Chapter 87: Chapter 87
The morning air was thick with fog and dread when I made my way toward the Alpha’s quarters. Every step I took echoed in the cold corridor, the scent of polish and pine needles filling my lungs. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking as I adjusted the hem of my plain grey dress the same kind worn by every omega, only this one suddenly felt too thin, too fragile against the world I was walking into.
The guards stationed at the entrance didn’t say a word when I approached. Their eyes flicked to me, then away, as though afraid to linger. One of them stepped forward and opened the heavy double doors without a sound.
And that was when it happened.
Before I could even take a single step inside, a blur of pale movement darted past me. A girl no, a shadow of one stumbled out of the Alpha’s quarters, her bare feet hitting the cold marble like a drumbeat of panic.
It was Rose.
For a heartbeat, I didn’t recognize her. Her hair, once thick and golden, now hung in dull, tangled strands around her face. Her cheeks were hollow, her eyes wide and unfocused, and her lips were pale like all color had been drained from her body. She looked thinner as if days of fear and sleepless nights had carved away every ounce of life she once had.
"Rose?" I whispered, frozen in place.
She didn’t even glance my way. Her body jerked forward, her arms wrapped tightly around herself as she ran, her movements clumsy and desperate. I tried to reach out, to stop her, to ask what had happened but she brushed past me like I was invisible.
The scent of fear clung to her like smoke.
"Rose!" I called after her, my voice trembling.
She didn’t stop. She didn’t look back. She just ran.
I turned my head, watching as she disappeared down the hallway heading straight toward the omegas’ quarters. Her feet were bare, her steps uneven, and for a brief moment, I thought she might collapse. But somehow, she kept running.
When I finally forced myself to move, I realized I was still standing at the threshold of his world the Alpha’s world. The psycho Alpha’s quarters.
Everywhere was quite. I took a deep breath, stepping inside.
The scent of cedar and something darker metallic, sharp hit me immediately. The place hadn’t changed: the wide room with high windows, the shadows that seemed to cling to every corner, and that unsettling stillness that made even the ticking of the clock sound like a heartbeat.
It was like walking into a predator’s den.
I could almost feel his gaze before I even saw him. That invisible weight pressing down on me, reminding me that I was being watched that he knew I was here.
My feet hesitated. I wanted to turn back. I wanted to run after Rose, to follow her to safety, to hide beneath the thin blankets of the omega quarters and pretend this morning never came.
But then the witch’s voice echoed in my mind, soft and cruel. The only way home is through him. Make him love you.
So, I stood there trembling, small, and terrified and waited.
The silence stretched, suffocating and endless. My heart pounded so hard it felt like the only sound in the entire room. I could almost hear whispers in the back of my head, fragments of his mocking inner voice the voice that haunted me even when he wasn’t there.
Did you see her? it seemed to whisper. Did you see what became of the last one?
I swallowed hard and lowered my gaze to the marble floor.
Then, faint footsteps approached from somewhere deeper in the room slow, deliberate, almost lazy. My breath caught in my throat.
He was coming. The psycho Alpha.
I could feel him before I could see him. His presence was like the air thickening, like the temperature dropping around me. And then, out of the shadows, he appeared tall, sharp-eyed, his expression unreadable, his movements smooth and unhurried.
He looked me over, saying nothing. His gaze moved from my trembling hands to the faint mark of fear in my eyes. I felt stripped bare, like he could read every thought, every secret, every desperate plan I was trying to bury.
For a moment, he just stood there, the faintest smirk curling his lips that cold, detached smile that didn’t reach his eyes.
And then he said, almost casually,
"You’re late."
His voice was low, calm, and edged with something I couldn’t name. Not anger. Not warmth. Just control.
"I— I came as soon as Elizabeth told me," I stammered, bowing my head. My voice shook even though I tried to keep it steady.
He didn’t respond right away. His gaze lingered on me a little too long, then drifted toward the door where Rose had fled minutes ago.
"She ran," he said, almost to himself. His tone was mild, but there was a dangerous undercurrent in it, a cruel amusement that sent shivers crawling up my spine. "They always run."
I didn’t dare speak.
He turned back to me, his eyes sharp.
"Do you plan to run too, little omega?"
My lips parted, but no words came out. My throat was dry, my body trembling from the weight of his stare.
"No," I whispered finally. "I came back."
His smirk deepened. "So you did."
He took a few slow steps closer, close enough for me to feel the heat radiating from him. His presence was suffocating the air around him seemed heavier, darker. He leaned slightly forward, lowering his head as if studying me like one would a trembling animal.
"Then let’s see," he murmured, "how long you’ll last this time."
I flinched. But he didn’t strike. He just turned away, his hand brushing lazily over the desk as if the conversation had bored him already.
"Your duties start tomorrow," he said without looking at me. "Stay out of my sight until I need you."
I stood frozen, staring at his back, my heart hammering against my ribs. I wanted to scream. I wanted to ask what had happened to Rose why she looked the way she did, why she ran like her soul had been ripped out but I couldn’t.
Because deep down, I already knew the answer.
So I bowed my head, whispered a faint, "Yes, Alpha," and turned toward the door.
The moment I stepped outside, I exhaled shakily, my legs nearly giving out beneath me. The cold air of the corridor hit my skin like a slap, and I realized I’d been holding my breath the entire time.
Down the hall, the path toward the omega quarters stretched before me quiet, safe, familiar. I wanted to run down it the way Rose had, to escape the suffocating presence that lingered even after I left his sight.
But I didn’t move. Not yet.
Because as terrifying as he was he was also the key.
The witch’s words echoed again: Make him love you.
And I whispered to myself, voice trembling but determined, "Then I’ll try."
Though I know it won’t be easy.
I didn’t do much for the Alpha, I hardly saw him throughout the day and when it was time for me to go back to the omegas quarter, I quietly sneaked back.
When I got back to the omega quarters that night, I couldn’t sleep. Not even for a second.
I lay on my thin mattress staring up at the cracked ceiling, my hands clutched tightly to my chest, feeling my heart pounding like a frantic drum. Every sound in the dark a creak in the floorboards, a gust of wind rattling the shutters made me flinch. I kept seeing Rose’s face over and over again.
The way her hollow eyes had looked past me. The way her body had trembled as she ran. That could be me. That would be me if I wasn’t careful.
My breath came in short bursts as I turned onto my side, staring into the darkness. The witch’s voice whispered again in my mind, cruel and echoing: Make him love you, or stay trapped forever.
Love? How was I supposed to make someone like him love anyone? The psycho Alpha didn’t feel things like love. He felt amusement. Control. Disgust. Sometimes curiosity, like a child who liked to pull the wings off flies just to see them twitch. I pressed my palm to my forehead, trying to think. Tomorrow, I would be back in his quarters. Tomorrow, I’d have to breathe the same air he did again. And if I made even the smallest mistake big he didn’t like how I spoke, how I moved, how I looked bhe could wrap those hands around my throat and squeeze until everything went black.bI couldn’t let that happen. So I had to plan.
If I was going to make him love me or at least, not strangle me, I needed to start small. Safe. Something he wouldn’t expect. I remembered the way he watched people how easily he found weakness, how he seemed to enjoy fear like it was perfume in the air. Maybe he’d grow bored if I didn’t tremble. But not too brave either he hated defiance.
So, I told myself, Be careful. Be obedient. Be quiet, but not dull.
I rolled over again, my mind racing. Maybe I could bring him breakfast myself something simple, but perfectly arranged. Omegas usually left trays for him at his door and scurried away before he appeared. Maybe if I served it personally, he’d... notice.
Then again, if he woke up in one of his moods, he could kill me for stepping too close.
I bit my lip until I tasted blood.
"What do you even eat?" I muttered to myself, clutching my blanket tighter. "Do psychos even eat normal food?"
My laugh came out broken, half-mad.
The moonlight slanted across the room, silver and cold, painting long shadows on the floor. Around me, the other omegas slept soundly Rose’s empty bed still untouched, her blanket folded neatly as if she had vanished from the world.
I stared at that empty space for a long time.
No. I wouldn’t end up like her.
Tomorrow, I’d bring him something safe water first. Something small enough to test his mood. I’d bow, keep my eyes lowered, my voice steady. I’d make sure every movement was gentle, respectful, rehearsed.
If he mocked me, I’d smile. If he threatened me, I’d nod. If he ordered me to stay still, I’d freeze until he told me otherwise.
I didn’t have to make him love me yet. I just had to survive.
"Don’t get strangled," I whispered into the darkness, like a prayer. "Just don’t get strangled."
My chest ached with the weight of it all fear, exhaustion, and the quiet spark of desperation that refused to die.
Because no matter what the witch said, no matter how hopeless it felt, I couldn’t give up. Not now. Not when I’d come this far.