The tent walls still vibrated with the echo of his roar, and gray spots swam before my eyes. I stumbled out into the sticky night mist, pressing a palm to my neck. My skin burned. The mark Cale had renewed minutes ago throbbed in time with my heartbeat—heavy, ragged. The bond howled, clogged with his rage and the foreign pain he'd forced me to funnel through myself.
My legs gave out. I leaned against the wheel of a heavy wagon, feeling the wood bite into my palm. The mist swallowed the light of the dying fires, leaving only blurry orange smudges. The rotten smell of damp earth and wet fur filled my lungs.
— ...you're saying you looked him right in the eye? — Rein's voice cut through the silence, making me press myself into the shadows.
I froze. A group of teenage apprentices sat by a fire about ten paces away. Rein was sprawled on a log, tossing small wood chips into the flames. Liam sat opposite him, wrapped to his ears in a worn cloak.
— By the moon, I swear, — Rein spat into the fire. — The senior warriors were coming out of the interrogation room; I was standing guard at the entrance. Cale squeezed everything out of that Silverclaw pup. Every single name.
— And? — Liam leaned forward, firelight dancing on his pale face. — Is it really one of ours?
Rein paused, savoring the moment. He glanced around at the other boys before lowering his voice to a raspy whisper that still carried through the damp air.
— Worse. The traitor was right under his nose. That whole merchant caravan... the Silverclaws knew the route down to the minute. They knew where the guard was weakest.
— Cale couldn't have missed that, — Liam shook his head. — He smells a lie from a mile away.
— He smells the lies of enemies, — Rein gave a nasty smirk. — But what if it's the bitch sleeping in his tent?
Cold struck my spine, sharper and meaner than the night wind. I stopped breathing.
— The Omega? — Liam faltered. — That can't be. She's... she can barely stay on her feet.
— Exactly! — Rein slapped his knee. — The perfect cover. Pity the poor, miserable girl while she leaks info to her former masters. Who else had access to the maps in the Alpha's tent? Who knew when Cale left for his border rounds?
— But the bond... — Liam stammered, looking toward the main tent. — The bond should have burned everything unnecessary out of her. If she's his mate, she physically can't...
— You believe those stories for pups? — Rein interrupted, straightening up. — The Moon could have made a mistake. Or her blood was rotten from the start. Rot isn't cured by a bond, Liam. It just waits for the moment to infect everything around it.
— She doesn't look like a spy, — Liam muttered softly. — Her eyes... they're strange. Like she doesn't even know where she is.
— She understands more than you think. Cale squeezed a confirmation out of the prisoner. "The Alpha's Omega," that's what he said. There are no others like her in the pack.
I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling the ground slip from beneath my feet. Every one of Rein's words drove into my brain like a red-hot needle. Traitor. Spy. They had already decided.
— So what now? — asked one of the younger ones, his voice trembling. — Will Cale... you know, end her?
Rein bared his teeth, a cruel excitement gleaming in his eyes.
— The Alpha will rip her throat out personally. In front of everyone. At dawn, or as soon as he's finished playing with her. The pack doesn't forgive things like that. Did you see him today? He's feral. That girl is a corpse that just hasn't realized she's dead yet.
— Maybe we should wait for the official... — Liam started, but Rein cut him off again.
— Wait for what? Until she sets someone else up? If Cale weren't so busy with the war, she'd already be hanging from the nearest branch.
I tried to back away slowly into the shadows, away from their voices, away from the sentence they had passed so easily. My heel hit something hard. The dry snap of a branch under my weight sounded like a gunshot.
The teenagers fell silent instantly. Five pairs of eyes stared into the darkness, right where I stood.
— Who's there? — Rein jumped up, his hand going to the knife hilt at his belt.
— It came from behind the wagon, — Liam rose too, his gaze darting through the shadows.
I froze, pressing my back into the cold wood. My heart hammered against my ribs, beating a frantic rhythm. Run. I need to run.
Suddenly, the air grew thick and heavy as lead. My mark exploded in blinding pain, forcing a cry from my lips. An energy, dark and overwhelming, crashed down on me from above, pinning me to the ground.
Cale.
He didn't walk—he simply materialized out of the mist behind me. His presence felt like an ice-cold shower in the middle of a fever. I felt the heat of his body a second before his shadow covered me.
The apprentices by the fire snapped to attention. Liam lowered his head so far his chin touched his chest. Rein, so bold just a moment ago, turned pale and hunched his shoulders.
— Alpha, — Rein breathed, his voice breaking into a squeak.
Cale ignored them. He looked only at me. In his eyes, dark and nearly black in the night light, there wasn't a drop of sympathy. He saw my fear. He had heard every word Rein said, and from the way a vein throbbed in his temple, I knew—he had no intention of denying any of it.
His hand shot forward, fingers closing roughly around my forearm. Right where the old bruises still ached beneath the skin.
— Cale, I... — my voice failed me, turning into a pathetic rasp.
He didn't answer. Instead, he spun me around to face him, forcing me to look at the teenagers who were now trembling under his rage.
— Back to the barracks, — he barked. Short. Sharp.
— We were just... — Rein began.
— Out.
The teenagers vanished like they'd been blown away by the wind. Liam hesitated for a second, casting a quick, doubt-filled glance at me, but then disappeared into the mist.
We were left alone. The silence of the camp grew even more ominous. Cale pulled me toward the tent. His grip was iron; he wasn't leading me—he was escorting a criminal caught red-handed.
— You heard them. — It wasn't a question.
— It's a lie, — I tried to pull away, but he only tightened his grip, making me cry out. — Cale, you know I didn't...
He stopped abruptly and yanked me toward him. I crashed into his chest, smelling the scent of blood and bitter smoke clinging to his clothes. His free hand settled on my neck, his thumb pressing directly onto the fresh mark.
— Do I know? — His voice was a low growl vibrating inside my skull. — You are everything left of those who wanted me dead. You are their blood.
— I am your mate! The Moon chose...
— The Moon loves to joke, — he leaned close to my ear, his breath searing my skin. — Or she simply gave me a way to control the enemy as effectively as possible.
— You believe them? You believe it's me? — I looked into his eyes, trying to find even a glimmer of what should have been between us.
Cale smirked. It wasn't a smile, but the baring of a beast that had cornered its prey.
— I don't need to believe or disbelieve, Alina. I need the pack to see someone guilty. To see me punish betrayal.
— You're using me, — I gasped as the realization hit. — You know it's not me, but you'll let them think...
— I will let them see whatever makes them obedient. — He dragged me toward the tent again. — And if I have to break you in front of everyone to do it—I will.
— Let go! — I dug my heels into the mud, but he didn't even slow down.
— Your place is inside. Until I decide what to do with you next.
He shoved me through the tent opening. I fell onto the furs, scraping my palms. Behind me, I heard the rustle of the flap being drawn shut. The light of the single lamp inside caught his silhouette—massive, merciless.
Cale stood at the threshold, blocking the only way to safety. His silence was heavier than any accusation. In that moment, I realized: to him, I wasn't a person. I was a tool. And if the pack needed a sacrifice to be appeased, he would sacrifice me without blinking an eye.
— Lie down, — he commanded, unbuckling his belt.
— Cale, please...
— I said—lie down. You will be where I can see you. Every second.
I curled into a ball on the furs, feeling his cold, calculating satisfaction flow through the bond. He was enjoying my terror. To him, this fear was a guarantee of my loyalty. False, coerced, but the only kind he trusted.
Outside, the camp continued to whisper. I knew that by morning, every warrior would know of my "guilt." And no one would come to help.
Cale sat in the chair opposite me, his eyes never leaving mine. A knife glinted in his hand as he began to methodically scrape dirt from under his nails.
— In the morning, we march to the border, — he said, not looking at me. — You will travel in chains.
— Why?
— So the pack doesn't question whose side I'm on.
He looked up. There was no hatred in his gaze. Only the cold gleam of steel. It was the worst part—realizing he was destroying me not out of revenge, but simply because it was more convenient.
I turned toward the tent wall, biting my lip to keep from sobbing. The bond between us trembled, transmitting his unwavering confidence. I was trapped, the walls built by my own Alpha. And every minute of this wait for dawn felt like a slow execution.