All Chapters of Ten Ways To Kill Alpha PENKING : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The days crawled by.Penking watched her constantly. Like he knew something was wrong but couldn’t figure out what.She played the role. Smiled when he wanted. Obeyed when he commanded. Pretended she was adjusting.Way number two. Submit to feed his delusion.Make him think he’d won.On Thursday night, he came home with flowers.Red roses. A dozen.“For you,” he said.She took them. “Why?”“Because tomorrow is important.” He kissed her forehead. “And I want you to know how much this means to me.”The marking.“I’m scared,” she admitted.“I know.” His hand cupped her face. “But I’ll be gentle. Dr. Hale will make sure you’re comfortable. And when it’s over, we’ll be connected. Forever.”Forever.The word felt like a noose.“What if I don’t want this?” she whispered.“You don’t have to want it. You just have to accept it.”“That’s not fair.”“Life isn’t fair, Amelia.” He pulled her closer. “But you’re mine. And tomorrow, everyone will know it.”That night, she couldn’t sleep.She lay bes

Amelia didn’t sleep.She lay on the bed staring at the ceiling while Penking slept beside her like he hadn’t just told her a man was dead because of her.Stellan.She barely knew him. Didn’t trust him. But he was dead.And Devon was somewhere being hurt.Because of her.Her fault. All of it.She turned her head and looked at Penking.His face was relaxed in sleep. Almost peaceful. Like the violence didn’t live inside him when his eyes were closed.She hated how human he looked.Hated that she noticed.She slipped out of bed and walked to the window.The city was quiet at this hour. Just streetlights and empty roads.She pressed her palm flat against the glass.Cold seeped into her skin.Way two was dead.Submission didn’t work. She’d given him compliance and stillness and the illusion of surrender. And instead of satisfying him, it made him worse. More possessive. More dangerous.He didn’t want a doll.He wanted her broken and still fighting at the same time.Which meant she had to ch

She made breakfast the next morning.Eggs. Toast. Orange juice.Simple. Nothing impressive.But when Penking walked out of the bedroom and found her in the kitchen, he stopped like she’d done something impossible.“What is this?” he asked.“Breakfast.” She slid a plate toward him. “Sit.”He didn’t move.“I’m not poisoning you,” she said flatly. “If I wanted you dead, I’ve had better chances than scrambled eggs.”Something flickered in his eyes.He sat.She poured coffee and set it beside his plate.Then she sat across from him with her own food.He took a bite. Chewed.Said nothing for a long moment.Then: “The eggs are good.”“They’re fine,” she corrected. “Not good. I always add too much pepper.”He looked at his plate. Took another bite. “I like pepper.”She almost laughed.Caught herself.They ate in silence.But it was a different kind of silence. Not the tense, suffocating kind she was used to. Something else.Almost normal.That was the goal. Normal. Safe. Familiar.Make him fe

The lie slipped on a Thursday.Four days into way three. Four days of careful honesty layered over careful deception. Four days of sitting in his office, eating with him, reading his books, learning his silences.It was working. She could feel it.He was softer around her. Not soft. Never soft. But the sharpest edges had pulled back slightly. He stopped locking the bedroom door. Stopped monitoring exactly how long she spent in each room.Small freedoms. Intentional ones. She recognized them for what they were.He was testing how she’d use them.She used them carefully.Then Thursday happened.He came home early. She was in the office. She’d been going through the law books again but her mind had drifted.She was thinking about Devon.Whether he was alive. Whether Penking had actually stopped hurting him or just paused. Whether Olivia had any idea what had happened to her plan.She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn’t hear him come in.“You look worried,” he said from the doorwa

The Brooklyn meeting was exactly as volatile as she’d predicted.Amelia sat beside Penking in a conference room that smelled like old wood and alpha pheromones. Eight people around the table. The Harrow pack on one side. The Voss pack on the other.And Penking at the head. Neutral. Watching.She stayed quiet. Observed.The Voss alpha spoke first. Confident. Too confident.“The route expansion was agreed upon six months ago,” he said. “We have documentation.”The Harrow alpha slammed his hand on the table. “That documentation is fabricated. You forged my beta’s signature.”“Careful with accusations.”“I’m being careful. That’s why I brought proof.”He slid a folder across the table.The Voss alpha didn’t even look at it. “Penking knows the truth. We had a deal. He was there.”Every eye turned to Penking.He said nothing. Just looked at the folder.Then at the Voss alpha.“Open it,” Penking said.“I don’t need to—”“Open. It.”The Voss alpha’s jaw tightened. He pulled the folder over. O