Alphas at Her Feet Chapter 4 Read Online for Free

The Forbidden Forest was worse than I'd imagined.

Moonlight couldn't penetrate the thick canopy overhead. Only my glow stone cast a weak, pathetic circle of light around me.

I followed the mental map I'd memorized, carefully avoiding the areas where I'd picked up rogues scents.

I crouched down to examine a silver moonleaf plant, its pale petals almost luminescent in the dark. My fingers had just touched the stem when I felt it—that prickling awareness of being watched.

Then I spun around.

Liam was leaning against a tree trunk, half his face illuminated by the scattered moonlight filtering through the leaves. His posture was casual, but his eyes were sharp, calculating.

"Brave," he said, pushing off the tree and walking toward me with that predatory grace all alphas had. "Or stupid. A half-blood alone in the Forbidden Forest."

I stayed still, reading his body language. No immediate attack planned, but definitely not friendly either.

"You're here too," I pointed out. "What are you doing that you don't want anyone to know about?"

His lips curved into something that wasn't quite a smile. "Observant."

"I could ask you the same question," he continued. "Caleb's new pet project, sneaking into the most dangerous forest in the territory. For what? Some herbs?"

"Medicine," I corrected, standing up slowly and brushing dirt off my knees. "For the pheromone-masking tonic. Hard to maintain a low profile when everyone can smell what you're feeling."

"Smart." He tilted his head, studying me like I was a puzzle he was trying to solve. "But you're not just some scared little half-blood, are you? The girl who stood up to Caleb at the Moon Festival, who somehow tamed Finn..." He stepped closer. "Who are you really?"

My wolf stirred, responding to the challenge in his voice. I forced her down and met his gaze steadily.

"Someone who's tired of being a victim."

"Finally. Some truth." He circled me slowly, and I turned to keep him in sight. "I've been watching you, Alice. The way you move through this school—everyone thinks you're invisible, but you're not. You're collecting information. Building connections. Playing a very dangerous game."

"And what game are you playing, Liam?"

He stopped circling, surprise flickering across his face. "Direct. I like that."

"You're investigating something," I said, putting the pieces together. "The way you watch people, the questions you ask that sound casual but aren't. You're not just another rich alpha coasting through academy life."

"The half-blood disappearances," he said after a long moment. "Three in the past year. Everyone thinks they just ran away, but I don't buy it."

My heart stuttered. "What?"

"You didn't know?" He moved closer, close enough that his pheromones pressed against me—not threatening, but testing. "Of course you didn't. They don't tell your kind anything. Three half-bloods, all students here, all vanished without a trace."

I thought about the strange scents around campus, the whispered conversations that stopped when I walked by, the uneasy feeling I'd had since I arrived.

"You think someone's taking them," I said.

"I know someone is." His voice dropped.

I stared at him, my mind racing. This was bigger than my personal revenge. If half-bloods were being targeted...

"I can help you," I said.

"Why would you?"

"Because I have access to places you don't. To people who don't see me as a threat." I took a breath. "And because if someone's hunting half-bloods, I'm probably on the list."

Liam studied me for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "Okay. But we do this my way. And we seal it properly."

"What do you mean?"

He pulled out a knife—not silver, thank god, but sharp enough. "A blood oath. The old way. It's binding, so think carefully before you agree."

I looked at the blade glinting in the moonlight. Blood oaths were serious. They couldn't be broken without consequences—magical, painful consequences.

But I needed an ally who saw through my act. Someone who knew what I was really capable of.

"Fine."

Liam cut his palm first, a quick slash that made blood well up immediately. Then he handed me the knife.

I pressed the blade against my palm and cut. The pain was sharp but brief. Blood dripped onto the forest floor.

"Repeat after me," Liam said, taking my bleeding hand in his. "By blood and moon, by wolf and shadow."

"By blood and moon, by wolf and shadow."

"I bind myself to this oath."

"To seek truth, to share knowledge, to protect against the darkness."

The moment the last word left my lips, I felt it—a sharp pull in my chest, like something had latched onto my soul. The cuts on our palms glowed briefly with silver light, then faded.

Liam released my hand. The wound was already healing, but I could still feel that binding, like an invisible thread connecting us.

"You're playing with fire, you know," he said, wiping his knife clean. "Caleb's not stupid. Finn's unstable. And now you're mixed up in something that could get you killed."

"I know."

"Do you?" He sheathed his knife. "Because from where I'm standing, you're juggling too many dangerous things at once."

"I can handle it."

"We'll see." He turned to leave, then paused. "The Wolf King Trials. Two weeks from now. Are you planning to enter?"

I frowned. "Why?"

"Because the winner gets to challenge the current student council president." His smile was sharp in the moonlight. "And you're getting awfully close to Caleb. Finn too. If you enter, things will get... interesting."

"You think I should?"

"I think you're going to, whether I suggest it or not." He started walking away, melting into the shadows between the trees. "Just be careful, Alice. The game you're playing—someone's going to get hurt. Make sure it's not you."

Then he was gone, disappeared like he'd never been there at all.

I stood alone in the clearing, staring at my palm where the cut had been. The binding oath hummed under my skin, a constant reminder of what I'd just done.

I'd made an alliance. A real one. With someone who actually saw me.

The thought should have made me nervous. Instead, I felt... relieved?

I shook my head and gathered my herbs quickly. Time to get back before someone noticed I was gone.

By the time I climbed back through my dorm window, the sky was starting to lighten. I had maybe two hours before morning classes.

I pulled out my phone and opened the Academy portal. The registration for the Wolf King Trials was open.

My finger hovered over the submit button.

Entering would accelerate everything. It would put me in direct competition with the most powerful students at Moonstone. It would make me a target.

It would also give me exactly the platform I needed.

I hit submit before I could second-guess myself.

"Let's see how much chaos one half-blood can cause," I whispered to my empty room.

I didn't know then that the chaos would start way sooner than I expected.