I rushed out to the hall, my heart pounding, my legs trembling, my palms slick with sweat. I couldn’t understand why the Alpha would keep all those people locked away, risking their lives—but I knew the pack they belonged to.
What if Ian was among them? My sense of sll had always been weak, so I couldn’t tell. I prayed he wasn’t.
A sudden sound behind made flinch. Slowly, I turned, my heart lurching into my throat when I saw Alpha Dawn leaning casually against the door, his cold gaze pinning where I stood.
He pushed off the door and trotted closer. Instinctively, I backed away until my spine hit the wall. My knees buckled beneath , sending crashing down. My trembling muscles betrayed completely.
"What were you doing in there?" he asked, jerking his chin toward the door.
"Uhm... I-I-I-I."
Shit.
"You lost your way?" His voice was soft, but it cut straight through .
I nodded quickly.
"You should have asked to guide you."
He stretched his hand out to , asking to hold him, and I accepted it, allowing him to guide back on my feet.
"You didn’t see anything in there?"
I swallowed hard and nodded, my stomach flipping.
"Okay. Leave."
I didn’t waste a breath. I turned around imdiately, walking up to the elevator, pressing the button, and slipping in the mont the doors slid open. I turned back to find him still watching with an intense, piercing scrutiny. I held his gaze, my heart pounding violently, my breath shallow and short, until the elevator doors slid shut between us.
The instant they closed and the elevator began to move, I collapsed onto the floor, gasping out harsh breaths.
He was scary.
Whatever reason he kept those people for, it wasn’t a good one. He definitely planned to kill them.
As soon as I returned to my room—forgetting all about the Luna stopping by and even losing track of her presence earlier—I fetched my cellphone, powered it on, and imdiately dialed Gideon’s number with trembling fingers.
He picked up on the second ring.
"Bambi?" he asked over the phone.
"Yes. Yes," I quickly whispered back.
"Are you okay? Why are you calling?" I heard a shuffle in the background as he questioned .
"Do you rember Ian?"
"Fothergill? Of course."
"You also rember the Pack he’s working with?"
He paused for a beat before responding. "Yes. Uhm... Vintage Pack."
I was right...
"Can you reach him?"
He paused for a second. "Why?"
"I just..." I hesitated, buying myself a mont. "I just rembered him, and I’m worried."
I couldn’t let him know about my recent discovery.
"Well, I spoke to him two days ago."
My interest sharpened. "And...?"
"He seed..." another pause, "worried? I don’t know. He was sweating. I could sll his emotions—he was scared. No, terrified, actually."
"How terrified? Was it like he was on the verge of death?"
"I don’t know. Maybe. Why do you ask?"
"I’m just worried, that’s all. Can you send his contact information?"
"Sure," he said, and I ended the call—imdiately deleting the call history.
The ssage with Ian’s call information ca in instantly. I hesitated several tis before dialing his number and letting it ring.
It was picked up on the fourth ring. With a hesitant hand, I guided the phone to my ear.
"Hello. This is Ian Fothergill speaking. Who am I speaking to?"
It’s really him. It’s his voice. I swallowed and hung up imdiately.
Jeez. Why did I even do that? That was a stupid move.
I jumped when the phone buzzed in my hand. It was Ian calling back.
I hesitated for a while before picking up.
"Hello? Who is this, please?" His voice ca again—so angelic and gentle. I rembered his singing voice had made develop a crush on him. He was among the choristers who sang the anthem at school back then. I always looked forward to assembly so I could listen to him sing.
"Hello?" I jumped, realizing I’d kept him on the line.
I cleared my throat. "H-hi."
A pause. Then...
"Bambi?"
He recognized my voice.
"Y-yes." Heat rose up my cheek.
"Wow. This is a pleasant surprise. How have you been?"
I relaxed into the arm of the couch. "Great."
Not great.
"You don’t sound great but let’s skip that for now—why have you contacted ?"
Whoa. This man really knew like the back of his hand. He could even tell when I wasn’t okay by my voice through the phone.
"Uhm... how are your fellow pack mbers?"
He paused.
"What is it? What is wrong?" I asked, expecting him to say so of them had gone missing to confirm my suspicion.
"Nothing. I’m just thinking why you would call by night and ask how my pack mbers are doing."
"Well, are they not fine?"
"They are fine."
I frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, of course. The Alpha has been doing a great job managing the pack’s duties. I feel so excited—I voted to keep him in the pack."
I sat up on the couch. "Really? You used to say one of your dreams was to be ruled by a decent Alpha. I’m happy for you."
He chuckled softly.
A sudden sound echoed behind , making flinch.
I spun around, rising to my feet and hung up the phone with speed, watching the exact secret wall Alpha Dawn had walked through earlier tremble and open slowly.
My knees went weak when I saw Alpha Dawn reappear and step through the secret wall entrance, watching it slide closed behind him.
He stepped closer and grabbed the phone from my grip.
"You called him," he said, looking at the screen.
I swallowed. "Who?" I asked, pretending to be dumb.
"Ian. You called your ex-boyfriend, didn’t you?"
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