The Cruel Alpha's Daughter's Mate

Chapter 3

Heidi

I turned another page of The Call of the Wild, completely absorbed in Buck’s transformation.

I’d read the book so many times that I practically knew the story by heart.

Yet somehow, I never got tired of it.

There was something about Buck that fascinated me.

He had started life comfortable and pampered, surrounded by everything he could possibly need.

Then everything changed.

He was forced into a world he didn’t understand, and instead of allowing it to destroy him, he adapted.

He survived.

He became something stronger.

I glanced toward Lara.

She was asleep.

Her breathing was slow and even, and for the first time since she’d arrived, the tension seemed to have disappeared from her face.

I smiled.

She obviously needed the rest.

Lara never talked much about her life at the Alpha residence.

She didn’t have to.

I wasn’t stupid.

I knew what kind of man Alpha Grayson was.

As an Alpha, he was intimidating enough.

As a father…

I couldn’t even imagine what it must be like living under his roof.

Especially now that Lara was responsible for maintaining the house.

It had never made sense to me.

There were Omegas assigned to work around the Alpha residence. They tended the gardens. They cooked. They cleaned. They did the shopping.

Yet somehow, Lara was the one expected to keep the entire house spotless.

And she never complained.

Not once.

That worried me more than if she had.

People who were happy didn’t usually have to pretend they were.

I looked at her sleeping peacefully.

I hoped I was imagining things.

I hoped there wasn’t something happening behind those enormous doors that Lara was too frightened to tell me about.

Because if Alpha Grayson was hurting her…

Surely she’d tell me.

Wouldn’t she?

I turned my attention back to my book.

For now, Lara was safe.

And if she needed sleep, I was going to let her have it.

⸻

Lara

Morning sunlight streamed through the window when I opened my eyes.

For a moment, I didn’t know where I was.

Then I remembered.

Heidi’s room.

The previous day came rushing back.

The arena.

The Omegas.

My father.

Tiffany.

The secret I now carried.

My stomach tightened.

I pushed the thoughts away.

I didn’t want to start the day thinking about my father.

I needed something else.

Something that belonged to me.

So, while Heidi was already working in the pack house kitchen, I slipped out of the Omega quarters and headed toward the woods.

I needed to run.

Once I was safely among the trees, away from the accommodation buildings and prying eyes, I stripped and shifted.

The instant Phoenix took control, the tension I’d been carrying seemed to disappear.

We bolted between the trees.

The morning air rushed through my fur as my paws pounded against the earth.

Faster.

Faster.

I jumped over a fallen tree.

Dodged a boulder.

Weaved between the trunks.

Phoenix let out a delighted howl inside my mind.

This is what we needed!

I couldn’t help smiling.

She was right.

For the first time since yesterday, I felt free.

We raced deeper into the woods until the trees began to thin.

Ahead of us stood the mountain that overlooked our territory.

Mount Flame Tree.

Even from a distance, it was breathtaking.

Rugged.

Wild.

Beautiful.

And deadly.

Humans came here during the warmer months to hike, and during winter they arrived to ski.

Every year there were accidents.

Falls.

Hypothermia.

Dehydration.

People who underestimated the mountain rarely got a second chance.

Werewolves weren’t immune to making stupid decisions either.

Over the years, more than one young wolf had climbed too high, become overconfident, lost their footing…

and never made it home.

Perhaps that should have been enough to keep me away.

It wasn’t.

I headed toward the base.

Then I started climbing.

Phoenix and I moved quickly, jumping from rock to rock.

The steeper sections forced us to slow down, digging our paws into the loose gravel to keep from sliding backwards.

But we kept going.

Higher.

Higher.

Until finally, we reached the summit.

I stopped, breathing hard.

Phoenix practically vibrated with excitement.

We did it!

I laughed.

That was incredible.

I know!

She paused.

And look at that view!

I turned.

And forgot to breathe.

The entire territory stretched beneath us.

From this height, the Alpha residence looked tiny.

The pack house was barely visible.

The wolves moving around the grounds looked like little specks.

Beyond them, the forest stretched toward Rapid River.

The morning sun reflected off the water, turning its surface golden.

Opal Creek branched away from it and wound through our territory like a silver ribbon.

It was beautiful.

So beautiful that for a few seconds, I almost forgot about everything waiting for me below.

Almost.

You wish your problems were that small, don’t you?

Phoenix’s voice was quieter now.

I looked down at the pack.

“I wish they didn’t exist at all.”

She was silent for a moment.

Then she asked the question I’d been avoiding.

You’re scared he’s going to kill us, aren’t you?

I swallowed.

“Yes.”

There was no point pretending otherwise.

“My father is bloodthirsty. We saw what he did to those Omegas.”

I looked toward the arena.

Even from here, I could see part of it.

“He killed people who had done nothing wrong because he wanted entertainment.”

My stomach twisted.

“And now we know something that could destroy him.”

Tiffany.

“Yes.”

Phoenix went quiet.

“If my father was willing to slaughter those Omegas without blinking, what makes you think he’d hesitate to silence us?”

She shuddered.

I don’t want to die.

“Neither do I.”

Good. I’m glad we’ve established that.

I laughed softly.

Then I looked back toward home.

For the first time, it didn’t look like home.

It looked like a trap.

⸻

We eventually began making our way back down the mountain.

Slowly.

Neither of us was in any hurry.

I kept glancing over my shoulder.

There was something strange about being up here.

The mountain had claimed the lives of so many people.

Yet somehow…

I felt safer here than I did in my own home.

We could stay here.

Phoenix’s voice broke through my thoughts.

I stopped.

“What?”

We could stay.

She sounded completely serious.

“No.”

Why not?

“Because we’d have to live as wolves.”

So?

“There are no houses.”

We could find shelter.

“No beds.”

We have fur.

“No pillows.”

We have rocks.

“No blankets.”

We have fur.

“No bathroom.”

Phoenix paused.

Okay. You have a point there.

I laughed.

“And what about food?”

We hunt.

“Bugs?”

No.

“Spiders?”

Absolutely not.

“Snakes?”

There was a long silence.

I suddenly hate this plan.

I laughed.

“Thought so.”

We continued down the mountain.

Then Phoenix stopped.

Wait.

I froze.

“What?”

Look over there.

I turned.

At first, I saw nothing.

Then I noticed something odd.

A shadow.

It stretched across one of the sheer rock faces.

I moved closer.

The closer I got, the more obvious it became.

It wasn’t a shadow.

It was an opening.

A cave.

I stared at it.

“Where did that come from?”

Phoenix practically screamed inside my head.

A cave!

She sounded ridiculously excited.

“Oh, wow.”

The entrance was enormous.

Large enough for several wolves to walk through side by side.

Darkness swallowed whatever lay beyond it.

Phoenix was already moving.

Let’s explore!

“Phoenix…”

Come on!

“We don’t know what’s inside.”

That’s why we should look.

I stared into the darkness.

Something about the cave bothered me.

Maybe it was the fact that I had never seen it before.

Maybe it was how perfectly hidden it was.

Or maybe it was simply the feeling I had that we weren’t supposed to find it.

“We should go back.”

Why?

“Because if we’re gone too long, my father will notice.”

He’ll notice we’re missing anyway.

“That isn’t helping.”

Phoenix ignored me.

Think about it. If we had somewhere like this to hide, he couldn’t find us.

I stared at the cave.

She had a point.

If things got worse at home, this could be somewhere we could disappear.

At least temporarily.

“What if we get trapped?”

Then we’ll find another way out.

“And if we don’t?”

Phoenix shrugged mentally.

Then at least we won’t have to clean bathrooms anymore.

I rolled my eyes.

“You’re impossible.”

And you’re curious.

I sighed.

She was right.

I was.

“Fine.”

Phoenix practically cheered.

“But we look quickly.”

Deal!

“And if anything feels wrong, we’re leaving.”

Deal.

I took a deep breath.

Then I stepped toward the cave.

One paw.

Then another.

The sunlight disappeared behind me as I crossed the threshold.

The temperature dropped immediately.

I stopped.

The hairs along my spine rose.

Something was different inside this cave.

The air smelled…

strange.

Not like animals.

Not like damp earth.

Something else.

Phoenix’s excitement vanished.

Lara…

I swallowed.

I smell something.

“So do I.”

We stood completely still.

Listening.

Waiting.

Then, from somewhere deep inside the darkness…

came a sound.

A low, unmistakable growl.

Phoenix and I looked at each other.

We’re not alone.