Chapter 163Dylan's POVEveryone and everything was tugging on me from all sides, each one of them requiring pieces of my time, my attention, my patience. I hated it. I hated sitting in room-and-room strategy sessions with Shane, I hated hearing Nathan strut around his words as if he were the only one who could plan a rebellion, and worst of all, I hated waiting.Waiting was for the weak. For men who had no claws, no hunger, no fire in their bellies. And I was not those things.I lusted for Lessie. No, I needed her. She belonged to me by birthright, and the longer she remained in Duaine's pack, the more I could feel my blood boiling in my veins. That she would laugh at him, dine with him, perhaps even rest in his bed made my wolf to seething rage within me like a beast.I slammed my fist on the table in front of me, and the wood shuddered. "Enough," I growled."What now?" Shane asked, twirling his glass. "You've paced back and forth like a caged panther since breakfast."I glared at h
Chapter 162Duaine's POVThere was silence in my office after Lessie had departed. I didn't even realize how much her sudden departure upset me until I was standing there with the door before me, teeth firmly clenched. Something was off. The way she had rushed off, the way her voice had cracked somewhat when she said she would leave, it wasn't like her.I walked to Dave, who was standing silently to one side of me waiting for me to speak. "Did you see," I whispered, "that she acted strange just now?"He nodded immediately. “I did. She seemed distracted. Maybe she has a lot on her mind, Alpha. She’s young, and you’ve been busy. Sometimes, women just need to cool down.”I slumped in the chair, my chest aching. I replayed it all in my mind, her fake smile, her taking off before I could extend and catch her, the telltale shake in her hands. My stomach was screaming at me that this was not some sort of boredom or restlessness.I growled, my eyes drifting to the desk,"Maybe she saw somet
Chapter 161Lessie's POVI sat stiff in Alpha Duaine's chair, the letter in blood seared into my head. Even with forcing it to the back of the stack of papers, the words flowed into my mind, an open, hurting wound."Prepare to taste the blood of my son you murdered."My fingers shook a little and I clasped them together on my knees. Was it because Alpha Duaine had not told me about his own dark experience before I found this today, today of all days? Did he already anticipate that somebody was going to hurt him?The confession had pierced deep into my heart. He had done enough to be culpable of, I knew by the glint in his eyes when he had narrated the story. Had they not known it from the boy's home? He was not the same man he had been. He had changed, matured, and even expressed that he wanted to reverse the clock. Was it not sufficient to forgive him? I thought to myself.But forgiveness, I knew, never came easily. Particularly where blood was involved.I massaged my forehead and le
Chapter 160Author's POVAlpha Duaine left for school early in the morning. It was cool and clean, and dew still clung to grass as he strolled down the gates of the academy. His arrival carried the burden of significance with it, and as yet, students weren't streaming in yet to occupy the classrooms, so people were already speculating among themselves softly about the Alpha himself not being here today.Lessie, nonetheless, came a few minutes behind time. She had missed breakfast so that she could talk to her maid, because she did not wish to be delayed and so that she would be able to collect herself. The words the night before tormented her mind like luggage that she could not put down. Duaine's confession, his guilt, and his enigmatic words about forgiving in the future haunted her mind.When finally she pushed her way into the crowded schoolyard, she was close to being shocked at how strong the vibe was. Footsteps, voices resonated in the air. Ironed uniforms swooshed back and
Chapter 159Lessie's POVI was sad. But why?The question burrowed in my chest, a weight that fluttered on the wings of a bird awakened in a nest. Alpha Duaine's words lingered in my mind, each syllable heavy as though it would not be wiped away. He had said it, openly and without shame, to killing a life, no, to having killed many lives, not all of them on the field. He had killed because he was ambitious, because he did not want to appear weak, because he wished to appropriate to himself what he thought was his own. I could not express the torrent of feeling within me. Disappointment, naturally, but confusion, and sadness, and a curious kind of pity which eluded me. Before he was a gentle lover and, in some manner that didn't make sense to me, a figure in my life, someone I relied upon, someone who instructed me. He was the kind of Alpha who fought wars and never even flinched at violence. The kind of Alpha who would murder to get what he wants and then sit up straight on the thr
Chapter 158Author's POVIt was a chilly and miserably cold night.Outside, the winds whistled softly, shaking the palace room windows, as the heavy shroud of cloud hid the moon. The fire had dwindled to reluctantly orange embers and the wall shadows flickered weakly.Lessie and Duaine were sprawled out on the bed but worlds apart in spirit. She lay on her back, gazing up at the ceiling as if searching for hidden stars. He was curled over beside her, his broad shoulders against the wall, his face toward the opposite end of the room. His breathing was even, but not the kind of man that was sleeping, it was deep, the kind brought on only by big thoughts.She could feel it.Something was gnawing at his mind.For days she had noticed the way his eyes stayed a little too long on nothing in particular, or the way he would scrunch up his lips and pull them in tight as if biting back words. He smiled less, laughed less. And now that their silence burst between them, Lessie's heart ached for