Alpha's STOLEN Mate Chapter 124

Elowen

Kaius moved forward, dagger raised, his entire body coiled to strike.

*Kaius!* I sent the warning through our mindlink, sharp and commanding. *It's not your turn yet! That blade is only for restoring his consciousness before he dies. Let me kill him first!*

Kaius hesitated, then nodded curtly and stepped back, giving me room to attack.

I didn't waste the opening. My white wolf form exploded forward, launching myself at Aldric with every ounce of rage and grief I possessed.

But Aldric... dodged.

Not attacked. Not countered. Just *dodged*.

He twisted away from my strike, backing up, his movements defensive rather than aggressive. Like he was trying to avoid the fight entirely.

*What the fuck?*

The evasion only made me angrier. *At least have the decency to fight back! To acknowledge what you've done!*

I summoned everything—lightning crackling along my fur, flames gathering in my throat, wind whipping around us to create a prison of elements. I sent it all at him simultaneously, cutting off every escape route, forcing him into confrontation.

Aldric's eyes began to glow red. Finally—*finally*—he seemed to be engaging. His massive form charged toward me, claws extended.

Our claws met with a sound like steel striking steel. The impact sent shockwaves up my legs. His strength was insane—like fighting a living fortress. But I noticed something strange: his claws hadn't hit with full force. The strike had been... restrained. Pulled at the last second.

*Why isn't he trying to kill me?*

I didn't return the courtesy. White flames erupted from my claws, searing into his paw. Aldric yelped—actually *yelped*—and stumbled backward.

I pressed the advantage. Lightning poured from my body, arcing across his golden fur. The electricity made his coat stand on end, crackling and sparking. While he was stunned, I raked my claws across his chest and face, leaving deep burns that wouldn't heal—marks that glowed with lingering white fire.

Blood poured from the wounds.

I moved to pin him down, to end this, to finally make him pay—

The air pressure changed.

The forest went silent. Every bird, every insect, every small creature fled in sudden terror. Above us, clouds gathered with unnatural speed, and lightning—not mine—split the sky.

Aldric's form began to shift.

His body expanded, muscles bulging and reorganizing. His spine curved, forcing him into a hunched posture that was somehow more human and less human at once. Fur receded in places, revealing scarred skin beneath. His face elongated into something caught between man and beast—a muzzle filled with massive fangs, eyes that blazed with terrible intelligence, hands tipped with claws like curved daggers.

*Lycan.*

The transformation completed in seconds. Aldric stood before me in his half-form, radiating power that made my earlier assessment of his strength seem laughable. This wasn't twice as strong. This was ten times. Twenty times.

He casually swatted my paws aside like I was a annoying puppy.

*Fuck. FUCK.*

I leaped backward, putting distance between us. White flames and blue lightning erupted around me in a defensive sphere—all my power focused, ready for his assault.

But Aldric didn't attack.

Instead, he turned away from me—still bleeding, still burned—and tried to leave. To simply walk away from the fight.

*What?*

He'd transformed into his most powerful form... to *run away*?

He'd been refusing to fight this entire time. Holding back. Dodging. And now he was trying to escape?

*But he destroyed my pack. He slaughtered my people. He's supposed to be a mindless weapon. Why—*

Kaius didn't share my confusion. The sight of his father's Lycan form seemed to snap something inside him. His black wolf erupted with a snarl of pure fury, intercepting Aldric's escape route.

Father and son collided in a blur of claws and teeth.

But even now—even in the midst of combat—Aldric was holding back. I could see it in the way he positioned his strikes, always pulling his blows at the last instant. His Lycan strength could have torn Kaius apart with a single swipe, but instead he was using just enough force to deflect, to redirect, to survive without seriously harming his son.

His eyes held nothing but sorrow.

Kaius, on the other hand, fought with absolute abandon. No restraint. No mercy. His teeth found purchase in Aldric's shoulder, tearing deep. Blood sprayed across Kaius's muzzle and chest as he ripped away a chunk of flesh.

And suddenly, I remembered. Frost had been trying to tell me something. Something important about the golden wolf.

*Fuck. What if it wasn't Aldric who attacked my pack?*

But then why was Aldric here? Why now? And why was he covered in my pack's scent?

*I need to know the truth before we execute him.*

I shifted back to human form, scooped up the dagger from where I'd dropped it, and shouted, "Kaius! We need to find out what really happened!"

But Kaius wasn't listening. His eyes had gone completely black—no recognition, no reason, just rage. He drove Aldric backward relentlessly, backing him into a corner formed by two massive trees.

Aldric's resistance was fading. Blood loss and injuries were taking their toll, and his continued refusal to truly fight back meant wounds were accumulating faster than his Lycan healing could manage.

He was giving up.

*No. No no no. Something's wrong. This doesn't make sense.*

"KAIUS!" I screamed. "STOP! WE NEED ANSWERS!"

But Kaius lunged for the killing blow—claws aimed directly at Aldric's throat.

On pure instinct, Aldric's tail whipped around, catching Kaius in the ribs. It was barely a hit—gentle by Lycan standards—but the impact was still tremendous.

Kaius went flying. His wolf form shattered, reverting to human as he hurtled toward a tree trunk that would have broken his spine—

Aldric moved faster than thought. One moment he was cornered and bleeding; the next he'd crossed the distance and caught Kaius in his arms, cradling his son against his chest to absorb the impact.

I ran toward them, my heart in my throat. "Kaius! Are you—"

And Kaius—human, vulnerable, held in his father's protective embrace—looked up with eyes still burning red with mindless fury.

His hand shot out and grabbed the dagger from my belt.

"No!" I shouted. "Don't kill him! Use the blade to restore his mind first! We need to know—"

But Kaius wasn't listening. His bloodshot eyes saw only an enemy. The berserk rage still had him completely in its grip.

The blade plunged into Aldric's chest.

Aldric's body convulsed. The Lycan form began to collapse inward, shrinking, returning to wolf, then to human. He fell to his knees, still clutching Kaius against him even as the dagger protruded from his heart.

"Son," he gasped, blood bubbling at his lips. "It wasn't me. I didn't... I didn't slaughter your mate's pack."

Kaius's rage faltered, confusion breaking through. "What—"

"Even controlled by that witch's magic," Aldric continued, his voice weakening with every word, "my Lycan nature... it maintained... maintained a baseline. A core that couldn't be corrupted." He coughed, more blood. "I never... never harmed... any wolf. Not a single one. I swear it."

My heart stopped.

*Oh God. Oh no.*

"Aldric," I said urgently, dropping to my knees beside them. "If it wasn't you, then who? Who destroyed my pack?"

Kaius was still gripping the dagger, his madness finally receding as horror took its place. "There's no other golden wolf that powerful. No one else matches the description—"