The Mystical Attraction of Alpha
Chapter 143

Chapter 143

Chapter 143- Lydia’s Revelation

3rd Person

There was a time when Lydia had dreamed about witnessing a Prince’s temper tantrum – mostlybecause she always imagined it would be her son, and she would have been so thrilled to be a motherand queen that she wouldn’t have cared about a childish outburst. Seeing a fully grown man, an Alphashe was hoping to seduce, rant and rave was a different thing entirely. Prince Damon had arrived backfrom the failed meeting with Sinclair to discover that Ella was long gone, and promptly torn herbedroom to sheds in the heat of his anger. Walls punched, curtains torn, furniture toppled and broken –at this point it looked like a tornado had swept through the room, and Lydia was both disgusted andalarmed.

She wasn’t sure whether she should make her presence known or not. The guards had fetched herafter they returned and filled her in on the situation, but Damon’s destructive fury worried her. Ella’swarnings about the man abusing his mate rung in her ears, and right now she had no trouble believingit. Lydia was furious with herself for not noticing the small army infiltrating the palace, but she’d beenpreoccupied trying to plan a romantic dinner for the Prince once the ransom was completed. In hermind Damon would have returned to the palace to retrieve Ella once Sinclair agreed to surrender,completed the trade and come home to celebrate with her. However now she was more worried thatthe Prince would blame her for concocting the plan and missing the invasion.

Lydia tried to make herself as small as possible, hovering just inside the doorway and praying tobecome invisible. He wouldn’t kill her… would he? The way he was shouting and cursing soundedmuch like an overwrought toddler, but this man was twice her size and could easily snap her like a twigif he wanted to. What have I gotten myself into? She thought anxiously, true doubt assailing her for thefirst time.

Right on cue, the Prince whirled around and saw Lydia, cowering with her arms wrapped around herslender body. Her body language reminded him so much of his late wife that a fresh wave of wrathslammed into him. He didn’t need to be reminded that his mate had been taken from him, especiallynot by this schemer. “You!” He seethed, jabbing an accusatory finger in Lydia’s direction, “this is all yourfault! Where the hell were you!”

Her eyes widened, “I–” Before Lydia could say another word, the Prince crossed the room andslammed her back against the wall, wrapping his powerful fist around her throat.

“Shut the hell up.” He ordered ferociously. “You stupid bitch, you come here bragging about being ableto help me because you know Sinclair sooo well, but your plans have done nothing but backfire! I toldyou he wouldn’t give up his campaign that easily! I told you he would stage a rescue!”

Lydia wanted to snap back at him, to tell him he never would have even had the opportunity to kidnapElla if it wasn’t for her. After all, his rogue attack had failed miserably, and she’d been able to tell himexactly how Sinclair’s emergency protocols worked. She was the reason he was getting so muchsympathy in the press, the reason his ratings were so high. But she couldn’t say any of this, becausehe was still shouting at her, his claws digging into her throat.

“You’ve been a pain in my ass since the moment you arrived!” He related, “Honestly, you have somenerve – waltzing in here as if you aren’t just the barren reject of a lesser man.”

Lydia’s jaw dropped, and despite the fact that she could barely breathe, she argued, “How dare you –that isn’t true!”

“Oh give it up!” The Prince countered, a sadistic glint in his eye. He’d always preferred to inflict physicalpain, but there was no denying how pleasurable it could be to destroy a woman emotionally. “I calledyour husband, you know. I wanted to rub it in his face that you’d transferred your allegiance to me andyou know what he told me? He told me that you came slinking onto his doorstep after you left Sinclair,

promising to give him a whole litter of pups and bragging about all your experience as a Luna. Andwhen he realized you were just a lazy gold digger who couldn’t conceive an original thought – muchless a baby, he kicked you to the curb.” Damon informed her maliciously.

“You didn’t come back because Sinclair upgraded to a younger, prettier she-wolf, you did it becauseyou had nowhere else to go.” Tears burned in Lydia’s eyes as the cruel man taunted her with her worstfailures, but this only seemed to egg Damon on. “And I let you stay because I thought, I thought, yourknowledge of Sinclair could still hold some value for me, but it turns out you’re as useless a strategistas you were a mate.”

His grip on her throat was getting tighter now, and Lydia dug her fingers into his hand, trying to pry itaway so she’d have the space to breathe. “Please,” She begged. “I– I can still help you.”

“I don’t see how.” The Prince scoffed, “if anything you being close to me is weakening public sympathyfor me.” He paused, a dawning light overtaking his features as Ella and Sinclair’s clues aboutAngeline’s murder swirled through his mind. “Why is it that you waited until my campaign was alreadyon the upswing to offer your assistance anyway?”

Lydia’s already pounding heart sped up as she realized Damon was starting to suspect her trueambitions to replace his queen, and the crimes she’d committed in order to make it happen. She knewshe had to think quickly, and her mind raced through possible distractions. Like the Prince, there weredetails hovering at the edge of her consciousness, just out of reach. She knew she had the key to herown survival within reach, she just had to pull the puzzle pieces together. The longer she stayed silent,the angrier the Prince became, but she could risk saying the wrong thing when he was alreadydetermined to hurt her.

The Prince’s threatening growls were growing louder and louder, and Lydia felt his claws break the skinof her neck. Hot, thick blood trickled down her clavicle, and she fought back a whimper – instinctivelyknowing he would enjoy the sound. At the very last moment an idea clicked into place, and Lydia’s

panicked body relaxed with a sudden confidence that absolutely rankled the seething Prince.Fortunately for Lydia, she forced the words out before he could act on his feelings.

“I’ve got a better question for you.” She gasped hoarsely, “Why is it that no one had ever heard of Ellauntil after she was already pregnant with Sinclair’s child? He’s the most famous man in the territory andthe tabloids follow him constantly, but no one ever heard a single word about him dating someone new.And if Ella is supposed to be a cousin of Aileen Crentin’s, why did I never meet her? I was at Aileenand Hugo’s wedding, and I can tell you right now that Ella wasn’t.” She hurriedly explained.

“You think they’re lying about their relationship?” The Prince blinked, processing this idea. He onlygives it a moment of thought before shaking his head. “They said she hadn’t known about her relativeshere until recently, besides I’ve never seen a pair of mates more in love.”

“Then why hasn’t he claimed her?” Lydia hissed, something in her gut telling her she was on the righttrack. “Don’t you replace it suspicious that they can’t keep their hands off each other in public but he’sletting her run around unmarked? The most possessive, dominant wolf in the world?”

Prince Damon’s grip loosened slightly, and he rumbled pensively, “So what, you think he hired her?That it’s all been a show for the campaign?”

“Maybe.” Lydia shrugged. “You have to admit it makes sense, things start going bad for him and all of asudden he conjures a breeding mate out of the air? It’s more than a little suspicious.”

“You have a point.” The Prince nods, his wolf flashing in his eyes. “Maybe it’s time to call in Rogeragain.”

“Roger?” Lydia scoffed, unaware of just how much Sinclair’s relationship had changed with his brotherin recent months. “I’ve got news for you, Roger is the absolute last person who Dominic would confidein about his relationship – or politics.”

“Then who am I supposed to ask? His men are too loyal to be bribed and the Goddess knows hissecurity is too tight at the mansion to get a bug in.” The Prince questioned in frustration.

“If Ella is who she says she is then she’ll have connections in the Shadow pack, even commoners havework histories and educations, I think we need to verify hers.” Lydia mused aloud, so utterly relieved tohave successfully turned her assailant’s attention to the other woman.

“You’d better be right about this.” The Prince snarled, abruptly releasing Lydia’s neck. The she-wolfcrumpled, trying to steady herself against the wall as her legs gave out. “This is your last chance,Lydia. One more slip up, and I’ll kill you where you stand.”

Rubbing her neck, Lydia tried to hide her trembling. “I believe you.”