Claimed By The Alpha I Hated

Chapter 8: The Messenger

The room fell silent.

Damien and Ethan exchanged a look.

A look that immediately made me suspicious.

Because neither of them seemed surprised.

Concerned?

Yes.

Terrified?

Definitely.

But surprised?

No.

As though the possibility had always existed.

As though they had been expecting this.

My stomach twisted.

"What aren't you telling me?"

Neither answered.

Of course.

Damien's jaw tightened.

Ethan stared at the floor.

I folded my arms.

"I'm getting really tired of that."

"Ava—"

"No."

I cut Damien off.

"No more secrets."

His expression hardened.

"You're upset."

I laughed.

The sound came out sharp.

"Upset?"

My wolf growled.

"He's trying to calm us."

"He's trying to avoid answering."

"Maybe both."

I ignored her.

My attention remained fixed on Damien.

The Alpha looked exhausted.

For a second, guilt tugged at me.

Then I remembered the years of lies.

The years of whispers.

The years of believing my father was a traitor.

The guilt disappeared.

"You recognized the necklace."

Silence.

My pulse quickened.

"You did."

Damien looked away.

That was answer enough.

The betrayal hit harder than I expected.

"You knew."

"Ava."

"You knew."

His gray eyes met mine.

"I knew your father wore one."

The room seemed to shrink.

My breathing became shallow.

Ethan shifted uncomfortably.

Nobody spoke.

Finally Damien sighed.

"The necklace belonged to a group."

"A group?"

His expression darkened.

"A group that no longer exists."

Another half-answer.

Another wall.

I was so sick of walls.

"What group?"

"I'm not discussing that tonight."

Anger exploded inside me.

"Of course you're not."

"Ava—"

"Get out."

Ethan blinked.

Damien froze.

"What?"

"You heard me."

I pointed toward the door.

"Get out."

The room became deadly quiet.

Nobody spoke.

For a moment I thought Damien might argue.

Instead he nodded once.

A strange sadness flashed through his eyes.

Then he turned and walked away.

Ethan followed.

The door closed behind them.

I hated how guilty I felt afterward.

"You hurt him."

"Good."

"Liar."

I rolled my eyes.

My wolf had become annoyingly opinionated.

Sleep didn't come easily.

Every time I closed my eyes, I saw the stranger.

The necklace.

The smile.

And heard those impossible words.

*Your father sent me.*

At some point exhaustion finally won.

Morning arrived too soon.

The entire territory had changed.

Warriors patrolled every path.

Extra guards stood outside the Alpha wing.

Pack members whispered in nervous groups.

Something was happening.

The stranger had shaken everyone.

Good.

At least I wasn't the only one.

I left my room determined to find answers.

Instead, I found Damien.

He was standing near the training field speaking with Ethan.

His eyes immediately found mine.

My stomach betrayed me.

The mate bond stirred.

My wolf wagged her tail.

Actually wagged her tail.

"Look at him."

"No."

"Look harder."

"We're arguing."

"He's handsome when he's worried."

I hated her.

Damien started walking toward me.

My pulse quickened.

Annoying.

Very annoying.

"Ava."

"What?"

His eyebrow twitched.

Clearly not the greeting he'd hoped for.

Good.

"I need you to stay close to the packhouse."

I laughed.

"No."

"Ava."

"No."

His jaw clenched.

The familiar frustration almost made me smile.

"You don't understand the danger."

"And you don't understand how tired I am of hearing that."

The words hit harder than intended.

Something flashed across his face.

Pain.

Gone a second later.

But I'd seen it.

For some reason that bothered me.

Before either of us could continue, a warrior approached.

"Alpha."

Damien turned immediately.

"What is it?"

"The search teams returned."

My attention sharpened.

"Did they find him?"

The warrior hesitated.

Then shook his head.

"No."

Not surprising.

The stranger felt impossible.

Like a ghost.

Or something worse.

The warrior swallowed.

"But they found this."

He handed Damien a folded piece of paper.

The moment Damien saw it, every trace of color vanished from his face.

My heart skipped.

That wasn't fear.

That was recognition.

I stepped forward.

"What is it?"

Nothing.

Damien stared at the paper.

Ethan cursed softly.

My pulse exploded.

"What is it?"

Still silence.

I snatched the paper from Damien's hand.

"Ava—"

Too late.

I unfolded it.

A symbol had been drawn in black ink.

A crescent moon surrounded by strange markings.

Beneath it were three words.

Three simple words.

Trust no one.

The world seemed to stop.

My stomach dropped.

My wolf went silent.

For the first time in days, completely silent.

I read the message again.

Trust no one.

Not trust Damien.

Not trust the pack.

Not trust anyone.

A warning.

My gaze slowly lifted.

Damien was watching me.

Something dark moved through his eyes.

Fear.

Again.

Always fear.

Why?

Why was he so afraid?

I flipped the paper over.

My breath caught.

There was another message written on the back.

Smaller.

Messier.

As though someone had been in a hurry.

My blood turned to ice as I read the words.

"If Damien Blackwood has finally told you the truth..."

My hands started shaking.

Then I read the final sentence.

"... Why are you still alive?"

My heart stopped.

What did that mean?