Bound To The Broken Alpha (Amy and Daniel) novel Chapter 369

Chapter 369 Rogue Incidents

CLARA

+5 Pearls

I got dressed carefully for a social function with which Alot of high class wolves would be in attendance.

Even though Mark kept saying it wasn’t formal. In pack terms, informal was often worse. Councils had rules. Social functions had memory. Wolves remembered what was said there, who stood where, who laughed too easily, who stayed quiet.

Mark watched me from the doorway as I adjusted my sleeve.

“You’re overthinking it,” he said.

“I always do,” I replied. That much was true. I just didn’t tell him why.

We drove together, his hand resting briefly on my knee before he pulled it back, like he wasn’t sure if he was allowed to keep it there. I didn’t comment. I let him decide the pace. That had become my rule with Mark. Let him feel in control. Let him feel safe.

The gathering was at a restored lodge on Northern land, not deep territory but not neutral either. Wolves were already there when we arrived.

I felt it immediately. Scent, posture, awareness. Northern wolves carried themselves differently. Less rigid than the South, but sharper when it came to territory.

Mark greeted people easily. He belonged here in a way I never had. When he introduced me, he didn’t hesitate.

“This is Clara,” he said. “She’s with me.”

With me.

The phrasing mattered. I saw the reactions shift. A few nods. A few longer looks. One woman near the bar tilted her head slightly, assessing. A man I didn’t recognize glanced from Mark to me, then away.

I stayed close to Mark but not clinging. Wolves noticed balance. I matched his pace, his pauses. When he stopped to talk, I waited a half step behind, then stepped forward when invited. It was subtle, but it mattered.

Conversation flowed easily at first. Work. Territory repairs. A joke about Northern winters. I listened more than I spoke. When I did speak, I kept my tone light.

At one point, someone mentioned the border settlements.

“They’ve been restless lately,” a man said. “People are nervous.”

Mark frowned. “About what?”

The man shrugged. “Patrols have been late a few times. Not by much, but people notice.”

I didn’t jump in. I waited.

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Chapter 369 Rogue Incidents

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“That’s odd,” I said finally. “I thought Northern rotations were tight.”

“They usually are,” the man replied. “That’s why it stands out.”

Another wolf joined in. “My cousin lives near the woods. Said help took longer than usual last week.”

Mark looked thoughtful. “Daniel wouldn’t let that slide.”

I smiled slightly. “Of course not. He has a lot on his plate, though.”

That was it. I didn’t add more. I didn’t criticize. I let the silence do the work.

As the evening went on, I repeated the pattern. Questions, not statements. Curiosity, not judgment.

“Do patrol leaders rotate reports directly now, or through command?”

“Has anyone heard if border staffing changed recently?”

“Do you think corporate pressure is pulling attention away from territory?”

Each time, someone answered. Each time, the answers didn’t quite line up.

I felt it in my chest before I saw it. A tightening. Awareness. My wolf stirring, alert. Someone across the room was watching me too closely. Not hostile. Observant.

I met his eyes briefly. He didn’t look away. He smiled, just enough to be polite.

I turned back to Mark and forced myself to relax. Retreating now would draw attention. I stayed.

On the drive home, Mark was quieter.

“You handled yourself well,” he said after a while.

“Thank you.”

He hesitated. “Some people seemed surprised to see you there.”

“I know,”

“But they weren’t unfriendly.”

“No,” I agreed. “They weren’t.”

At the house, he poured us each a drink. I took mine and sat on the couch, curling my legs under me. He sat across from me instead of beside me, like he wanted space to think.

“I really think Amy might come around,” he said. “She listened last time. Not fully, but more than before.”

“That’s good,” I said. “You’ve been honest with her.”

“I have,” he insisted. “I know I messed up. But I’m trying.”

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Chapter 369 Rogue Incidents

“I can see that,” I said. I meant that part. He was trying. That was what made this harder.

My phone buzzed a few minutes later. A secure line. Elias.

I excused myself and went into the bedroom, closing the door softly.

“You’re moving faster than expected,” Elias said when I answered.

“I’m doing what you asked,” I replied.

“The Southern Alpha is satisfied so far.”

The words settled heavily. Satisfaction wasn’t approval. It was expectation.

“What’s next?” I asked.

“Pressure,” Elias said. “Not violence. Timing. Information. The North needs to feel uncertain.”

“And my role?”

“You’re close to Mark. He’s close to Amy. Amy is close to Daniel. You already understand.”

I did. I didn’t say anything.

+5 Pearls

“Rogue movement will increase near the border,” Elias continued. “Guided. Limited. Daniel will have to respond.”

“And if he responds wrong?”

“He loses trust,” Elias said. “That’s enough.”

The call ended.

I stood there longer than necessary, phone still in my hand. My chest felt tight again, sharper this time. My wolf wasn’t afraid. It was warning me.

I went back into the living room. Mark looked up.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said easily. “Just a work thing.”

He nodded, accepting it without question.

Later, in bed, he fell asleep quickly. I stayed awake, listening to his breathing, steady and unguarded. He trusted me enough to sleep like that.

My phone buzzed once more. A message. Coordinates. Time stamp, Confirmation.

The first rogue incident had crossed into Northern territory.

I stared at the screen until it dimmed.

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Chapter 369 Rogue Incidents

It was working. The conversations. The timing. The pressure.

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I turned onto my side, careful not to wake Mark. I told myself again that I was surviving. That I was adapting. That this was the only way forward.

But lying there in the dark, I knew something else too.

I had stepped too far onto the board to pretend I wasn’t playing.

I closed my eyes beside him, already calculating the next move, knowing sleep would come slowly now, and that waking up clean from this would no longer be possible.

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