Mated To The Crippled Alpha-Chapter 181: Do Not Go

I rose without thinking.

Lewis’s hand tightened around my wrist instantly.

"Elena," he warned softly, his voice low but firm.

Maybe it was because I saw myself in her.

The way she trembled. The way she looked cornered. I knew that feeling too well. That helpless rush when your body wants to run but your legs refuse to obey.

For a second, I forgot everything.

Forgot Elena. Forgot the trap we were waiting for. Forgot that stepping out would expose us.

But I didn’t move beyond standing.

I couldn’t risk it.

The man was closer now. His pace was relaxed, almost lazy. A faint smile curved his lips.

Even through the window, I felt it.

Danger.

The woman’s tears slid down her face. Her voice broke as she spoke.

"Please... let me go. I’m begging you."

He bent down slightly and lifted her chin with his fingers.

His voice was deep. Smooth. Cruel.

"I prefer it when you beg in bed, Rosy," he murmured. "Come back with me."

Rosy.

I noticed the faint marks on her neck. Dark, possessive bruises.

She was shaking violently.

"Come now," he continued calmly. "If you return willingly, I’ll forget today happened."

His smile sharpened.

"Otherwise..."

He didn’t finish the sentence.

He didn’t need to.

Rosy bit her lip, tears falling faster.

He extended his hand.

"Rosy. Come here."

"No!" she cried suddenly.

With a burst of desperate courage, she slapped his hand away and ran.

I felt my heart lift.

Run.

Just keep running.

But two men in black suits stepped in front of her.

She froze.

Her steps faltered. She began backing up slowly.

Straight into him.

He caught her easily, one arm wrapping around her waist. Tight. Controlled. No space to escape.

She struggled, but he didn’t even seem to use effort.

"Rosy," he whispered against her ear, voice soft and chilling. "Welcome home."

"No..."

Her resistance meant nothing.

He shrugged off his black coat and draped it around her shoulders. Almost gentle. Almost caring.

Then he lifted her effortlessly into his arms.

She looked so small there. Fragile. Shaking. Tears streaking down her face.

A black SUV rolled up. A bodyguard opened the door.

The man stepped in with her still held tightly against him.

The door shut.

The car drove away.

Only then did I realize I had been gripping Lewis so hard that my fingers hurt.

I slowly released him.

"Lewis," I said quietly, "I can’t imagine what she’s going back to. That man... he looks powerful. Wealthy. But I’ve never seen him before."

I had grown up around elite circles. I knew most of the prominent families. Someone with that presence should have been familiar.

But he wasn’t.

"If you’re concerned," Lewis said calmly, "I’ll have someone look into him."

I nodded.

"I don’t know why, but I don’t want her to be hurt."

It was strange. I didn’t even know her.

Yet my chest felt heavy.

Just then, movement caught my eye.

A familiar figure stepped out of the crowd.

Elena.

She wore a fox mask, playful and bright, holding a small rabbit lantern in her hand.

Beside her stood a tall man.

My breath caught.

Silas.

The Hudson family’s servant.

The one who killed me.

Even from a distance, I recognized those sharp eyes. Ruthless. Cold.

But when he looked at Elena, they softened.

And the way Elena looked at him...

It wasn’t how she looked at Yenick.

Silas carried small trinkets cheap decorations from the night market.

I was stunned.

We had expected strategy. Conspiracy. Secret meetings.

Instead, she was walking through the market like an ordinary woman.

On a date.

They didn’t even get into a car. They walked side by side through the cold night.

Silas followed half a step behind her, like a shadow.

Then Elena suddenly reached back and took his hand.

Silas looked startled.

Almost shy.

She led him up a small set of steps.

Then she reached up and removed the fox mask from his face.

The moment Elena removed the fox mask, she leaned in and kissed Silas.

No hesitation.

No shame.

Silas’s hands tightened around her waist. He pulled her closer like he had every right to claim her.

From a distance, under the glowing lights of the night market, it looked romantic. Beautiful even.

Two people wrapped in each other. Fireworks in the background. Lanterns swaying.

If I didn’t know the blood on their hands, I might have believed it.

But I did know.

And all I felt was disgust.

I lifted my phone and took a photo.

Proof.

"I never would have guessed Elena’s feelings were for him," I said quietly.

Everything clicked into place.

Julian had never been the reason she clung so desperately to the Morrigans.

It was never about love.

It was about alliances.

She wanted to tie the Morrigans to the Hales. Power to power. Name to name.

Lewis’s fingers tapped lightly against the armrest, slow and thoughtful.

"If that’s true," he said, "we can’t even be sure whose child she’s carrying."

I turned sharply.

"You think it might not be Julian’s?"

"It’s possible," he replied calmly.

My hands curled into fists.

"She’s using that child like bait," I said bitterly. "Dragging everyone into her web."

Lewis’s gaze stayed steady.

"It’s not just her," he said. "This level of planning can’t be done alone. There’s a group behind her."

A chill ran through me.

"If you think carefully," he continued, "your accident at sea may not have been an accident. Someone could have tampered with that ship."

My breath caught.

The more I thought about it, the darker it became.

Someone had been moving pieces in our lives for years.

Killing me.

Drugging Julian.

Positioning Elena.

Trying to control both the Morrigans and the Hales.

"Lewis..." My voice trembled. "What if my sister’s disappearance was part of this too?"

The memory burned.

"She was only five," I whispered. "The bodyguards were supposed to be with us. Somehow, we got separated. What if she wasn’t pushed into the river by accident? What if she was thrown?"

Lewis didn’t dismiss it.

"It’s possible," he said quietly. "If they planned to replace her, the move would have started early. A child that young would have been easy to take."

My chest felt hollow.

"If that’s true, they wouldn’t have stopped at just making her disappear. They must have done more."

Lewis placed his hand over mine.

Warm. Grounding.

"What’s done is done," he said softly. "But it’s not over. There’s still time to change the outcome."

"I may have returned," I said, my voice shaking, "but her fate is still unknown. She was so small. Why did she have to be sacrificed like that?"

"Elena," he said gently, "there’s still a chance she’s alive."

"Alive?" I whispered.

In the hands of people like them... even survival could be worse than death.

I leaned into his chest, closing my eyes.

The steady rhythm beneath my ear calmed the storm inside me.

"Apart from you," I murmured, "who else can I trust?"

"Then trust me," he said firmly.

His voice carried that quiet authority that made my instincts settle.

"Close your eyes. Cover your ears. Don’t look. Don’t listen. Leave everything to me."

I nodded.

"Alright."

"Don’t let this consume you," he added. "You planned to expose Elena at her wedding. It’s only days away."

"Yes," I said.

My voice turned cold.

"Evil always faces its reckoning. Her wedding will be the day the truth comes out. She’ll pay for everything she’s done. To you. To me. To all of us."

I looked at Elena and Silas one last time.

They thought they were untouchable.

They thought their masks were flawless.

But the web they spun posed would be the same one that trapped them.

And this time

I would be ready.