The Alpha's Gamble - Chapter 86: Chapter 86
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NOAH
Back at the mansion, people were leaving. The staff were excused and headed home. Everyone passed Maddie on the way with wary glances and scurried like their asses were on fire.
She tried to control the frown, but every time someone glued themselves to the wall on the other side of the room to get as much distance as possible from her, she gritted her teeth and rolled her gorgeous fucking eyes.
I wasn't sure if the dinner was still going on in the big hall, but I mind-linked my father telling him that we weren't joining- and that if anyone tried to sway my decision, i'd make a hell of scene in front of their esteemed guests, further solodifying the gossip that the Alpha's family was in shambles.
“How about a sandwich?” Trevor asked.
Without waiting for an answer, he went into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge to get the condiments. The chef was cleaning up the last of his pans, stocking bowls of marinated chicken and cut-up veggies in the fridge, and wiping down the countertops. Maddie’s eyes lingered on his back, and then she slumped against the counter, turning away from him before he could reject her like all the others had. With her chin in her hand and her elbows on the marble, she sighed. The chef was, I think, the only person she got close to in here. Everyone else followed on the train that Logan and I created of lies and resentment. They knew the ways of my father. They knew Clara was a temporary replacement for the love he had lost. Just like the others had been. Nothing ever changed, except that none of the previous ones had children.
Chef tossed the damp cloth in the sink and wiped his hands on the kitchen towel—it rested on his shoulders, when he bent his head in a salute.
I expected him to pass us and head to his room, lock his door like the maids, and hope to survive the night. But on his way through the kitchen, he wrapped his fingers around Maddie’s shoulder and squeezed it while she snapped her head around.
They locked eyes for several seconds, time flashing between them and unspoken words resting in their closed mouths. But Chef nodded his head, Maddie smiled, and just like that, he said something she needed to hear without speaking at all.
That she wasn’t alone.
That not everyone feared her.
Something she was desperate to hear, based on the way she sank onto the barstool and nodded her head in quiet understanding.
“Here you go.” During the chef’s mute message, Trevor had managed to whip up three sandwiches packed with meat and mustard, and other things he found.
“We need to discuss the Ember Ring,” he said, and watched Maddie until she took a bite.
“There’s not much to talk about.” The strength was coming back, filtering her voice and straightening her back.
But fuck that. There was shit to talk about. Plans to be made, even if it meant rigging the game to make sure she’d win.
“Maddie.”
Her eyes were on her sandwich. She wasn’t paying attention to him at all. Crumbs fell on the plate and she chowed the meat down like a starved animal.
“Madeline.”
Again, nothing.
It was fucking painful, knowing that in her head she’d already lost. The battle hadn’t even started yet and she was throwing herself on her back, probably thinking about the memory she’d play in her head while she was dying.
Over my dead body.
That girl’s not dying. I may not have the slightest right to judge her for her choices, considering I’ve played a part in sending her over the edge—
But I do.
I judge her.
She’s not allowed to quit.
“Madeline Torrance, I am your father! I—”
“Don’t you dare!” Maddie snapped at Trevor, and her hands fell flat on the marble top. The bread fell off, and the meat slid out with a tomato that hit the floor.
“You’re a man who had a child. A spineless coward who walked out on one of the strongest packs in the country because he was too afraid to step up to the plate and take accountability. You’re not a father, you’re not a leader, you’re just a man, and that’s me being generous.”
I leaned back, crossed my arms, and waited for Trevor’s retort. Whatever he had to say against that would be amusing at best. All she said was the truth she’d been carrying, but I could see the damage it did when his eyes sunk. Hearing those things from your daughter had to bite, but again, it’s nothing he didn’t already know.
“You’re not wrong.”
No, she’s not.
If this was my dad, I’d be preparing for his defense: rolled shoulders, narrowed dominant look trying to pin you down and make you shrink, and lastly, most importantly, the ten-minute rant to prove himself while saying jack shit and wasting everyone’s time.
Trevor, on the other hand… I don’t know. There was something honorable in the way he held his head high and took the hit without deflecting or defending his honor.
“What honor?” Onyx asked a valid question.
“True.”
“Was Alpha Driton chosen in your absence?” I asked after a much-prolonged silence.
Trevor’s eyes rested on Maddie for a moment longer before turning his head with a subtle shake.
“No. Not right away.”
Of course not. First, there’s anarchy. Then comes the de-escalation, where the males fight each other to see who will take the spot as Alpha. The fucking bloodbath that must’ve gone down. After the trials and systematic bloodshed, a new Alpha would be appointed. That had to have been the way Driton rose. The story was always half-ended, as was most knowledge of their pack.
“Seeing as Driton wasn’t first in line to be Alpha, it was seen as a fair challenge after I left, to take claim to the role. It was only after he killed nearly half the men that the others backed down and promised loyalty.” The sandwiches remained untouched; everyone’s appetite had suddenly gone. Trevor left the one pack in the country that even we are cautious with. That couldn’t have gone over well with his people.
“Did you know him?” Maddie asked. “Alpha Driton, you must’ve known him growing up in the Timber Pack.”
His elbow inched toward the ceiling when he pulled the hairs on the back of his neck.
“We didn’t just grow up in the same pack.” The marble turned dim under his hands. “We grew up in the same house. Driton is my brother.”
Back at the mansion, people were leaving. The staff were excused and headed home. Everyone passed Maddie on the way with wary glances and scurried like their asses were on fire.
She tried to control the frown, but every time someone glued themselves to the wall on the other side of the room to get as much distance as possible from her, she gritted her teeth and rolled her gorgeous fucking eyes.
I wasn't sure if the dinner was still going on in the big hall, but I mind-linked my father telling him that we weren't joining- and that if anyone tried to sway my decision, i'd make a hell of scene in front of their esteemed guests, further solodifying the gossip that the Alpha's family was in shambles.
“How about a sandwich?” Trevor asked.
Without waiting for an answer, he went into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge to get the condiments. The chef was cleaning up the last of his pans, stocking bowls of marinated chicken and cut-up veggies in the fridge, and wiping down the countertops. Maddie’s eyes lingered on his back, and then she slumped against the counter, turning away from him before he could reject her like all the others had. With her chin in her hand and her elbows on the marble, she sighed. The chef was, I think, the only person she got close to in here. Everyone else followed on the train that Logan and I created of lies and resentment. They knew the ways of my father. They knew Clara was a temporary replacement for the love he had lost. Just like the others had been. Nothing ever changed, except that none of the previous ones had children.
Chef tossed the damp cloth in the sink and wiped his hands on the kitchen towel—it rested on his shoulders, when he bent his head in a salute.
I expected him to pass us and head to his room, lock his door like the maids, and hope to survive the night. But on his way through the kitchen, he wrapped his fingers around Maddie’s shoulder and squeezed it while she snapped her head around.
They locked eyes for several seconds, time flashing between them and unspoken words resting in their closed mouths. But Chef nodded his head, Maddie smiled, and just like that, he said something she needed to hear without speaking at all.
That she wasn’t alone.
That not everyone feared her.
Something she was desperate to hear, based on the way she sank onto the barstool and nodded her head in quiet understanding.
“Here you go.” During the chef’s mute message, Trevor had managed to whip up three sandwiches packed with meat and mustard, and other things he found.
“We need to discuss the Ember Ring,” he said, and watched Maddie until she took a bite.
“There’s not much to talk about.” The strength was coming back, filtering her voice and straightening her back.
But fuck that. There was shit to talk about. Plans to be made, even if it meant rigging the game to make sure she’d win.
“Maddie.”
Her eyes were on her sandwich. She wasn’t paying attention to him at all. Crumbs fell on the plate and she chowed the meat down like a starved animal.
“Madeline.”
Again, nothing.
It was fucking painful, knowing that in her head she’d already lost. The battle hadn’t even started yet and she was throwing herself on her back, probably thinking about the memory she’d play in her head while she was dying.
Over my dead body.
That girl’s not dying. I may not have the slightest right to judge her for her choices, considering I’ve played a part in sending her over the edge—
But I do.
I judge her.
She’s not allowed to quit.
“Madeline Torrance, I am your father! I—”
“Don’t you dare!” Maddie snapped at Trevor, and her hands fell flat on the marble top. The bread fell off, and the meat slid out with a tomato that hit the floor.
“You’re a man who had a child. A spineless coward who walked out on one of the strongest packs in the country because he was too afraid to step up to the plate and take accountability. You’re not a father, you’re not a leader, you’re just a man, and that’s me being generous.”
I leaned back, crossed my arms, and waited for Trevor’s retort. Whatever he had to say against that would be amusing at best. All she said was the truth she’d been carrying, but I could see the damage it did when his eyes sunk. Hearing those things from your daughter had to bite, but again, it’s nothing he didn’t already know.
“You’re not wrong.”
No, she’s not.
If this was my dad, I’d be preparing for his defense: rolled shoulders, narrowed dominant look trying to pin you down and make you shrink, and lastly, most importantly, the ten-minute rant to prove himself while saying jack shit and wasting everyone’s time.
Trevor, on the other hand… I don’t know. There was something honorable in the way he held his head high and took the hit without deflecting or defending his honor.
“What honor?” Onyx asked a valid question.
“True.”
“Was Alpha Driton chosen in your absence?” I asked after a much-prolonged silence.
Trevor’s eyes rested on Maddie for a moment longer before turning his head with a subtle shake.
“No. Not right away.”
Of course not. First, there’s anarchy. Then comes the de-escalation, where the males fight each other to see who will take the spot as Alpha. The fucking bloodbath that must’ve gone down. After the trials and systematic bloodshed, a new Alpha would be appointed. That had to have been the way Driton rose. The story was always half-ended, as was most knowledge of their pack.
“Seeing as Driton wasn’t first in line to be Alpha, it was seen as a fair challenge after I left, to take claim to the role. It was only after he killed nearly half the men that the others backed down and promised loyalty.” The sandwiches remained untouched; everyone’s appetite had suddenly gone. Trevor left the one pack in the country that even we are cautious with. That couldn’t have gone over well with his people.
“Did you know him?” Maddie asked. “Alpha Driton, you must’ve known him growing up in the Timber Pack.”
His elbow inched toward the ceiling when he pulled the hairs on the back of his neck.
“We didn’t just grow up in the same pack.” The marble turned dim under his hands. “We grew up in the same house. Driton is my brother.”
End of The Alpha's Gamble Chapter 86. Continue reading Chapter 87 or return to The Alpha's Gamble book page.