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 smell had always been weak, so I couldn’t tell. I prayed he wasn’t.
A sudden sound behind me made me flinch. Slowly, I turned, my heart lurching into my throat when I saw Alpha Dawn leaning casually against the door, his cold gaze pinning me 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 me, sending me crashing down. My trembling muscles betrayed me completely.
"What were you doing in there?" he asked, jerking his chin toward the door.
"You lost your way?" His voice was soft, but it cut straight through me.
"You should have asked me to guide you."
He stretched his hand out to me, asking me to hold him, and I accepted it, allowing him to guide me back on my feet.
"You didn’t see anything in there?"
I swallowed hard and nodded, my stomach flipping.
I didn’t waste a breath. I turned around immediately, walking up to the elevator, pressing the button, and slipping in the moment the doors slid open. I turned back to find him still watching me 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.
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 immediately 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 me.
"Do you remember Ian?"
"Fothergill? Of course."
"You also remember the Pack he’s working with?"
He paused for a beat before responding. "Yes. Uhm... Vintage Pack."
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He paused for a second. "Why?"
"I just..." I hesitated, buying myself a moment. "I just remembered 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 seemed..." another pause, "worried? I don’t know. He was sweating. I could smell 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 me his contact information?"
"Sure," he said, and I ended the call—immediately deleting the call history.
The message with Ian’s call information came in instantly. I hesitated several times 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 immediately.
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 came again—so angelic and gentle. I remembered his singing voice had made me 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."
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."
"You don’t sound great but let’s skip that for now—why have you contacted me?"
Whoa. This man really knew me 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 members?"
"What is it? What is wrong?" I asked, expecting him to say some of them had gone missing to confirm my suspicion.
"Nothing. I’m just thinking why you would call me by night and ask how my pack members are doing."
"Well, are they not 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."
A sudden sound echoed behind me, making me flinch.
I spun around, rising to my feet and hung up the phone with speed, watching the exact secret wall Alpha Dawn had walked me 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?"