Chapter 20
Chapter 20
Nathan sat at the long dining table staring at the untouched food in front of him. The packhouse was quiet. No Alice.
She was gone.
He stabbed a fork into the bread, ripping it without eating.
“I don’t care,” he muttered under his breath.
Zara, one of the maids, passed behind him with a tray. He spoke without looking.
“Did she say anything before she left?”
Zara hesitated. “She didn’t come to say goodbye.”
He smirked, “Of course not.”
She started to walk off.
Nathan looked over his shoulder. “But the little girl-Liora. Did she?”
Zara blinked. “She followed Alice out. She didn’t say anything.”
Nathan didn’t ask anything else.
He went to the east wing after that. The one with the high window and the old study no one used
anymore.
He sat at the window ledge, his eyes scanning the horizon like he expected them to ride back in any second.
He pulled the locket from his pocket. Inside was a picture of his mother.
He stared at it for a long time.
Then flicked it shut and shoved it deep into his coat.
His chest tightened.
“No way I miss her. I’m just feeling this way because there is no one to trouble.” Nathan muttered to himself.
“She’ll definitely come back for me. Alice never gets angry at me. And when she comes back, I’ll put her through much pain that she’ll always want to leave but won’t be able to.”
Downstairs, Damien sat at the end of the long table, a bottle beside him. Half-empty. His eyes
bloodshot.
Beta Zane entered, setting a scroll on the table.
“Report from Alpha Jareth” Zane said.
Damien attention was caught immediately, he raised a brow at Beta Zane.
“He says he would come for his grandson in few weeks. In his words, you should focus on your pack, the little boy will be a nuisance under you.” Beta Zane read out.
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Damien banged his fist on the table and growled. “I also think it’s a great idea.”
Damien shot him a hard look.
“Alice-
“She’s gone,” Damien murmured, staring at nothing.
“I heard.”
“Do you
think she’s safe?”
Beta Zane didn’t answer right away. “She’s with Kael.”
Damien’s mouth tightened.
“She’s no longer the girl from five years ago, she can handle herself quite well,” Beta Zane added.
“I didn’t mean to-”
“You never mean to, Damien,” Beta Zane said. “But the damage doesn’t care. You should have done better.”
Damien groaned. “I need to find her.”
Beta Zane’s eyes narrowed. “You sure that’s about her and not you?”
Damien stood. “Just tell me where she is.”
Beta Zane didn’t speak for a long time.
Then finally he said, “I’ll ask around.”
*******
The moon was high when Damien left the packhouse.
He didn’t take any guards.
Just walked down a narrow trail with slow steps. Past the outer walls. Past the sleeping posts. Into the old forest where no wolves patrolled.
A single figure waited there leaning against a twisted tree, his hood drawn low, and his arms
crossed.
They didn’t move as he approached.
Damien stopped a few feet away.
“You’re late, the stranger said, his tone cold.
“You said midnight,” Damien replied. “It’s still midnight.”
The stranger gave a thin smile.
“I assume this isn’t a social visit,” he said.
Damien didn’t answer.
The man pushed off the tree. “Do you have her?”
“No,” Damien said. “But I know where she is.”
That made the stranger pause.
“Do voll now?”
Chapter 20
4:17 pm D
“Do you now?”
Damien nodded once.
“She left Red Fang territory two days ago. Took the mountain pass.”
“You’re certain?”
“She’ll be where you need her to be,” Damien said. “And I’ll be the one to bring her.”
The man stepped closer, close enough to see the edge of a black sigil stitched just beneath his cloak collar-Shadowborn.
“I don’t care how personal it gets,” the man said. “You keep your promise.”
“I said I would.”
“And I’ll hold you to that. You know what happens if you fail.”
Damien’s jaw tightened. “I haven’t failed yet.”
“No. But you’re getting sentimental.” The man tilted his head. “You still think this ends with you saving her?”
“This ends,” Damien said, “with her back where she belongs.”
The man chuckled. “You’re still playing Alpha in your mind. But make no mistake-if you don’t deliver her, we won’t wait for her to walk in. We’ll drag her.”
Damien’s voice dropped. “Touch her before I bring her in and I’ll cut your hands off myself.”
A long pause followed.
Then the man simply said, “Stick to what’s expected of you. Do that, and I’ll keep my end of the
deal.”
He stepped back into the trees, fading into the dark like he’d never been there.
4:17 pm
