chapter 82:The Thin Line Between Prey and Predator

The chamber was silent except for the slow, uneven breaths of the men Elias had left on the floor. The smell of blood clung to the damp air, mixing with the torch smoke curling against the stone walls.

But none of that mattered.

Because the Alpha was looking at him.

Really looking at him.

Elias held his ground, keeping his posture small, his grip on the knife just loose enough to suggest uncertainty. His heartbeat was steady. His expression carefully blank. He had played this game before—he knew how to make himself appear fragile even when standing over the bodies of men who had tried to kill him.

But the Alpha wasn't fooled.

Not anymore.

That smirk on his lips wasn't amusement—it was interest.

A calculated, sharpened interest that sent a ripple of unease through Elias's carefully constructed walls.

"You were unarmed," the Alpha said, stepping closer, slow and deliberate. His voice was low, steady. "And yet, they're the ones on the floor."

Elias let his fingers tremble just a little, just enough for doubt to creep into his features. "I… I don't know what happened."

A lie. A well-crafted one.

The Alpha's eyes flickered to the unconscious soldier beside him—the one Elias had taken down without a weapon.

Then, back to Elias.

"You're lying."

Elias swallowed, lowering his gaze, feigning shame. "I was scared."

"Scared?" The Alpha's voice was almost amused. "That's interesting, because I've never seen a frightened man disarm and disable three trained soldiers in under two minutes."

Elias said nothing.

Because anything more than silence would be a mistake.

The Alpha moved again, closing the last bit of space between them. He was taller, broader, his presence suffocating. A hand lifted—slow, deliberate—and Elias forced himself not to tense as the Alpha caught his wrist, thumb pressing against the inside where his pulse thrummed.

Steady.

Unshaken.

"Strange," the Alpha murmured, tilting his head. "Your heart isn't racing."

A test. A predator pressing his teeth against the throat of something he wasn't sure was prey.

Elias exhaled shakily, using the moment to let his pulse pick up—just a little. Just enough to make it seem real. "I… I didn't have a choice."

"You always have a choice," the Alpha corrected. His grip didn't tighten, but it didn't loosen either. "And you didn't choose to run. You fought."

Elias knew the truth now—the Alpha wasn't going to let this go.

Not tonight. Not ever.

And that meant Elias needed to do what he did best.

He needed to make the Alpha doubt himself.

So he let the tension break. He let his shoulders drop, let his breath shake as if the weight of what he had done had finally hit him. He made his eyes dart toward the bodies, feigned horror twisting his features.

"I didn't mean to," he whispered. "I just… I reacted. They were going to take me somewhere—I didn't know what to do."

The Alpha studied him.

For a long moment, nothing moved.

Then—a shift.

Not much. Barely a flicker of hesitation.

But Elias saw it.

And that meant he had won this round.

The Alpha released his wrist, stepping back. He turned his head slightly, issuing an order to his men without breaking eye contact.

"Take them away. Interrogate the one who wakes first."

The soldiers moved immediately, dragging the bodies from the chamber. The Alpha, however, remained rooted where he was, his gaze still pinned to Elias as if trying to peel him open with his stare alone.

When the room emptied, only the Alpha's childhood friend remained, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed.

"You should kill him," he said casually, eyes flicking between them.

The Alpha didn't look away from Elias. "Should I?"

Elias lowered his lashes, let his shoulders tremble as if the mere suggestion had shaken him. "I don't understand why this is happening."

It was almost perfect.

Almost.

Because the Alpha just… smiled.

A slow, knowing thing.

"No," he murmured. "I think you understand more than you let on."

Elias swallowed hard. "I—"

"Enough," the Alpha interrupted. He turned, gesturing toward the doorway. "Take him back to his room."

One of the guards stepped forward, but the Alpha's hand shot out, catching Elias's chin between his fingers before he could move.

A pause. A breath.

Then—soft, dangerous—

"Don't make me regret keeping you alive."

Elias didn't blink. "I won't."

And for the first time since this began—

That wasn't a lie.

Because whatever had just happened in this chamber?

It had changed everything.

---

The Alpha's Obsession

Later that night, when the fortress had settled and his men had left him alone, the Alpha sat in his quarters, staring at the fire burning low in the hearth.

His fingers rested against his lips, his mind turning over the events of the evening.

The way Elias moved.

The way he reacted.

The way he didn't react.

He wasn't just hiding something.

He was someone trained. Someone who had learned how to survive, how to disappear, how to kill.

That wasn't something you picked up from fear alone.

That was something you were made into.

And the more the Alpha thought about it…

The more he realized something that unsettled him far more than anything else.

He wasn't angry.

He wasn't afraid.

He was fascinated.

For the first time in years—maybe his entire life—he wanted to unravel something. Someone.

And that someone?

Was Elias.