Chapter 121 121
Chapter 121 121
LYKA
The more I realized how little I truly knew him.
Aiden had always seemed calm and rational on the surface, but beneath that composure was someone painfully selfless. Every reason he gave revolved around protecting the woman involved rather than himself.
It honestly made my chest ache.
He was too kind.
Too considerate.
Too willing to sacrifice himself for others.
This world would eventually destroy someone like him if he wasn’t careful.
“But that doesn’t stop you from loving her,” I said softly after he finished speaking. “You should follow your heart, Aiden.”
A quiet laugh escaped him suddenly.
I stared at him in surprise.
“Why are you laughing?” I asked suspiciously.
Honestly, hearing someone as reserved as Aiden laugh felt almost unnatural.
“You’ve changed, Lyka,” he murmured while shaking his head lightly.
I frowned immediately.
“What do you mean?” I argued. “I haven’t changed.”
But Aiden looked unconvinced.
“That’s not true,” he replied calmly. “I can tell.”
His gaze settled on me carefully.
“You think more before acting now. You’re more careful with your decisions. Even your judgment feels different.”
I blinked at him silently.
“I’m honestly jealous,” he admitted with a faint smile. “You embraced change while the rest of us are still struggling with it.”
His words left me unexpectedly speechless.
Me?
Responsible?
Careful?
Those were never words people used to describe me before.
I knew better than anyone how reckless I could be. Responsibility had never been my strongest trait either. Most of the time, I acted first and dealt with consequences later.
But hearing Aiden say those things so seriously made me wonder whether I truly had changed without noticing.
“Forget about that for now,” Aiden said eventually, pulling me out of my thoughts. “We need to focus on solving the mystery surrounding the attacks on the pack.”
The atmosphere shifted instantly again.
I nodded slowly.
“Yes,” I agreed. “There have been too many suspicious things happening around this place lately.”
My expression darkened slightly.
“But one thing I know for certain is that Derrick isn’t responsible. That man barely understands what’s happening around him half the time.”
Aiden chuckled quietly before nodding.
“Fair enough,” he replied. “But if we’re going to investigate properly, then we need somewhere to start. Someone connected to everything.”
I immediately thought of the same person.
“The crippled man,” I answered thoughtfully. “Though honestly, I’m beginning to think he isn’t crippled at all.”
Aiden raised an eyebrow at me curiously.
“And why do you think that?”
The memory from earlier resurfaced immediately inside my mind.
The figure I saw moving through the hallway that morning.
The speed.
The posture.
Nothing about him looked weak.
“Because I might’ve seen him earlier,” I explained slowly. “And the man I saw looked perfectly healthy for someone who supposedly can’t walk properly.”
Aiden’s expression sharpened instantly.
Before he could respond, the door suddenly swung open.
“You’re both here.”
Kate walked inside quickly, but something about her expression immediately caught my attention.
She looked troubled.
Almost uneasy.
I exchanged a quick glance with Aiden before brushing the concern aside temporarily.
I could ask her later.
“What were you discussing?” she asked while moving closer.
I quickly explained our suspicions to her, carefully leaving out the part about Aiden finding his mate. Considering Kate was the only one among us who still hadn’t found hers, bringing it up felt unnecessarily cruel.
“Oh,” Kate murmured after listening carefully. “About the girl who attacked you earlier… Scott said her death had nothing to do with you.”
I nodded slowly.
That confirmed my suspicions further.
Someone had definitely sent that woman after me.
And when she failed—
They silenced her.
But who exactly was behind everything?
“That means we need to be even more careful from now on,” I muttered grimly. “This place is far more dangerous than we originally thought.”
Both of them agreed immediately.
“But honestly,” I continued thoughtfully, “I don’t think watching our surroundings is enough anymore.”
My gaze darkened slightly.
“We need to keep an eye on those girls too. Especially Morgan and Zuri.”
Neither of them could be ignored.
Not anymore.
“If you suspect them that much,” Aiden replied calmly, “then you should monitor them closely.”
He was right.
Kate crossed her arms thoughtfully before speaking again.
“Then maybe we should start with Zuri,” she suggested. “What if she’s influencing Alpha somehow? She’s a witch, after all. Maybe she’s using spells or dark magic.”
I immediately shook my head.
“No,” I answered firmly.
Something about the situation felt much deeper than simple obsession.
The person orchestrating everything had a larger goal in mind.
This wasn’t merely about Derrick.
“Zuri doesn’t have the courage to use forbidden magic inside Derrick’s territory,” I said quietly. “Not unless…”
I trailed off slowly.
Both Aiden and Kate stared at me carefully.
“Not unless she isn’t the mastermind at all.”
The realization settled heavily inside the room.
My expression darkened instantly.
Because if that theory was correct…
Then things were about to become much bloodier than we imagined.
“For all we know,” I continued quietly, “someone might actually be targeting this entire pack.”
Greed.
Power.
Control.
People destroyed countless lives pursuing those things.
And deep down…
I feared I wasn’t wrong.
Looks like this investigation was going to become far more dangerous than I originally expected.