All Chapters of The Alpha’s Dirty Little Secret: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

"Victor! Move! Get the fuck up!"Elodie’s scream tore through the sterile hum of the Under-City, but it didn't reach him. Not really. Victor lay crumpled against the base of a shattered cryo-pod, his chest a caved-in mess of jagged bone and shredded muscle. The First Wolf’s kick had done more than just snap ribs. It had silenced the roar in his blood. Deep in the dark corners of his skull, the black wolf he had carried since his first shift was whimpering. It was retreating, burying itself under layers of terror, refusing to answer the call of the Alpha."Weak. So incredibly weak," the First Wolf spat. It stood over Victor, its eyeless face tilted as if listening to the erratic, dying rhythm of Victor's heart. "You aren't even worth the kill. You’re just a reminder of how far the lineage has rotted.""Stay away from him, you freak!" Elodie lunged, but the frequency emitted by the beast slammed into her again. Her legs turned to water. She hit the floor, her chin striking the cold cera

"You think they’re actually going to eat, or just sit there waiting for someone to lunge at someone else’s throat?"Victor adjusted the heavy leather strap of his silver-tipped combat knife. The weight felt different now—not an extension of his body, but a tool. A burden. Below the balcony of the Blackwood Estate, the central courtyard was a sea of bodies. Torches flickered, casting long, jagged shadows against the stone walls. The air was thick with the scent of roasted meat, pine resin, and the heavy, underlying musk of several hundred wolves trying to play nice."They’ll eat, Victor. Wolves are simple. Give them a kill and a fire, and they’ll forget they want to kill you for at least an hour." Elodie stepped up beside him. Her presence was a physical heat. She wore a deep red gown that looked like spilled blood in the firelight, the silver markings on her shoulders pulsing with a steady, rhythmic glow."Rogan’s death didn’t settle them," Victor muttered. He scanned the crowd. No ph

"Zack, if this piece of junk doesn't ignite in the next three seconds, I’m going to personally throw you out of the airlock. Do you copy?"Victor’s voice was a jagged rasp over the comms. He slammed his fist against the rusted console of the Fenrir transport, the metal groaning under the impact. He wasn't an Alpha anymore. He didn't have the luxury of a roar that could shake the mountain, so he used the cold, hard weight of a pulse rifle slung over his shoulder instead. His knuckles were raw, bleeding onto the ancient, haptic controls."I’m working on it, Vic! Jesus! This thing hasn't been powered up since the High Humans went into the dirt. Give me a goddamn second!" Zack’s fingers were a blur across a holographic display that kept flickering out, casting a sickly blue light over his sweat-streaked face. "The fuel cells are ancient. I have to manually bypass the ignition sequence. Just... hold your fucking breath.""We don't have time for breath," Camille snapped. she was standing by

"Zack, get the goddamn bird in position! The floors are turning into fucking soup!"Victor’s boots sank into the obsidian tiles. The stone wasn't breaking; it was liquefying, a thick, black sludge rising over his ankles. He adjusted his grip on Elodie, her head lolling against his shoulder. Her skin was cold, the color of wet chalk. Every breath she took sounded like a rattle in a tin can."I’m trying, Vic! The gravity is shifting every three seconds! The ship won’t stabilize!" Zack’s voice was a jagged mess of static through the earpiece. "The kids... they’re pulling the whole damn sky down!"Victor didn't look back. He couldn't. If he saw the twins—two toddlers standing in the center of a reality-warping hurricane—his legs would give out. He shoved through a doorway that was drooping like melted plastic."Camille! Cover the rear!""With what? My hands?" Camille’s rifle jammed as a glob of ceiling-goo hit the chamber. She dropped the weapon, the metal sizzling as the citadel’s dissol

"You think they’re actually going to bow, or are we just waiting for the first throat to get ripped out?"Victor adjusted the heavy, silver-threaded collar of his formal mantle. The weight of the fabric was nothing compared to the new density of his bones. He stood in the wings of the Great Hall, his pulse a slow, tectonic thrum. He didn't need to sniff the air to know the building was packed with Alphas from six continents. The ground itself seemed to vibrate with their collective, restless power."They'll bow, Victor. Not because they want to, but because the alternative is standing against a White Alpha and the Prophet," Elodie said, stepping into his space.She reached up, her fingers smoothing the lapel of his coat. Her touch was a brand of heat. The silver markings on her arms were subdued, glowing with a soft, steady hum that synchronized with his own heartbeat."I don't like the theater of it," Victor muttered. He gripped her waist, his large hand spanning nearly half her tors