All Chapters of The Alpha’s Dirty Little Secret: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

"What the hell is the Shadow Guard, Victor? Sounds like some comic book shit."Zack Vale spat a thick glob of blood onto the charred grass of the training grounds. He leaned heavily against a blackened oak, his chest heaving under a shredded tactical vest. Around them, the Blackwood estate looked like a war zone. Smoke still curled from the chimney stacks, and the metallic tang of Martha’s sacrifice lingered in the damp morning air."It's the unit that keeps Elodie alive while I’m hunting the people who poisoned our water," Victor growled. He didn't look at Zack. He was busy checking the slide on a silver-plated sidearm. His knuckles were still a raw, angry red from clawing through the salt cave rubble. "No more scouts. No more general security. The Shadow Guard answers to me. Their only job is the White Moon lineage. If a leaf falls near her window, I want a report on its velocity.""And you want me to lead it?" Zack let out a jagged, humorless laugh. He wiped his mouth, leaving a sm

"What the hell is this, Victor? You’re just gonna walk into the lion's mouth?"Zack’s hand slammed against the iron railing of the balcony, the metal groaning under the pressure. He stood over a pile of discarded tactical gear, his eyes darting toward the sleek, black Aegis envelope sitting on the stone table."It’s a peace treaty, Zack. Or at least, that’s what the ink says." Victor didn't look up from his sidearm. He clicked a fresh magazine into the grip, the sound sharp and final in the quiet morning air. "The Capitol wants a signature. They want a public display of the Alpha King bending the knee. If I don't go, they have the legal pretext to carpet-bomb the valley by sunset.""It’s a goddamn trap! You know it, I know it, even the babies know it!" Zack stepped into Victor's space, his chest heaving. "They’re gonna put a silver collar on you the second you cross the threshold.""Let them try." Victor finally looked up. His amber eyes were hard, flat discs of gold. "I’m going to th

"Who the hell are you?" Elodie’s voice rasped, her hand clutching the jagged edge of a control console. Smoke bit at her throat.The woman standing across the burning bridge of the Air-Fortress didn't flinch. She adjusted her stance, a mirror image of Elodie’s own posture. "I’m the version of you that didn't get weak, Elodie. I’m the one they perfected.""Subject Zero," Elodie spat. She wiped a smudge of soot from her cheek. The movement was mirrored perfectly by the thing wearing her face."Call me what you want. But I have your first kiss stored in my databanks. I have the memory of your mother’s funeral. I have every single one of Victor’s whispers." Subject Zero stepped forward, her boots clicking on the vibrating metal floor. The fortress groaned, tilting five degrees to the port side as an engine exploded somewhere below. "The difference is, I don't care about any of it. It’s just data. Efficient. Cold.""You’re a hollow shell," Elodie growled."Am I?" Subject Zero laughed. It w

"Get up, Elodie! Move your legs, damn it!"Victor’s voice ripped through the thick, oily smoke clogging the hallway. He didn't wait for an answer. He shoved a jagged piece of titanium plating aside, the metal shrieking against the deck. The Air-Fortress groaned beneath them, a dying beast tilting forty degrees toward the jagged peaks of the ridge."I can't... Victor, the babies... they’re heavy..." Elodie’s voice was a wet rasp. She was pinned under a collapsed support beam, her fingers clawing at the freezing slush leaking through the cracked hull.Victor didn't waste breath on comfort. He planted his boots, his back muscles bunching and screaming as he heaved the beam upward. The scent of ozone and leaking fuel cells bit at his throat. "Crawl! Now!"She slid out, her skin slick with sweat and grime. Victor dropped the beam—a thud that vibrated through the floor—and scooped her up. He didn't run; he lunged through the jagged hole in the fuselage just as a white-hot bloom of light eru

"What the hell is that smell? Is someone burning rubber in the infirmary?"Victor slammed the heavy oak door of the war room, the vibration rattling the empty whiskey tumblers on the sideboard. He didn't wait for an answer from the tired-eyed guard by the threshold. He stripped off his scorched tactical vest, dropping it onto the floor with a heavy thud. The scent of antiseptic, rotting meat, and ozone had soaked into the very wallpaper of the Blackwood estate."It’s the generator, Alpha," Zack spat, wiping a smear of black grease across his forehead. He leaned against the mahogany desk, his shoulders sagging. "The fuel lines are clogged with ash from the crash. We’re down to twenty percent power. The medical wing is screaming for heaters, and the pantry is a goddamn joke. We’ve got three hundred wolves to feed and enough deer meat for maybe fifty. If the pack doesn't eat soon, the hunger is going to snap the bond before Aegis does.""Fix the generator, Zack. I don't care if you have