Revenge to the Alpha Mate novel Chapter 251

Chapter 251: Chapter 251

Brett’s POV

He didn’t move.

That ragged-looking wolf, curled in the corner, just stared at me for the long seconds after I was shoved in and the heavy door clanged shut. Utterly still, like a wild animal assessing a threat or an opportunity, radiating a clear ’don’t mess with me’ vibe. I froze by the door, the loose chain of the single remaining cuff on my wrist swaying slightly with my uneven breaths, tinking softly against the metal.

Time crawled through the stale air. My palms were slick with sweat, but strangely, the instinctive tremor I’d feel facing an enemy was absent. His scent was complex—dust, old blood, cheap tobacco, and something... bitter. But it held no focused, tearing-me-apart malice.

Finally, he shifted. Not an attack, just adjusting into a slightly less cramped position against the cold wall. Those eyes, gleaming faintly with a tawny-gold tint in the gloom, remained locked on me.

"New?" His voice was low, rough like sandpaper on tin, with an accent I couldn’t place—not pure American English, the vowels slurred and rounded.

I nodded, my throat too dry for words.

"A kid?" His gaze swept over me, his brow furrowing slightly. "They’re scooping up kids now?"

"...I’m fourteen," I whispered, unsure why I told the truth. Maybe because his question held no interrogation, just... curiosity.

He let out a short, humorless huff of air. "Fourteen. Still wet behind the ears." He paused, his eyes flicking to the cuff on my wrist and away. "Listen up, pup. In here, no matter why they tossed you, remember a few things."

I listened intently.

"First, don’t piss off the uniforms. Answer what they ask, but don’t offer extra. They’re not cops. Not the kind you know."

My stomach dropped. I knew it.

"Second," his gaze sharpened, "when you use the facilities," he jerked his chin toward the exposed stainless-steel toilet in the corner, "always check your six. *Always*. Sleeping too. Back to the wall."

A chill skittered down my spine. I gripped the hem of my shirt.

"Third, don’t trust anyone easy. Including me." He said it flatly, like stating the most obvious fact in the world.

I nodded again. Dad had taught me similar things about caution, about safety. But never in such a blunt, concrete way, inside a place so filthy and oppressive.

Silence fell again. But questions bubbled inside me like boiling water. This man who knew the rules, smelled like kin but was clearly in a bad way...

"Where... where is this?" I finally found the courage to ask. "Who are they?"

He studied me for a moment, weighing his answer. Then he shrugged, the movement making his worn leather jacket creak softly. "Who knows. Some official or semi-official ’special containment’ hole. Been in three days, still piecing it together. As for them... people who specialize in ’our’ kind of ’problem.’" He tapped his temple, then his eye, hinting at the extra senses. "Hunters? Government spooks? Who cares. They know what we are."

*We.* He said ’we.’

I licked my chapped lips, heart hammering. The next question burst out. "You... you’re a werewolf too, right?"

This time, he actually smiled, showing teeth that were uneven but white. The smile didn’t reach his eyes, just added a layer of weariness and mockery. "Observant, pup. Yeah. The genuine article." He tilted his head. "You? Smell... off. A whiff of us, but faint. Raw. Haven’t had your first moon yet?"

My face warmed, as if he’d pointed out a flaw. "...Not yet," I admitted, looking down. In the pack, being my age without a first shift wasn’t common, but it happened. Admitting it here, to this dangerous stranger, felt especially vulnerable.

I felt his gaze linger on me. Something shifted in it. Not contempt. More like... a complicated, distant... pity?

"Fourteen. No first shift. And tossed in a place like this," he murmured, shaking his head. "What the hell did you do to get on their radar? Joyriding? A fight? Flash a claw at some unlucky security camera?"

I gave him the short version—riding with Aurora, the police chase, how these men took me. My chest tightened mentioning Aurora. Where was she?

He was quiet for a beat after I finished. "The girl on the bike... you sure she got away?"

"She’s tough," I said, with a confidence I didn’t fully feel. "She’ll get away. And... she’ll come for me." *I hope.*

"Let’s hope." He sounded unconvinced. He leaned back against the wall again, closing his eyes, effectively ending the conversation.

But I had more questions. About him. This stray wolf who seemed to know the rules of a place like this, who looked like he’d been scraping the bottom for a long time.

"You... what’s your name?" I ventured.

He didn’t open his eyes. "Luka."

"Luka. Are you... a stray?" I remembered Mom and Dad mentioning them sometimes—wolves without a fixed pack, surviving alone on city fringes or wilder places. Usually wary. Life was hard for them.

"Mhm," he grunted, an acknowledgment.

"Why are you... here?" The question was out before I could stop it. Too personal.

The cuff was cold on my wrist. I slowly slid down to sit on the floor, my back against the icy door, watching the ragged, unbroken figure across from me. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Looking at them, I sometimes see a ghost of my own parents’ faces, staring at their stubborn, rebellious daughter with that mix of fury, worry, and helplessness. History has a nasty habit of repeating itself. I *understand* the need to break free, to prove yourself. I was there. But understanding doesn’t mean the rules fly out the window!

Curfew is my line. Home by eleven. The city isn’t our old forest territory. It’s crowded, eyes everywhere, dangers hidden under neon lights, and our kind... we have to be careful. They can have fun, but they have to be back.

So, when the deep, resonant chimes of the expensive antique grandfather clock in the main hall echoed through the vast space, striking eleven, I immediately put down the pack budget report I hadn’t been reading and picked up my phone.

Aurora first.

The line rang and rang, then went to voicemail. No answer.

I frowned. That damn girl, ignoring me on purpose again? I pushed down the flare of anger, mixed with that old, familiar maternal dread. She promised she wouldn’t be out late! That little brat Lex had at least slunk into his room an hour ago, smelling faintly of beer, but he was *home*.

Aurora was crossing the line.

"Aurora, you’d better have a perfect excuse, like your phone fell into a sewer..." I muttered, jabbing at the screen to send a text.

But a restless anxiety made sitting impossible. I stood up, the hem of my expensive silk robe whispering over the polished marble floor. I strode down the hall to Lex’s door and didn’t bother knocking, just turned the handle and pushed it open.

"Lex!"

My voice must have been louder than I intended because Lex, headphones on, jerked violently in his gaming chair, ripping the headset off. His face was a mix of shock and violated outrage.

"Mom!" he yelped, his sixteen-year-old voice still rough at the edges. "You’re supposed to wait for ’come in’! I’m an adult, I need privacy!"

*Bullshit adult.* I looked at the new, angry pimple on his chin, the bloodshot eyes from gaming too late, and my simmering worry and anger boiled over into something hotter.

"Call your sister," I commanded, my voice icy. "Now. Right now. You tell her if she isn’t standing in front of me in ten minutes, or gives me one hell of a convincing reason why not, I will personally go drag her ass back here—whether she’s in some godforsaken bar or on that stupid racetrack!"

Lex blinked, clearly startled by my tone, or maybe finally realizing his mother was at the end of her rope. He muttered something, then grudgingly picked up his phone and started dialing.

I stood in the doorway, arms crossed, my heart beating an uneven rhythm in my chest. The city lights glittered brilliantly outside the window, but they did nothing to dispel the shadow settling over me.

*Aurora, you impossible girl.*