The Rogue is a Female Alpha novel Chapter 561

Chapter 561

Snowflakes

:

79

รพ

Finished

The car glided to a silent stop before the towering Frost estate, the late–morning light glinting off its frost–laced windows.

I stepped out onto the crisp gravel, the chill air kissing my cheeks as I turned to Pa Nashville with a small, grateful bow.

“Thank you,” I murmured sincerely.

He inclined his head, expression stoic as ever, but the engine remained idling. He didn’t pull away. His steady gaze lingered on me through the windshield, patient, watchful.

Cupid’s low voice echoed in my memory. His private instructions to the driver before we parted must have been he should stick around.

Clearly, Pa Nashville had been tasked with chaperoning me all day, a silent shadow ensuring my safety. The realization sent a complicated warmth through me. Protective, possessive, and just a little suffocating.

I turned from him and approached the grand front door. The grounds were quiet. No guards patrolling, no staff in sight as usual.

I tested the handle first, then keyed in the familiar code. The lock disengaged with a soft, welcoming chime, and the heavy door swung inward.

Stepping inside, I drew in a slow, deep breath.

Home.

A small, involuntary smile curved my lips as the tension in my shoulders eased, if only slightly.

I moved through the sunlit living room, heels muffled on the plush rugs, down the wide hallway, and into my bedroom.

Everything was pristine, the bed perfectly made, surfaces dust–free. But my gaze snagged immediately on the dress stand in the corner.

A new gown hung there, midnight–blue silk cascading in elegant folds. Nearly identical to the one Viviana had shredded in her fit of rage.

My stomach twisted. Goosebumps prickled across my arms, raising the fine hairs on my skin.

One of my brothers must have replaced it. Kashi, most likely, with his quiet acts of care. Still,

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Chapter 561

seeing it waiting there like a ghost of the original sent an uneasy shiver down my spine.

79

Finished

I forced myself to turn away, only to freeze again. On the vanity lay my H.O.W.L. identification card. The one Viviana had snapped in half with vicious glee.

Now it gleamed whole and new, the lamination crisp, my title bold and proud.

Profiler.

Joy flared bright and hot in my chest. I reached for it, fingers tracing the letters, a fierce grin spreading across my face… until cold reality doused it.

The grin faded. I should have been at the first floor of H.O.W.L ight now, buried in the Lins case, doing what I was born to do. Instead, I’d been publicly discredited and removed.

A soft, weary sigh slipped from my lips as I crossed to the bed and sank onto the edge, the mattress yielding beneath me.

Something was profoundly wrong. The pieces didn’t fit, and the harder I looked, the clearer the manipulation became.

My phone felt heavy as I unlocked it. Notifications cascaded down the screen.

Dove’s worried texts stacked one atop another, my brothers checking in, asking where I was. The most recent was from Quince, sent two hours ago.

Check your mail.

Frowning, I opened the attachment. A compressed case file. The complete Lins dossier. My pulse quickened.

I hurried from the bedroom, down the hall to the study, and sent the pages to the printer. The machine whirred to life, spitting out warm sheets that I gathered eagerly, stapling as I scanned.

Mr. Lins Krates, early sixties, found alone in his home, stabbed multiple times in the abdomen. I flipped to the crime–scene photos, and dread slithered cold and heavy into the room.

I’d known about the multiple stab wounds, but seeing the pattern, the precise clustering, the angles, the frenzied yet deliberate placement struck me like a physical blow. Too familiar. Bone–deep familiar.

Hands trembling, I flipped back to the images, then slowly lifted the hem of my own dress, exposing the faded scars low on my stomach.

The placement… the fury… it mirrored mine almost exactly. A signature. A brand. A psychopath marking ownership on their victims.

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Chapter 561

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Finished

Goosebumps erupted violently across my skin just as my phone buzzed sharply. I jumped, heart slamming against my ribs.

Quince.

I answered instantly.

“Quince, listen. The person who killed Mr. Lins isa…”

“She’s been found,” he cut in, voice oddly flat.

I went still.

“What?”

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