NovelFinishThe Alpha King is unavailable 73
Memories flashed back to when | was eight years old. | followed my adoptive mother-a pack healer-back to the
Stone Estate with Matriarch Evelyn Stone.
The elderly Matriarch had treatedlike her own granddaughter. Her kind amber eyes-the seyes her
grandson would inherit, though lacking the warmth hers contained-madefeel safe.
"She looks like a little lost pup," Matriarch Evelyn had chuckled. "We'll have to fatten you up, won't we, dear?"
But Eleanor Stone, Ethan's aunt, had watched from the shadows. Her cold eyes followed my every move.
"Another stray?" she'd muttered. "This house isn't a charity ward.”
Matriarch Evelyn had silenced her with a single look. "The child stays, Eleanor. That's final"
For weeks, I'd been safe under the Matriarch's protection. Then cthe night of the full moon ceremony. Both
my adoptive mother and Matriarch Evelyn were required to attend, leavingalone in the vast estate.
Eleanor seized her opportunity.
"Chere, girl, she'd called, her voice falsely sweet. "I have something to show you."
Naive and trusting. I'd followed her to a heavy wooden door. Before | could react, she'd pushedthrough it. |
tumbled down stone steps into darkness.
"Perhaps stalone will teach you your place," she'd sneered, slamming the door.
The bolt had slid hwith a sound that still haunted my nightmares.
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I'd screamed until my throat was raw. The darkness pressed in, suffocating in its completeness.
Then cthe sounds-tiny claws scratching against stone. The soft squeaking that signaled | wasn't alone.
"Please, I'd sobbed, pressing myself against the wall. "Please letout!"
Hours later, Matriarch Evelyn finally found me. I'd been huddled in a corner, trembling uncontrollably, my arms
covered in rat bites.
Her fury had been terrible to behold. "How dare you?" she'd thundered at Eleanor. "This child is under my
protection!"
But the damage had been done. My fear of dark, enclosed spaces-and especially of rats-had been cemented
forever.
Now, years later, | found myself trapped again in that snightmare. Betrayed by the very person who should
have protectedmost.
| pounded my fists against the heavy door. "Ethan! Please! You know I'm terrified of this place!"
The silence that answered felt like a physical blow.
"Please," | begged, my voice dropping to a whisper. "I didn't do anything wrong. | would never hurt a child-not
Emma, not anyone."
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The shades t
The rustling sounds grew louder, more insistent. My entire body trembled with terror as | pressed myself against
the door.
"Ethan," | called again, weaker now. Remember when you foundin the alley? When those roques attacked
me? You promised you'd never let anyone hurtagain."
Tears streamed down my face as | slid to the floor. The cold stone seemed to leach the warmth from my body,
leavingshivering and vulnerable
Outside the door, | heard footsteps. My heart leaped with desperate hope. "Ethan? Is that you? Please let me
out!
No response came, but | could sense a presence on the other side of the door. Someone was listening to my
suffering
"Please," | whispered, pressing my palm against the wood. "I'm begging you." The footsteps retreated, growing
fainter until they disappeared entirely. Whoever had been there-Ethan or someone else had abandonedto
my fate.
| collapsed to the cold stone floor, despair washing overin a crushing wave. My body curled instinctively into
a tight ball, knees drawn to chest, arms wrapped around them.
It was the sposition I'd adopted countless times in the orphanage. When trying to protect myself from the
cruelty of the world
(Ethan's POV)
My phone vibrated against my hip as | paced the corridor outside Emma's room.
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Dr. Bennett had assuredher condition was stable, but worry still gnawed at my insides.
"Stone," | answered curtly, recognizing Maxwell's number.
"Sir, I've completed the interrogation of Derek Savage," Maxwell reported.
| straightened, tension coiling in my muscles. "And?"
"He's confessed, sir. He acted independently-Mrs. Winters wasn't involved."
Relief washed overlike a cool wave. Olivia was innocent. The tightness in my chest eased slightly.
"Are you certain?" | pressed, needing absolute confirmation.
"Yes, sir. The social media account was hacked. We've traced the intrusion to an intecafé in Twin Bridges
Territory. Mrs. Winters hasn't been anywhere near there in months."
| closed my eyes briefly, guilt beginning to creep through my veins. I'd been so quick to condemn her, so ready
to believe the worst.
"Thank you, Maxwell. Continue the investigation. | want to know who's behind this."
As | ended the call, my phone immediately lit up with Victoria's name. My thumb hesitated over the screen
before | answered
"How is she?" | asked, concern for Emma overriding all other thoughts.
The Alpha King is unavailable 73
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