The Alpha's forbidden omega mate - Chapter 35: Chapter 35

Catrina POV:
I took a deep breath, trying to act all sweet and innocent again for Alpha Isabelle and her pack.
But I couldn't keep pretending forever. I had a plan to escape, and nothing would stop me from giving my baby the best life possible.
Suddenly, a soft knock on the door startled me.
"Come in," I said, trying to smooth out my plain dress without seeming nervous.
The door creaked open a little, and Dakota peeked in with her bright red hair bouncing. She was the only real friend I'd made since they basically locked me up here with the Mondragon pack.
"Good morning, Catrina!" she chirped, skipping over to my tiny bed and collapsing onto it.
"Big day today, right?"
I kind of rolled my eyes at how excited she was. Sometimes, Dakota was just way too happy, even for someone stuck in this fancy jail like us.
"If you mean cleaning and taking orders all day from Alpha Isabelle, then yeah, super big," I mumbled, not really happy about it.
Dakota shook her head, making her hair bounce even more.
"No way! You know what I mean! Today's one step closer to getting out of this fancy prison!"
Her words made my heart jump. I quickly put my finger over my lips to tell her to be quiet and checked the hallway before closing the door all the way.
"Dakota! You can't just yell that out loud!" I hissed, Someone could have heard her!
Dakota looked really sorry. "Oh no, Catrina, I'm so sorry! I just got super excited about finally leaving this place and all their dumb rules."
She started messing with the worn-out blanket on the bed, her voice dropping to a whisper.
"So, Catrina, do you really think your plan will work? Can we sneak out tonight?"
My throat felt dry thinking about all the careful planning and how dangerous this escape could be. I sat down next to Dakota, placing a hand on my growing belly.
"It has to work," I whispered, feeling the baby kick in my stomach like it knew I was worried.
"This might be our only shot to get out of here before...before something bad happens."
"Okay, okay, calm down Dakota," I said softly, my heart still racing. "Nobody heard you, but next time be careful."
Dakota looked super guilty. "I'm so sorry, Catrina. I just got so excited about leaving this place behind."
She played with the blanket on the bed again, her voice barely a whisper now. "So, Catrina, you really think we can escape tonight?"
Thinking about all the planning and how dangerous it could be made my throat feel tight. I sat down next to Dakota and put my hand on my belly. The baby kicked a little in response.
"We have to," I whispered back, feeling a little braver.
"This might be our only chance to get out of here before they..." I trailed off, not wanting to scare Dakota more.
Dakota put her small hand on top of mine and looked at me with determined eyes. "Alright then, let's go over the plan again, one last time."
I took a deep breath and started talking in a quiet voice, even though we'd practiced this a million times already.
"Tonight, after dinner, I'll pretend I'm not feeling well and need to go to bed early. You'll act like you're helping me back to my room, and that's when we grab all the stuff we've been hiding."
Dakota nodded seriously, a frown on her face. This was the most serious I'd ever seen her.
"Then, once we have everything, we sneak out the back door in the garden, the one for the servants. We'll follow the tree line through the forest, staying in the shadows until we're far enough away to walk in the daylight."
It all sounded easy when I said it out loud, but my stomach felt like it was doing flips. Dakota must have noticed because she squeezed my hand.
"We can do this, Catrina," she said confidently.
"Everyone thinks omegas are weak, but we're actually the strongest ones here. They underestimate us."
Her words made me feel stronger too. She was right. The Mondragons thought we were just scared, weak things good for nothing but having babies. But they didn't see the fire and fight we had hidden inside.
Tonight, those Mondragon wolves would learn a lesson about messing with omegas like us. We had everything to fight for, and they wouldn't see it coming.
"Alright," I said, meeting Dakota's determined gaze with a nod of my own.
"Let's do this. For our pups."
The rest of the day stretched on forever.
Every minute felt like an hour as I pretended to be normal. I cleaned the main area and the kitchens, ignoring Alpha Isabelle's harsh stare that followed me everywhere.
I kept my mouth shut when the alpha's guards made rude comments, pretending to be a quiet, obedient omega who only cared about breeding.
The only time I showed any defiance was with a tiny, secret glance towards Dakota whenever I got close to her.
A quick nod, a flash of determination in our eyes - a silent promise that tonight was the night.
Finally, after what felt like years, dinner was over. I put on my best act, faking a dizzy spell and saying I needed to lie down.
Just like we planned, Dakota immediately offered to walk me back to my room.
"Don't worry, I'm happy to help!" Dakota chirped extra loud, acting super nice.
"Sisters gotta stick together, right?"
Alpha Isabelle barely even looked up, just waved her hand like she didn't care.
I tried not to smile too big as Dakota hooked her arm through mine and led me away.
We walked slow, like we had all the time in the world, until the dining hall was way out of sight.
Then, we looked at each other with a secret message in our eyes and hurried towards the tiny room downstairs that I called home.
My heart thumped like a drum as I shut the door and locked it, checking everywhere to make sure nobody was watching.
"Alright, you grab the backpacks and I'll get the dried food," I whispered fast.
Dakota jumped to it, pulling out two big bags we'd filled with stuff from under the old bed. I grabbed the small sacks of dried meat and fruit, shoving them into the backpacks.
We added a few more things - another coat, some strong rope, and a rough map showing the fastest way out of Mondragon land. Now we were as ready as we could be.
Dakota and I stood there looking at each other, finally realizing how big this whole escape thing was.
"No turning back now," she said, barely a whisper.
"No way!" I said, clenching my jaw. "We gotta go."
We threw the backpacks on our shoulders and took a deep breath.
I put my ear to the door to listen for anyone in the hallway. It was quiet. Slowly, I opened the door a crack and peeked out.
The hallway was empty, except for a few flickering lights on the walls. I gave Dakota a quick nod and we tiptoed out, feeling like scared rabbits.
My heart was about to explode as we hurried down the twisty hallways in the basement. I tried not to breathe too loud, worried even the smallest sound would give us away.
Finally, we reached a big, heavy door made of oak that led outside to the gardens. A tiny window in the door showed it was already dark outside. I swallowed hard and reached out with a shaky hand to open the latch.
"Going somewhere interesting, girls?"
That cold voice sent a shiver down my spine and froze me in place. I turned around slowly, feeling dizzy with fear.
There was Alpha Isabelle, leaning against the wall like she didn't care, with a small smirk on her face.
Beside her stood three of her biggest, meanest guards. They didn't smile, but they looked like they could crush us easily.
"Oh, Alpha Isabelle, we...we were just..." Dakota stammered, her face pale as a ghost.
But Alpha Isabelle cut her off with a glare. "Don't bother lying, child. I know what you're up to."
My mouth felt like sandpaper. Isabelle stared right at me with those piercing eyes. I instinctively put my hand over my belly, the other hand gripping the backpack strap so tight my knuckles turned white.
"Well, Catrina?" Alpha Isabelle asked, her voice smooth but with a hint of a challenge.
"Going to tell me what's going on? That's the least you can do after I let you stay here with my pack."
She didn't sound friendly anymore, not a bit. It was like all the nice stuff she'd been saying before was totally forgotten. My shoulders slumped down, defeat washing over me.
"We didn't have a choice," I whispered, not looking at her.
"There's no way we could raise our pups here, treated like servants all the time."
I blurted it out, the truth about how omegas were treated in her pack, even if she'd been pretending to be nice lately. Dakota flinched at my words but didn't say anything different.
Then, something unexpected happened. Alpha Isabelle actually laughed, a short, weird sound that made me shiver.
"I almost respected you, Catrina," Alpha Isabelle said, her voice still smooth but not nice anymore.
"I thought maybe we could talk things out, make you a real part of the pack." She shook her head slowly.
"But this? This is sneaking around behind my back."
I swallowed hard, trying not to let my voice shake. "With all respect, Alpha Isabelle, we weren't ever really part of your pack. We were more like prisoners."
Isabelle's eyes narrowed.
"You ungrateful little..." She started to yell, then stopped herself.
She took a deep breath, trying to control her anger. "After everything I've done for you, letting you stay here, and this is how you thank me?"