Chapter 70. The Hearing

Alison’s POV

The cool morning air was deceivingly calm, like the deceptive silence before a storm. I stood outside by the car, my fingers tracing the faint edges of the Alpha crest on the vehicle’s door as I waited for my father. My heart was a riot of conflicting emotions, dread, anger, and, strangely enough, a flicker of hope that today would bring closure. The air carried muted whispers of thoughts, scattered like faint echoes in a vast canyon, and I couldn’t help but tune in to the mental noise around me. It was second nature now.

The guard beside me shuffled uncomfortably. His thoughts were embarrassingly vivid... practically undressing one of the staff members who had just passed by. His internal monologue was a colorful cocktail of infatuation and lust. I couldn’t suppress the smirk that spread across my face.

“You know,” I said, my voice cutting through the tension like a blade, “it’d be less creepy if you just told her how you feel instead of stripp