Alpha

She gasped like a fish out of water: fear, maternal instinct, all of it combined. "Don’t hurt him."

"Then tell me the truth, and nothing but the truth." She nodded, and I shoved my hands in my pockets.

"What do you know about love? Father Marcus was taken from me. Killed and buried in an unmarked grave. Why shouldn’t I take revenge?" she spat, trying to break free from the bonds.

I always thought she must have had some kind of accident to have had so much plastic surgery.

But she seemed ugly, both inside and out. I was overcome with disgust just looking at her. "And that makes you a champion at kidnapping and torturing innocent girls."

Kaysir started recording.

"They needed to feel my pain, my son’s pain. I had to take their lives. We’ve been trying to kill her for a long time."

There it was, the very truth I needed.

"So tell me what happened when you first met me? There’s no way you saved me from a speeding car. Tell the truth," I asked, pinning her to the ground with my gaze and watching her face turn pale.

And then she told me the real story, and Kaysir recorded it as evidence for the police.

It was Zara, whom I saved that day from those bastards, and they used me to hurt her. No more. Never again. The footage will be enough to exonerate me.

"Call the police," I gave my final order. Giving this despicable woman a murderous look, I stepped out into the snowy night.

***

Zyair

As planned, Ryan and I decided to sneak into Marcus’s house. But someone had already gotten there first.

My heart nearly stopped when I saw Alpha carrying Zara, wrapped in a blanket. Every paternal instinct in my body screamed, "Take her from him and never let those men see her again!"

Alpha did exactly as he said on the phone, or maybe he just did it to shift the blame. At that moment, I didn’t care. All I had to do was take my daughter from him and get her the medical attention she needed.

Alpha was surrounded by armed men, but I wasn’t afraid; I’d faced his kind before, and I would die protecting my children from their kind. I snatched her from his arms and warned him to stay away as we hurried to the car.

Once inside, Ryan ran like crazy, and I focused on Zara. Her face was almost unrecognizable due to the bruises. Her eyes were closed, and she lay in my arms like feathers.

"Zara! Dad’s here. Nothing will happen to you," I whispered, more to myself than to her, reassuring her that she was safe now. Tears streamed from my eyes and fell on her.

As soon as Zara’s condition stabilized, I planned to get a restraining order against Alpha and all the other men who had hurt her. I’d had enough of men hurting her and leaving bruises.

We pulled up to the hospital, and the paramedics rushed her inside, telling us to wait in the waiting room. Ryan called Govinda and Sophia, and I gasped for Holy.

"We found her, Holly. She’s in bad shape, but alive. The doctors are treating her."

She sighed with relief. "I knew this would happen. Just bring her home as soon as she’s fit to travel, and keep me updated."

"Okay. Don’t worry, no one will harm her," I tried to reassure both of us. I ended the call when the receptionist asked me to fill out an emergency form. I knew the police would be called soon.

By the time I finished the form and other formalities, Ryan and Sophia ran inside and found us. "How is she?" they both asked, their faces pale.

"She’s unconscious, the doctors are treating her." My hands shook as Ryan grabbed my shoulders. I could barely stand.

"You know her father. She’ll pull through. She’s a fighter." My daughter has always been so brave. Even though I always tried to spoil her, she was incredibly resilient.

We didn’t raise her to be soft. She knew how to speak her mind. "I know, but the police might be coming soon to ask for a statement."

"So, have they found Alpha? What happened?" Ryan asked, completely serious. I briefly explained the situation to him.

"So, were we looking for the wrong person?" he asked, rubbing his temple in confusion.

"We won’t know until the police investigate. But I know one thing: that person will never come near her again," I told my son, so he knew he had to be there for his sister if it came to protecting her. He squeezed my shoulders, looking at me intently. "We will protect her, no matter the cost. Don’t worry."

Time seemed to stand still; every second passed, as if we were at the very bottom of hell. I was having trouble breathing; there wasn’t enough air to fill my lungs.

Sophia brought coffee for everyone. Offering me a cup, she said kindly, "Uncle Zayar, please drink this. It will warm you up."

I accepted the cup, but I found it difficult to even take a sip. The police arrived to take my statement. Detective Pimber, to put it mildly, looked very angry. He approached me with an arrogant air, his nostrils flaring.

"Do you even realize how dangerous this vigilante mission was?" he said, barely containing himself, tapping his black boot on the hospital’s tiled floor.

I was already angry, and he was testing my patience. Raising my head, I glared at the detective wolf.

"First of all, your job was to save my daughter, and there’s no point in dragging it out." I put down the thermoplastic cup. "Secondly, we didn’t even go into the house. Thirdly, even if I had to take a life to protect my daughter, I would have done it. So you should be grateful that we did this job for you."

He shook his head.

"We were still getting a warrant from the judge. You understand that takes time." I snorted, stood up, and turned to the detective.

"Time my daughter didn’t have. She’s there," I pointed toward the operating room. "Fighting for her life after who knows what those madmen did to her. You’d better bring them all to justice, every single one of them." My serious tone seemed to instill some sense in him.

"We will ensure that everyone involved is caught and prosecuted according to the law... and now, if you please, give me your full statement."

I told him everything I knew and saw. He wanted me to go with him to the station, but I refused to leave until Zara woke up.

"Did you even catch everyone involved? Kidnapped? This Marcus?" -sprI managed, and he shook his head.

"It seems he was tipped off when he tried to hack the call center system and failed. He must have been out when Alpha King visited and never returned to find his house broken into. At least, that’s the theory we’ve got so far," Pimber said irritably.

I gritted my teeth in frustration. "You’d better catch him and his mother."

"We caught his mother, that’s for sure."

Relief settled in my heart as I asked. "What about Alpha?"

Detective Pimber seemed unsure, scratching his head. "Initial evidence seems to point to Alpha King’s innocence. But your daughter’s testimony will be crucial to uncovering the full truth. We can’t apprehend him yet."

This man continued to evade the police even after what he’d done. This irritated me, but I kept quiet.

"We’ll contact you." After writing down all the points, Detective Pimber left with his men, leaving me pacing aimlessly.

Ryan and Sophia sat huddled together on two hard chairs in the waiting room. Ryan was hugging her, and she rested her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed. They had always been close and protective of each other.

And then the door opened, and the man I didn’t want to see at all walked in, accompanied by his two bodyguards.

How did he even know where we’d taken Zara? His desperate eyes swept the area and settled on me. My fists clenched as he approached me and stopped.

"How is she?" he asked, his gaze trembling. He glanced toward the operating room.

"Why are you here? Didn’t I tell you to stay away from my daughter? I won’t let you see her." I narrowed my eyes, but he didn’t even blink. However, his next words caught me off guard.

"I’m here to make sure she’s properly cared for. No power in this world can stop me from seeing the woman who carries my child." My eyes widened in shock as he added, "Zara is pregnant with my child, and not even her father can stop me from seeing her."

***

Alpha

We left Karen and a pile of police evidence. As soon as the sirens of police cars sounded in the distance, on that cold and cruel night, we left Marcus’s house.

"Take all the evidence and keep it safe. I’ll look at it later. First, I need to make sure Zara is out of danger," I told Aid and sent him on his way.

Calling Olfi, I told him and Kaysir to accompany me to the hospital. The name of the hospital had already been sent to me by the person I’d assigned to watch Zyair’s car.

On the way, I unlocked Zara’s phone and checked the messages she’d sent Marcus.