Alpha's Heart Ana's Fate

CHAPTER SIX: THE SURVIVOR

The silence in my room felt alive, pressing against the walls. It wasn't peaceful or safe. Just waiting.

I had a restless night, I stayed motionless for ages after the voices outside went quiet.

Alpha Kieran, the elders, warriors, all of them disappeared in a hurry, like something big had spooked them.

Whatever had everyone on edge, it got me locked in my tiny barracks room with no explanation.

I gripped the blanket tighter. I hated that I cared. The problem was I didn't know what to do with those feelings.

More minutes ticked by. Nothing. No knock. No explanation. Just this oppressive quietness that made every creak and groan of the old building louder than it ought to be.

Finally, distant footsteps. Slow and consistent. Not the panicked rush from before.

It stopped right outside my door. I held my breath. Then someone tapped on the door. Gently.

Not urgent, it was measured and controlled. I hesitated but asked who it was.

"The guard," came the reply. The door opened shortly after. A young warrior walked in carrying a small tray.

"A meal for you," he said. His face was different this time, though. Not the blank mask I was used to.

Something was off. He wouldn't look at me. "Eat," he said, setting the tray down.

I didn't move towards it. "What's going on outside?" I asked… His jaw clenched.

He hesitated. "I don't have much to say on that." Then, quieter he said; "The Alpha is dealing with it." And he was gone.

The door shut again. But the quietness wasn't the same. It felt heavier. Deliberate.

I stared at the food. The Alpha is handling it. That meant Kieran had taken action. Fast and direct.

Whatever happened last night was far from normal. By dawn, the whole territory had shifted.

Not frenzied. Just alert. Wolves moved along the paths outside quicker than usual. Whispers trailed them.

Fragments reached me when I cracked the door open. I caught pieces. "Cirgee..." "Survived, barely..." "...Alive..."

My grip on the door tightened. Some part of my past had just barged into Greenwood. Someone or something survived. My chest clenched.

I shut the door. I Waited. Hours crawled by. Then three knocks, definite and sharp.

Nothing casual about them. Not the usual checkups or food drops. This was something else.

Before a second round came. I opened the door. Another warrior stood there. "The Alpha has summoned you."

My heart sank a little. "Why?" No answer. Just, "You'll see."

Walking through Greenwood felt different this time. It wasn't curiosity pulling me forward. It was the sense that something had already been decided.

I had a feeling something big was locked into place. With each step toward the council hall, more wolves appeared. Warriors. Old wolves. Healers.

Even some lower ranked wolves gathered around the huge stone building. Everyone watched. Everyone waited.

My gut twisted. Something major had happened. When we stepped into the council hall, the air felt thinner.

Not cold exactly. More like the atmosphere had pulled all the warmth out of the room. The elders sat in their places frowning.

Kieran stood by the chamber entrance, calm but razor sharp. Rose lingered behind the table, her stare; fixed on me.

Her attention alone made my skin crawl. But I didn't have time for that because that's when I saw him.

"Ronan!" I screamed. "You survived?" He lay on a raised bed in the center of the room. Bandages wrapped around him, blood soaking through the gauze.

His breathing came soft. Almost too soft. Looking at him, the seriousness of it all finally hit me in the chest.

"Ana..." His voice cracked on my name. I moved towards him without thinking, but a guard blocked me halfway.

Kieran lifted a hand. The guard stepped aside immediately. I rushed to Ronan. He tried to sit up but couldn't manage it.

"You're alive," I whispered. He gave me a weak, tired smile. "So are you."

That moment, him being there, felt completely unreal. Murmurs rippled through the council until Kieran's voice cut through, requesting confirmation on everything.

Ronan turned his head towards the elders and spoke steadily. Cirgee Pack was attacked on the night of the Sacred Moon Rite.

"Cirgee fell that night." The air in the room went tight instantly. "Alpha Ciaro was killed defending the eastern ridge."

Some elders shifted in their seats. Others frowned. They probably already knew.

"Luna Thaila forced Ana into the underground passage." I flinched inwardly at the memory. The tunnel. The smoke. My mother's voice.

"Ana escaped through the lower tunnel exit," Ronan finished. The silence that followed was thick and final.

One elder leaned forward sharply. "And you witnessed this?" he pressed. "Yes," Ronan said.

He kept his composure, "I was there when it happened.”

Another elder jumped in right away. "Then where are the others?" Ronan's face darkened.

"Some escaped before the collapse was complete. Not many, though," he added after a pause.

Someone else asked, "How many?" I was wondering the same thing. "I don't know the exact numbers," Ronan said, shaking his head slightly.

"But Cirgee is not empty of survivors," he said, and that word, survivors, landed hard.

That changed everything. It wasn't just about whether people got out alive. It meant Cirgee still existed somewhere, in some form.

I felt a rush of something close to relief. Then came the question I'd been dreading.

"What happened after Cirgee fell?" Ronan let out a slow breath. "Lucan Graves took it."

The name hit the room like a fist. I felt it too, not just as information but as something physical, hatred and reality slamming together.

"He waited until the last resistance broke," Ronan explained, "then declared himself ruler."

The elders murmured. Kieran finally spoke. "Continue." Ronan turned towards me, just slightly. That small movement changed everything.

This wasn't about them anymore. It was for me. "Ana," he whispered. My whole body went rigid.

"There's something you need to hear." My voice nearly failed. "What is it?" I asked.

His expression softened a bit. "Before he passed". "Your dad gave me instructions." I couldn't breathe..

The room went dead silent. Every person in it was straining to listen. Ronan's voice dropped lower.

"He told me to find you if Cirgee fell."

He paused. Squeezed his eyes shut for a second. "And to give you this message." I couldn't move nor breathe properly.

"Defend your mother's sacrifice," he said, and his voice was firm.

Those words hit me so hard I saw stars. Tears burned at the corners of my eyes.

"He said your mom gave her life to make sure you kept yours," Ronan continued, barely above a whisper.

Silence held the room. Then another piece fell. "Your father also said," Ronan struggled here, his own feelings plain on his face, "that you shouldn't throw your life away chasing revenge."

One last thing. "Ana," he whispered. "Live."

Something inside me broke quietly. Not a loud crash. Just a total shutdown.

My hands trembled at my sides. I couldn't speak nor move. The room let that moment exist. Even the elders stayed quiet, though Rose didn't entirely.

Kieran took a small step forward but said nothing. He was watching me, just watching.

Then his voice came. "Greenwood acknowledges the testimony." An elder spoke right after.

"So she was not lying." Another added, "The fall of Cirgee is confirmed."

The tension in the room shifted. The doubt that had followed me since I arrived fell apart.

But not everyone relaxed. Rose stepped forward, her boots thudding against the floor before she even opened her mouth. Every head turned. Including Kieran's.

Rose didn't look at the elders or at Ronan. Her eyes were on me, cold and appraising. "If she is to remain in Greenwood..."

A heavy pause. The room seemed to tilt around it. "She does not remain as a protected guest."

My heart stuttered. Rose turned her head just enough for the elders to see her expression.

"She remains under Greenwood law," she said, flat and final. The room went quiet. Then she went on. "And Greenwood's law is simple." My fingers curled. Every instinct in me sharpened.

Rose looked me dead in the eyes. "An outsider earns her place." A pause. "And I will be the one to decide if you ever belong here."

Nobody reacted. Not even the elders, because this wasn't a rebellion. It was Greenwood law being invoked. Kieran stayed silent. He didn't stop her.

Rose held my gaze a second longer, then turned away. For a moment I thought it was over. The council room stayed quiet, heavy and final. Kieran still hadn't spoken, not to oppose, not to agree. He just watched.

Then, out of nowhere, a sound broke the silence. A slow, deliberate creaking from the big chamber doors behind us.

Wood sliding against stone. Every head turned, mine included. The doors were opening, but nobody had given the order. No announcement. No permission.

The guards on either side of the hall went stiff, hands moving to their weapons. As the gap between the doors widened, a shadow appeared in the entrance.

Someone had walked in. Unannou

nced. Uninvited. In Greenwood, that meant only one thing.. Trouble had just arrived.