The Alpha’s Fatal Devotion

Chapter5

Lena

“You shouldn’t stay here alone.”

I looked at Adrian.

“You keep saying that.”

“Because you keep insisting you’re fine.”

“I am fine.”

He held my gaze for a moment.

Then he said, “There’s a guest house not far from here. You can stay there tonight.”

I shook my head.

“No.”

He didn’t argue.

That surprised me.

Instead, he nodded once.

“Fine.”

He turned toward the door.

I followed him into the hallway.

At the entrance, he stopped.

“If you change your mind, call me.”

“I don’t have your number.”

He took out his phone and held it toward me.

I stared at him.

“You’re giving me your number?”

“Yes.”

I took my phone from my pocket and handed it to him.

He entered his number, called himself once, then gave my phone back.

His name was already on the screen.

Adrian Blackthorne.

I looked at it for a second longer than I meant to.

“Thank you.”

He nodded.

Then he walked out.

I watched him cross the gate.

The dark car was waiting on the road.

He got inside.

A few seconds later, the headlights came on.

Then he drove away.

I waited until the car disappeared before closing the gate.

The house felt different without him in it.

Quieter.

I locked the front door and stood there for a moment, listening.

Nothing.

Just the refrigerator humming somewhere in the kitchen and the old clock ticking from the living room.

Normal sounds.

I wanted them to be enough.

A wolf had been inside this house.

Maybe days ago.

Maybe longer.

And until tonight, I hadn’t known that was even possible.

I went back to Amira’s room and sat on the edge of the bed.

The note was still inside my bag.

I took it out and unfolded it.

My eyes went straight to the last line.

Don’t trust the Blackthornes.

I read it again.

Then I looked at the name on my phone.

Adrian Blackthorne.

Maybe Amira had been warning me about the name.

Not necessarily the man.

That didn’t make sense either.

Adrian had saved me, followed me home, and offered me somewhere safe without arguing. None of that erased the warning.

I folded the note along its old crease and put it back in my bag.

A sound came from the kitchen.

I froze.

It was soft.

Almost nothing.

A creak.

I waited.

Then it came again.

I walked to the kitchen.

The light was still on.

The half-eaten food sat where I had left it.

I picked up the plate, intending to throw the food away.

Then I noticed something on the chair beside the table.

Three thin scratches marked the wood.

I stepped closer.

They hadn’t been there before.

I was sure of it.

I ran my finger over one.

Fresh.

They were pale against the dark wood, the edges still rough.

I looked toward the back door.

Locked.

The windows were closed.

Nothing else seemed out of place.

I put the plate down.

A sound came from upstairs.

One slow creak.

I looked toward the ceiling.

Another.

This time, I knew it wasn’t the house settling.

Someone was moving.

My mouth went dry.

Adrian had been here only minutes ago.

He had smelled something in the kitchen that I couldn’t detect.

If someone had been hiding upstairs while he was here, wouldn’t he have known?

Unless whoever was there had waited.

The thought made my skin prickle.

I grabbed my phone.

My eyes went to Adrian’s name.

Then back to the stairs.

I didn’t want to call him.

Not because I thought he wouldn’t come.

That was the problem.

I knew he would.

I just didn’t know what would happen after he did.

If Amira’s warning was about his family, calling him might be exactly the wrong thing.

Another creak sounded above me.

I moved toward the stairs.

Slowly.

I kept my phone in one hand and reached for the wooden spoon sitting on the kitchen counter with the other.

I looked down at it.

A wooden spoon.

Apparently, that was my weapon of choice tonight.

I put it back.

There was another sound upstairs.

A soft scrape.

I took the first step.

Then another.

The stairs felt longer than they had earlier.

Halfway up, I stopped.

The hallway above was dark.

My bedroom door had been closed when I came home.

I remembered seeing it that way when I walked down the hall.

Now it stood open a hand’s width.

I stared at the gap.

I hadn’t seen it move.

I hadn’t heard it open.

Nothing.

Then—

The gap in the door widened by an inch.

Nobody touched it.

I backed down one step.

My phone was already in my hand.

I opened Adrian’s contact.

My thumb hovered over the call button.

Then I thought of the note in my bag.

Don’t trust the Blackthornes.

I stared at his name.

Maybe calling him wasn’t trusting him.

Maybe it was simply admitting that I couldn’t handle whatever was happening alone.

I pressed call.

He answered almost immediately.

“Lena?”

I swallowed.

“I changed my mind.”

There was a brief pause.

“Where are you?”

“At home.”

His voice changed.

“Are you inside?”

“Yes.”

I lowered my voice.

“Someone’s upstairs.”

A pause.

“Don’t go up there.”

I tightened my grip on the phone.

“I wasn’t planning to.”

“Good.”

I heard movement on his end.

“I’ll come to you.”

The line went quiet.

I looked toward the stairs.

The bedroom door was still open.

I couldn’t see inside from where I stood.

I couldn’t hear anything either.

That somehow made it worse.