Chapter 253
Chapter 254
ALEXANDER
“You want the truth, Alexander?” my mother said quietly. “Here is the truth.”
I took in a deep breath, waiting for her to speak.
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“I wasn’t taken to Shadow Fang territory,” Helen continued. “Not even close. I was kept within
Blood Crescent borders the entire time.”
I wasn’t surprised to hear that… I already knew. I just didn’t have proof.
“I wasn’t tortured,” she went on, her voice calm, almost clinical. “I wasn’t threatened. Atlas is stupid, yes–but he isn’t foolish enough to harm me. He knows who I am. He knows that if a single hair on my head had fallen out of place, he wouldn’t be facing just Blood Crescent warriors.”
I stared at her.
She didn’t need to explain that part. I knew it already.
Helen Blackwell wasn’t just my mother. She was born of the original Alpha’s bloodline, a lineage
older than most packs–one that still carried weight in places even I didn’t fully command. Her
alliances stretched far beyond Blood Crescent. Touching her would have been suicide dressed as
bravery.
“That part,” I said slowly, my jaw tightening, “I understand.”
She nodded once. “Good. Then listen.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again, forcing myself to stay still. “Go on,” I said.
She folded her hands in her lap, composed in a way that immediately set my teeth on edge. “They
didn’t let me go out of mercy. They let me go because I made them understand that keeping me
was useless. I was more valuable to them on the outside.”
My shoulders stiffened.
“I reminded Atlas of something he already knew,” she continued. “That you weren’t going to fall for his threat. That you knew he wouldn’t dare hurt me. Once he realized his leverage was weak, desperation set in.”
My pulse ticked faster. “What kind of desperation?
Her gaze sharpened. “The kind that makes a man negotiate. We made a deal.”
The word sat between us, heavy.
“What deal? ” Lasked.
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Chapter 254
She didn’t hesitate.
“I agreed to convince Faye to give herself up. Willingly. For the greater good.”
For a moment, I didn’t hear anything at all.
The room felt too small. Too tight.
I laughed once–sharp. “You’re joking.”
She didn’t smile.
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“You used it as a trick,” I said quickly, taking a step toward her. “You told him whatever he wanted to hear to get out. Tell me that’s what this was.”
Her
eyes
didn’t waver. “No.”
The single syllable landed heavily.
“You didn’t mean it,” I insisted. “You couldn’t have.”
“I did,” she said evenly. “And I still do.”
Something in my chest cracked.
“You agreed to hand my pregnant mate over to Shadow Fang,” I said, my voice dropping. “Are you being serious? ”
“Convincing her to do it is not the same as handing her over,” she said.
“That’s not the point,” I said.
“Listen to me,” she said. “Faye’s gifts make her a target. Not just for Shadow Fang. For others. Packs with deeper spiritual roots. Packs that still believe in blood rites and ascension. Atlas was simply the first to move.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“If the ritual is real,” Helen continued, unbothered by my interruption, “then her blood could change everything. Bloodline ascension, Alexander. Permanent elevation. Strength that lasts for
generations.”
“Enough,” I snapped.
She didn’t stop.
“Packs will come,” she said. “Again and again. Stronger ones, older ones… more desperate ones.
This won’t end because you win one war.”
I turned away from her, anger burning hot and bright behind my eyes. “You’re justifying this.”
“I’m explaining reality,” she said.
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“You’re asking me to sacrifice her because you’re worried about packs coming for her.”
“I’m asking you to consider the cost of refusing,” she shot back.
I faced her again. “You don’t get to decide that.”
Her expression hardened then, the softness she’d worn since her return slipping away like a
discarded mask. This was the woman I knew. The former Luna. The strategist.
“I love Faye,” she said. “But love does not erase consequence. They don’t want to kill her… I won’t let them kill her or my grandchild. They want her blood. A small amount. Enough for the ritual.
Atlas gave his word.”
That was when disbelief finally curdled into something uglier.
“You trust his word?” I demanded. “A Shadow Fang Alpha’s word?”
“I trust reality,” Helen replied coolly.
I stared at her, seeing something I hadn’t wanted to see before–how far her judgment had shifted,
how entangled she had become in dangerous circles.
“This is because of him,” I said bitterly. “Your Shadow Fang lover. You’ve let their poison cloud your
thinking.”
Her eyes flashed. “Careful.”
“What’s next?” I went on, the words spilling now. “Going to bed with Atlas himself?”
The sound of skin meeting skin was sharp and unmistakable.
She slapped me.
The slap snapped my head to the side.
For a heartbeat, the world went white.
I straightened slowly, breath steadying by force alone. I felt it then–the surge, the fury rising fast
and wild. Gold flared briefly in my vision.
If she hadn’t been my mother-
I swallowed it down.
When I looked back at her, my voice was calm. “You’re done here.”
She stared at me, chest rising. “What did you say?”
“You have one hour,” I said, already turning toward the door. “Someone will take you to your house.”
Her breath caught. “Are you sending me out of the pack house?”
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I didn’t answer.
“One hour,” I repeated.
And I walked toward the door.
I had my hand on the handle when it opened from the other side.
Irene nearly collided with me.
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She stopped short, eyes widening as she took in my expression, the tension still clinging to me like a second skin. “Alexander?” she asked, brows knitting together. “What was that noise? I heard-”
I didn’t let her finish.
“Tell your mother to stay away from my mate,” I said flatly. “And from this house in general. I don’t
want to have to banish her from my territory.”
The words landed heavier than I intended, sharp enough that Irene flinched.
“What?” she breathed. “Alexander, what are you even-”
Footsteps sounded behind me.
“What?” Faye said sharply. “Banishment?”
I turned then.
She was standing a few steps away, eyes wide, one hand instinctively resting on her stomach.
Shock and disbelief warred across her face.
“Alexander,” she continued, voice rising, “are you out of your mind? You’re talking about your
mother.”
Something twisted painfully in my chest, but I didn’t let it show.
“Exactly,” I said, my voice colder than I felt. “She’s my mother. So stay out of it.”
The moment the words left my mouth, regret followed immediately.
I saw it in Faye’s eyes–the hurt, brief but unmistakable. I hated myself for that split second of
distance I’d put between us, but I couldn’t afford softness right now. Not when every instinct I had
was screaming that this situation was spiraling beyond control.
“This doesn’t concern you,” I added, more quietly but just as firmly–enough to make sure she didn’t interfere. “Not this part.”
Faye stared at me like she didn’t recognize me.
Irene looked between us, clearly lost. “Alexander, what happened in there?”
I stepped past them both.
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I didn’t trust myself to stay. Not if I kept looking at Faye. Not if I had to explain myself while my anger was still too close to the surface. I needed space. I needed distance. I needed to think without emotion clouding every decision.
Behind me, I heard Faye inhale sharply.
“Alex-”
I kept walking.
I didn’t stop until I was a few steps down the hallway.
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