Alpha Alden ✔️

Chapter Thirty One

Word Count: 1543

~Alden

My first reaction was not to chase her.

I felt it deep within the primal part of me. My instincts suggest I should follow her, catch her and bring her back here. But the practiced part of me knows better than to make a riot out of trying to find her. Frighten my people and risk exposing the expanse of what is going on inside this institute.

So when the elevator doors glided closed, and Kezziah's panicky face disappeared, I pulled myself to a stop and breathed in deeply. No matter how hard the depths within me pull me to follow her, to stop her before she escapes into the streets, I don't.

My eyes close. It's hard, but it's not the first time I've refused Alpha instincts. Were untrained in dealing with it, I would tear about my own Pack to stop her.

It's difficult not to.

She left me with one question ringing in my mind, what if we are mates? Her refusal to tell me only has curiosity building within me. She is clearly afraid of the possibility that maybe we are, however, I will find out. Whether she wants me to or not. There is no way I can continue to live without being fully sure.

Patiently, I wait for the elevator to return back before stepping in. I'm not going down to the bottom floor where I assumed she headed. I loosen security at night knowing all the subjects are locked away in their rooms.

I never predicted Kezziah would do this.

I find myself walking into the security lab - a sectioned off room for myself and my guards only. Here, I have access to almost all of the security footage from cameras mounted across the main city. At least the first few blocks that surround the institute. I refuse to allow Kezziah to get out of my sight.

She will soon realise this Pack isn't for her. The people will pay her no mind, and there is nowhere she can stay without our currency. Surely, she will return to me soon. And if not, I will find her myself. Privately. Quietly.

Leaning over one of the computers, I skip through footage until I find what I'm looking for. Kezziah leaving the compound.

She looks petrified.

My heart almost stops as I watch her quick steps, head down, wanting to blend in. Her black veil of hair does little to conceal her identity. There is no mistaking her. So I watch, following her movements as she moves down the street.

Following her with each camera as she walks by, I ensure she doesn't escape from my view. She is rushing, looking around for a place to hide, often peeking behind her. No one aside from me knows she has escaped, and that is how I will keep it until I decide what to do. I must be careful. I must keep her safe.

Sinking into a chair, I wordless watch her, something stirring in my stomach. Some kind of emotion. I don't like it. Whatever it is.

I watch Kezziah's thin frame, tainted by the lifestyle she has lived here. She doesn't stop. I will find you. I will bring you back here and I'll look after you. And I will find out the truth.

~Kezziah

The first part of my plan failed to work the moment I stepped onto the street.

The darkness of the night has been shunned away by bright streetlights that leave no space for a single shadow as I go around the corner onto the sidewalk. And to add to my exposure, no crowds in sight. Not even a single person dwells on the streets, and considering the hour, I'm not surprised.

I keep blindly walking north, unsure of where I'm heading to. Each building I walk past seems to be fortified with metal cell like walls protecting the glass behind it. Even what I assume are apartments have been locked, security cameras planted outside.