# Chapter 17 – Vanessa's POV: Cornered
The moon hung low in the sky. I could not sleep. My mind kept racing with dark thoughts. Something felt wrong tonight. Very wrong.
I lay in my bed, staring at the ceiling. The house was quiet, but not the good kind of quiet. It was the kind that made my skin crawl. Like something bad was about to happen.
Then I heard voices. Soft voices in the hallway outside my room.
I got up slowly. My bare feet made no sound on the cold floor. I pressed my ear to the door. My heart started beating faster.
"Take her out quietly," a woman's voice said. "Before dawn. Make sure no one sees you."
It was Sophia. I would know that cold voice anywhere.
"What if she screams?" a man asked. His voice was rough and mean.
"Then cover her mouth," Sophia snapped. "I don't care how you do it. Just get her out of this house. Far away from here."
My blood turned to ice. They were talking about me. They had to be.
"Why can't we just tell the Alpha?" another man asked.
Sophia laughed. It was not a nice sound. "Because Ryder won't listen. He's too blind to see what she really is. The girl is a spy. She works with the rogues. I'm sure of it."
A spy? Working with rogues? My hands shook as I listened. None of that was true. But Sophia was making it sound real.
"She's dangerous," Sophia went on. "She's been watching us. Learning our secrets. Soon she'll run back to her rogue friends and tell them everything."
"How much?" the first man asked.
"Five hundred each," Sophia said. "Cash. Right now."
I heard the sound of money changing hands. Sophia was paying them to take me away. To drag me out like some criminal.
My mind raced. I had to get out. I had to warn Ryder. But how?
I moved away from the door. I needed to think fast. Maybe I could slip out through the window. Or hide until morning when other pack members would be awake.
But when I tried to open my door, it would not move. Something was blocking it from the outside. They had trapped me.
Heavy footsteps came closer. My heart hammered in my chest. There was nowhere to run.
The door burst open. Two big men stood there. They had mean faces and cruel eyes. Behind them, Sophia smiled like a cat that caught a mouse.
"Hello, Vanessa," Sophia said sweetly. "Time to go."
"I'm not going anywhere with you," I said. I tried to sound brave, but my voice shook.
The first guard stepped forward. "We can do this easy or hard. Your choice."
"I haven't done anything wrong," I said. "I'm not a spy. I don't know any rogues."
Sophia laughed again. "Save your lies for someone who cares. We know what you are."
The guards moved closer. I backed away until I hit the wall. There was no escape.
"Don't touch me," I warned them.
But they did not listen. The first guard reached for my arm. His fingers were rough and cold.
Fear shot through me like lightning. Not just normal fear. Something deeper. Something that made my whole body feel like it was on fire.
And then it happened.
A warm glow started in my chest. It was soft at first, like a candle flame. But it grew brighter. Warmer. The light pushed through my skin and filled the room with a golden shine.
The guards stopped. Their eyes went wide with shock.
"What the hell?" the first guard said. He let go of my arm and stepped back.
The glow faded as quickly as it came. But the damage was done. Everyone had seen it.
Sophia's face went white. Then red. Then white again.
"She's possessed!" Sophia screamed. "Did you see that? She's using dark magic!"
Her voice was so loud that people came running. Pack members filled the hallway. They pushed and shoved to see what was happening.
"What's going on?" someone asked.
"Is someone hurt?" another voice called out.
Sophia pushed past the guards. She pointed at me like I was some kind of monster.
"This girl attacked me again," she said. Her voice was shaking, but she sounded sure of herself. "She tried to hurt me. And when I fought back, she used dark magic. Did you see the light? She's not normal. She's dangerous."
Murmurs ran through the crowd. People looked at me with scared eyes.
"I saw it too," one of the guards said. "She glowed like some kind of demon."
"That's not what happened," I said. But my voice was too quiet. No one heard me over the crowd.
"She's been seducing our Alpha," Sophia went on. "Using her dark powers to make him think she's innocent. But I know the truth. She's working with the rogues. She's here to destroy us all."
More murmurs. Angrier now. The crowd was starting to believe her.
"She's lying," I said louder. "I never attacked anyone. I don't know any rogues. I'm not using magic."
But no one listened. They were too busy looking at me like I was some kind of monster.
"Take her away," Sophia ordered the guards. "Before she hurts someone else."
The guards moved forward again. This time they looked more careful. Like they were afraid of me.
I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. But there was nowhere to go. Too many people blocked the way.
Just when the first guard reached for me again, a voice boomed through the hallway.
"STOP!"
Everyone froze. The voice was so powerful that it made the walls shake. So commanding that no one could move.
Ryder stood at the end of the hallway. His eyes were dark with anger. His Alpha power filled the air like thunder.
"Everyone step back," he commanded. "Now."
The crowd moved away from me. They could not help it. When an Alpha used his command voice, everyone had to obey.
Ryder walked through the crowd. His eyes never left mine. When he reached me, he stood between me and the guards.
"What is going on here?" he asked. His voice was quieter now, but still dangerous.
"Alpha," Sophia said quickly. "Thank goodness you're here. This girl attacked me. She used dark magic. The guards saw it too."
Ryder looked at me. His face was hard to read.
"Is this true?" he asked.
"No," I said. "I never attacked her. She paid those guards to drag me out of the house. She called me a spy. Said I work with rogues."
Ryder's eyes went cold. He looked at the guards. Then at Sophia.
"Everyone go back to your rooms," he said. "Now."
The crowd did not want to leave. They wanted to see what would happen next. But they could not disobey their Alpha.
Slowly, the hallway emptied. Only Ryder, Sophia, the two guards, and I remained.
"You two," Ryder said to the guards. "Come with me. We need to talk."
The guards looked scared now. They followed Ryder down the hall to his office.
Sophia tried to follow, but Ryder held up his hand.
"Stay here," he told her. "Don't move."
Then he looked at me. His eyes were softer now.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
I shook my head. I was too shaken to speak.
"Wait here," he said. "I'll be back soon."
He disappeared into his office with the guards. I could hear his voice through the door, but not his words. He sounded angry. Very angry.
Sophia paced back and forth. She kept looking at me with hate in her eyes.
"You think you've won," she said quietly. "But you haven't. The pack saw what you are. They know you're not normal. Ryder might protect you now, but he can't watch you forever."
I did not answer. I was too tired to fight with her.
After a long time, Ryder came back. The guards followed him. They looked ashamed and scared.
"Tell everyone what you just told me," Ryder said to the guards.
The first guard cleared his throat. "Sophia paid us to take the girl away. She said Vanessa was a spy working with rogues. But we know that's not true. We were just doing it for the money."
"How much?" Ryder asked.
"Five hundred each," the second guard said quietly.
Ryder's jaw tightened. He looked at Sophia like she was garbage.
"You bribed my guards to kidnap an innocent girl," he said. "You lied to my pack. You caused chaos in my house."
"She's not innocent," Sophia said. "You saw the light. That's not normal. She's dangerous."
"The only dangerous person here is you," Ryder said. "Guards, escort Sophia to the guest quarters. She is not to leave until I decide what to do with her."
"You can't do this to me," Sophia said. "My father will hear about this. He'll be very angry."
"Your father will hear the truth," Ryder said. "That his daughter is a liar and a troublemaker."
The guards took Sophia away. She kept looking back at me with pure hate.
When they were gone, Ryder turned to me.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I should have seen what she was doing. I should have protected you better."
"It's not your fault," I said.
"Yes, it is," he said. "I brought her here. I let her stay. I ignored the signs."
He stepped closer to me. "The light they saw. What was that?"
I did not know how to answer. I did not understand it myself.
"I don't know," I said honestly. "I was scared. Really scared. And then it just happened."
He studied my face. "Has it happened before?"
"No," I said. "Never."
He nodded slowly. "We'll figure it out. Together. But right now, you're safe. I promise."
But even as he said it, I knew it was not true. The pack members had seen the light. They had heard Sophia's lies. They would whisper about me now. Wonder if I really was dangerous.
"Thank you," I said. "For believing me."
"Always," he said. "I'll always believe you."
He left me alone then. I went back to my room and sat on my bed. My hands were still shaking.
Through my window, I could see the sun starting to rise. A new day was beginning. But everything felt different now.
I could hear voices in the hallway. Pack members talking quietly. I caught bits of their words.
"Did you see the light?"
"Sophia was right. She's not normal."
"The Alpha is making a mistake."
"She's dangerous."
"We should send her away."
My heart sank. Even though Ryder had protected me, it did not matter. The pack would never accept me now. They would always see me as a threat.
I thought about what Sophia had said. Ryder could not watch me forever. And she was right. As long as I stayed here, there would be trouble. People would whisper. They would plot. They would try to get rid of me.
Maybe it was better if I left on my own. Before someone got hurt. Before things got worse.
I got up and pulled out my old backpack. It was not much, but it was all I had. I started putting my few belongings inside.
A change of clothes. My old brush. The small amount of money I had saved.
I could hear Ryder's voice down the hall. He was arguing with someone. Probably his advisors. They were telling him to get rid of me. To listen to the pack.
But I would not put him in that position. I would not make him choose between me and his pack.
I finished packing and sat on my bed. I would wait until everyone was busy with their daily tasks. Then I would slip out. Leave quietly. No goodbyes. No explanations.
It was better this way. Safer for everyone.
The sun climbed higher in the sky. Soon it would be time to go. Time to leave the only place that had ever felt like home.
I looked around my room one last time. Such a small space, but it had meant everything to me. For a short time, I had been happy here. I had felt safe. I had felt like I belonged.
But that was over now. The glow in my chest had changed everything. It had marked me as different. As dangerous.
I did not know what I was. I did not know what the light meant. But I knew one thing for sure.
I could not stay here anymore.
By tonight, I would be gone. Back to wandering. Back to being alone.
It was the only way to keep everyone safe.
The only way to keep Ryder safe.
Even if it broke my heart to leave him behind.