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"If you tell me information on where my brother is, you'll both be free." He looks between us, his eyes dark. "Otherwise I'm going to take Dove upstairs and I'm going to fuck her."
***
One night, Dove sneaks away.
Deep in an un...
Rubbing my heavy lids, I roll over. The lamp it lit, Eden wandering frantically about the room, fully dressed with her hair neatly pulled back.
I blink blearily, wondering for a moment if I'm dreaming. But Eden is actually tugging clothing from the closet and pulling it from her dresser drawers before shoving it in an open bag.
I sit up despite the leaden weight of my fatigued limbs. "Eden? What are you-"
"I need you to cover for me with father," she whispers, grabbing a couple tubes of product off the vanity.
"What? Why?" I question, so bewildered I hardly care she's stuffing half my things into her bag.
"Ciella has a car waiting for me at the station. I'm going to stay with her for the week." She zips the bulging bag up.
I gape at her. "A whole week?"
She's smiling, her mouth quivering from anxious excitement. I've witnessed her sneaking out at night before, but never without the intention of returning hours later. The forbidden nature of her actions clearly amuses her.
"Father thinks I've gone to stay with Mary for the night. Please make him think I'm there for a week." She blinks her large brown eyes at me as if that alone would convince me.
I angle my head, pinning her with a pointed stare. "He's going to kill you when you get back."
"I'll deal with it." She shoves her bag over her shoulder, which drops slightly from the weight. "Make it believable, please."
"Is something happening?"
She scratches the side of her head. "What do you mean?"
"Varian asked me to stay with him. Father too," I bring up cautiously. "I think something is going on that we haven't been told."
There has been a strange tension in the air over the past week. Father has been especially overworked, skipping dinners and wearing a short temper. I've been avoiding Matthias at work, so I haven't been able to seduce information out of him.
Not that I have any particular interest in seducing him as of late...
Eden appears thoughtful. "Ciella has been awfully insistent...She told me to bring you both but I brushed her off. I'll demand she tell me what's happening and if it's bad, she'll send a car for you."
"Alright..."
"If there really is something happening, get dad out, okay?" She shifts over to the bedroom door, her hand lingering on the doorknob.
"Of course," I murmur. I couldn't imagine leaving our father behind.
I doubt anything will come of all this worry, but Varian truly got in my head. It's likely he is employing a tactic to get my family to move to his back like Matthias warned me about.
"Bye little sister. Be good." Eden blows me a kiss as she cracks the door open.
"Bye."
She slips out the room, her footsteps near silent.
I wait until I'm certain she's out before I roll over, closing my eyes. It doesn't take me long to fall back asleep, overcome by fatigue from awakening at the late hour.
I'm woken what feels like moments later, but what must be hours.
Someone is shaking my shoulder, rousing me. I sit up, dazed, not entirely certain what is reality and what is dreamscape.
It's still dark out, but I can make out my fathers figure as he looms near me.
"Up you get Dovely!"
His words are cheery but they are fraught with tense worry. He's shoved my duvet back as he hustles me from the bed.
"Huh?" I rub my eyes. "Dad? What time is it?"
"There are reports of an invasion on the border." He pulls back, shoving my closet door open so he can start rifling through my clothing. "We need to get to the Alpha's manor right now."
I stiffen, his words reaching my ears but not going much further.
An invasion...Varian had it planned all along, but didn't tell me. This is why he insisted I come stay in his pack this week, and why Ciella got Eden out.
"Wait, are you serious?" The sheets wind around my legs as I scramble out of bed, nearly toppling over.
My heart is thumping, my mouth drying. My mind immediately goes to Matthias...we live right at the border, and if Varian is invading, he's likely the target.
But father and I are also at the border. His forces may indiscriminately enter this property and take down anyone who gets in their way.
Father surveys the room with tense calm, his eyes landing on Eden's perfectly made bed.
"I'm assuming your sister has snuck out again," he says grimly.
I pause. "Uh..."
How he knows she sneaks out, I have no idea, and I'm not sure now is time for the conversation. He seems concerned, but the determination on his face reminds me he's been trained for an event like this.
"Is she in this pack?"
"Well—"
"If she is, she isn't safe," he points out grimly.
I swallow thickly. Covering for my sister can't come above easing my father's worries, especially when it comes to her safety. She's hopefully with Ciella now.
"She's not in the pack," I affirm.
He lets out a short breath before turning back to my closet. He yanks out a coat and tosses at me, pointing down at my shoes near the door.
"Don't bother with clothes, just put your shoes on and wear the coat. We are running out of time," he states.
He's dressed, but barely. His socks don't match and the clothing he did throw on is wrinkled. His short hair is knotted and the dark shadow over his face reminds me of how serious this is.
We are in danger. Serious danger.
"Where is the Alpha?" I ask, the coat's tight embrace feeling strange over my loose nightwear.
I'm surprised Matthias hasn't sent for someone to collect us yet...he must be overwhelmed, dealing with a myriad of issues all at once.
"Presumably at the manor, being boarded into a safe room." Father leans down to tie my laces as my trembling hands fumble. "Considering I'm just now finding out about this, it's safe to assume the Alpha is in the dark also."
Once my laces are tied, father grabs my hand and leads me through the house. Everything is coated in the darkness, as undisturbed and normal as it was the night before.
I get the feeling everything is going to change.
"Who is invading?" I ask, although I already know.
"Alpha Varian of course, the vile man that he is."
The anger at which father spits out his name is confirmation enough that I made the right choice keeping my night at the party a secret. Father would likely disown me.
We emerge into the bitter night, making our way up the sloping hill to Matthias' manor. It's doused in darkness in a last effort to conceal it from invaders.
Father's hand is damp in mine as he pulls me with him. I look out toward the train station, seeing a thick cluster of lights flickering in the distance.
I really hope Eden got out...
The estate is brimming with life as we approach. Companies of soldiers press past us, commands being yelled in a jargon I can't decipher. My eyes graze over their weapons, trying not to panic when one knocks into my shoulder, nearly sending me sprawling onto the dew soaked grass.
Father approaches a guard near the main door, grabbing his arm. "Take me to the Alpha."
The guard takes one look over my father, clearly recognising him and yet being surprised he's seeing him.
"The Alpha is gone, sir."
"Gone? Since when?" Father snaps, his brows pressing together.
"About three days ago, sir," the guard states clearly, stepping out of the way as a lone soldier bursts out of the house, running down the hill.
My eyes widen as I look up at my bewildered father. That can't be right...Matthias couldn't have left days ago without my father knowing — he knows his entire schedule back to front.
If Matthias did leave, he did so as an emergency which means...he knew this was coming.
"No one reported this to me," father yells back over the rising noise gathering at the foot of the hill. There seems like so little soldiers compared to what I assume is Varian's army.
"It's top secret, sir. I've received direct orders from the Alpha myself," the guard responds, his eyes darting around, clearly wanting to be anywhere but here.
I shiver, but not from the cold pressing in around me.
Matthias has gone, he's fled to safety. He's left behind countless guards and my father, his own war advisor. He even left me...
Nausea rises into my throat as I twist around, wavering in my place. It would have been so easy for him to take us with him. Instead, he left us here to die or be taken prisoner by Varian's forces.
Father pinches the bridge of his nose. "But...that can't be right."
"This way to a secure room, sir." The guard turns, leading us into the manor.
It looks different now, and not just because of the hour. There's a haunting emptiness despite the opulence as the guard guides us through familiar hallways, of which I've dusted corners and cleaned the floors of.
"Did the Alpha know this was coming?" I ask hoarsely, dodging soldiers who pass us by.
Father dips his head. "I would hope not. If so, he would have warned us. We are practically on the border as we speak."
He may not want to believe Matthias would leave us here to die, but I do. Matthias never does anything accidentally, and him leaving behind his own war advisor has to be purposeful.
And me...I thought he cared about me, about us. Clearly I was mistaken.
"Are we going to die?" Panic crawls up my throat, nearly choking me.
"Nonsense, all will be well," father soothes, although even he can't hide his apprehension. "This place is secure-"
The floor beneath us shakes suddenly and violently, knocking father against the hallway wall. A loud boom rolls through the house, echoing in my ears that I try in vain to cover. Everything shakes and sways, dust spitting out of corners to rain down upon us.
The guard grabs my arm and yanks me to the floor, my father following suit. We cover our heads as the trembling of the house subsides.
"We need to go now, we've been infiltrated!" The guard yells past the ringing in my ears, pulling at me.
I let him, stumbling to my feet. My grip on my father's hand doesn't release, my desperation shackling us together.
That explosion was a bomb on the other side of the house, meaning Varian's forces are far closer than we thought...they are likely in the building already, searching for those to kill or take hostage.
"Take us to the safe room," father demands, coughing violently into his sleeve as a thick cloud of dust hangs stagnant in the air.
"No time. Leave through the back and run!" The guard lets me go suddenly, shoving me forward before vanishing into the shadows.
For a second I'm stunned, so overcome with panic I can hardly concentrate.
We need to get out of here. I need to save my father.
"Come now, Dove. Don't get separated from me."
We run side by side through a maze of corridors, searching for one of the side exists. My breathing is harsh, that and the sound of faint yelling in the distance being all I can hear.
If father is caught, they will kill him. He's vital to Matthias, and an enemy that cannot be salvaged.
Using the wall as leverage to stop myself slipping, I skid around a corner, only to find a heaping pile of rubble, smoke pouring out a hole in the wall.
It's so thick I can hardly see. Covering my mouth, I turn back around, reaching for father.
But he's not there.
"Father!" I yell, following back the way I came. "Can you hear me?"
The hallway is empty. I hunt around for a second, opening doors and yelling for him until the smoke has coated by throat and I'm coughing violently.
I can't leave here without him...I need to save him.
Stumbling back through the hallway, I can't seem to outrun the smoke. Suddenly it's everywhere, so vile and thick I'm wading through it. My lungs burn, every cough and splutter only forcing more smoke down my throat.
My head spins and I brace my shoulder against the wall. I can only see smoke and darkness, engulfing me. I don't recognise any door, most of which are locked.
The sound of boots on marble become clear as I call to my hands and knees, trying to get below the smoke line, but to no avail.
"Survivor here!" An unfamiliar voice yells out.
A flicker of hope sparks in my chest, until reality presses it back down like a boot crushing a single flower. I recognise that accent. That isn't one of Matthias's soldiers, but one of Varian's.
"Detain them for interrogation, then find the Alpha!" Another guard replies.
A pair of thick black boots appear in my vision. If I can just reason with them, tell them I know Varian, that he cares about my wellbeing—
The soldier lifts his foot and sharply kicks me in the head, a flash of light and a jolt of pain forcing me into unconsciousness.
🤎••🤎
As always, you can read this book 16 chapters ahead on Inkitt and 10 chapters ahead on Radish!
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