fiction
“WHO LAID A HAND ON YOU?” THE ALPHA KING THUNDERED—AS HIS SHATTERED OMEGA FELL BLEEDING INTO HIS ARMS / Chapter 4 / 10

Chapter 4 - THE POISON AND THE TRAITOR

Gideon gently pushed her back onto the pillows, his touch surprisingly soft for a man who had ripped four men apart hours earlier. "Shh. Calm down. Tell me everything. Who is Clara?"

Through broken sobs, Adelaide confessed everything. She told him about the sudden arrival of Kael, the dark vial of refined wolfsbane meant for his ceremonial chalice, and the cruel ultimatum Lord Bastion had given her: poison the Alpha King, or receive her six-year-old half-sister’s head in a box.

"I couldn't do it," Adelaide sobbed, hiding her face in her bruised hands. "I couldn't poison you... you were the only person who treated me like a human being. But I couldn't let Clara die either... so I ran. I thought I could reach Crestfall..."

Gideon felt a deep, profound ache in his chest. She had chosen to face the deadly winter storm and Bastion’s mercenaries alone rather than betray him.

"Where is the vial?" Gideon asked quietly.

"In my old cloak... in the pocket," she whispered.

Gideon reached over to the table where her ruined garments lay. He fished out the small black glass bottle. He opened the stopper and sniffed it carefully. His eyes narrowed. This was no ordinary wolfsbane; it was liquid death designed specifically to kill a royal Alpha wolf within minutes.

"Bastion underestimated you, Adelaide," Gideon said, his voice dropping an octave into a tone of pure lethal promise. "And he severely underestimated me."

He reached out, his thick fingers gently tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "You tried to protect me. Now, let me protect what is yours."

"You don't understand," Adelaide pleaded, clutching his arm. "Crestfall is an impenetrable fortress built into the Southern cliffs! Bastion has hundreds of guards! If he sees your army coming, he will kill Clara before you even cross the drawbridge!"

Gideon smiled, a cold, ruthless expression that chilled the blood. "Then I will not send an army to the front gate."

Just then, the doors to the bedchamber burst open. Captain Varick, Gideon’s most trusted commander, stepped inside, his face pale and grim.

May you like

My sister flung my ten-year-old son's Christmas gift across her marble kitchen, and the tiny wooden roof snapped against the tile. My brother laughed. Timothy crouched to collect the pieces, but I caught his hand before he could touch them. By morning, an envelope would make my sister's hands shake.

My sister flung my ten-year-old son's Christmas gift across her marble k...

For twelve years, my mother had persuaded everyone in our hometown that I'd turned my back on my family to build a career in the Navy. At my father's memorial service, she publicly shamed me in a packed church and ordered me to take off my military uniform. I was ready to walk away when a retired general rose from his seat with Dad's final letter in his hand and said, "Before you humiliate your daughter one more time, Helen, these people deserve to know the truth."

For twelve years, my mother had persuaded everyone in our hometown that...

My husband sl3pped me across the face in front of his entire family and shouted, “Get out of my house! You don't belong here anymore!” Behind him, my mother-in-law smiled with satisfaction, certain she had finally succeeded in driving me away. What neither of them knew was that I secretly owned the mansion they were standing in—and the $10,000 my mother-in-law spent every month on designer clothes, luxury holidays, and personal comforts came straight from my bank account. They thought they were throwing out a helpless woman. They had no idea they were about to lose everything…

My husband sl3pped me across the face in front of his entire family and...

"Your Grace," Varick reported, kneeling quickly. "We searched the bodies in the woods as you commanded. But we found something else in Kael’s belongings. A letter sealed with the mark of your own inner council."

Gideon’s eyes turned to cold steel. "A traitor inside Winterborne Keep."

Share

X Facebook Reddit LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email

Related Stories

Chapter 5 - SHADOWS OF CRESTFALL
Chapter 6 - THE BLOODHOUND'S SCHEME
Chapter 7 - INTO THE ENEMY'S LAIR
Chapter 8 - THE RESCUE AND THE TRAP
Chapter 9 - THE SIEGE OF CRESTFALL
Chapter 10 - THE QUEEN OF THE NORTH

Other posts

gifts to “the grandchildren who made us proud this year,” and my two kids sat on the carpet with empty hands while their cousin tore open a tablet, sneakers, a drone, and gift cards. My eleven-year-old daughter kept smiling because she thought maybe her name was on the next box. My nine-year-old son whispered, “Dad, did Santa forget Grandma’s house?” Then my brother’s son leaned toward them and said, “Guess you didn’t deserve one.” My mother laughed like it was cute. My father looked at me like I was the problem for noticing. I did not yell. I did not ruin dinner. I helped my children put on their coats and drove two hours home through freezing rain. By morning, I had sent one text that finally ended the role my family had assigned us.

Oct 09, 2026

gifts to “the grandchildren who made us proud this year,” and my two kids sat on the carpe...

For seven years, I paid my parents' propane and electric bills because Dad promised their Vermont farmhouse would someday be mine. At Christmas dinner, he read his new will aloud and left the house and twelve acres to my sister. Then he gave me his old hair dryer, and everyone laughed. I left without revealing the Christmas present hidden in my coat pocket. Three weeks later, during a brutal cold snap, Dad came knocking at my door...

Oct 16, 2026

For seven years, I paid my parents' propane and electric bills because Dad promised their...

The evening before our wedding anniversary, my husband confessed he had fallen for someone else.

Sep 01, 2026

The evening before our wedding anniversary, my husband confessed he had fallen for someone...

I found out I was erased from my family’s Christmas EVERY YEAR on Instagram — until the will made them remember my name.

Sep 25, 2026

I found out I was erased from my family’s Christmas EVERY YEAR on Instagram — until the wi...

My Son Kicked Me Out for Refusing to Apologize to His Wife. Three Days Later, She Called Demanding My Money, but My Answer Changed Everything.

Oct 19, 2026

My Son Kicked Me Out for Refusing to Apologize to His Wife. Three Days Later, She Called D...

"“Your Husband Hurt Me, Then Told the Police I Threatened Him,” My 71-Year-Old Mother Whispered at 2:30 A.M.—I Didn’t Cry or Scream, Because I Knew Something That Could Bring His Entire Story Crashing Down.

Aug 19, 2026

"“Your Husband Hurt Me, Then Told the Police I Threatened Him,” My 71-Year-Old Mother Whis...

At a family dinner, I stood up smiling and announced I was pregnant. The whole table went completely silent — then my mother-in-law suddenly let out a laugh and yelled: “She’s pretending to be pregnant just to milk money from us!” Before anyone could even react, she seized my hand and pushed me off the hotel rooftop to “prove” I was faking it. Broken and barely conscious, I came to in the hospital with my husband by my side, pale as a ghost and shaking. But the moment the doctor stepped in and opened his mouth, the words he said made the entire room freeze in utter disbelief and horror.

Aug 26, 2026

At a family dinner, I stood up smiling and announced I was pregnant. The whole table went...

At Christmas dinner, my mother-in-law pushed my plate away and said, “Leave—this table is for people who bring money into this family.” I turned to my husband and asked if he agreed, but his cold silence was the biggest mistake of his life, because two months later, my father’s true net worth destroyed his entire bloodline…

Oct 20, 2026

At Christmas dinner, my mother-in-law pushed my plate away and said, “Leave—this table is...