Into the Alpha’s Keep Chapter 93: 93

POV Savannah Bowen

She shot me a glance, then went back to ignoring me, addressing only Anton.

"Answer Savannah's question," he ordered.

Marilyn huffed.

"Fenrir told me, didn’t he? He said I should report any news about the girl, so I'm just following orders."

"What do you know?" I insisted, holding back from strangling her with my own hands and forcing the information out.

Anton pursed his lips in a grimace and crossed his arms in front of his body, nodding toward me, prompting her to answer my question.

"I found an informant in the city who spoke to me about the female," she replied, irritated. "He wouldn’t, under any circumstances, enter the village—he’s terrified of us—but he's waiting for me at the border."

"Did you bring him here?" Anton asked, stunned.

"Would you believe me if I came to you with this information without proof?" No one said anything. "I had to drag him here. He'll tell us what he knows about the girl and then leave."

"Is he human?" I asked.

"Any problem with that?" she hissed, finally looking at me with disgust in her eyes. "Everyone living in the city is human. Your sister was living with them, wasn't she?"

"Yes," I agreed.

She turned to the male.

"Then, Anton, would you accompany me before the male has a heart attack or runs off? I managed to drag him here, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be able to keep him here, especially if I leave him alone."

Anton rubbed his face and nodded.

"I’ll go with you," I affirmed.

Marilyn growled at me.

"I’m talking to him, not you. I didn’t ask you to come with us."

I bared my teeth at her.

"And you’re talking about my sister. I don’t care about your opinion, I’m going with you, period."

She tossed her brown hair over her shoulder, swiping the strands across my face.

"I forgot it’s in your nature to meddle where you're not wanted. If you want to go, it’s your problem, just don’t get in the way and don’t scare my informant," she muttered before striding into the forest.

I waited for her to get far enough so I could speak with Anton.

"Do you think she’s telling the truth? That Fenrir would tell her about Selena?"

My heart was racing, the anxiety of hearing news about my sister, after months of complete darkness, was pushing me to the edge.

Anton ran a hand over the back of his neck and started walking slowly.

"I don’t know," he confessed with a sigh. "Maybe, Fenrir trusts her, and Marilyn is always in the city, she has contact with a lot of people there."

"Do you think she could be lying?" I whispered.

Anton licked his lips.

"To be honest? I have no idea. I don’t know who to trust in this pack anymore. All I know is Fenrir and Marilyn have a past together, and she knows many people in the city, so the possibility of him telling her about Selena is high."

I swallowed, shaking my head and understanding what that meant. Fenrir and the she-wolf had been lovers for half a century. Although they were apart now, they had been very close, and he trusted her.

I ignored the pang in my chest, the sharp pain in my heart.

It was ridiculous; she had news about my sister, and here I was feeling jealous of the wolf? Marilyn was nothing more than a bitch, a slut, and a provocateur—if only she could be useful for once in her life.

"And she didn’t even want me to go along," I growled, intertwining my fingers in front of my body.

"Typical of Marilyn."

"Typical of a disgusting bitch," I retorted, earning a sincere laugh from him.

We moved side by side toward the forest, following Marilyn but keeping a certain distance between us. The place was the same where Ruda had been killed—it didn’t bring good memories, but I had to be there and hear everything the male had to say about my sister.

"I hope he has good news," I muttered. "Selena worked in a bar, the male could be some former colleague of hers. Maybe she’s not even in the city anymore."

"Your sister is hard to track, Sava. Maybe she’s still in the city, but since she’s not a transformed wolf, it makes things harder for us, just as she’s been keeping off Hunter’s radar."

I nodded in agreement.

"Hunter knows where I am. He wouldn’t go after Selena unless he knew her location or was aware she’s unprotected, making her an easier target than I am. He wants her to get to me, to get his hands on me, not because he’s interested in her."

"I thought he wanted to get revenge on both of you, since you both ran away."

"He does, but I’m the one who ran at the altar, while he was fighting with the wolves from my pack. As controversial as it sounds, since he’s the one who rejected me, I kind of hurt his ego by running away, and on top of that, I stole the heat inhibitor from his house."

He laughed.

"I wish I had seen that scene."

"It wasn’t very pleasant."

"I imagine not. I just wanted to see how such a pompous and asshole alpha felt, seeing two omegas run away and succeed in escaping."

I laughed.

"I think he thought it would be easy to find us, that we wouldn’t get far."

Anton nodded, still smiling.

We came to a halt in the heart of the forest, the silence pressing in around us like a living thing. The frozen heads of wolves, impaled on weathered stakes, loomed in their grim tableau, unchanged since the last time I’d seen them.

Their lifeless eyes stared blankly, ice crystals clinging to their fur, jaws locked in eternal snarls. As grotesque as the sight was—macabre and unsettling—I found myself growing accustomed to it, a strange acceptance settling over me.

Standing here, behind the grisly barrier they formed, I felt a flicker of safety, a reassurance that I was on the right side of this divide.

Beyond them lay the unknown, the wild, the threat—and I’d rather be sheltered by their silent vigilance than exposed to whatever prowled in front.

I turned to Marilyn, my voice steady despite the unease curling in my gut.

"So, Marilyn, where’s the informant?"

She pivoted in a full circle, hands planted firmly on her hips, her sharp gaze sweeping the shadowed expanse of trees. Her brow furrowed, lines of concentration etching her face as she scanned the area with the precision of a hunter.

Then, abruptly, her expression shifted—her eyes locked onto something just above my shoulder, and a bright, almost triumphant smile curved her lips.

The air seemed to still, the forest holding its breath, and a chill unrelated to the cold crept up my spine.

A faint scent wafted toward me—dew, fresh and crisp, laced with the earthy undertone of moss. It was subtle, almost pleasant, but it hit me like a warning.

My body reacted before my mind could catch up, every muscle tensing as if coiled to spring.

My hand shot out instinctively, fingers closing around Anton’s arm in a grip so tight my knuckles whitened.

I couldn’t move, couldn’t force a single word past the lump lodged in my throat.

Fear rooted me to the spot, sharp and paralyzing, as the realization clawed its way through me.

Anton’s head turned, his dark eyes meeting mine, confusion flickering across his features. He sensed it too—the shift, the wrongness—and his brow creased as he searched my face for an explanation I couldn’t give.

My heart hammered against my ribs, a frantic, erratic rhythm that felt like it might tear free and leap from my throat.

Goosebumps erupted across my skin, a wave of prickling dread that left me trembling despite the layers I wore.

The forest, the stakes, Marilyn’s smile—all of it faded to the periphery as a presence loomed behind me, undeniable and suffocating.

"I’ve missed you, my sweet and lovely bride."

His voice rolled through the trees, deep and resonant, cutting through the silence like a blade. It reverberated in the air, each word dripping with a menace that sank into my bones, penetrating me like a vivid, living threat.

I knew that voice—too well, too painfully.

It was Hunter.