Mated To The Crippled Alpha-Chapter 208: Bad Dreams

I was standing close enough to Lewis to hear every word on the phone.

The voice on the other end sounded calm and professional. "Mr. Julian and Mr. Adam are not father and son. However, they are related by blood."

For a second, the world felt like it tilted.

Lewis’s fingers tightened around his phone. His voice turned firm and controlled. "Send the identification documents immediately. I want every detail."

"Understood."

The call ended.

Lewis lowered the phone slowly. Out of habit, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. His thumb pressed against the lighter, but when he noticed I was right beside him, he paused. After a brief hesitation, he put the cigarette back.

"Lewis," I called softly.

I had heard everything.

Guessing and suspecting were one thing. But when those suspicions turned into facts, it became heavy. Too heavy.

Lewis had always believed that Julian was Esther’s son. Esther had once saved his life. Her last wish had been simple she wanted Lewis to protect her child. Because of that, Lewis had guarded Julian fiercely over the years. He treated that responsibility like a promise carved into his bones.

And now, everything was upside down.

If Silas was the one truly connected to Esther, then Lewis had unknowingly allowed her son to suffer. Worse Silas was barely alive under our watch.

And Silas had tried to kill me.

Lewis was caught between gratitude, guilt, and rage. I could see it in the way his shoulders tensed and the way he avoided my eyes.

He had failed the woman who once saved him.

And he had almost lost me because of someone from his own bloodline.

I stepped closer and placed my hand over his. "Lewis, this isn’t your fault. You didn’t know."

He looked at me then. His eyes were dark, full of emotion he was trying to suppress.

" Elena... I’m sorry."

Before I could respond, he pulled me into his arms. His chin rested against my shoulder, and I felt his breath against my skin. He held me tightly, like he was afraid I would disappear again.

"If I had known it was someone from my own family who hurt you," he said in a low, shaking voice, "I would have handled it myself. No matter who they were. There is no excuse for killing you. You did nothing wrong. You were innocent."

His words stunned me.

I had thought he was struggling because of the family conflict. I thought he was torn between loyalty and justice. But that wasn’t it.

He felt ashamed.

Ashamed that the blood running through his veins was connected to the man who ended my life.

How could someone be this gentle?

I wrapped my arms around his back and held him just as tightly. "That’s in the past now. Look at me. I’m standing here. I’m alive. If I hadn’t survived, I would never have married you."

I tried to keep my tone light, to ease the weight in the room. I even gave his back a small reassuring pat.

But Lewis pulled back slightly and lifted my face in his hands. His touch was careful, almost fragile.

" Elena," he said quietly, his eyes searching mine, "just because you’re alive now doesn’t mean what you went through didn’t matter."

His voice softened further.

"That snowy night... you were alone by the river. You were calling for help, and no one answered you. Do you know how many times I’ve imagined that scene? How cold it must have been. How scared you must have felt."

His thumb brushed gently against my cheek.

"And when that blade went into you... how much did it hurt?"

The memory hit me before I could stop it.

The freezing wind.

The sound of water.

The smell of blood mixing with snow.

For a moment, I couldn’t speak.

I swallowed hard and forced myself to stay steady. "It did hurt," I admitted softly. "I was scared. I didn’t want to die."

My voice trembled despite my effort.

"But I’m here now," I continued. "And we can’t change what happened. We can only deal with what’s in front of us."

Lewis’s arms tightened around me again, this time not out of guilt but out of something deeper. Protection. Fear of loss. Love.

"I won’t let it happen again," he said firmly. "No matter who it is. Family or not."

Lewis did not let go of me immediately. His hands remained on my shoulders, his voice low but steady.

"When you died," he said slowly, "when you were alone and helpless... when you kept waking up from nightmares again and again... that kind of fear doesn’t disappear. Even if you were given another chance at life, the scars stay."

His words were not dramatic. They were quiet. But they cut deep.

"In your last life, you carried that pain alone. Feeling powerless. Feeling like no one would come for you. That kind of suffering doesn’t just vanish."

I could not answer him right away.

In my past life, no one had cared whether I was afraid. No one had asked if I was in pain. After I came back, I forced myself to become strong. I learned to swallow my fear. I told myself that if I wanted to survive, I could not be soft.

I never expected someone to look at me the way Lewis did now.

To see the invisible wounds.

To acknowledge them.

"Lewis..." My voice felt small for a moment. "I’ve already gotten used to it."

"That’s exactly what scares me," he replied.

He pulled me closer again, as if he could shield me from memories themselves. "I’m sorry it was someone from my family. I swear to you, I will fix this."

His tone carried both guilt and determination.

I hesitated before asking the question that had been sitting in my chest. "But Silas... if he really is Esther’s son... and you hurt him... wouldn’t that mean going against Esther’s last wish?"

Lewis’s expression hardened slightly, though his voice remained calm. "Esther was not someone who would protect wrongdoing. She understood right from wrong better than anyone. If she knew her son became a cold-blooded killer, she would not defend him. She would be heartbroken."

He paused before continuing. "But because Silas carries the Hale blood, I’ve already informed Jeffrey. This is no longer just about us. He will likely insist that the family handles this differently."

I understood what he meant. Once blood ties were confirmed, everything became complicated. Revenge was no longer simple. Justice was no longer clean.

"Are you going to tell Adam?" I asked carefully.

"Not yet." Lewis shook his head. "The organization behind this has been targeting both the Sanders and the Hales. If we reveal everything now, we might scare them into hiding. I’ve already released news that Silas is dead. I want to see how they react."

I frowned slightly, thinking it through. "We believed Silas was important inside that organization. But now it seems he was only a tool. A pawn used to settle old grudges against your family. He might not even know the truth about who he really is. If that’s the case, would they still risk coming back for his body?"

Before Lewis could respond, the door burst open.

Theo rushed in, breath uneven. "Mr. Lewis, the police are here." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

The air in the room instantly changed.

Lewis’s gaze sharpened. "Why?"

Theo swallowed. "Someone reported that a body was found on the estate."

Silence filled the space between us.

Lewis slowly turned to look at me.

His voice was calm, but there was a storm underneath it.

"We’ve been played."