Chapter 83

Chapter 83: Chapter 83

The laugh froze me.

It wasn’t the Alpha’s. His laughter was low, smooth, and cruel this one was thinner, sharper, a sound that scraped the air and sent a shiver crawling up my spine. I turned slowly, heart hammering so hard I could feel it in my throat. A figure stood just beyond the line of moonlight.

At first, I couldn’t make out the details only the outline of a tall man, his shoulders broad, his face shadowed by the trees. The forest around us was silent again, so silent that I could hear my own breathing. Then he stepped forward.

"Who’s there?" I managed to whisper, though my voice barely sounded like mine.

The man came into view one of the guards. I recognized him from the packhouse gate: dark hair, stern face, the leather armband marking his rank. His eyes glinted pale silver under the moon.

"What are you doing out here, Omega?" he asked quietly. His tone wasn’t harsh, but it wasn’t kind either. It was the kind of voice that expected obedience.

"I—I couldn’t sleep," I lied quickly. "I needed air."

"At this hour?" He tilted his head slightly, watching me. "The Alpha doesn’t allow his omegas to wander. You know that."

I swallowed hard. "I didn’t mean to go far. I just needed space."

The guard took another step closer. My instincts screamed at me to run, but my legs wouldn’t move. The earth seemed to grip my feet like roots. He looked me over once, eyes sharp, assessing the way someone might study a caged animal deciding if it was worth the effort to catch again.

"Did someone send you?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

He smiled faintly. "You could say that."

Something inside me went cold. "He sent you," I whispered. "Didn’t he?"

He didn’t answer, but his silence was enough.

I felt my chest tighten. "Why? To make sure I don’t run?"

"To make sure you don’t forget who you belong to." His words were calm, almost gentle, but they made me tremble.

The forest seemed to close in around us, the air thick with damp leaves and fear. Somewhere behind me, I could hear the faint rustle of night creatures the world moving on, uncaring, while I stood trapped in a nightmare I couldn’t wake from.

"Please," I said softly. "Don’t tell him you saw me out here."

The guard raised a brow. "Why not?"

"Because I’m not trying to do anything wrong," I lied again, though my voice shook. "I just wanted to breathe."

He stepped even closer, close enough that I could see the faint scar across his cheek. His scent was that mix of pine and steel that all the warriors carried, but there was something else a trace of the Alpha’s power lingering on him.

"He already knows you’ve been restless," the guard said, his tone quieter now. "He told me to keep an eye on you."

I took a shaky step back. "How long?"

"Since you came back to the omegas’ quarters."

A wave of nausea hit me. That meant every time I’d thought I was alone, every whispered conversation, every desperate moment of planning someone had been watching.

My knees weakened. I turned away, clutching my shawl tightly around myself. "He doesn’t trust anyone," I muttered.

"He doesn’t need to," the guard replied simply. "He just needs to know."

There was no malice in his voice that made it worse somehow. He wasn’t cruel. He was just loyal. Devoted. Another soul bound to that monster.

I looked at him again, tears burning behind my eyes. "Do you ever question it?" I asked suddenly. "What he does to people? To us?"

He didn’t respond immediately. His gaze flicked away, toward the trees, as though something in my voice had hit too close to home. "It’s not my place to question the Alpha," he said after a long pause. "He’s our law. Our strength."

"He’s not strength," I whispered fiercely. "He’s fear."

That made him look at me again, sharply. "Careful, omega."

"I’m not afraid to say it," I lied, though my whole body was shaking. "You all act like he’s some god, but he’s not. He’s he’s broken."

The guard’s expression hardened. "You think you understand him?"

"I understand enough," I said bitterly. "Enough to know I’ll never be safe here."

A silence stretched between us long, unbearable. The wind picked up, rustling the leaves, and in that sound I could almost hear the echo of the Alpha’s laughter again, even though he wasn’t there.

Finally, the guard sighed. "Go back, Ellie."

"What?"

"Go back before someone else finds you." His tone softened a little, as if some faint mercy lingered behind his training. "I won’t tell him I saw you tonight."

My heart jumped. "You won’t?"

He shook his head once. "Not tonight. But if you try to run again... he’ll know before you take your first step."

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. Relief and dread warred inside me until I didn’t know which was stronger. I nodded slowly, clutching the shawl tighter around my shoulders. "Thank you," I whispered.

He didn’t reply. He just turned, melting back into the shadows between the trees like he’d never been there.

I stood frozen for a long time after he was gone, my breath uneven, the sound of my pulse loud in my ears. Every shadow seemed alive now. Every rustle felt like another watcher hiding in the dark.

I wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn’t come. Instead, a strange calm settled over me the numbness that follows terror when your body decides it’s tired of being afraid.

When I finally turned back toward the packhouse, the sky was just beginning to pale. The first light of dawn crept between the trees, washing the forest in muted silver. My bare feet left faint prints in the damp soil as I walked, slow and unsteady, back toward the life I hated but couldn’t yet escape.

As I reached the edge of the courtyard, I looked up and froze again.

Someone was standing on the balcony of the Alpha’s quarters.

Even from this distance, I recognized his silhouette tall, still, watching.

The Psycho Alpha. My blood turned to ice. He didn’t move. He didn’t have to. Just the sight of him, standing there with his hands clasped behind his back, was enough to unravel the fragile thread of calm I’d managed to hold onto. I couldn’t tell if he could see me or if he was simply waiting, knowing I’d look up eventually. The sunrise caught his hair, turning it gold and cruelly beautiful, but there was nothing warm in the way he watched the world beneath him. Slowly, deliberately, he tilted his head the faintest motion as if to say, I see you. Then he turned and vanished inside. I stumbled back into the omega quarters, heart pounding so hard I thought I might collapse. Joan was awake now, eyes wide as I slipped through the door.

"Ellie! Where were you? I thought—"

"I’m fine," I gasped. "I’m fine."

But I wasn’t. I could still feel the Alpha’s gaze like a brand on my skin.

I sank onto my bed, trembling uncontrollably. The others were stirring, murmuring soft morning greetings, unaware of the storm that had already passed through the night.

Elara approached quietly, worry shadowing her eyes. "Did you find her?" she whispered.

I shook my head. "No. But someone found me."

Her face went pale. "Who?"

"A guard. One of his."

Elara’s hand flew to her mouth. "Did he tell him?"

"Not yet." My voice cracked. "But he doesn’t have to. The Alpha already knows."

I felt it the invisible tether between us, the way his power seemed to hum faintly beneath my skin, reminding me that no matter how far I ran, he’d always find me.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur. The omegas went about their chores, whispering and laughing softly, pretending life was normal. I scrubbed floors, carried trays, moved like a ghost through familiar halls, all while that single thought echoed in my mind. He knows. When evening came, I sat by the window, staring out at the darkening woods. My reflection in the glass looked pale, hollow-eyed, older than it should. I barely recognized myself anymore. Maybe the witch wasn’t real. Maybe there was no escape, no return, no way to undo whatever cruel twist of fate had thrown me here. But one thing was certain the Alpha’s hold was tightening. Every time I tried to fight, he pulled the strings harder. And yet somewhere deep inside, a small voice refused to die.

I lifted my eyes to the forest beyond the walls, the trees standing tall and silent in the moonlight. Somewhere out there, maybe the witch existed. Maybe freedom waited. Maybe my world wasn’t entirely lost. But tonight, I would rest. I would wait. And when the next chance came I’d take it.