The Alpha Assassin novel Chapter 15

I tied my hair into a tight braid and wrapped it into a bun, smoothing down any flyaway hairs. I headed out with the first light of dawn and slipped to an eerily quiet kitchen before heading to where the warriors got ready to train, knowing they would be outside now.

That night that I watched The Hunter train with Nolan, his belt hung over the rickety fence with his keys attached. He was either ignorant, which I doubted, or confident in his abilities not to find Dominick or Hunter’s trainers much of a threat. Or maybe, he trusted them, but I doubted that too. I hoped whatever logic he applied to training with Nolan also applied to the warriors.

I was happy to find that it did.

Hung up neatly was his belt hidden behind his faded black leather jacket. The keyring was nearly impossible to get off the belt, so I had to take the entire thing. I wrapped it around my waist and pulled my shawl tight around me, holding the keys in my gloved hand so they wouldn’t jungle.

My heart rate started to accelerate, and I tried to slip back into the place that used to be second nature. Where logic overruled fear and calmness replaced the flood of emotions that came during these situations.

I took even breaths to steady myself, focusing on my feet, and it worked. The only thing that stress would do would make me prone to mistakes. I paused when I was far enough past the almost empty dining area for the omegas and warriors and slipped into an alcove even though I knew no one would be heading this way. I studied the keys, there were only five of them, but it was more than Alpha Raymond carried.

A few moments later, a scream came from the direction of the kitchen. The sound of feet scuttling on the carpet swelled and then dissipated completely. I peered out and slowly made my way past the open door, ensuring it was empty.

I had a minute, possibly less, but it would be enough - it had to be enough.

I tried to walk as quietly as I could over the smooth stone of the dining hall to the black locked cabinet. I pulled out the pronged key that I grasped tightly and fumbled with the lock before it clicked open.

Without pausing, I opened the jar of dried food, an earthly unpleasant scent hit my nose. I pulled out the pouch of powdered silent juniper, it didn’t really have a smell, but the taste was a bit... Unpleasant. His horrible food would mask it perfectly.

I poured in the measured powder, and for the first time, I felt slightly guilty. He might have been innocent in ways. I guess most were. But in my story, the only story that mattered, he was my enemy - a threat to be nullified.

I shook the jar, distributing the powder, and set it back in place before quietly closing the door and locking it.

As I walked back through the hallway, I passed a few omegas whispering, heading back to their early breakfast or coffee. No one noticed me or even glanced in my direction.

I didn’t create a distraction that could actually harm anyone, just one that would scare them. The first person to open the fridge and the jar would fall, shatter, and react with the powder on the floor to fizz and foam. Completely harmless but confusing nonetheless and provided me a few minutes of peace amidst their panic.

I wiped the keys on my shawl just in case and hung them up in the same way that I committed to memory, slowly closing the door behind me. I let myself breathe and settle into the now familiar mix of relief and pure adrenaline that accompanied a mission completed. A mission successfully completed.

I had enough time to take a short walk, sticking to the path I had been taking, walking past the training ring, before heading to my room to leave the shaw and gloves and stash the empty bag. I took down my braid but kept my braid in, loosening it a little. My cheeks were pink from the cold and adrenaline, and I willed myself back into my mask, but that delicious feeling never fully left me.

I would have to wait until the hunter started to weaken, but he had to be gone before I started on the family, and I knew he wouldn’t leave willingly, not without finding the killer. I toyed with the idea of pinning it on someone. One of the brothers would be easy enough, but I knew enough that in any world, even ours, money and status often were a plush rug that things were easily swept under.

No, after he was gone, I wouldn’t wait anymore. It wouldn’t be as dragged out as I would have liked, but I needed it to be accomplished more than I needed anything else. It would be satisfying either way.

Thankfully, it was only Luna Natalie sitting on the table when I walked in. She was rubbing her temples and either didn’t notice me walk in or ignored my existence entirely.

Alpha Raymond stomped in after we waited for him long enough that Luna Natalie ordered our food to be served; she didn’t like starting without everyone there. Something that I might have respected if it was anyone else.

“What is it, dear?” Luna Natalie asked her mate, clearly exasperated and not trying to hide it.

“Nothing.” He pulled out his seat, and it scratched loudly against the stone floor. I winced and slumped into myself.

“You continue to keep me out of the loop as if I’m not your mate and helping you run this goddess-damned pack,” she seethed. I was impressed.

“It’s nothing of concern. Why would I bother you with every insignificant detail? Every errant thought I’ve ever had?” he scoffed, pulling a plate of sausage towards him.

“I’m your mate.” Luna Natalie emphasized every word.

The day passed uneventfully. I saw the hunter with Nolan after dinner in the hall, he looked the very same, but that was to be expected; that’s what should have happened. I knew he would have eaten it, though. The hunter seemed like a creature of habit, especially to commit to something that horrible looking for breakfast.

One of the few joys I had in life was from good food, and I couldn’t imagine swapping that for something that might potentially fuel you a tiny bit more. Or maybe he was self-deprecating, forcing those mundane meals on himself as a sort of punishment.

I smiled to myself, thinking about it, as I entered my room and showered.

For once, there weren’t any blood or minor cuts of my own to clean up, but I still felt like I needed to wash the day away. Even after my shower, the weight of what happened today clung to me. The adrenaline was completely gone, and worry crept to the edges of my mind.

What if I made a mistake harming him? Was his life less than mine just because he was pitted against me for money? He didn’t even know he was against me even, just the thought of a mystery killer.

I swallowed, shaking my head, and focused on towel-drying my hair meticulously—anything to get my mind off some moral compass bullshit that I couldn’t change now anyway.

I slipped on my nightgown and added another log to the blazing fire. It was a cold night, but the flames did little to quell the cold that settled inside me.

I tucked myself into bed, pulling the thick blanket over me. The fire cast shadows around the room, changing and moving and dancing across the walls.

An inky midnight shadow sat perched unmoving on my windowsill, and my heart felt like it stopped and then went into overdrive. There was only one person that could have slipped past my sharp senses.

Even without my wolf, I was vigilant.

It had to be him. It had to be The Hunter. But why? I swallowed against a hot lump in my throat, but my mouth was dry.

His soft, thundery voice rippled out of him, and I had the confirmation I didn’t want. “You don’t think I know the taste of Silent Juniper when it’s powdered?”