Alpha's Heart Ana's Fate

CHAPTER 14: The Escape

Fell to the ground. Elder Covin suddenly started struggling. It was strange because he seemed so confident before now.

Why try to escape now… the guards tried to calm him down but before we knew it rogues came into the hall.

They went straight to the guards calming Elder Covin down who were caught off guard.

They killed all of them in a flash and took Elder Covin away right in a giffy. I tried to catch my breath as everything happened so fast.

I stood still as Kieran asked the remaining guards not to follow and catch up with them. Let him go, Kieran said.

The hall didn’t feel the same after Elder Corvin was taken. It wasn’t empty.

It was still full of people, movement, voices

but something inside it had shifted, like the ground had stopped trusting the weight on it.

I sat with my wrist still wrapped in bandage, the healer adjusting it carefully like nothing in the world outside mattered more than how tight the cloth sat against my skin.

“You’ve been losing this bandage again,” he said quietly. “I’m not,” I answered immediately.

He gave me a look without arguing, then tightened it slightly. “You are.”

I didn’t respond after that. Because I was.

Not just my wrist. Everything just seemed chaotic. Beside me, Lysa stayed close.

She hadn’t left since earlier, not even when the healer came back a second time.

It wasn’t protection in the way warriors did. It was just her concern towards me.

“You’re staring at the doors too much,” she said softly. I blinked slightly. “Not really Lysa I'm just watching out for anything that could spring up you know...” I jiggled.

“You're really funny Ana, what could possibly show up lol,” Lysa said, smiling faintly. “I guess everyone is tensed up," Lysa continued...”

I followed her gaze across the hall. And damn she was right. Because everyone in the hall became still.

Warriors watched each other intently, they thought no one noticed.

They checked movements.. Listened more than speaking. Some stood in small clusters, talking low enough that words didn’t carry, but tension did.

Kieran stood with two guards. He wasn’t raising his voice. He never really did. But the space around him showed his power.

Like everything near him understood it had limits.

“Internal routes must be rechecked,” he said calmly. One guard nodded quickly. “Yes, Alpha.”

Another hesitated before speaking.

“Alpha the escort path used… It was clean on record.” That caught my attention even from here.

Clean? That word didn’t sit right. Not after what happened. Kieran didn’t react immediately. He just asked, “Cleaned by whose verification?”

The guard paused. “That’s the issue.”

Silence stretched.

Just heavy enough that even Lysa stopped speaking beside me.

I watched Kieran’s expression carefully.

It didn’t change sharply. But something inside it focused tighter.

Like a door closing quietly in his mind.

He turned slightly. “Bring me every record linked to that route.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

The guards moved quickly after that.

But the air didn’t lighten. If anything, it tightened more.

A healer passed by again and glanced at my wrist. “You can take that off if you like. I'm sure your wrist is doing just fine now,” he muttered.

“Dont worry I'm alright. I'll remove it when I get back home,” I said. He didn’t believe me. Neither did I, if I was honest…

Lysa shifted closer. “Umm don't worry I'm gonna make sure she takes this off sooner than she claims she will.” Lysa said in a sarcastic way. I laughed seriously. You're not serious Lysa.

“I looked at her.“Anyway that sounds interesting.” She gave a small laugh and said.

“It only sounds peaceful, people don’t realize how often things move through hidden plans.”

I didn’t answer immediately. Because something about that line stayed with me longer than it should have. Just then a guard stumbled in.

Alpha. “They’re saying it wasn’t a normal breach.” “If escort routes were used, then this means someone helped from inside.” Another guard said almost immediately.

“That’s impossible unless access was given.” Voices cut off the moment they got too close to awareness.

People weren’t just afraid. They were trying to make sense of fear. Across the hall, Kieran finally stepped away from the scouts and moved.

Not towards the doors. Towards the center.

The entire hall adjusted without anyone giving instruction.

Warriors subtly repositioned, blocking.

And guarding the hall.guarding.

Kieran stopped and looked around once.

Then he spoke: “From this moment, internal movement access will be verified twice before escort clearance.”

A warrior immediately responded.

“Yes, Alpha.” soon another voice, quieter from the edge of the hall.

“What about the current escort logs?”

That question didn’t come from rebellion.

It came from fear trying to find structure.

Kieran turned slightly towards it.

“All logs are under review.”

That was enough.The room accepted it.

But I didn’t feel reassured.

Because reviews don’t fix what already happened. Lysa leaned closer again.

“Do you think this means someone planned it?” I hesitated. “I think…”

I started the sentence slowly. Then stopped.

Because I didn’t know how to finish it.

Across the hall, the doors opened again.

A guard entered quickly. He was different from the others. Breathing heavier.

Not panicked but it looked urgent.

Kieran saw him instantly. “Report.”

The scout stepped forward.

“Alpha, there’s something in the escort validation chain.”

The hall tightened again. Even the healers stopped moving. Kieran’s voice stayed level. “Speak up” the scout swallowed.

“Alpha the authorization used for Elder Corvin’s movement… was not stolen.”

This rippled through the room… Not confusion, just realization trying to form too quickly.

Kieran narrowed his eyes slightly. “Explain.” The guard continued. “It was active.” Silence dropped hard in the hall.

I felt Lysa stiffen beside me. “What does that mean?” she whispered.

I didn’t answer her. Because I was already understanding it in pieces I didn’t want.

The guard added quickly, like he needed to say it before fear stopped him.

“It came from a live clearance signature.”

“But it does not belong to any current operating officer.”

That was the contradiction. Alive… but not assigned. Active… but not recognized.

Kieran didn’t move for a moment. Then he spoke quietly. “Show me the source.”

“Yes, Alpha.” The guard left quickly again.

The hall remained frozen in a different kind of silence now.

Not fear of attack but fear of understanding what kind of problem this actually was.

Lysa exhaled slowly beside me. “That means someone here is still” She stopped herself.

But I already knew what she meant. Still inside the system. Still active. Still reachable.

I looked down at my wrist again. The bandage suddenly felt heavier than it should have.

Kieran’s eyes briefly crossed the hall again. For a moment, I thought they might land on me.

But they didn’t stay long enough. He was already thinking ahead.

Not reacting but calculating and that scared me more than anything that had happened earlier.

Because earlier had at least been visible.

This wasn’t. This was under everything.

Hidden in something we all used without thinking. Movement. Access. And Trust.

The guard returned again.Faster this time.

And I knew before he even spoke that whatever he brought back would change the direction of everything.

He stopped in front of Kieran. “The source signature has been identified. Alpha.”

Then quietly he said:

“It belongs to a sealed authorization line.”

Kieran didn’t blink.

But something in the hall shifted anyway.

Because sealed lines don’t exist in active systems.

They exist in things that were never supposed to be used again. I became still.

Even the healer stopped walking. Kieran’s voice dropped slightly. “…Which seal?”

The guard hesitated. Then answered.

“One that should not have been accessible since the last internal reset.”

Silence followed. Not loud. Not dramatic.

But final. And in that silence, I realized something I didn’t want to fully understand yet.

Elder Corvin wasn’t taken by outsiders alone. He was taken through something Greenwood itself was never supposed to be able to open again.

And whoever had done it…was still active somewhere inside the system we are all standing in.

Kieran finally spoke again. “Lock all internal clearance systems.” Not even the elders or high ups should access it except through me.

The warriors moved again around the hall. I stayed still. I soon realized the fact that Greenwood had spies living within.

Suddenly I heard a loud cry... I turned back and my waist was…