Chapter 154: Chapter 154; An Alpha
Alina’s POV
"You need to be specific with what you are trying to say to me, because I don’t get you," I had demanded, staring up at her from the floor of that unfamiliar bedroom.
Ilya had merely scoffed, a dark, calculating look in her eyes as she slowly walked over to me, towering above where I sat.
"You aren’t just an ordinary Omega, are you?" she asked, a sharp smirk playing on her lips. "You are more than that. And between me and you... I think you already know exactly what you are." She leaned down slightly, her voice dropping into a chilling whisper. "The first female Alpha."
My eyes widened in sheer shock. The air caught completely in my throat.
"Seeing your expression, that means I am right about this," she added, her smirk widening into a victorious grin.
A nervous cough escaped my throat as I frantically tried to scramble for my composure. "A female Alpha? Really? Don’t flatter me," I said, trying desperately to hide the tremor in my voice. "I am not an Alpha."
"You are still lying. I guess you really don’t care about Lucian as much as you claim to," Ilya sighed dramatically, turning her back to me with that twisted smirk still firmly in place. "Admit what you are, Alina, and I might actually consider helping you. Deny it, and you walk out of here empty-handed."
my wolf paced frantically, her voice howling with absolute urgency. We need to save our mate! He needs us! Admit it!
There was no point in hiding it anymore. Not when Lucian’s life was ticking away.
"Yes," I breathed out, forcing my tone to go entirely calm and steady. "I am an Alpha."
"This is crazy," Ilya muttered, her eyes lighting up with a dangerous, fanatical gleam. "My mother always told me how rare it was for women to have such power—a power that I have wanted to attain all my life. Maybe I don’t even need Lucian’s blood, or any other male Alpha’s blood anymore. I have you."
Confusion laced my tone as a cold dread settled deep in my stomach. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"I will save Lucian," Ilya stated, her voice turning clinical. "But only on the condition that you let me take some of your blood."
"What will you do with my blood?" I demanded, tensing.
"That is absolutely none of your business," she snapped. "If you want to save him, then your blood is the price. Take it or leave it."
It felt like a trap. It felt incredibly dangerous. But I was entirely helpless, backed into a corner with no other options and no idea what else to do.
"Fine," I ground out, looking her dead in the eye. "You can have my blood, as long as Lucian is saved."
"A very good sacrifice, Alina," she whispered, a wicked smile spreading across her pale face.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a sleek, silver knife, the blade catching the dim light of the room. "This will only pinch a little."
Before I could flinch, she grabbed my arm and slit my wrist. A sharp wave of white-hot pain tore up my arm. I gasped, clamping my teeth together as she immediately held up a small glass tube. My thick, dark Alpha blood went straight into it, filling the vial to the brim. The pure satisfaction on her face as she watched the tube fill completely crept me out, sending shivers straight down my spine.
"This is good. Perfect," she murmured to herself, finally pulling the tube away and capping it tightly. She tossed a clean cloth onto the bed beside me to clean up my injury. "I will keep my promise."
I wrapped the cloth tightly around my bleeding wrist, my voice shaking but firm. "I have given you exactly what you want. Now save Lucian."
"I will keep my promise," Ilya said, her expression hardening as she reached into her cloak and handed me a small, dark glass bottle. "Feed this to him, and whatever poison was put inside of him will leave his system completely."
I clutched the bottle against my chest like it was a lifeline, my heart hammering with a sudden rush of hope.
"And also, do not tell a single soul that you came to me for this," she added, her tone dropping into a deadly serious whisper.
"I won’t. I promise," I nodded rapidly.
As I turned to leave the room, I passed Zaheer in the hallway. His gaze locked onto mine, and for a split second, his lips parted as if he desperately wanted to tell me something important—but he held himself back, clenching his jaw instead. I gave him a quick, grateful nod and hurried out of the house. I needed to get this to Lucian as soon as humanly possible.
I rushed to the main road, flagged down a cab, and gave the driver the coordinates to the edge of the rogue territory. The drive felt agonizingly long. The moment the cab pulled over at the drop-off point, I threw the fare at the driver, got down, and began walking quickly down the isolated, dirt path leading toward the compound.
The woods were eerie and quiet, but after a few minutes, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I could feel someone following me. Don’t overthink it, Alina, I told myself, tightening my grip on the bottle. Just keep moving.
But the heavy thud of footsteps behind me began to quicken, growing terrifyingly loud.
Panic seized me, and I started to sprint. As I cast a frantic glance over my shoulder, my stomach dropped. Three large, heavily built men were bursting out from the tree line, chasing directly after me.
I pushed my legs to run even faster, the wind whipping against my face, but my lungs were burning and exhaustion from the past day was catching up to me. Suddenly, my foot caught on a thick, protruding tree root.
"Ah!" I gasped as I stumbled, crashing violently onto the hard dirt path.
A sharp, blinding white pain shot up my leg as my ankle twisted beneath me. The force of the fall knocked the glass bottle right out of my hands. It rolled across the dirt, but luckily, miraculously, it didn’t break.
Hissing through the pain, I desperately tried to drag myself forward to grab it, but my ankle completely gave out. I could only watch in horror as one of the men caught up, leaning down to snatch the bottle off the ground.
"Hey! That’s mine!" I yelled, my voice cracking with pure desperation.
They didn’t give me a single response. The man pocketed the cure, and the three of them turned on their heels, starting to walk away as if I were completely helpless. They were going to let Lucian die.
"Hey! HEY!"
A wave of raw, unadulterated fury and desperation erupted from deep within my chest. I screamed, throwing every ounce of power I had into the sound. The air around us violently vibrated, and a visible shockwave tore through the path.
The three men instantly stopped in their tracks. They let out agonized groans, clutching their heads as they dropped heavily onto their knees, completely paralyzed by the sheer force of my voice.
Breathing heavily, I forced myself to ignore the agonizing throb in my twisted ankle. I need to get up right now.
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