Alpha's One Night Bride
Alpha’s One Night Bride – Chapter 45

She knew it was a stupid plan, but she couldn’t stop herself. She was sick of everyone looking at her like she was some ticking time bomb and after what Jess said, it was clear there were still trust issues. Despite what Arina says, Ronnie wasn’t sure if Arina actually trusted her or not.

She wanted to figure out a way to gain their trust once and for all. She also couldn’t get Elijah out of her mind since their encounter not long ago. She was terrified of him; he had a look in his eyes that revealed such darkness and such hatred. It could have been her that died instead of the deputy. There was no doubt in her mind that it was Elijah that killed that wolf. If Erick hadn’t had been there that day to save her, she would have been good as dead.

She hated the fact that an outsider was smart enough to break the barriers and protection of both Sabrebite and Ironclaw. Elijah has taken enough from their packs and Ronnie didn’t want to just sit around and do nothing while he continued to take things.

Ronnie stayed quiet for a long time while Arina fought her own battles. She sat by and watched Arina continue to fight with Rock daily to a point where Rock almost took her life. The beatings Arina has faced because she was outspoken and brave enough to speak her mind. Arina grew up angry because of her mother’s untimely passing. Ronnie has always been quieter and more afraid of stepping on toes; she always wanted to be more like Arina.

Now, she finally had the chance to do something brave. She has it in her mind that if she just simply speaks with Graham, maybe he would lay off. Maybe he doesn’t know what’s been going on. He told Jonathan that he had nothing to do with it and that he would be sure that no wolf of his would stray out of the pack and cause issues amongst other packs. She understood that Elijah and Graham were close, so maybe the rules didn’t apply to Elijah, and he was going rogue.

She believed that Elijah was double-crossing Graham and trying to start this territory war without his knowledge. She believes that Elijah is the mastermind behind all that has happened, and she is wanting to put a stop to it. She would have expressed this theory during the meeting a few days ago, but then Jess went in to say how Ronnie isn’t to be trusted. It put Ronnie in a difficult situation because now she believes that nobody would listen to her regardless of her theory.

Ronnie decided she was going to put things in her own hand and head to Blackcrest on her own. It’s not like anyone would notice she was gone. She hasn’t spoken to Erick in days; Melissa was too worried about Emily residing in their home and sleeping with Rock. While Rock was too hellbent on keeping an eye on Arina; he’s been pissed that Arina’s been avoiding him like the plague.

It was the perfect opportunity for Ronnie to escape town for a few days. She transitioned into her wolf self and went at full speed until she reached the border of Blackcrest. It only took a few hours for her to get there in her wolf form. As she approached, she decided to link Arina and let her know of her whereabouts and what she was planning on doing. Just in case things go south and Ronnie doesn’t make it out alive, she at least wants Arina to know that she tried.

“Ronnie, what!?” Arina hissed through their link.

“I’m in Blackcrest. I want to speak to Graham and tell him what’s been going on. Maybe he isn’t aware of what Elijah has been doing,” Ronnie explained.

“You need to turn back now, Ronnie. It’s way too dangerous. Jonathan is already heading up there as we speak. Let him deal with it,” Arina ordered.

“Please let me do this. I need to prove myself,” Ronnie pleaded.

“Prove yourself to who? To Jess? It doesn’t matter what Jess thinks. Plus, she feels bad enough. If she finds out that you lost your life because you were trying to prove something to her, it will destroy her,” Arina argued.

Ronnie rolled her eyes.

She wasn’t doing this all because of Jess.

“I have to do this,” Ronnie told her.

“Erick is going to be here soon, once he finds out…” Arina tried to say, but Ronnie cut her off.

“Don’t tell him,” Ronnie begged. “Please, Arina. It would only worry him, and I don’t want that.”

“I must tell him. Please come home,” Arina also begged.

Ronnie could hear the desperation in her voice, and she almost felt bad for going against her orders. Arina might be older, stronger, and braver, but Ronnie refused to back down from this fight. She wanted to do her part and prove herself to her family and new friends. She was sick of sitting on the sidelines; she was angry and wanted to gain her dignity back.

But she knew if Arina tells Erick of her plan and her whereabouts, Erick wouldn’t hesitate to hunt her down and bring her home. He would be here much quicker than it took Ronnie to get here because he was older, stronger, and faster. She just wanted to buy a little more time before Erick showed up.

“Ronnie?” Arina asked.

Ronnie realized she had stopped talking as she got lost in her thoughts.

She saw the guards of Blackcrest, guarding the front gates of the town. Blackcrest was probably the only town she knew of that had strict security and barbed-wired gates surrounding the town, preventing wolves from entering and leaving.

She couldn’t help but wonder if they’ve always been this strict.

The air was dusty, and the musky scent made it difficult to breathe. Transitioning back into her human self, she felt the gravely roads digging into the palms of her toes.

“Ronnie!?” Arina’s voice roamed again.

Her tone was laced with worry, of which Ronnie felt bad for worrying her but this was something she felt she needed to do.

“I’m sorry, Arina,” she said before disconnecting the link.

Ronnie approached the guards; they both eyed her carefully as she got closer into view. They wore dark body armor and had had fire tattoos on their right biceps. She noticed the same fire symbol on the black gates behind them and engraved in the Blackcrest town sign. They were bulky men and towered over Ronnie.

She wouldn’t let them intimidate her though; she needed to be brave and strong like Arina. She needed to prove herself.

The guards looked at one another before turning back to Ronnie, both seemed perplexed. Probably because Ronnie was such a small girl, and they weren’t expecting a young female to be approaching them.

“Hello, gentlemen,” she said to them, trying to keep her voice even.

They didn’t respond to her, but they cocked their heads to the side and continued staring at her intently.

“I’m here to speak with Alpha Graham,” she continued.

Now they just looked amused.

“The Alpha isn’t accepting any outside visitors at this time,” One of them told her.

His voice was raspy and gave Ronnie chills down her spine.

“There’s been an issue coming from the Blackcrest pack. I think he needs to be made aware of it,” Ronnie explained.

She tried maintaining eye contact and keeping her posture straight.

“We’ve already told someone else a while ago that there are no issues containing Blackcrest. Nobody has left here, and nobody has entered,” the other guard said.

Ronnie frowned.

They couldn’t be serious.

“I have first-hand experience with a Blackcrest wolf not long ago, in my town of Ironclaw,” she told them. They flashed each other a look of confusion. “He goes by the name of Elijah.”

Now they looked stunned. Ronnie swore that one of them had their mouths hanging open. The other one’s eyes were bugged out of their sockets as they stared at her. None of them knew what to say. It was obvious to Ronnie that they now believed her; maybe because Elijah was the only one who came and gone as he pleased. The guards never thought much of it; considering that the pack wasn’t allowed to leave the gates of Blackcrest, somebody had to do the hunting and supply the town with necessities.

Why not the Alpha’s most trusted ally.

“What is your name?” One of the guards asked.

Ronnie swallowed hard.

“Ronnie. My father is the Alpha of Ironclaw,” she told them.

After looking her over for a moment, the other guard looked her over again.

“You’re Alpha Rock’s kid?” He asked.

She was surprised the guards knew of Rock.

She nodded slowly.

After another beat of silence, they finally stepped aside and unlatched the lock to the gate, pushing it open for Ronnie to enter.

Ronnie had to admit that she was surprised they were allowing her into Blackcrest. But after she pleaded her case and her concerns to them, they were probably just as wary as she was. She nodded her thanks to them before stepping between them and entering Blackcrest.

The further she walked into town the thicker the fog grew and the harder it was to breathe. The air smelled musky and dirty; dirt collected on her lungs the more she breathed. The roads were still gravely as she walked but it soon turned into broken cement, riddled with cracks and potholes. The sides of the roads contained brown and crunchy to step on the grass with dead weeds growing throughout it.

The buildings looked freshly renovated out of a dark brick; each window being tinted or boarded up. There weren’t many wolves around the town; she noticed some were sleeping in tents on the side of the road; others were aimlessly walking around the streets looking as though they were zombies.

The members of the pack appeared unbathed themselves. Their hair looked filthy as it continued to collect dirt and dust from the musky air. Their features were stained with brown mildew and their clothing torn to near shreds. Some people weren’t even wearing clothing.

They were probably a huge reason as to why the town smelled so bad.

Against her better judgment, she stopped a woman in the streets to ask for directions. She didn’t want to continuously walk around town without knowing where she was going. She wanted to be as quick as possible.

“Excuse me?” She said to a woman sitting on the side of the road.

Her hair was grey and appeared damp from her sweating, or maybe it was just greasy from being unwashed. She was an older woman in her 70s at the least and her eyes were so puffy they were practically swollen shut. Ronnie wasn’t convinced she could even see.

The woman slowly looked up at Ronnie, or in the direction Ronnie’s voice was.

“I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of Alpha Graham’s office?” She asked.

The woman seemed hesitant for a moment but then looked past Ronnie in the direction of what appeared to be the town’s center. With a shaky hand, she pointed in that direction; it looked as though it pained her to move her body. Ronnie felt bad for disturbing her.

“Thank you,” she said to the woman before taking off in that direction.

However, she didn’t get far. She heard the woman crying out in what seemed like agony, stopping Ronnie in her tracks. The sound was like nails on a chalkboard and made Ronnie shudder. Then it turned into a cry of pain and despair; the gurgling sounds of her mouth indicated she was choking on something.

Slowly turning around, Ronnie watched as a tall, figured man with dark features and the look of death upon him, sliced his way through the woman’s back with what looked to be a butcher knife. The woman was choking up b***d until her last breath. Soon, she was lying on the ground in a puddle of her own b***d, dead.

B***d dripped from the butcher knife and landed on the ground around the man. He was still holding the knife as his dark piercing eyes turned to Ronnie and a wicked grin appeared on his lips.

Ronnie felt her heart-stopping and falling into her stomach as this man spoke.

“Hello, Ronnie.”

Elijah.