Chapter 139 I have another motive

Chapter 139 I have another motive
~ Kael's POV ~

“Two days,” Alpha Vale answered.

My brows immediately pulled together.

“Just two days?” I repeated. “Then why are you talking about tomorrow like that? If I've only been unconscious for two days, then that makes no sense.”

“It makes perfect sense,” he replied quietly.

“No, it doesn't.” I shook my head. “The eclipse is in seven days. That was the timeline. If I have been unconscious for two days, then we should still have five days left.”

For the first time, something resembling frustration crossed his face.

“That is what all of us believed until a few days ago,” he explained. “Then the readings changed.”

The words landed like a physical blow. My heart immediately began pounding against my ribs.

The words sent a jolt through me, and I instinctively tried to sit upright again. Before I could get very far, Alpha Vale placed a firm hand against my shoulder and pushed me back down onto the platform.

“Stay still, Kael,” he said firmly. “Destroying yourself right now will not help Lyra. You need to recover if we are going to save her and stop the people responsible for all of this. Your body has already survived something it shouldn't have survived. Give it the time it needs. By nightfall you should be fully recovered, and then we can move on to planning.”

I clenched my jaw but eventually stopped fighting him.

The silence that followed stretched for several moments before I finally spoke again.

“I'm sorry,” I said quietly.

Alpha Vale frowned slightly.

“For what?”

I stared at the ceiling above me.

“For failing to protect her.” The admission tasted bitter. “I promised you I would protect her,” I continued, my voice lower now. “I promised I would keep her safe, but I couldn't do it.”

Alpha Vale remained silent for a moment before responding.

“You haven't failed her or me yet.”

His answer made me turn my head toward him.

“You took her to Astra Ellis. You helped her meet her mother. You helped her gain knowledge she desperately needed. You did exactly what needed to be done. That alone changed everything. Don't dismiss what you've accomplished simply because the battle isn't over.”

Confusion immediately appeared on my face.

“You know about that? About my taking her to Astra Ellis?”

“Of course I do.”

“How?”

A faint smile touched his lips.

“She placed a protection spell on your heart.”

I blinked. “What?”

“That poison, combined with the fumes should have killed you,” he explained. “It was designed to stop you from surviving. Yet here you are. The only reason you survived long enough for us to help you is because there was already powerful protection surrounding your heart.”

I stared at him, absorbing his words.

“She did that?” I asked finally, remembering how Lyra had been completely uncomfortable and that one time she had placed her hand on my chest and uttered some spells.

“Yes.” Alpha Vale responded

A strange warmth settled in my chest despite everything.

“She placed that spell on you before you even realized what she was doing. The knowledge required for that level of protection is not something she could have learned before Astra Ellis. The only way she could possess it is if she met her mother and received what she needed.”

Another moment of silence passed before Alpha Vale stood up.

“Get some rest,” he said. “We have very little time left, and there is still a lot that must be done.”

With that, he left me alone.

The hours that followed passed far more smoothly than I expected.

True to his word, my condition improved significantly as night approached. The pain in my chest diminished steadily, and my strength slowly returned.

By the time Alpha Vale came back to check on me, I felt more like myself than I had since the ambush.

There was, however, one question that had been bothering me for a long time.

The moment he entered, I decided to ask it.

“Your intentions confuse me.”

He stopped walking and looked at me curiously.

“How so?”

I sat upright this time without resistance.

“I understand that Lyra is your daughter. I understand wanting to help her survive. What I don't understand is whether that is your only reason for being involved in all of this.”

His expression became thoughtful. I could practically see him considering how much he wanted to reveal.

When he finally spoke, his voice carried a quiet honesty that made me pay closer attention.

“I want my daughter to succeed.”

There was no hesitation in those words.

“I want her to survive this war. I want her to live the life that was stolen from her before she was even born. That will always be my first priority.”

Then his expression darkened slightly.

“But if you think there is another reason then yes, you are right. There is another reason.”

I remained silent and allowed him to continue.

“I am a Shadow Pack member,” he said. “More than that, I used to be its alpha. I am supposed to be fighting beside my pack. Instead, I am preparing to fight against them.”

His gaze drifted away momentarily, as though he was looking into memories he would rather forget.

“Valira, the priestess leading the resurrection of the Void Wolf, is my sister.”

The revelation immediately caught me off guard.

“She colluded with several powerful officials years ago, and together, they orchestrated my downfall. They stripped me of my position and banished me because I refused to reject my mate.” His jaw tightened. “My crime was loving and accepting a witch, who the moon goddess had chosen for me.”

A bitter smile touched his lips.

“Imagine that. The man chosen to lead Shadow Pack lost everything simply because he refused to abandon the woman he loved.”

Silence filled the room as he collected his thoughts.

“I have always despised the idea of the Void Wolf,” he continued. “Even before my exile, I opposed everything it represented. Watching Shadow Pack slowly become consumed by that obsession was like watching my home rot from the inside out. Every year it became worse.”

His eyes hardened.

“So yes, I have another motive.”

For the first time since he started speaking, there was unmistakable determination in his voice.

“I have waited years for this opportunity. Years. I want my daughter to survive, I want Valira stopped, I want the resurrection to fail, and when all of this is over, I intend to take back what was stolen from me.” His gaze locked onto mine. “I intend to reclaim my throne and restore Shadow Pack to what it was before greed, fear, and fanaticism destroyed it.”