Alpha Alec's Redemption - Chapter 160: Chapter 160

I walk out of the bathroom and head toward the bedroom. Despite spending most of the day in bed, I still feel so tired—like my bones are weighed down with something I can’t shake.
The moment we’d returned to the pack house, Aspen had immediately abandoned me in favor of her new friends, and Alec had been swept away by pack duties. He’d been missing in action for three days, and even though Jason and Micah had been holding things together, there were still matters only the Alpha could handle.
He left right after promising he’d check in on me later, and I’d barely made it to my bedroom before crawling under the covers for a nap.
I didn’t do much after that. I just… existed. Let myself rest. My body’s still recovering from the moon heat, and I needed every ounce of stillness to feel like myself again—at least physically—before I could continue with my training.
Now, with a towel wrapped around my body, I step into the bedroom and find Aspen curled up, fast asleep. Today had been one of those rare days where we shared a meal in bed, just the two of us. She’d spent the entire time chattering nonstop, filling every quiet space with tales from the past three days and the friends she’d made in the pack.
I didn’t mind one bit. I’d missed her. Missed her tiny voice, her energy, and her warmth. I could never be annoyed with her—not when I’d gone three days without holding her.
I quickly change into my pajamas and slide into bed, gently pulling her into my arms. She doesn’t stir. Her mouth is slightly open, a tiny snore escaping in a steady rhythm. It’s the sweetest sound I’ve heard all day.
I close my eyes, willing sleep to come, but it doesn’t. Not because I’d spent the entire day resting—no, it’s Raven. Or rather, what she told me.
My insides were in turmoil and no matter how hard I tried thinking about what she had found, nothing came to mind. My mind won’t stop spiraling. She’d said she might have found a way around the curse. Then, as if she hadn’t just dropped a bomb in my lap, she told me we’d talk tomorrow and cut the link.
I’m an anxious person by nature, so you can imagine what that’s doing to me. The not knowing. The unanswered questions. The what ifs. It’s gnawing at me like a splinter I can’t dig out.
What did she find? How does it work? Is it dangerous?
I am so desperate for answers and I hate not having them. I need a way to deal with the whole issue about Kaden, Xena and the spell.
The fact that Xena’s trying to break Kaden out is bad enough. He was locked away by a goddess; that tells me everything I need to know about him. But my question is, how did Xena end up with Kaden as her mate? I get that the twin sisters have special powers but how did one of them end up mated to a demigod?
The thought spirals me into more questions, all unanswered. I force myself to stop. To breathe. I need to focus on tomorrow. I’ll talk to Raven then.
I’m just starting to drift when there’s a knock on the door.
I already know who it is. Alec.
“Come in,” I call softly, careful not to wake Aspen.
There’s a brief pause, then the door creaks open and Alec steps inside. His scent hits my senses and his presence fills the entire room. His green eyes pin me to my spot and pull me under a spell that I can’t undo.
My breath catches for a minute. Goddess, it’s so cliché, but it’s like the whole room shifts. My heart skips—no, stumbles—and suddenly it’s just him. Only him.
Everything else blurs out. My whole focus is centered on him and everything else just disappears. I know I was in love with him, but damn it, I don’t think things were this bad. It wasn’t this intense. Maybe the mate bond just intensifies things?
It’s honestly ridiculous. I thought the intensity between us would ease after the full moon, but boy was I wrong. I’m drawn to him like a moth to a flame, when I shouldn’t. I should be staying away from him. I should keep my guard and walls up after what happened three years ago, but I can’t. Slowly by slowly I’m starting to forget all the reasons why I should stay away from him… And it scares the shit out of me.
“I honestly thought I’d find you asleep,” Alec says as he walks towards the bed, his eyes flicking to Aspen before landing on me. He then sits on the edge of the bed, facing me.
“I can’t stop my mind from spinning,” I reply with a shrug.
“Any particular reason?”
I hesitate. Should I tell him what Raven told me? Or wait until she can explain it herself?
I make a decision. "Raven said she might’ve found a way around the curse.”
His eyes widen slightly—that’s the only reaction I get. Other than that, his face remains unreadable. Stoic. As if I just told him something as mundane as the weather.
He doesn’t speak right away. Just stares at me, lost in thought.
“So… she found a loophole?” he finally asks.
“Yeah,” I murmur, adjusting my position on the bed. “She didn’t go into detail, but she wouldn’t have told me if she wasn’t sure. I know Raven—she doesn’t move on a hunch.”
She’s methodical. Relentless. If she says she found something, she found something. Raven isn’t one to go on a hunch or something intangible like that. She has to have found solid proof. The fact that she told me about it means that it’s something she is sure could work.
I study his face, waiting for some kind of reaction. Anything. Relief. Excitement. A flicker of hope. This is the news he has been waiting for his entire life. But his expression doesn’t shift. His eyes dart away, focusing on a spot on the bed. For a second, just one second, something flashed in them—something I couldn’t quite catch before it disappeared.
When he looks at me again, he’s completely blank. His face and his eyes give nothing away and for a moment I almost think I imagined that look in his eyes.
“Aren’t you happy?” I ask, confused. “I thought you’d be… I don’t know, jumping for joy. This is it, Alec. This spell—what’s been haunting your pack for generations—this could finally end.”
Still, nothing. No joy. No visible relief. No smile. Just that unreadable, frustrating mask.
“I am happy, Sadie,” he says slowly. “It’s just…”
He trails off, lips pressing into a thin line. Like he’s physically holding the rest back.
“Just what?” I push, frowning.
“Nothing.” He stands abruptly, shoulders tense. “It’s nothing.”
He leans down and presses a kiss to Aspen’s forehead, then one to mine—gentle, lingering just a second longer than necessary.
“Goodnight, Sadie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
And just like that, he’s gone—leaving me completely baffled.
What the hell just happened? What was his problem?
Shouldn’t he be over the moon? Why did it feel like I just delivered bad news?
I stare at the door long after it closes, trying to piece together what just happened. I turn it over in my mind again and again, but nothing makes sense.
Eventually, I give up. Obsessing over his reaction won’t get me anywhere tonight.
I curl closer to Aspen, letting her warmth soothe me. Her little hand twitches in her sleep, and I press a soft kiss to the top of her head.
Just as I’m about to drift off, a new thought slips into my mind—one I hadn’t considered before.
Nyx had told me she understood what moon heat felt like… that she knew how terrible it was to go through it without a mate.
But if she knows that pain, does that mean she had a mate in her past life?