Silent Valley. It’s a place the Board hasn't mapped yet. There are others there. People who refused the collars."
"Go with her, Cass," Evan said. He picked up a discarded iron bar from the porch. "I’ll lead the Board away. I’ll give them a trail to follow."
"No!" I grabbed his shirt. My strength surprised me. The fabric ripped under my fingers. "We don't separate. Not ever again."
"Cassia, you’re carrying something now," Evan said, his eyes dropping to my stomach. He could hear it too. The gold in his eyes flared. "You can’t run as fast. If they catch us both..."
"If they catch us both, we fight together," I said. "That’s the deal, Evan. No more being the hero. Just be my husband."
Evan looked at me for a long beat. The growl in his chest softened into a sigh. "Fine. But we move fast."
We sprinted toward the woods. Mrs. Higgins moved with a strange, hopping grace, her half-turned body perfectly suited for the rough terrain. Behind us, a loud crack echoed through the valley.
It wasn't a wolf. It was a rifle.
A bullet hit the Great Oak, sending a spray of bark into the air.
"They’re here!" Mrs. Higgins hissed.
We dove into the thick brush just as the first black truck roared into the yard. Men in grey uniforms jumped out. They didn't have cameras or papers. They had silver-plated bayonets and gas masks.
We ran.
The forest was different now. I didn't see shadows; I saw heat. The rabbits in the bushes were bright pulses of red. The trees were cool veins of blue. I didn't need a path. My feet knew exactly where to step to avoid the dry leaves.
"Left!" I shouted, feeling a pull in my gut. "There’s a cliff ahead!"
We veered left, sliding down a steep embankment. My stomach gave a sharp, hot twist. I stumbled, clutching my middle.
"Cassia!" Evan was at my side in a second. "Are you hurt? Did the bullet hit you?"
"No," I gasped, the sweat breaking out on my forehead. "It’s the baby. Evan... it’s moving. It’s moving too much."
"It’s the change," Mrs. Higgins said, crouching low as she watched the ridge above us. "The wolf blood makes everything fast. A pregnancy that should take months will take weeks. You don't have time to wander, children."
Evan looked terrified. He put his hand on my stomach. The tiny, fast heartbeat kicked against his palm. His face went pale. "It’s... it’s a wolf, isn't it? My child is going to be a monster."
"He’s going to be ours," I snapped, forcing myself to stand. "And he’s going to be free."
We kept moving, deeper into the dark heart of the mountains. The sound of the trucks faded, replaced by the heavy thud of boots. The Board scouts were on foot now. They were tracking our scent.
"We need to mask the trail," Evan said. He looked at a small stream nearby. "Get in the water. It’ll hide the heat."
We waded into the icy stream. The cold should have made me shiver, but the fever kept me warm. We walked for a mile, the water numbing our legs, until Mrs. Higgins stopped at the base of a waterfall.
"Through the curtain," she said.
We pushed through the falling water and into a hidden cave. It was dry and warm, lit by a small fire in the back. A group of people sat around the flames. They weren't monsters. They were simple folk—farmers, teachers, mothers. But they all had the same amber glow in their eyes.
An old man stood up. He had a long white beard and a scar that ran from his ear to his chin. He looked at Evan, then at me.
"The Marlowe girl," the old man said. "We’ve been waiting for you."
"Why?" I asked, leaning against Evan for support.
"Because you’re the only one who can open the gate to the Silent Valley," the man said. "The Board didn't want you for your blood, Cassia. They wanted you for your keys."
He pointed to the mark on my neck. It wasn't just a bite mark anymore. The skin had healed into a pattern. It looked like a map of the valley, but with a star over the hidden pass.
"Your father didn't bite you," the man said. "But he made sure that whoever did would unlock the memory in your skin. You are the map, girl."
I looked at Evan. He looked at the mark on my neck. His eyes went wide.
"I didn't just mark you," Evan whispered. "I turned you into a target for every pack in the country."
A loud horn sounded from outside the waterfall. It was the Board’s call for the hunt. But it was answered by a different sound.
A howl came from inside the cave.
I turned around. One of the women by the fire was standing up. Her eyes were bright red. She wasn't one of the outcasts. She was wearing a small silver pin on her collar, the Board’s crest.
"Thank you for bringing the map to us," the woman said. Her jaw began to stretch. "The Alpha will be so pleased."
"Wait," I said, stepping back. "If Julian is dead, who is the Alpha?"
The woman laughed, a sound like tearing silk. "Julian was a lawyer. The real Alpha doesn't work in an office. He’s been standing right next to you the whole time."
She looked at Mrs. Higgins.
Mrs. Higgins didn't look at me. She looked at the floor. Her fur began to grow, turning from brown to a sleek, oily black.
"I’m sorry, Cassia," Mrs. Higgins growled, her voice becoming a beastly roar. "But the Board promised me a cure if I brought them the girl."
Evan lunged, but Mrs. Higgins was faster. She swiped her claws across his chest, sending him crashing into the stone wall.
"Evan!" I screamed.
I was alone in a cave full of wolves, and the woman who had raised me was now the one holding the knife.
What is the "cure" the Board promised Mrs. Higgins, and can Cassia protect the map on her skin while the life inside her continues to grow at a terrifying speed?