The Alpha Assassin novel Chapter 36

An unfamiliar, sharp knock came at my door, and I slumped into my chair, starting to brush my hair nervously. I called them in, and Ezra stood, taking up almost the entire frame. I put down the brush and eyed him. He wasn’t casual at all. He was rigid and assessing; maybe someone was near, but I didn’t hear anyone.

“I’m to escort you to breakfast,” he said, his voice hard.

I nodded and walked out next to him. He leaned closer to me, and my stomach flipped even with that. “Do you hear anyone?” he asked, his voice low.

I paused, and so did he. I didn’t hear anyone on this floor, but below us, there were a few shuffling of feet. “Not on this floor,” I said.

“The rest of the trials are set. They are doing the obstacle course tonight, the first real challenge. Well, one they will all do well on, The Alpha insisted.” I raised a brow. “I think he wants to show how strong they all are and then let them at it tomorrow.”

“And tomorrow is?” I asked.

“The maze. I put a map of it, an outline, in the book.” He seemed to tense further if that were possible. “I was going to do it earlier, but I saw you were busy.” I knew I sensed him there, but he was gone in an instant, and my conversation with Sam was crucial.

“It seemed a good enough place to talk to Sam.” I shrugged.

“I agree,” he said, but his face was set into his hard mercenary stare. “Is he your mate?” he asked so suddenly I stopped again, openly staring at him, but he gave nothing away as he continued looking down the hall.

“No,” I gaped.

“Even if he wasn’t, he could offer you protection. As a Luna of a pack here, Luna of any pack anywhere, Alpha Raymond wouldn’t be able to keep you here; he wouldn’t be able to do anything against you.” There was a softness to his voice.

I eyed him. He knew why I was here. I could escape, I could start a new life, but I didn’t want that. The only thing that drove me for these years was revenge, however fickle a cause that might be to some.

“My plans haven’t changed,” I stated and started walking.

I felt that he wanted to say something, but he didn’t. He opened the dining room door for me, nodded to the Alpha and Luna, and retreated.

They were all there besides Dominick, but they were eating already, which is something Luna Addison wouldn’t have allowed if he were supposed to be here. That rule didn’t apply to be. Of course, I wasn’t a real person.

I took a seat as quietly as I could. “Are we allowed to eat?” I asked innocently.

“Dominick is resting; he has some minor injuries,” Luna Addison explained without sparing me a glance.

Hunter gave his mother a wide, wicked smile. “I say we just drop him from the trials; he’s not a real Alpha. Alphas don’t get sick.”

“Everyone gets sick occasionally, even us,” Luna Addison said too sweetly; her calmness was unnerving.

“Dude is off his rocker,” Hunter pressed on.

“It’s just the stress,” Nolan tried to explain.

Hunter turned his probing stare to his youngest brother. “If it is the nerves, you should be worse off. I doubt you’ll make it even halfway,” he sneered.

Nolan met his gaze but ignored him, going back to his food. I was impressed. I think the worst thing you could do to Hunter was ignore him.

“Do you want me to bring him anything?” I asked the Luna.

She waved me off. But Alpha Raymond cut in, “Broth, Amelia is making it. You can tend to him today, ensure he’s ready for tonight.”

I nodded my head and folded my hands in my lap. He probably thought he was giving me a task to stay out of the way, but he just gave me more freedom than I previously had.

I took a tray from Amelia, who triple-checked that I could manage to hold it. I made sure to ask her where his room was as if I didn’t know, and I made my way slowly there.

I knocked with my foot and awkwardly juggled the tray to push the door open. Dominick wasn’t in his bed; he was walking in circles, muttering things.

How often did he…? It didn’t matter.

He looked at me but didn’t seem to see me. I set the soup on a bedside table.

“Dominick?” I asked.

He paused and looked at me with wide eyes. “Why?” he demanded, and I froze. I felt like he could see through me, but then he was looking past me again.

I motioned to the soup. “I brought you some special broth. Eat something; it will make you feel better for the challenges.” I plastered on a sweet but meek smile.

Dominick stalked forward but stopped in front of me, looking down at me. Being alone with him, even though he seemed slightly mad, it was the least scared of him I had ever been.

“The soup.” I sidestepped him and motioned to the tray again.

He seemed to come back to himself and sat on the bed, grabbing the tray. I went to his bathroom, grabbed a washcloth, and pressed it against his sweat-stained forehead.

“How did you get stuck with this?” he grumbled.

“I volunteered, everyone was so busy, and I’ve been bored in my room,” I replied. He took the bowl in his hands, glared at it, and then downed it. He looked like he might be sick after it. “It will make you feel better in a little,” I promised. The proximity to this monster was nauseating, but seeing him like this almost made it worth it.

“Okay,” he said and laid back on his bed.

I took a step back. I didn’t have anything to say. I couldn’t say anything. It was one thing to tell him to tell my story, to share with him what really happened to my pack, to share the secret that didn’t matter anymore. But I couldn’t share the bloodlust; the other plans I wanted that I set into place.

So I played the in-between person, the one content with her sentence, content with her captors, as long as her father received his justice through a story shared.

“I know it was the last thing I expected,” Sam noted my reaction.

“Who?” I asked.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Alpha Jameson from Red Eclipse. But he is a bit of a loose cannon. He seems prone to violence and wants to stir drama. I wouldn’t trust his motives; I just don’t want to keep anything from you.” I was keeping a lot from him, but I felt no guilt, just remorse, maybe.

“I appreciate it,” I said, turning this information over.

“So the truth is at least out there,” he said with a half smile. “Everyone knows besides Shadow Stone. They haven’t shown, but they might get the message eventually. I’m unsure if I should write to them,” he added with a grimace.

Shadow Stone was always on the outskirts of the territory, both in location and the fact they rarely showed unless it was for a more significant conference. They kept to themselves; they were elusive and rumored to be dangerous even to their allies.

But then again, Blood Moon had a blood-thirsty reputation that my father never denied, even though it wasn’t entirely true.

Even though Shadow Stone and Blood Moon were said to be intertwined by an old tale, I only remembered seeing the Alpha once or twice in my years at Blood Moon.

I looked at Sam’s now familiar face. I needed to trust him more; I needed to tell him more, or else this wouldn’t work, but I needed to be entirely sure that I could trust him. I had an idea to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.

“I need you to do something for me. I need you to deliver a letter and bring the response to me. Today.” I said.

He agreed immediately, and I left, instructing him to wait there. It was a backup plan I wasn’t even sure if I could use, or how I would use them, or even if they would respond. But we were short on time, and this was the only way that I could think of to prove Sam’s trust.

I retrieved the powered Silent Juniper and the gunpowder Ezra sourced for me when I first thought of this and wrote a short note. I mixed the concoction with wax I swiped from The Alpha’s office the first and only time I was there, and when it was almost cool, I added a drop of my blood.

The ritual felt silly, and I prayed to the Goddess that if she was listening, this wasn’t just some fairytale or story that had no meaning behind it.

Sam stood by the fire, but he felt fluid. It was so unlike Ezra, who could stay motionless as a statue, and it was almost strange seeing him where I expected to find Ezra.

“I need you to deliver this note.” I handed it to him, and his eyes widened a bit once I told him where, but he didn’t fight me on it.

“I’ll be here when you return.”

If he came back with my note or a response, I would know I could trust him.