Chapter 14 Pathetic Love Life
ELIJAH
After entering the house, I went directly to my office.
While I’d been enjoying my unplanned vacation in White Crescent’s prison, apparently a few things had gone sideways that needed my immediate attention.
Aiden, my Gamma, should’ve been waiting for me in the office.
He’d decided my chair made an excellent carnival ride and was spinning in circles like a kid, completely unaware I’d walked in.
“Finally back where I belong.”
The sound of my voice made him jump so hard he nearly tumbled out of the chair.
“Alpha! You’re back! I want you to know the pack was in capable hands during your absence.”
Both of us burst out laughing.
Sometimes I thought about finding a Gamma who took things more seriously. But then I remembered Aiden was actually brilliant at his job. He was one of maybe three people I genuinely trusted, and somehow he always knew how to lighten the mood when everything felt too heavy.
Plus, he was the only person who could consistently make me laugh.
“What’s the situation?”
The humor drained from his face instantly.
“Antil Cult.” He said with a groan. “Word just came in that they hit Stormborn Clan. According to our informant, Bloodhound won’t make it past dawn.”
I felt my eyebrows shoot up. That didn’t make any sense.
“That’s impossible. How?”
He dragged the chair closer and sat down properly.
“What’s confusing you?”
“I literally just confronted Donald about his ties to Antil. The man didn’t even try to deny it. So why in the world would they launch an assault on a Lycan pack this fast? It hasn’t even been a full day since I left White Crescent.”
The timing was all wrong. This meant someone else was pulling the strings. Someone whose name I didn’t know.
“Any idea who’s actually running things?”
I shook my head slowly.
But I’d figure it out eventually. If Donald had rushed to warn them about my visit and the threats I’d made, then they definitely knew they were dealing with me now.
Donald was far too spineless to green-light an attack so soon after I’d threatened him personally. Right now he’d be scrambling to hold onto whatever alliances he had left, desperately searching for new supporters. He wouldn’t be throwing away resources on a reckless offensive.
No, this had to be someone with absolutely nothing to lose. Someone who had enough power and resources that they could afford to gamble everything on one move.
Bloodhound and Stormborn were right next to us geographically. They were practically our neighbors.
“I’ve got a theory. I think there’s a spy somewhere in the palace.”
Honestly, after Antil’s surprising move, I didn’t have much shock left in me to spare for Aiden’s suggestion.
“You think so, or you know so?”
He nodded firmly.
“Right now it’s more instinct than evidence.”
“That’s fine. I trust your instincts. Keep digging into it and update me on anything you find. Also, I want more guards stationed around the palace. Beef up security at the borders and make sure we’ve got double the usual patrol numbers.”
“Roger that.”
For the moment, they hadn’t gone after me specifically—just dancing around the edges, testing our defenses. But that was fine. Now that we were aware of their strategy, we could prepare a proper response.
I noticed Aiden’s eyes were locked on me with barely concealed amusement.
“What do you want, Aiden?”
That grin on his face got even wider, and despite everything, it almost made me laugh. Actually, it did make me laugh.
“So, uh… I heard some interesting news. Apparently you got yourself arrested? They thought you were some random rogue?”
Now that he’d brought it up, I couldn’t help but find the whole thing hilarious. The Lycan King, mistaken for a rogue and thrown in a cell.
“What the hell actually happened?”
I walked him through the entire story, even including the part where Ezra nearly drove me completely insane.
“Damn, that’s actually an incredible story. Your future kids are going to love hearing that one.” He was clearly joking around.
If we even had kids. Honestly, I had no clue what the future looked like right now.
“Hazel shares way too much information with you. Sometimes I’m convinced you two are working together against me and I’m just here by myself.”
“Hey, you can’t really blame us for that. Your life is basically its own entertainment.”
I rolled my eyes at him hard enough that it probably looked ridiculous.
“Speaking of Hazel, how are things going between you two?”
He cleared his throat, trying way too hard to appear casual.
“Actually, things are looking up. She’s been acting different around me lately. I think she’s finally starting to see what an amazing catch I am. Pretty soon she’s going to be my girlfriend.”
I really, really didn’t want to be the person to crush his dreams. I knew for a fact that Hazel had zero interest in him romantically. She’d never be interested. I was fairly certain she wasn’t interested in anyone at all, honestly.
“I seriously doubt that’s going to happen.”
His smile flickered and started to fade.
“Why would you say that?”
“Look, Hazel thinks men are nothing but problems. I don’t know exactly what happened in her past, but right now she’s got no plans whatsoever to be with anyone. Honestly? I think she might even prefer women.”
His smile completely disappeared and I could see him getting lost in his thoughts. Damn it. This was exactly why I hadn’t wanted to say anything in the first place.
“I just can’t give up on her, Elijah. I’m serious when I say I love her. I’ve been chasing after her for literal years at this point. There has to be something there, some hope to hold onto, right?”
It would be genuinely cruel of me to encourage him to keep trying. Aiden was my friend, and like he’d just said, he’d already wasted years pursuing someone who’d never feel the same way. At some point she’d even been hostile toward him.
“You need to let it go. Please. There are so many other women out there—in this pack and in other packs too—who would be absolutely thrilled to have a man like you.”
I genuinely couldn’t believe I’d just said that out loud.
We both started laughing at how absurd it sounded.
“Alright, enough about my completely pathetic love life. What exactly are you planning to do with her?”
He was asking about Adriana.
“Right now, I’m not planning anything specific. But I do need to assign guards to protect her. I don’t want her left alone for any reason. I’m not sure what Antil might be planning, but I absolutely refuse to let her get caught up in any of it. That’s also why her status as my mate has to stay secret. From everyone. Even from her.”
He frowned at that.
“What do you mean, even from her?”
I really didn’t want to get into this whole explanation right now.
“Just forget about it. Do what I’ve asked you to do. The other details aren’t important.”
Thankfully, he didn’t push for more information.
“Alright then, I should probably get going. I’ll catch up with you later.”
I stood up as well.
“Yeah. I need to go check on Leo.”
We separated at the door.
It was strange to think about, but just a few days ago my entire life had been predictable and routine. Now everything had changed completely.
When I pushed open Leo’s door, he wasn’t in his bed. He wasn’t in his usual play corner either.
Where had he wandered off to?
I was just about to leave and go ask Hazel if she’d taken him somewhere when I heard a noise coming from the bathroom.
It sounded like someone crying. Actually, it was definitely crying.
I ran toward the bathroom, throwing the door open hard, and I couldn’t make any sense of what I was seeing.
Leo was on the ground crying his heart out. But he wasn’t by himself. Adriana was down there too, on the floor, and she was holding him really tightly.
What the hell did she think she was doing? She’d been here for less than a day and she already thought she could hurt him? I knew bringing her here had been a mistake.
She hadn’t even noticed I was standing there, so I grabbed her and shoved her away from him, immediately pulling Leo close against me.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing to my son?”
She was sitting on the floor now, her mouth hanging open slightly, with this completely shocked expression all over her face.