The Alpha and The Enforcer [TATE]

Chapter 26

Third Person P.O.V

Alice had always been controlled. Clean. Cautious.

She moved through the pack like a shadow—never causing direct trouble, but never offering help either. There was a simmer in her that Jacob had seen before. Quiet, acidic resentment. He just hadn't realized who it was aimed at—until now.

Carl's scouts followed her movements around the clock. She didn't notice. Or maybe she thought no one dared question her, not with Alpha blood in her veins.

But arrogance breeds mistakes.

A coded signal was traced from her personal communicator—encrypted coordinates again, sent to a rogue channel. The tech team picked it up. Carl flagged it within the hour. Jacob didn't even blink.

"She's making her next move," Carl said.

Jacob's jaw tightened. "She's done."

---

That Night – The Training Grounds

They caught her passing a second message—this time to a patrol warrior she thought she could manipulate. The note was nearly incinerated when Carl retrieved it.

Inside were the words: "Same thing, different location."

That was all Jacob needed.

---

Pack Dungeons – Holding Cell

The heavy door groaned shut behind me, iron scraping against stone, echoing down the cold corridor like a warning. The air in the dungeons always smelled like damp rock and rusted steel, but today it reeked of betrayal.

Alice sat on the bench inside the cell, legs crossed neatly, spine straight. She looked more like she was waiting for a formal meeting than sitting in a holding cell for treason.

When I stepped into view, her head lifted—but she didn't speak. Just watched me with that same smug confidence she always wore like armor.

I stared back, arms folded, letting the silence drag long enough to unsettle her. I wanted her to squirm.

She cracked first.

"I suppose you're here for a confession," she said, voice clipped, like this was beneath her.

"I'm here for the truth," I replied, voice calm and cold. "Start talking."

Alice shrugged, feigning boredom. "I used Christian's seal. Sent the guards away. Ellie went to the border, walked straight into an ambush. There's your truth."

My jaw clenched.

"Why?" I asked, flatly. "You knew what that would mean. That she'd be alone. That she could die."

Alice's lips twisted. "I didn't think she would die. That wasn't the plan."

"Then what was the plan?" I took a step closer. "Because I've been going over this all night, and nothing justifies what you did."

"She was never supposed to be put in the hospital," Alice snapped, the calm cracking. "Just rattled. A little bruised. Humiliated. Exposed. I made a deal. The rogues get their scare tactic, and I finally get the to expose her for what she is. A fraud"

"Who did you talk to?" I growled.

Alice hesitated.

"I met her on my way back from visiting my home pack," she muttered. "A rogue. Said she had a grudge with Ellie. Told me she'd handle it. I just needed to draw the guards away. She promised no one would kill her."