Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 139: Collapsed

Chapter 139: Collapsed

"I don’t know," Ava whispered, her eyes dazed as she collapsed.

Zoe’s training kicked in, terror folding itself into action. She was by Ava’s side in an instant, trying to keep her upright, panic flooding her throat. Her vision began to blur too. Her limbs turned sluggish. Her heart stuttered. The room suddenly felt too tight.

She looked around and noticed the store attendant was on the floor in the corner passed out already.

She was about to call out, scream maybe, when the door to the boutique creaked open and Nolan stumbled in.

"Run..." he rasped, and Zoe’s blood turned to ice.

There was a silver stake driven straight through his chest. Blood dripped from his mouth.

"Save Ava," he choked out before collapsing in a heap on the boutique floor.

"Nolan!" she shouted as she scrambled to her feet. No. No time for grief. Later. She could scream and break down later. Right now, she needed to act.

She drew on every ounce of strength she’d ever cultivated. She could feel the magic trying to crush her, an invisible force creeping through the boutique. But she pushed through it, because that’s what warriors do. And Ava needed her.

Zoe crouched, sliding her arms under Ava’s limp body. "Come on, Luna," she whispered, "don’t you dare quit on me. You still have a wedding to plan."

She struggled to her feet, legs wobbling. Then the boutique door creaked open again.

A tall figure stepped inside. The kind of person who looked like they brought their own darkness with them. His face was unfamiliar.

She tried to shift, her muscles trembling with the effort, bones aching but the transformation wouldn’t come. Her wolf whimpered within her, clawing helplessly at the surface. So instead, she stood tall and stepped protectively in front of Ava. Zoe didn’t do cowardice.

The strange man stepped closer, all arrogance and cold indifference. "Your father wants you alive. I suggest you try to make that possible."

Zoe squinted, her breath ragged. "Who are you?" she snarled.

Before he could answer, a second presence entered the room, quiet as a ghost but heavy with dread. Zoe didn’t need to see the face to know. Her body knew. Her bones knew. The air knew.

"Father..." The word came out like a dying animal’s cry, fragile and cracked. Her mind spiraled, scrambling. Not him. Not now. Not here. She needed to get Ava out. She needed a message sent. She needed a miracle.

"Where is the amulet?"

Zoe’s lips curled in defiance. "You... will never find it!" she hissed, chest heaving.

His smile was slow, serpent-like, dripping with dark amusement. "Did you forget who I am? The daughter of the moon was previously my blood. I’ll find the amulet just like I found you."

And then, as if to stamp his twisted signature on her terror, he slit his palm without a flinch, red magic lighting up the room as his blood hit the floor in deliberate arcs. It shimmered and pulsed to life, a glowing thread floating lazily toward the door. Zoe’s world tilted. Her vision swam.

Alaric barely glanced at her crumpled form. "I’ll find the amulet. Take them, do not wait for me," he commanded with a wave of his bleeding hand.

Dorian approached with quiet venom, his eyes landing on Ava as if she were a puzzle piece he’d been missing. Revenge sat bitter and ready on his tongue. Soon, he thought. Just a little more time and he’d make her pay. He would savor it—draw it out. Her screams would be his music.

*****

"Women!" Lucas barked, tossing a pebble across the field and watching it bounce pathetically against a tree. He glanced sideways at Dennis, who sat on a picnic bench looking nervous.

"I think Zoe’s driving Ava crazy," Dennis muttered, watching the horizon. "She’s a great warrior and all, but fashion?" he scoffed.

Lucas groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Ava lives for it. She has a maid take care of her needs and she still has to ask me to pick which to wear out of two identical pairs of heels. Plus she enjoys maxing out my black card for some reason." He pulled out his phone, squinting at the dark screen. "For fuck’s sake, Dennis, are you ever going to do something about getting network lines up in here?"

Dennis arched an eyebrow, unbothered. "Excuse me, Your Royal Whininess. We just got our freedom back from a certain grumpy control freak. Infrastructure takes time. Would you like us to skip clean water and go straight to Wi-Fi?"

Lucas huffed dramatically, cursing under his breath. "I just want to call Nolan. If I call Ava, she’ll accuse me of suffocating them."

Dennis chuckled and looked around. The field was buzzing, his people were milling about, food being passed around, laughter floating in the air. They were rebuilding, slowly but surely. And tonight felt like the first real celebration since reclaiming their lives. He saw excitement at the idea of a Luna. Their own Luna. It was a long road ahead, but they were finally walking it upright.

Then Missy appeared, storming across the field. "What the fuck is holding your women up?" she barked.

Lucas let out a long-suffering grunt while Dennis gave a shrug.

"I’m going to get more snacks from the kitchen," she continued, "and if they’re not here by the time I’m back, I’m dragging my ass out to wherever they are and beating the glam out of them!"

Lucas narrowed his eyes. "Ava is my Luna," he said.

Missy grinned. "Then I’m smacking her extra hard just to piss you off." And off she stomped.

Lucas sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. "She really doesn’t like me."

Dennis patted his shoulder sympathetically. "Nobody likes you, Lucas. You’ve always been a smug, bossy pain in the ass. Since when do you care how people feel about you?"

"Since Ava."

Dennis snorted. "But really, I should thank her. I never got around to it. She made you slightly less unbearable."

Lucas chuckled. "In the beginning," he said, "I thought she needed to be broken to learn to obey me. To respect me. You know. A mere wolfless omega challenging an alpha." He shook his head slowly, remembering her fire, the way she’d met his temper with even hotter flames. "Turns out... she wasn’t the one who needed to be broken."

Dennis barked out a laugh, clapping Lucas on the back. "Instead, she broke you. Flattened your ego."

Lucas opened his mouth to retort, but the words dried up as a Missy’s figure stumbled towards them, limping and bloodied, her face contorted in pain. For one horrible second, Dennis didn’t recognize her. Then the realization hit.

"Missy!" Dennis’s voice cracked as he bolted forward, Lucas right on his heels. The world narrowed into tunnel vision. Everything slowed down. The music from the engagement field faded, people’s gasps became white noise, and all that remained was the sharp, visceral horror etched on Missy’s face as she collapsed into Dennis’s arms, coughing up blood.

"Missy, stay with me," Dennis begged, holding her trembling body. "What happened? Who did this?"

@MD_Loves_Books: Please don’t hate me.