Chapter 31 031
~LYKA~
“What?” I turned sharply toward Aiden, fury flaring anew. “You challenged him? How could you do something so reckless?”
Aiden tried to speak, his lips trembling as he struggled to form words, but I stopped him immediately.
“Don’t,” I said firmly. “Save it.”
I couldn’t afford to lose control again. Not now. Not when one wrong move could cost us everything.
I needed to clean up the mess he’d created....make sure Derrick didn’t decide to kick us out or worse.
“Scott,” I said, standing up and turning to him. “Can you help me?”
As I did, I noticed his gaze flick briefly toward Amanda, something unreadable flashing in his eyes. I brushed it off. There were bigger problems to deal with.
“Don’t worry,” Scott said evenly. “Derrick isn’t going to send you away. That much I know.”
Then he tilted his head slightly.
“But are you always like this?”
I frowned. “Like what?”
“So quick to accuse,” he said. “So ready to assume the worst without knowing the full story.”
My jaw tightened.
“I think you should change that mindset,” he added. “You should try to understand him too.”
Then he walked away.
I stared after him, baffled and irritated.
Understand Derrick?
How could I understand a man who didn’t want to be understood? He could have explained what happened before I made a fool of myself. One sentence. One warning.
Instead, he let me explode.
“Looks like we ruined everything this time,” Amanda muttered beside me.
I sighed deeply, running my fingers through my hair as exhaustion settled in. My eyes drifted to my members standing nearby, their heads lowered, guilt etched clearly across their faces.
They should feel guilty.
This wasn’t some harmless prank. This could have gotten us all killed.
My gaze returned to Aiden, still lying on the ground in pain. He had been one of my father’s most trusted men....strong, disciplined, loyal. That was why my father had assigned him to protect me.
Seeing him like this made my chest ache, but I refused to dwell on it.
“Help him up,” I ordered quietly.
They rushed to assist him, lifting him carefully. I forced myself to look away from his battered face.
“We’ll talk about this later,” I said firmly. “For now, go and rest.”
Without waiting for a response, I turned and walked out of the arena.
Leading them after the massacre had been harder than I ever imagined. Every decision felt heavy, every mistake costly. The only thing I was grateful for was that Derrick had spared us....even though he didn’t owe us mercy.
Still, I’d acted rashly today.
“Ouch!”
I winced sharply when I collided with someone in the passageway. The person didn’t even stop....just hurried away.
I turned to look after her.
From the clothes and the way she moved, I could tell she was a maid.
“Rude,” I muttered. “I shouldn’t bother myself over her.”
I reached my door....and froze.
An envelope lay neatly placed on the floor.
It was sealed with a wolf imprint.
Suspicion crawled up my spine, but curiosity won.
I picked it up slowly.
“Your pack’s massacre is a misery, right?”
My breath caught.
“What kind of sick person sends something like this?” I whispered, even as my fingers trembled opening the paper.
Despite myself, I wanted to read more.
“What does this person mean?” I muttered.
I rushed down the hallway, searching for the maid I’d bumped into earlier. I tried following her scent, but it vanished abruptly.
“Where did she go?” I grunted.
Then my eyes landed on another paper lying in a dark corridor.
I rushed toward it and picked it up.
“Are you really curious about misery?”
My heart began to race.
How did they know?
“What if I tell you the person you’re looking for is closer than you think?” I read aloud. “Can you take a guess?”
Cold sweat broke out across my forehead.
My heart slammed violently against my chest.
Closer than I think?
Who exactly was this person?
And how close were they… really?