The Human Girl Who Tamed Alpha King Chapter 239

MADDIE

"In here, hurry," Dad urged, pushing open the door to an abandoned house.

The floorboards creaked under my feet as we piled inside. My body ached from the past few days—the invasion, the running, the quick shift I'd been forced to make when the rogues attacked. I hadn't fully recovered. None of us had.

I collapsed onto a dusty chair, watching Mom guide Julie to the only sofa. My sister moved like a zombie, her eyes vacant. The past week had destroyed something inside her. Mom's hands trembled as she arranged Julie's limbs into a comfortable position. She was terrified of losing another child.

"This is bullshit," Blake paced near the window, his jaw tight. "We should be fighting, not hiding like cowards."

"Enough," Dad said, voice low but commanding. "You know why we're here."

I did. An Alpha in France had told Dad we could hide on his territory, but not in his pack center. The rouge leader was searching for us—for me—and nowhere felt safe anymore.

The house was a wreck—peeling wallpaper, broken furniture, dust everywhere. Water stains marked the ceiling where rain had leaked through. A rat scurried across the floor, disappearing into a hole in the wall. But I didn't care. We were alive. That was enough.

I thought about Ben, my youngest brother. He'd slipped away during the attack, and we hadn't heard from him since. Dad said he could feel Ben was still alive through their pack bond, so I chose to believe him. I had to. Losing anyone else would break me completely.

"I'll check the back rooms," Dad said. "Blake, come with me. Let's see if we can find something to keep warm."

As they disappeared down the hallway, I watched Mom stroke Julie's hair. My sister hadn't spoken since we fled. I could still hear her screams from that night.

I hugged my knees to my chest, trying to stop the shaking. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw him—the rouge leader—his eyes wild as he tried to force his mark on me. I'd never been so terrified.

The guilt weighed on me like a stone. All those deaths because he wanted me. Because I was an Alpha's daughter who'd just turned eighteen. I wasn't special. I wasn't powerful. I was just...me. Why couldn't he have chosen someone else? Anyone else? I pushed the thought away immediately, ashamed for even thinking it. I wouldn't wish this nightmare on my worst enemy.

But then something strange happened. As his teeth approached my neck, I felt something else—someone else. A power so immense it made the rouge leader seem insignificant. For a moment, I felt connected to someone extremely powerful, someone eager to help me. But then the connection broke, and Dad appeared, fighting off the rouge leader and helping me escape.

I knew who I'd felt in that moment. The young king, the true king. Atlas. I'd seen him at his birthday celebration when our pack visited America. We'd never spoken directly, but I'd watched him from across the room, mesmerized by his presence. Everyone had. There was something about him that commanded attention, even before he showed his true power. But this feeling was different from when we'd met at the party. There was something more, something I couldn't explain, so I hadn't told anyone.

The floorboards creaked as Dad and Blake returned, carrying some old blankets.

"We stay here for a short while, and I'm sure someone will come," Dad said. No one responded. Hope felt dangerous now.

"What about the pack?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

Dad's eyes darkened. "Many are dead, sweetheart. I feel the pack links dying, and I have since we were invaded. He could not have stopped the rogues from raping and killing wolves had you accepted his offer. For now, the best we can do is stay hidden and later try to find those who survived."

Blake kicked at a broken chair. "I didn't get my phone."

"None of us did," Dad replied.

"Then how you suppose we will be found?" Blake snapped.

"Someone will find us. I can feel it," I whispered. I wasn't sure why I said it, but something inside me believed it was true. Dad caught my eye and nodded.

"Someone will find us," he repeated. "Try to get some rest."

Rest seemed impossible. The rouge leader was hunting for me. Every sound made me jump. Every shadow seemed to move. Outside, the wind howled through the trees, and somewhere an owl called out. The sounds of normal life continuing while ours had been shattered felt surreal.

I couldn't stop thinking about the lives lost. Friends I'd grown up with. Mentors who'd taught me everything I knew. Children who'd never grow up. All because of me. Because I'd been born an Alpha's daughter. Because I'd turned eighteen. Because a monster decided I should be his.

Then it happened.

Something touched my soul. There's no other way to describe it. A gentle caress inside my very being. Words I didn't recognize appeared in my mind, or perhaps a feeling translated into words: "I will be there soon."

And then it was gone. But I recognized that touch. It was the same gentle soul touch I'd felt when Atlas, the king, had reached out to me in my moment of terror.

My mind raced with questions. Was Atlas looking for us? If so, why? How could I feel him this way? Was it because he was the true king? Or was there something more? If so, what? What would happen when—if—he found us?

I tried to think logically. Atlas was the son of the American king and queen. Why would he care about a French pack being destroyed? Why would he personally come looking for us? For me?

But the touch had been real. The promise had been real.

My body finally surrendered to exhaustion. As I drifted into sleep, his eyes and touch haunted me. In my dreams, he stood before me, powerful and protective, reaching out his hand. I tried to grasp it, but the distance between us kept stretching. Still, even in sleep, I felt safer than I had in days. Someone was coming. He was coming.