Mated To The Cold Hearted Alpha
Chapter 95

But once I’d given them everything that they wanted, would Leander have just let it go and foregone his natural instinct for retribution? My parents hadn’t been the very first to kill between our packs. We were at war. The killing had gone on before them for decades. It was our way. It was hard enough for me to deny my base wolf instinct for retribution and Leander was an Alpha.

I highly doubted we would have lived happily ever after, and I certainly wouldn’t have been allowed to just walk away right now because regardless of my mate status, punishment for a war crime as severe as killing a parent would have to have been enacted. Heck, Leander had spanked me in front of his entire pack just for slapping him. It wasn’t very realistic to think he would’ve just let it go if I had been the one to kill his mother. No, that truth would remain with him day and night just like it did me.

A knock at the door interrupted by chaotic thoughts.

Lifting my head, I realized I was on my knees. When had I fallen? With a shaky breath, I stood on unsteady feet.

Reaching the door, I opened it to replace Lucky. I wanted to hurl myself into his arms and take the comfort his agonized eyes promised me, but having his scent wrapped around me would not help while we were still on Leander’s territory.

A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Are you ready to go?”

“Just a minute,” I mumbled. “I need to get dressed.”

He waited silently at the door while I went to the closet and put on a pair of pants, a T-shirt and combat boots. I wasn’t taking anything else with me. I’d come here with only the clothes on my back, and that was how I would leave.

As Lucky and I made our way through the packhouse, I noticed how eerily quiet it was. Not a sound could be heard. I looked around in confusion.

“Ever had everyone leave,” Lucky answered my silent question, “They won’t be back until you’re gone.”

Oh, okay. I nodded, unable to speak around the lump in my throat. I guessed it was fair. Goodbyes were never really good. And what else was there to say? Nothing.

Blinking back tears, I followed Luca out the front door to a wide porch. He settled his large frame down in one of the chairs and motioned for me to sit next to him.

I sat down and anxiously bit my l*p. “When will Tommy be here?”

“Another ten minutes.”

After a moment of silence, Lucky turned and stared at me intently. “Cinn, there’s something you should know.”

The intensity of his dark green gaze caused my unease to peak. “What is it?”

“When I spoke to Ever earlier, he told me that our old pack…still exists.”

I gasped, “What do you mean ‘still exists’? But…Leander destroyed them all.”

Luca shook his head. “Is that what Leander told you?”

“Um…well, no.” My brain replayed the events of that fateful night, working to form a cohesive thought. “His reputation…you’ve heard the tales of the horror he unleashed. It’s what Leander’s does. He was there to kill daddy…and destroy our pack. The hate in his eyes…” my voice trailed off.

“I did too.” Luca rubbed the back of his neck.

It didn’t make sense. Even if I was wrong about Leander’s intention and actions, why hadn’t he said something? “But…why didn’t Leander just tell me?”

“I asked Ever the same question when he told me this morning. He said Leander left the pack intact as a lure. He’d hoped you’d return, and when you did, he had wolves waiting to capture you.”

I couldn’t deny that was sound strategy.

“But…” Lucky began again, opening his mouth but then closed it.

A slow minute ticked by as I waited before finally pressing, “What? What are you not telling me? What else do you know?”

“There was something in Ever’s voice.” Lucky’s brows pulled together. “He’s angry, Cinn…like, really angry. I’ve never seen Ever like this…and at least a part of what he told me was a lie. I could feel it.”

My heart twisted. There was no doubt who Ever was furious with, but I needed to focus. “You think the pack doesn’t exist?”

“No. Not that. Why would Ever even bring it up if that were the case? We could easily verify the truth.”

“So, what do you think he was lying about?”

Lucky’s absinthe eyes locked onto mine. “I think he lied about Leander’s reasoning. Yes, it was strategic to leave the pack intact. We might have reached out if we knew anyone remained, but when we left, we never looked back because we assumed they were all gone, and we were avoiding packs at all cost.”

I frowned, still not understanding his point.

Lucky continued softly, “I know it’s not what you want to hear, but I’ve watched Leander with you. The man loves you. I think his choice of leaving the pack intact had more to do with you being his mate than his purpose of catching you. I suspect that you being his mate actually saved the lives of a lot of people.”

Sorrow flared in my chest. I inhaled sharply, unable to catch my breath. Lucky wasn’t wrong…at least on one count.

“He…told me,” I whispered.

Luca tilted his head and waited for me to explain.

“That he…loved me,” my breath hitched, tears welling in my eyes.

“F**k, Cinn…,” Lucky leaned further into me, dark liquid orbs locked on mine. “Are you sure you’re making the right decision? We don’t have to go. You can change your mind right here and now, and I’ll support you.”

I choked back a sob and shook my head. Swallowing thickly, I tried to get back on track. “So…once he had me, why wouldn’t he tell me? If Leander let them live for me, why keep me in the dark about it? Why wait until we’re leaving to mention it?”

Lucky undid the tie holding his shoulder-length locks at the back of his neck. “From a strategic standpoint, I see using the pack as a lure while you were free, but once he captured you, my best guess? Maybe, keeping you in the dark also eliminated you’re trying to reach out or escape back to the pack for protection. But now they’re your free, none of it matters anymore, so Leander made sure you knew before we left.”

“Free,” I repeated flatly, staring off into the distance as I listened to the familiar rumble of approaching motorcycles.

The rumble became a roar when ten Harleys surged on all sides of us. Coming to a rolling stop, engine idling, Tommy’s sharp gaze zeroed in on me. Piercing brown eyes evaluated me slowly from head to toe.

From behind him, Leroy, the Grimm MC’s Road Capt. and Frank, their Tail Gunner, as well as seven other Grimm MC Enforcers scrutinized every detail of our surroundings, bodies rigid and alert, ready for a fight.

I tried not to cringe. It had been several months since the Grimm MC bikers had witnessed my kidnapping. Thankfully, Tommy and Leroy had escaped with their lives.

We owed them an explanation, both for our absence and our call for assistance; however, as soon as Tommy’s gaze swiveled to Luca, Lucky shut him down, grunting, “Not here.”

Tommy’s eyes narrowed and then he nodded hard, barking out, “Let’s ride.”