Defying the Rogue Alpha
Chapter 205: Method

Chapter 205: Method

Lucas rubbed his face with both hands like the news physically pained him. "Let me guess," he muttered, already exasperated. "He died in the same fashion as Herod?"

"Yes, Alpha," Kade confirmed. "Same rope. Same method."

"For the love of..." Lucas didn’t finish the sentence, just made a frustrated noise.

Ava, now officially done with being the last to know, shouted. "Will somebody tell me what the hell is going on?"

Lucas sighed, defeated.

"It seems," Lucas began carefully, walking toward her and placing a calming hand on her thigh, "someone is killing people off using the same method Herod died by. First it was Sarah. Now it’s Councilman Thorn."

Ava stared at him. "You mean to tell me people are dropping like flies using the exact method you’re accused of having the power to trigger?"

Lucas nodded. "Pretty much."

"And you thought not telling me was going to keep me calm?"

"I thought maybe I could handle it before you found out."

"The death of a councilman means they are going to come arrest you, which is why you need to get to a safe place until we figure this out," Kade explained. He was practically vibrating with the urge to do something, anything, to keep his alpha safe.

Lucas, sitting on the edge of the bed now, let out a breath that was more amused than it had any right to be in such a tense situation. He raised an eyebrow and said with a slow smirk, "Kade?"

"Yes, Alpha?" Kade straightened up, ever the dutiful soldier despite the exasperation in his voice.

"In all your years with me, have you ever seen me run from a fight?" Lucas’s smirk was deepened, cocky, stubborn, full of defiance.

"Alpha..." he started to protest, but Lucas was already dismissing him with a flick of his wrist and a quiet, "Leave us, Kade."

There was a pause, then Kade gave a short bow that might have been more of a dramatic sigh in motion and stepped outside, grumbling under his breath. The door clicked shut behind him.

The room was silent for a second, and then the covers were thrown off with the theatrical flair of a woman who had had enough. Ava stood in all her hormonal, sleep-deprived glory, wearing nothing but her flimsy night dress, one that barely reached mid-thigh and did absolutely nothing to dull the effect of her fiery presence.

"Lucas," she said. "You have to listen to him. This is not the time to be stubborn. Our baby is on the way."

He gently cupped her face in his hands. "Exactly," he whispered, brushing his thumbs across her cheeks. "The more reason why I cannot run. I am not going to let my child think it’s okay to be a coward. I want our baby to grow up knowing their father stood his ground, that he fought for what was right even when the world turned against him."

Her hands slid up his chest. "And what happens if you’re arrested? Or worse?" Her voice cracked, and she looked up at him, eyes brimming with unshed tears and a fury she didn’t know how to direct. "What happens to us, Lucas? You think stories of your bravery are going to keep me warm at night if you’re gone? That they’ll raise our baby for me?"

Lucas inhaled sharply. That hit home in a way nothing else could. His shoulders slumped slightly, his forehead pressing against hers as he exhaled. "Ava... I don’t know what’s happening. People are dying. They think it’s me, or that I’m some magical puppet master pulling the strings. But it’s not. And until we find who’s really doing this... I have to stay in control. If I go into hiding, they win. Whoever’s orchestrating this wants me out of the picture and I won’t give them that satisfaction."

"I’ll call Dennis!" Ava blurted out.

Lucas caught her gently by the wrist as she started to move and pulled her back to him, steadying her. His eyes met hers, those blue orbs that had always made her feel safe. "I love you," he said softly. "Always remember that. And whatever happens, if I am not here... you should raise a strong alpha."

Ava froze. Her mouth opened. It felt like her throat had locked. The mere thought of him not being here...that he could even say those words...sent ice lancing through her bloodstream. "Shut up," she whispered. "Please. I don’t want to hear it." Her hands fisted at her sides, and her heart pounded, echoing in her ears.

But Lucas wasn’t done. He tightened his grip on her shoulders. "Ava!" he said. "Every alpha has their day to fall. I’ve had a good run. I’m happy. But if this is how I go down, you have a lot to take care of...and the most important is our baby."

"Don’t...don’t you dare say that to me," she snapped, pushing at his chest with her palms. "For the Goddess’s sake, Lucas, stop talking like you’re about to walk into your own funeral. We are raising this child together. You have done nothing wrong, absolutely nothing! So stop acting like a martyr and start thinking like the Alpha I married."

Her tears came fast and hot, stinging her eyes as she blinked furiously, refusing to let them fall in surrender. But the dam was already cracking. "You think you’re protecting me? By preparing me for your absence? That’s not protection, that’s abandonment masked as nobility!" She jabbed a finger into his chest.

Lucas sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "Whoever is doing this... they’re covering their tracks too well. Sarah, Thorn...every death is clean. They are picking of people I clearly have problems with. There are no witnesses."

"Then we outsmart them. We hunt." she said, throwing on her robe.

Lucas watched her stalk toward the door with her head high and spine straight, and he felt pride. She was his match. And clearly, someone was about to regret underestimating her.

"Get dressed," she barked over her shoulder without even looking at him.

"Yes, Luna," he muttered.

Ava threw the doors to the Alpha’s quarters open and stormed into the living room. Her hair was still tousled, her eyes red-rimmed from unshed tears, and her belly swollen with life—but in that moment, she didn’t look fragile. She looked like divine vengeance. Anyone in her path would’ve been wise to step aside.

If they all thought she was going to sit back and let them crucify her husband for something he didn’t do, they didn’t know what fury looked like.

They’d soon learn.

*****

Kade, Lucas, and Ava were huddled around the large desk in Lucas’s study, a half-drunk pot of coffee steaming between them and a scroll-like list unfurled across the surface. The list was long enough to need its own Chapter in a history book and scrawled with names of alphas who, at some point or another, had been threatened, overpowered, out-negotiated, or simply out-alpha’d by Lucas over the years.

Lucas leaned back in his chair and rubbed his temples, an exasperated grin forming on his lips. "It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? Just a few days ago, I was standing tall in front of the council, puffing my chest out, bragging that the territories under me wouldn’t dare defy me." He waved his hand dramatically over the list. "And now, looking at this? Sheesh. I’m going down. This list looks more like an RSVP for people who hate my guts. I don’t even know where to begin the suspicion from."

He chuckled bitterly, and Ava gave him an amused look

Kade snorted. "Well, we can begin from the one who’s always been a coward." He tapped the list with a pen. "Sly."

"Hmmm..." Ava murmured, her brow furrowed, eyes flicking down the list. Her finger hovered over a name for a moment, and both men instantly snapped their gazes to her, alert to the tone of her hum.

"What are you thinking?" Lucas asked, leaning in closer.

"Well..." she hesitated, glancing between them with a slightly sheepish expression. "Alpha Leon?"

Kade barked out a laugh, and Lucas followed suit, nearly choking on his coffee.

"Leon?" Lucas wheezed. "He doesn’t have the stones to pull something like this off. Besides, he’s the one alpha I’ve gone out of my way to be polite to...mostly because..." Lucas trailed off and coughed awkwardly, casting a quick glance at Ava. "...he used to be your...uh, alpha."

He avoided saying fated mate, though the word lingered. Ava smiled faintly, appreciating his effort.

"Yeah, you’re right," she agreed.

Silence fell over them again, thick with frustration and exhaustion. Lucas leaned forward, rubbing at the stubble along his jaw.

Then Ava spoke again, softly but firmly. "But what if it’s not an alpha?"

"What do you mean?" Lucas asked cautiously, the tension behind his voice taut.

"What if it’s not someone who leads?" Ava continued. "What if it’s just an ordinary wolf? Someone close. Someone here." She tapped the table with each emphasis. "They knew about Sarah being banished. They knew the councilmen were here. They’re picking off anyone who’s ever crossed you."

(Updates are going to be a Chapter daily now. This story ends exactly on the 31st of May. Due to the reduced Chapters, and the current total subscriptions. We have 600 subs and the monthly target is 1200. Its definitely not going to hit target. And this is its final month, so I am on my knees, all you can do for this book now is to recommend to other readers to improve the numbers or give gifts and give...give...give...lets go out with a bang. Please...Mama needs a mini vacation to refill her creative cup)

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