Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 76: 76

They were Marilyn's friends. Ileana and Petronela, two wolves as... pleasant as their friend. They didn't usually attend school every day; they were responsible for preparing the snacks, but since I volunteered for the task, they took advantage of it and started skipping a few days a week. I didn’t get paid for it, so I did their job for free. Obviously, they loved it.

"Really?" Petronela asked, tossing her red hair.

"Yes," Ileana confirmed. "From what I saw, he pushed her away. He's been really bad."

"Look, of all the things I thought I'd see in my life, this wasn't included."

Ileana nodded.

"Neither did I. After all those years, everything they went through together..." she murmured, pitying her friend's situation. "Fenrir discarded Marilyn like she meant nothing."

I stood still, absorbing what that meant.

My wolf was practically vibrating with ecstasy, a low, contented purr rumbling through my chest as if some miraculous victory had just unfolded before us.

She reveled in it, basking in a joy I couldn’t quite touch. I, on the other hand, felt a strange detachment, a hollow indifference that clashed with her elation.

He was taking a stand—Fenrir—showing me the respect he’d vowed to give, proving his word with actions that should’ve warmed me.

But instead, a shadow of doubt crept in, cold and insidious.

If he could do this to the omega—to Marilyn, the wolf who’d stood by his side through decades of darkness, who’d been his lover, his confidante for fifty long years—what assurance did I have that I’d fare any better?

She’d shared his bad moments, weathered his storms, and now he cast her aside with a disregard that chilled me.

My mind churned, replaying the implications. If he could turn his back on her after all that history, what was to stop him from doing the same to me when I no longer served his purpose?

My heart kicked against my ribs, a frantic, uneven rhythm that sent a sharp, searing pain slicing through my chest.

It felt as if something inside me was being carved apart, a blade twisting deeper with every beat. Nothing guaranteed my safety—nothing at all.

No promise, no gesture, no matter how grand, could erase that truth.

He wasn’t a liar like Hunter had been; his words weren’t hollow shells meant to deceive.

Fenrir had already shown he’d move mountains to keep his vows—making Dăneşti a sanctuary for me, scouring the earth for Selena—but those were goals, tangible ends he could chase.

What about my heart?

What about the fragile, invisible thing I’d only just begun to piece back together?

The scars Hunter left still ached, phantom wounds that throbbed when I let my guard down. I’d clawed my way out of that wreckage, stitched myself into something resembling whole, but it had taken everything I had.

Could I survive another alpha’s contempt, another betrayal from someone I’d dared to trust?

The answer came swiftly, a quiet, resolute no that didn’t surprise me. I wasn’t strong enough—not for that, not again.

Marilyn might’ve been a damn bitch—sharp-tongued, ruthless, a thorn in my side—but she’d been a pillar in Fenrir’s past.

She’d been important, someone he’d leaned on, someone who’d shared his pain and his bed through years of struggle.

And now?

Now he treated her like she was nothing, abandoning her without a backward glance after everything they’d endured together. The callousness of it gnawed at me, a warning I couldn’t ignore. I’d trusted too many people in my life—opened my heart too readily—and most of them had taught me, in the cruelest ways, that it was my gravest mistake.

Even though something flickered between Fenrir and me, a pull I couldn’t deny, I refused to let it sweep me away. I wouldn’t be foolish again.

It had been that way with my parents, hadn’t it?

My father, especially—he’d looked at me and seen nothing but a tool, a polished trophy to wield for his own gain.

I’d been less than a daughter to him, more a political pawn, a means to secure his power. He’d molded me from the cradle, every moment of my childhood and adolescence bent toward one purpose: to be the perfect wife, the perfect vessel for his ambitions.

He’d forced me into Hunter’s arms, bartering me like a prize mare to strengthen the Twilight pack. I was to be their salvation, my pups the legacy to carry our lineage forward.

And I’d accepted it—never questioned it—bearing the burden with a quiet grace I’d mistaken for strength.

What a colossal mistake that had been. My father hadn’t cared about my feelings, my dreams, my choices. To him, I was a stepping stone to power, nothing more.

I’d grown up under that weight, the scars forming beneath the surface, invisible but ever-present. I’d convinced myself I could handle it, that I was ready to play my role. But then came Hunter—the second blow, the one that shattered me completely.

He’d taken the fragments my father left and ground them to dust, using me not for alliance but for revenge, a twisted game I hadn’t seen coming until it was too late.

All my life, I’d been used and discarded. My father had wielded me like a chess piece, indifferent to the heart beating beneath my ribs. Hunter had taken me as a weapon, his vengeance carved into my skin with every lie, every betrayal.

Neither of them had cared about me—about the person I was, the feelings I buried, the dreams I’d never dared voice.

I’d been an object to them, a means to an end, simple as that. The pattern was clear, etched into my history like a brand.

And now, with Fenrir, I stood at the edge of it again—teetering on the brink of trust, staring down the same abyss.

I couldn’t survive it a third time.

I wouldn’t.

"Poor Marilyn, she dedicated her whole life to him," Petronela whispered.

"Are you paid to gossip or to work?" Fenrir snarled, his voice sounding behind me.

I was so lost in memories that I didn’t even notice he had approached. I blinked, clearing my mind, and turned to face him.

His eyes were fixed on the omegas, the silver gleaming, showing the irritation he felt seeing them talk about his personal life.

"Sorry, we didn’t mean to..." Petronela fired off.

"We didn’t know Savannah was nearby," Ileana defended herself.

A growl rumbled from his chest, low and threatening. I turned just in time to see them shrink in fear of the alpha’s wrath.

"Get out of my way, now!" he growled, the golden light intensifying in his gaze. "Before I separate your heads from your necks."

I rolled my eyes at his threat and walked toward the kitchen. The two hurried past me, running desperately away, leaving only the scent of their perfume behind.

I grabbed an apple from the basket and began peeling it.

"I brought something for you," he said, stopping beside me and handing me a box.

I released the fruit and stared at him, furrowing my brow.

"What is it?"

"Look." He pointed with his chin at the object.

I took the box from his hands and placed it on the counter. I tried to act natural, not like a desperate curious person, but I couldn’t. The third second I encountered resistance from the tape sealing the cardboard, I extended a nail and unwrapped it as if my life depended on it.

He laughed and raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like you like getting gifts."

"And is there anyone who doesn’t?"

"I have no idea," he confessed.

There were three new romance books. I flipped through each one, reading the titles on the covers, and couldn't help but smile.

"I’m going to get spoiled this way."

He placed his hand on my arm, forcing me to look at him.

"I’ll give you many more. We can build a library if that makes you happy." He sighed. "You’ll never have to read the same book over and over because it’s the only one you have."

"Thank you," I said, feeling my throat tighten with emotion.

"I’m not your father. I’ll never be like him. You’ll never be forbidden from reading romance or doing anything else you want. You’re completely free, Sava."

"And if it’s up to me, you’ll have everything you want."