Chapter 250
Chapter 251
ALEXANDER
By the time we got close to the main gates, I was already trying to make sense of things in my head, all to no avail.
Kyle walked beside me calmly. He hadn’t said much since we started walking.
The patrol post came into view, lights dimmed but still active. Two guards stood at attention, their postures rigid, alert.
And then I saw her.
Helen was sitting on one of the benches just outside the post, legs crossed neatly at the ankles, hands folded in her lap as if she were waiting for tea to be served rather than standing on the edge of a security perimeter at three in the morning.
Helen Blackwell looked… fine.
Her hair was perfectly arranged. Her clothes were clean, unwrinkled. There were no visible injuries, no signs of struggle, no exhaustion in her posture. She looked calm, composed… put together.
Not like a woman who had supposedly been taken hostage, used as leverage, and held by Shadow Fang wolves for an entire day.
My steps slowed without my permission.
Every instinct in me screamed at once–relief crashing headfirst into suspicion, joy colliding violently with dread.
She noticed me before I reached her.
She lifted her head and smiled softly. “It’s me, Alex,” she said gently, as though I might not recognize her. “I tried to get them to let me into the house, but your Delta here insisted on calling you first.”
Her tone was light. Almost amused.
I stopped a few feet away from her, my eyes scanning her face, her hands, the faint rise and fall of her chest. I was looking for something–anything–that would make this make sense.
Kyle had made the right call. I knew that immediately. If he had let her walk in without alerting me, I would have torn the house apart afterward trying to figure out what I’d missed.
Because this was strange.
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25 MOPHA
Just hours ago, we had been planning a war, bracing for bloodshed to get my mother back.
And now she was here. Sitting calmly like nothing happened.
“You look like you’ve just returned from a vacation,” I said finally, unable to keep the skepticism
from my voice.
Her brows knit together slightly, confusion flickering across her features. “Alex-”
“How are you here?” I asked, cutting in before she could deflect. I needed the answer before my emotions caught up to me. “Last we knew, you were in Shadow Fang territory.”
“I was,” she replied evenly. “They let me go.”
That simple sentence landed like a stone dropped into deep water.
“They let you go,” I repeated.
“Yes.”
My jaw tightened. “Just like that.”
Helen tilted her head, studying me now, really looking at me. “They brought me close enough to the pack borders and released me. I came the rest of the way on my own.”
I searched her face again, more critically this time. She noticed.
I could tell by the way her eyes sharpened, the way her lips pressed together ever so slightly.
“You look disappointed,” she said quietly. “Or suspicious. I can’t quite tell which.”
“That’s not ” I stopped myself and exhaled slowly. “That’s not it. Of course I’m glad you’re back.”
It was true. Goddess, it was true. My chest felt tight with it. But relief didn’t erase instinct, and instinct had been honed by years of surviving people who smiled while holding knives behind their
backs.
“Why did they let you go?” I asked.
Helen looked at me blankly for a moment.
“Maybe it was a mistake coming here,” she said.
“Mom, I just need to know… This situation doesn’t add up,” I continued. “You were taken as leverage. People… wolves do not release leverage without gaining something in return. I’m allowed to be curious.”
Helen’s gaze lingered on me for a beat longer than necessary. Then she smiled again–but this time, it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
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Chapter 21
“You’ve always been too skeptical for your own good,” she murmured.
That did nothing to ease the unease crawling up my spine.
26 Fanni
I turned slightly and looked at Kyle. “You did the right thing,” I told him. “Thank you for calling me.
He nodded once. “I’ll leave you to it, Alpha.”
“Good,” I said. “I’ve got it from here.”
Kyle hesitated briefly, his gaze flicking between me and my mother, then he stepped back and disappeared into the shadows, giving us privacy.
I turned back to Helen, preparing to ask the questions she knew were coming-
When sudden movement slammed into my side.
“Helen!”
Faye’s voice rang out before I even fully registered her presence. She rushed past me so fast she nearly knocked me off balance, her arms already wrapping around Helen.
For a moment, I just stood there, stunned.
I had thought she was
asleen
I watched as Faye hugged my mother tightly, her body trembling with emotion, relief pouring off her in waves so strong I could practically feel it. Helen returned the embrace, one hand smoothing Faye’s hair in a soothing, maternal gesture.
“I was so scared,” Faye whispered, her voice breaking. “I prayed–every second–I prayed you’d be
okay.”
“I am, my dear,” Helen said softly. “I’m here now.”
I found my voice at last. “What are you doing out here?” I asked Faye.
She pulled back just enough to look at me, eyes red and shining. “What do you mean, what am I doing out here?”
“You were supposed to be asleep.”
She stared at me like I’d lost my mind, then pointed back at Helen. “Your mother is standing outside at this hour. That’s what I’m doing out here.”
I sighed, rubbing a hand over my face. I didn’t like where this was going.
Faye shook her head and turned back to Helen. “I can’t believe they let you walk here alone. But I’m happy you’re back in one piece. Come on, you need to go inside, freshen up, rest. You’ve been
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“Faye-” I started.
** + 25 Points
She cut me off without looking at me. “Why are we still standing outside? Why haven’t you shown
her to her room yet? ”
Before I could respond, Helen spoke.
“He’s just being careful,” she said gently, though her eyes were on me now, sharp and knowing.” Making sure his own mother–and the former Luna–is not a threat to him or the pack.”
The words were calm.
The implication was not.
I felt it immediately–the shift, the subtle turn of the blade. Helen knew exactly what she was doing. She was reframing my caution as cruelty, my instincts as suspicion toward my own blood.
And she was doing it in front of Faye.
I didn’t rise to it. Not because I couldn’t–but because any response I gave would only confirm the image she was painting.
Faye’s head snapped toward me, her gaze hardening. “Alexander, is that what this is?” she asked. Are you serious?”
She didn’t wait for me to respond. Her jaw tightened, disappointment flashing across her face like a wound. She turned back to Helen and gently took her arm. “Come on,” she said. “Let’s get you
inside.”
Helen rose easily, allowing herself to be guided, but not before giving me one last look–like she was hurt and disappointed too.
As they walked past me, Faye shot me a glare sharp enough to cut.
I just stood there and watched them go.