Alpha’s Hybrid Cinderella
Chapter 67

Evan left me in the room with two Deltas guarding me. No matter how I insisted that he take me with him, he refused. Why! I could settle this in one go. If I got close enough to any of the Glilies and the Josephs, I would be able to get to the bottom of this. The truth was in their heads, and while I hated to use my power deliberately against anyone, if invading their privacy meant being able to keep others safe, I was more than willing.

"Let me help!" I shouted, but it was no use. The door slammed shut behind Evan, and I was left alone in the room, at least for the time being. He had promised he would come get me and let me help once he determined things were safe, but even this report just now couldn't be trusted, he had said. If someone really had betrayed the pack and evidence had come to the surface at last, there was no telling who else might be involved. Until he personally settled things and restrained everyone involved in the situation, I was to remain locked in the room and to let no one in until he came and gave me the signal that it was safe.

It made sense. After all, I could always approach the Glilies and the Josephs later when there was no longer any danger and the fighting was over. But even so, to be helpless like this, it made me want to punch the walls and dig my way out. Why was Evan always the one protecting me? Why couldn't I be the one charging out ahead, protecting him?

I flopped on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The noise wouldn't reach me from here, whatever 'altercation' was happening on the base, but I imagined it anyway. Was Ken involved in the fighting between the two sub-packs? He wouldn't be. He wasn't the hot- headed kind. He would have been trying to keep the altercation from ever happening, using his reasoning and charisma to get everyone to calm down. Clearly, it had failed, but that was what he would have done.

But how had things devolved so badly? Did this have to do with Flicka confronting me in the greenhouse? For a moment, I wondered if Ken had found out and argued with her, but he wasn't the type to beat a dead horse, and I had made it clear I had taken care of the problem myself. So what could have happened? I couldn't imagine how the Josephs had discovered any 'betrayal' at all. We were all in this together.

Well, we would replace out soon enough. I just had to be patient.

I didn't have to wait long. A minute or two at most. Two thumps outside the door had me springing up from the bed, and I raced across the room. Evan! He must be back already. Of course. He could always settle everything quickly. It reminded me of that night Raf and I had gone to that bar and come staggering out into trouble. Although Leon had held the troublemaking gaggle of boys at bay for a moment, it was when Evan arrived that they had scattered like bowling pins, swept aside by his strength like leaves in a gust of wind. So maybe I resented that he was always the one protecting me, but I couldn't deny he could always make me feel safe-

A third thump and a groan stopped me in my tracks.

A groan?

What was that?

There was a peephole in the door, and I darted upward onto my tip-toes to look through it. I made no sound to signal I was standing there, and I braced myself to be ready to run if something cracked through the glass. No telling what was happening on the other side, and my instincts sang of danger.

But confusingly, I saw only blackness through the peephole. Nothing at all. Even more confusingly, I sensed no thoughts through the door even though the two Delta guards should have been close enough that I could hear them.

That groan. Those thumps weren't Evan knocking on the door, what had I been thinking? And the only reason I wouldn't be able to hear the Deltas' thoughts was if they had fled or if they were asleep - or unconscious. I had run into my share of 'accidents' while living with the Dark Moon pack. It had taken me a moment to understand, but I did now.

I backed away from the door. It was locked, both the top and bottom. But I knew better than to think that would keep me safe if there were other werewolves about to break down the door to get to me. But wait, I hadn't heard anything at all, no one's thoughts. Did that mean there was no one getting ready to attack me either? If I could press myself to the wall, I might be able to make sure, but if they broke through, the debris would knock me out and I wouldn't be able to defend myself.

Shift! All I could do was shift. I had to be ready to fight, and I couldn't do that in human form. I pulled off my shirt and tugged down my jeans, in a hurry but too paranoid of the nose my ripping clothes would make if someone were listening somehow, even at a distance that I couldn't reach with my mind-reading ability. In a flash, I transformed into my wolf, white fur sprouting and teeth bared, ready to snap. Cassiel snarled in my thoughts, ready for whatever fight awaited me on the other side of the door, and I leaned on her strength to get me through this. We would be okay. Whatever was about to happen, we would make it out fine.

The hiss from the door was so anticlimactic that my aggression left my body in an awkward slump. It was quiet, like air being let out of a balloon slowly a thimbleful at a time.

What was that? I stared hard at the door, but nothing else happened, just that gentle sound like someone blowing a continuous breath... from under the door?

My heart dropped.

There was no color. No odor. Nothing visible or detectable even to my wolf senses. But my intuition struck like a bolt of lightning, and I scrambled toward the opposite wall. I needed a mask! I needed fabric to cover my face and filter out whatever it was seeping into the room! My panic was so fierce and sudden that it eclipse all logic and sense. In all likelihood, the particles were so fine that covering my face with a barrier would only buy me a few more seconds at best. But even so, it was better than nothing! I scrambled toward the bed, straining my body to return to human form so I could make use of my hands.

But it was too late. My body refused to respond. My wolf form remained, stubbornly encapsulating my body and pushing my human form away, far, far from my control. Worse, my limbs were becoming jelly, joints buckling and body swaying on all fours as I struggled to reach the wall. No... no! I had to stay conscious!

Futile. My eyes drooped closed, and a warmth spread through my body like calm fire, or perhaps the sensation of thick blankets being pulled up over my cold body in the dead of winter. It took over all my senses, making me give in.

It was the same as that night in the Scarlet manor. In the midst of the flames eating up the walls and ceiling, there had been that curious sleepiness that wouldn't leave me, the dream-like peace swallowing my mind and making me forget about all the danger, all the urgency. Nothing else mattered. Everything was going to be okay...

I slumped to the ground. There was no more resistance remaining in my body to fight the gas. Even my mind stopped railing, pulled into dead numbness just like the rest of me, and there was no stopping the door from splintering into pieces the next moment. Whoever was breaking in was strong. They broke through the door with just three tries, something I could never manage with my smaller body and lesser strength. Still, I took comfort in one thing: it would only have taken Evan a single try to get through. Whoever this was, they were weaker than Evan.

But that also meant... it wasn't Evan on the other side, like my mind's last feverish hope had been. Really, I had been stupid to wish for it at all. I was alone. I had to protect myself. Get up, I ordered myself. Get up! Fight! ... No use. No use at all.

And a shadowed figure stepped into the room as the last of my consciousness winked out.