Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha
Chapter 120

Abruptly, my father’s audible voice came from my behind me, “We’ll be out of mind link range. Do you have phones on you?”

I spun around to face him.

But Ever answered for me, “Yes. We’ve pack communication and back up power.” He finished zipping up the bag in front of him and turned to assess the progress of his team of wolves. Most were ready to go.

Walking to Ever’s side, I said quietly, “If you want to stay…”

His expression hardened, making his answer clear, but I continued anyway, “You know this might mean an imminent attack on our border. You have a pup on the way.” I wouldn’t take this choice away from him, not when he had so much at stake.

A muscle in his jaw flexed. “Leander, I belong by your side.

Cyril, Asher and the other warriors will protect what’s mine.”

My throat tightened. I gave a hard nod.

The rest of the warriors were silent now, prepared and ready to go.

As we made our way out the door to the waiting vehicle’s, Sydney was just entering the compound. What was she doing here? She was supposed to be visiting Hycinth’s pack and wasn’t due to return for several more days.

Eyes wide as they darted around that the wolves loaded into waiting cars, she ran up to me.

“Leander, I have to talk with you!”

“I don’t have time for this right now, Sydney,” I hissed, moving around her.

“Leander!” her voice rose, “I spent the day with Luca…you need to hear what I have to say.”

Her words stopped me in my tracks. I spun around to face her. “What the f**k did you just say? You were assigned to visit the Diamante pack. Did you go see him? Did you see Hycinth? Dagger?”

Sydney’s eyebrows shot up. “Dagger? What does he have to do with anything? No. Luca came to the Diamante pack. I spent the day with him.”

“Why the f**k didn’t you call me?” I advanced on her, my b***d already boiling, ready to explode.

She took an instinctual step back, away from my anger. Her eyes lowered submissively. “I needed to tell you in person, t-there’s…a lot to say.”

Ever threw open the door behind me. “Leander, tell her to get in. She can tell us on the way.”

I grunted in agreement.

Without another word, Sydney jumped in the SUV. She sat facing Ever and I in the rear section of the vehicle. Body stiff, she remained silent, feeling the anxiety radiating off of Ever and me.

“Tell me what happened with Luca,” I snarled. “Was Hycinth with him? Did you see her?”

She shook her head. “It was just Luca. He returned to the pack because he found out his mate had been k-killed.” Swallowing thickly, she blinked away tears.

F**k!

I frowned. My heart twisted in pain at that knowledge. But what I didn’t understand was why Sydney was so emotional. Her and Luca hadn’t been on the best of terms, but since her own mate had been murdered in cold b***d, maybe she was associating with him on a deeper level.

“How did his mate die?”

“Alpha Grant,” she whispered.

Ever inhaled sharply. My eyebrows shot up. “Are you saying that Luca’s father killed his mate? How is that even possible? The bastard has been dead for three years. I made sure of it.”

A tear slipped down her cheek. She swiped it away. “Oracle Memoree visited him and Hycinth a few days ago. Apparently, when Alpha Grant saw you in your Wolf form, he made the correct assumption that you were Hycinth’s mate, which was not acceptable to him, so he planned to take you out of the picture.”

A fierce growl slipped my throat. I knew Alpha Grant hated my father and our pack, but I had not been aware he was gunning for me personally.

And then a horrible realization occurred to me….

If I was the target, had my mother simply gotten in the way?

I couldn’t deny the very distinct probability. Once again, guilt overwhelmed me. Not only had I not made it to her in time, but would she still be alive if it weren’t for me?

I couldn’t even process that revelation at the moment and refocused on what Sydney was saying. “What does this have to do with Luca’s mate?”

Biting her l*p, she twisted her hands together. “Besides telling him who killed her, the only other thing the Oracle shared was her name-Madison.”

Her words hit me like a ton of bricks. “Your sister.”

She nodded and swallowed again.

“But why?” Ever interjected. “The male was evil but why kill his son’s own mate?”

“Because once you were out of the way, Hycinth would need a mate.”

I was stunned into silence and slumped back into the seat.

Evil was too good of the word for that Wolf.

I’d never regretted my decision to put him down. I just wish I’d have done it before he inflicted so much pain.

“So, he went back to his old pack for information,” I said. The puzzle was becoming clear, but there was still a missing piece. “I’m sorry, I know this is hard for you. I don’t mean to trivialize it, but why was it so urgent that I know right this minute? What else did you talk about?”

Wiping the remaining tears from her cheeks, her expression cleared, determination taking the place of sadness. “Leander, she doesn’t know.”

The overwhelming stress caused my patience to run thin. I snapped, “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Luca didn’t know that Isabelle was pregnant when she was killed. Hycinth didn’t know!”

My brows furrowed. “Yes, she did. She told me herself,” I insisted.

Sydney shook her head. “There was no way Luca faked his reaction to the news. His shock and devastation were real. Luca had told her the same thing he’d been told that Isabelle’s killing had been gruesome and you found her.”

“Leander? What exactly did Hycinth say to you that day?” Ever asked.

I forced myself to examine the memories I never wanted to think about again. What had she said? When I asked if she knew everything, her reply came back to me. I muttered, “She’d said that Lucky had explained the violence. And then she apologized that I found her in that way.”

“That was it?” Ever pressed.