Chapter 84

Chapter 84: Chapter 84

The air felt too still that night, too thick with the kind of silence that pressed against your lungs and made you afraid to breathe. I sat on the edge of my bunk, staring at the faint moonlight spilling through the narrow window of the omegas’ quarters. The others were asleep, at least pretending to be. I could hear their shallow breaths, the restless shuffling of limbs, the quiet murmurs that broke through dreams. But my mind wouldn’t stop racing.

I’d made up my mind. I couldn’t live like this anymore.

Every hour spent here, under his shadow, made my skin crawl and my heart clench. The psycho Alpha’s presence lingered everywhere in the corridors, in the walls, even in my thoughts. Every time I closed my eyes, I could see that slow, knowing smile of his. The one that made me feel as if he was peeling me open from the inside.

But tonight wasn’t about fear. Tonight was about freedom.

I had been careful, whispering my plan to only one person the guard who seemed kind. His name was Rylan. He’d been assigned to the eastern wing, where the Omegas were allowed to roam during chores. He wasn’t like the others, at least, that’s what I thought. He never shouted, never raised a hand. Once, when I’d tripped while carrying water, he’d helped me up instead of sneering like the rest. That was enough for me to trust him.

Stupid, wasn’t it?

"Rylan said he can help," I whispered earlier to Elara, who lay awake across from me. "There’s a witch who lives beyond the northern woods. If I can find her, maybe she can send me back."

Elara had only stared at me, worry etched deep between her brows. "Ellie if he finds out

"I’ll die here if I don’t try," I’d said.

Now, that determination pulsed through me like a fever. I clutched the small bag I’d packed, nothing more than a torn blanket, a water flask, and the last piece of bread from dinner. My hands were trembling, but I pushed the fear down. I’d done harder things before. I’d performed surgeries, lost patients, seen blood and pain. But this this world, this madness had stripped me of everything that made me me.

If there really was a witch, maybe she could send me back to my old life. Maybe I could wake up again in that taxi, before the crash. Maybe I could go home.

I waited until the guards’ footsteps faded from the corridor. Then I crept toward the door, careful not to wake the others. The wooden boards creaked under my bare feet. My heart jumped to my throat. For a moment, I froze, listening. Nothing. Just the wind outside and the distant howl of wolves.

I opened the door. The hallway stretched ahead like a tunnel carved from shadow. I could smell the faint scent of pine drifting through a broken window. The night air was cold against my skin, but it felt like a promise. I made my way to the back entrance, where Rylan said he’d wait.

He was there leaning against the wall, arms crossed. The moonlight caught his face, turning his eyes silver. He smiled when he saw me.

"You’re late," he whispered.

"I had to wait for them to sleep," I murmured, clutching the strap of my bag.

He nodded, glancing around. "You sure about this? Once you step out, there’s no coming back."

"I’m already gone," I said softly.

Something flickered in his eyes. I didn’t notice it then. I was too desperate, too blinded by the hope that someone, anyone was willing to help me.

"Come on," he said, motioning for me to follow.

We slipped through the narrow door and into the night. The forest loomed ahead, black and endless. The air smelled of damp earth and rain. Each step I took made my heartbeat louder in my ears. I couldn’t tell if it was excitement or dread.

We moved quickly, past the training grounds, past the edge of the pack house where lanterns burned low. When we reached the tree line, I hesitated and looked back. The mansion stood like a monster against the moon, silent and still, but I could feel him there. Watching. Always watching.

"Ellie," Rylan whispered, snapping me back. "This way."

We pushed through the trees. Branches snagged at my sleeves, leaves crunched beneath our feet. I could taste freedom in the cold air. My chest tightened with something close to hope.

"How far?" I asked.

"Not much," he replied. "The witch lives beyond the ridge. Just a few more miles."

But something felt wrong. His voice had changed calm, measured, almost rehearsed.

"Rylan," I said after a moment. "How do you know about the witch?"

He didn’t answer.

"Rylan?"

He kept walking, not even turning his head. That’s when I noticed the path he led me on wasn’t toward the northern ridge. It curved east, back toward the mansion.

A chill ran down my spine.

"Stop," I said sharply. "Where are we going?"

He turned then, his expression unreadable. "You didn’t really think you could just leave, did you?"

My stomach dropped.

"What..what are you saying?"

His smile twisted into something cruel. "He knew you’d try, Ellie. He said you would. You think he doesn’t hear you? Feel you?"

The world tilted. I stumbled back, my hand covering my mouth. "No..."

"He told me to watch you," Rylan continued, his voice eerily calm. "To keep you close. To see how far you’d go."

My pulse thundered in my ears. "You-you told him?"

"Of course I did," he said, taking a step toward me. "You can’t hide anything from him. He already knows every thought in your pretty little head."

I started shaking. The cold cut through my skin like knives, but it was nothing compared to the dread clawing through my chest.

"I trusted you," I whispered.

He shrugged. "You shouldn’t have."

That was when I heard it, the soft echo of footsteps behind me. Slow, deliberate, like the sound of a predator taking its time. My breath caught. I didn’t have to turn to know who it was.

A voice slid into my mind like oil. You really thought you could run from me, little omega?

I froze. My knees went weak. His voice was everywhere in the air, in my head, inside my bones.

Rylan bowed his head slightly, his tone suddenly reverent. "Alpha."

I turned, trembling.

He was there standing a few feet away, his eyes glowing faintly amber in the moonlight. That smile. That awful, calm smile. He wasn’t angry. He didn’t need to be. His control was worse than rage. It was precise. Calculated.

"I told you to rest, didn’t I?" he said softly. "And yet, here you are. Running off into the night with one of my men."

"Please," I whispered, my throat burning. "I just wanted to go home."

"Home?" He tilted his head, amused. "This is your home now. Or have you forgotten the night the Moon chose you for me?"

I shook my head, tears spilling down my cheeks. "You’re not my fate."

For a moment, something flashed in his eyes something dark and dangerous. Then he smiled again. "Maybe not. But you’re mine all the same."

He turned to Rylan. "You did well."

"Thank you, Alpha," the guard murmured, lowering his gaze.

"Now," the Alpha said, his tone turning colder, "get out of my sight."

Rylan didn’t hesitate. He backed away and disappeared into the trees, leaving me alone with him. The air felt heavier, charged with something cruel and inevitable.

He took a step closer. I backed away until my spine hit a tree. My breath came in shallow gasps.

"Why can’t you just let me go?" I whispered.

He leaned down, his lips close to my ear. "Because watching you try to escape is more entertaining than letting you succeed."

I swallowed hard, the tears hot on my skin. His voice slid through my mind again, quiet and mocking. Run again, little one. I will always find you.

I couldn’t speak. My throat was tight, my chest ached, and every part of me wanted to vanish.

Then, just as suddenly, he turned and walked away slowly, deliberately leaving me shaking beneath the trees.

But his voice lingered, echoing inside my head like a curse. I warned you, Ellie. There’s no leaving me.

I sank to the ground, clutching my knees to my chest, sobbing quietly as the forest swallowed me whole.

That night, I realized something terrible. The real prison wasn’t the pack house. It wasn’t even him.

It was me. Because no matter how far I ran, his voice would always follow. And deep down, I wasn’t sure I’d ever truly escape.

I knew something was wrong the moment the guard’s smile faded from my mind.

His words replayed in fragments, each one cutting deeper than the last. "You can trust me, Omega." The way he had said it—too soft, too easy. I should have known. Every kindness here had teeth.

Now the quarters felt smaller, the air tighter. Even the silence pressed against me, thick and listening. The other omegas talked somewhere down the hall, their laughter brittle, but I couldn’t join them. My pulse beat so loud that it drowned everything else.

I sat on my bunk and stared at the wall. It wasn’t just a wall anymore; it felt like an eye. Somewhere behind it, I could almost hear breathing. Maybe the Alpha had men stationed near the corridor. Maybe he was watching through someone’s eyes right now. The thought made my stomach twist.

I stood, paced, sat again.

Every creak of the floorboards made me flinch. I’d lived under his gaze for weeks—his cold voice, his strange half-smiles—but this was worse. This was invisible.

When Joan passed my doorway, she paused. "Ellie? You okay?"

I nodded quickly, forcing a smile. "Yeah. Just tired."

She lingered, worried, but didn’t step in. The rules about crossing rooms without permission were still carved into all of us. When she left, the silence returned like fog.

I whispered, "He knows."

The words were barely sound, but they felt huge. Saying them made the truth heavier. The guard had already reported everything—how I’d asked about witches, how I’d been desperate to find a way out. The Alpha would know I was trying to escape.

The lamp flickered. Once. Twice.

Then steadied.

I pressed my hands over my eyes. "You’re imagining things," I told myself, but my heartbeat disagreed. I could almost feel the Alpha’s presence—his scent, faint but real, the way the air changed whenever he entered a room. I wasn’t imagining it; he was close. Somewhere.

I wanted to run. I wanted to vanish. But the corridors outside were guarded, and my name was already a whisper on their lips.

The door handle clicked softly. I froze.

No one entered. Just the sound, like fingers testing the metal. I waited until my lungs burned, then exhaled shakily. Maybe it was the wind. Maybe not.

I crawled to the window. The yard beyond was shadowed, moonlight slicing through the bars. Two guards stood by the fence, unmoving, faces turned toward the building. Watching.

I drew back, trembling.

Every exit had eyes.