Chapter 84
I smiled coldly. “Challenge accepted.”
As the traditional circle formed around us, I removed my jacket and handed it to Ethan. Foster stripped to his waist, revealing a physique that had clearly seen better days–soft where an Alpha should be hard, indulgent where discipline should have prevailed.
Alpha Foster charged first, as I knew he would. His attack was all fury and no strategy–the desperate lunge of a man who knew his power was slipping away. I sidestepped easily, landing a punishing blow to his kidney that sent him staggering.
“You’re out of practice, Alpha Foster,” I taunted, circling him. “Too many years letting others fight your
battles.”
He came at me again, this time managing to land a glancing blow to my shoulder. I barely felt it through the adrenaline pumping through my veins.
“Summer was never happy with you,” I said, blocking his next swing and countering with a strike to his
solar plexus that left him gasping. “And Felix deserved a better father.”
“They’re mine!” Alpha Foster wheezed, swinging wildly.
I caught his arm mid–swing, twisting until I heard the satisfying pop of his shoulder dislocating. “No,” I
said calmly as he howled in pain. “They’re not.”
The fight ended quickly after that. Alpha Foster, fueled by desperation and wounded pride, was no match
for the cold, calculated rage that drove me. When he fell to his knees, blood streaming from his broken
nose, I stood over him, victorious but unsatisfied.
Now it was time to get Summer.
Third Person POV
Suzanna burst into her private quarters, breathless from her confrontation with Summer. Locking the insufferable woman in the basement had brought her immense satisfaction.
Then she turned down the hall toward Moore’s room, eager to share the moment with her son.
But when she entered Moore’s room, she found her son sitting on the edge of his bed, looking uncharacteristically pale and agitated.
“Moore?” Suzanna approached her son cautiously. “What’s wrong?”
The boy’s hands were trembling slightly. “Nothing. I’m fine.”
But Suzanna noticed the faint scent of blood on him–not his own, but Felix’s. Her maternal instincts immediately triggered her suspicion.
1/3
“What did you do?” she demanded, gripping his shoulders. “Tell me now!”
Moore’s defiant expression crumbled under her intense gaze. “I just wanted to teach the freak a lesson! He bit me first!”
“What. Did. You. Do?” Each word was punctuated with increasing dread.
“I just hit him in the stomach,” Moore mumbled, avoiding her eyes. “But I didn’t know he was so weak. I only punched him a few times, and he just… passed out.”
“You stupid fool!” Suzanna hissed, fear replacing her anger. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“I was just trying to defend your honor,” Moore’s face crumpled. “I didn’t know! Alpha Foster is going to kill me!”
The reality of the situation crashed down on her. If Felix was seriously injured or–Moon forbid–dead, there would be no negotiation, no mercy from Alpha Alexander. The stories of his vengeance against those who harmed his loved ones were legendary.
“Did anyone see you?” she demanded, already pulling out a travel bag from under the bed.
Moore shook his head. “Just the guards, but-”
“Listen carefully,” Suzanna Interrupt him, her voice deadly serious as she began throwing clothes into the bag. “We’re leaving. Now. Before anyone realizes what’s happened.”
“But Alpha Foster-”
“Alpha Foster will be occupied with Alexander,” she snapped. “By the time he realizes Felix’s condition, it will be too late for all of us unless we’re gone.”
“Where will we go?” Moore asked, his voice small.
“I have contacts in the Western Coalition,” she replied, already planning their escape route. “Pack only what you can carry. We leave in five minutes.”
As Moore scrambled to gather his things, Suzanna quickly accessed Alpha Foster’s private safe, removing emergency cash and identity documents he’d prepared for worst–case scenarios. The irony that she was using Foster’s contingency plans to escape the consequences of his son’s actions wasn’t lost on her.
Her phone. Where was her phone? She patted her pockets frantically before realizing it was gone–likely stolen by Summer during their confrontation. Cursing under her breath, she grabbed Foster’s backup phone instead.
“Mom, I’m scared,” Moore admitted as they prepared to slip out through the service entrance at the rear of the Alpha residence.
2/3
Suzanna pulled her son close, her survival instincts overriding everything else. “Listen to me. What happened with Felix wasn’t your fault. It was an accident. But we can’t be here when they find out.”
As they slipped through the kitchen and toward the service door, Suzanna heard the distant sounds of fighting breaking out near the territory border. The confrontation between Alexander and Foster had
begun.
“Stay close,” she whispered to Moore, praying that the chaos would provide cover for their escape. As they reached her emergency vehicle–hidden in the groundskeeper’s shed for precisely this type of situation–Suzanna couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret.
She had played the game perfectly, rising from a nobody Omega to the Alpha’s favored companion. She had been so close to everything she wanted. But survival came first. Always.
“Moore,” she said as they sped away from the only home her son had ever known, “remember this lesson: never leave evidence of your mistakes behind.”
Suzanna pressed her foot harder on the accelerator, the Silver Creek Pack territory shrinking in the
rearview mirror as they fled into an uncertain future.
