Chapter 171 He Broke the Great Alpha Fennigan
Magda waited for the twins to settle into the crook of Leela’s arms before she moved forward, her face a mask of healer’s discipline.
"Alright, that’s enough sweetness for a moment. We need to check the other little one," Magda said, her voice gruff but her eyes soft.
"Zephyr’s fine," Leela insisted, her hand resting over her stomach. "I’m telling you both, I can feel the spark. It’s stronger than before."
"Let me be the medical judge of that," Magda countered. She moved her weathered hands over the swell of Leela’s belly, pressing gently. A moment later, a small, distinct flutter—the unmistakable kick of a foot or a punch of an arm—pushed back against her palm. Magda closed her eyes, listening intently to the rhythmic, galloping thrum of the heartbeat. "Yes... Zephyr seems fine. More than fine. That heartbeat is as steady as a mountain drum."
She moved on to checking Leela’s blood pressure and temperature, humming a low, satisfied tune as the numbers came back within the healthy range. The "Quieting" was truly gone.
The heavy oak door swung open as Jax burst into the room, his chest heaving. He held his tablet like a trophy. "Hey! I just got the call. My guy finished the breakdown. He’s got the full list of chemicals he found on that petal—it’s a cocktail of synthetic suppressants and a neuro-toxin specifically tuned to the Zephyr frequency."
Jax’s head leaned to the side as he finally processed the scene in front of him. He saw Leela sitting up, glowing with health, and the twins nestled against her. A huge, boyish smile broke across his face.
"Oh, hi!" he chirped. "Lee, welcome back. Again." He looked at his brother and gave a sharp nod. "Glad to see you smiling, brother. Now... we have the list. What are we going to do with this?"
Fennigan stood up, the warmth of the reunion hardening into a cold, tactical iron. He looked at the list on Jax’s screen, then back at his wife. A dark, predatory glint appeared in his amber eyes.
"We are going to call Northcott back," Fennigan said, his voice dropping into a low, lethal purr. "And I’m going to tell him exactly what he wants to hear. I’ll tell him I’ve had a change of heart. I’ll tell him I’ll take that seat on the Council just to save my family."
Leela narrowed her eyes, starting to catch the drift of his plan.
"I’ll tell him to bring the antidote and the papers to me personally," Fennigan continued, pacing a small line at the foot of the bed. "I’ll tell him I want the transaction done on Blackwood territory where I feel 'safe.' He’ll come, thinking he’s finally broken the Great Alpha Blackwood. I’ll let him hand me the antidote. We'll give it to Jax and Magda so they can reverse-engineer it and make sure we have a stockpile for the future."
He stopped and looked at Leela, a slow, dangerous smirk spreading across his face.
"And then, while he's standing there with that smug grin, I’m going to rip those papers into confetti right in his face. And that's when my fantastic wife is going to walk out, looking healthier than ever, and smile at him while he realizes his 'twelve-hour death sentence' was a lie."
Fennigan leaned over and kissed Leela’s forehead. "Then we’ll see what they try to come up with next. Because the next time a courier comes to my gate, he won't be carrying flowers. He had better be carrying a white flag."
"Now, let's call Northcott.", he said.
Fennigan stood in the center of the room, his shoulders slumped and his head bowed. He reached deep into the darkest corners of his mind, pulling up the hollow, bone-deep terror he’d felt just an hour ago when Leela was grey and fading. He channeled the fear of a world without his parents, without Jax’s loyalty or his sister-in-law, Ginny’s fire, and most of all, a world without the twins and the unborn Zephyr, without his Sparky.
By the time his thumb hovered over the call button, his eyes were bloodshot and brimming with tears. The transition was terrifyingly convincing.
The room went deathly silent as the ringing echoed through the speaker. Everyone—Elana, Jax, Magda, and the Elders—watched him with bated breath.
"I thought I would be hearing from you again, Alpha Fennigan," Northcott’s voice slithered through the line, sounding like a man savoring a fine wine. It was a nasty, condescending tone that made Jax’s fists clench in the background.
Fennigan let out a ragged, choked sob. It wasn't hard to fake; the residual adrenaline from the night’s trauma was still sitting in his throat.
"I'll do it, Northcott," Fennigan rasped, his voice cracking perfectly. "I’ll do whatever you want. Just... please."
"Oh, perfect, Alpha. Truly a wise decision for your people," Northcott purred. "I’ll have the paperwork in an envelope and the antidote sent to you via courier immediately."
"No," Fennigan barked, a flash of "desperate" anger breaking through his facade. "You. You bring me the papers and the antidote. I’m not trusting another courier. You bring it yourself, so that if the antidote doesn't work... I can strangle you where you stand."
A chilling silence followed on the other end. Then, Northcott let out a soft, smug chuckle. "Your wife is an Elemental like no other, ever. I'm quite sure the antidote will work, Fennigan. It was designed for her specific... architecture."
"Well then," Fennigan sniffled, wiping a stray tear with the back of his hand while his eyes remained cold as mountain ice. "You shouldn't have a problem bringing it to me then."
Fennigan didn't wait for an answer. He disconnected the call and stood there for a second, his chest still heaving with the remnants of the act. Then, slowly, he straightened his spine. The "broken man" vanished. He looked toward the bed where Leela sat, her four-colored stone swirling with a defiant, beautiful light.
She was here. She was whole. And most importantly, she was his.
"He’s coming," Fennigan said, his voice now a low, predatory growl. He looked at Jax. "Get the perimeter team ready. Magda, be ready to grab that vial the second it touches my hand. We’re going to give him exactly what he deserves—a front-row seat to the resurrection of the elemental line."