The Alpha's Gamble - Chapter 95: Chapter 95
You are reading The Alpha's Gamble, Chapter 95: Chapter 95. Read more chapters of The Alpha's Gamble.
NOAH
The next few days were a pain in the ass. My father had disappeared from his office after Logan’s little truth-circle moment, where he bared his heart and crushed our father’s soul. A sight to behold, truly. But we hadn’t seen him since, and I had a pretty good guess that he tattled to his bitch because suddenly, the hospital was crawling with guards. Heavily armed. On strict orders not to let anyone into the room where Olivia was recovering. Specifically, not me.
Maddie’s room had gained an extra guard, too, but she was let out for two hours a day to train with Trevor and prep for the Ember Ring. It felt like a walking warzone in here. A pressure cooker. A migraine just waiting to splatter someone’s brains across the walls.
The guards outside Maddie’s room told me I wasn’t allowed in. Not because of her, obviously, but I laughed in their faces when they said it. They lowered their heads and stepped aside because they knew I could throw them down the stairs or snap their legs to see my girl. But I hadn’t.
I just stayed outside. Sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for an hour. Listening to her shift around, hearing the soft rustle of pages turning, the steady beat of her heart. Every time I showed up, that heartbeat picked up just a little. And every time, I smiled.
She knew I was there.
She felt it. Smelled it.
Once, she whispered through the door, “Why don’t you come in?”
“If I come in—if I see you—I won’t be able to help myself,” I told her. “I’ll throw you in the car and take you somewhere far away. Some place that no one can find us. Where you’ll be safe.”
“And start a war?” I smiled at the door like she was standing in front of me, but I knew she was in bed.
“That’s why I can’t. Not yet. Soon, though.”
“It’s admirable,” she said, her voice so soft, like it was fading. “Your ability to hold on to hope, even when there’s no proof of its existence.”
My voice hardened because hers had lost that spark.
“It’s easy when the alternative is that I lose you.” That was a few days ago. We hadn’t spoken since. Every time I thought about walking down that hallway to her door, it was like a wall slammed down in front of me, reminding me that I wasn’t done yet. I hadn’t slept a full night since I last saw Maddie. Every hour was spent digging through spellbooks, wolf-shift cases, vessel records—trying to find something, anything. But there was nothing. No one to talk to. Everyone who might’ve helped was already dead. Labeled a threat to the species. Executed to protect the peace and keep our kind secret. My head was buried in my hands, elbows bruising on the edge of the mahogany desk. I was one “hey, I have bad news” away from breaking this thing over someone’s skull.
And the one person who might have answers was locked down like she was some classified government weapon. Olivia’s parents came by once. The healers filled them in with the fabricated story my father fed them: rogue attack on the southern border, she was among the first to respond, and took the hardest hit.
They were suspicious—rightfully so. There was no gossip, no whispers around the pack, and that never happened. Ten minutes after an incident and usually the whole damn town knows. Still, they bought it. Believed their daughter was a hero.
Logan asked why I didn’t just break the guards and storm the room.
But what would that have done? Knock down one, and ten more show up. Take out those ten, and another five would follow. An endless loop. I’d be too busy swatting flies to actually reach her.
The door creaked open behind me. I didn’t even look up.
“Leave,” I ordered, eyes shut, mind numb.
“It’s my office, son. I think I’ll come in.” What’s the penalty for throwing the Alpha out the window? I hadn’t read that rule anywhere, but I figured it was worse than being grounded.
I leaned back, jaw clenched, and the sight of him made my blood heat.
He and Clara were the root of this. Everything. The pain. The consequences. The idiotic spiral. I knew I wasn’t innocent, I had plenty of blood on my hands, but Clara… she was the damn puppet master. I didn’t know how she was controlling him. No one could be that good in bed. She had him strung up like a marionette. She whispered in his ear, and his voice came out.
He shut the door and locked it, standing tall at the far end of the office.
“Clara and I are leaving for a few days. Another Alpha invited us to discuss borderlines and persistent tensions. We’re thinking of expanding our grounds.”
Had to be Alpha Malikai. His pack was the closest to ours, though a human town stood between us.
“Did you come to hug goodbye?” I asked. His face didn’t change. Blank as always.
“I came to tell you that in my absence, you’ll be acting Alpha. The guards will answer to you. I expect you to rein in the shenanigans while I’m gone.”
Shenanigans? Who the fuck even says that? A shadow passed through his eyes, something dark and tired.
“Do what you need to. We’ll be out of your hair.” I narrowed my gaze, stepping closer.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Maddie’s young. I’ve come to care for her, even if it’s hard for you to believe. I don’t want to see her hurt.”
“Then you shouldn’t have handed her over to Volkov.”
“I did what her mother believed was best,” he admitted. “I realize now that was a mistake. Many things were. One day, you might understand the pressure of trying to make the right choices for your children. And how impossible it is to do so.”
His voice softened. “Nothing matters more to me than your safety. And Logan’s. And now, Maddie’s.” I nodded, shrugging. “That’s great, Dad. Really. But the one person with answers is unconscious in the hospital, guarded by your men.”
He shook his head—barely. Subtle. But I saw it.
“She hasn’t been in the hospital for a while. I had her moved after her parents visited.”
“Why?”
“There was something off about the way they swallowed that rogue story. Too eagerly. They know their daughter. She’s no hero, not the kind you paint in songs. She’s a fighter, yes. But the best fighters are the ones fighting for themselves.”
“Where is she?”
“The cellar.” I blinked. I’ll be damned.
“Clara knows?”
“She does. But she doesn’t know that you know.”
“How can you sleep with a woman who doesn’t give a shit whether her daughter lives or dies?”
That one hit him. He staggered a step back, hand on the door like he needed support.
“It’s hard to explain. I’m not sure I understand it myself. But I love her. And despite her flaws… there’s something redeemable about her.” I nodded slowly, deliberately, so he could see the disgust in my eyes.
“Let me know when you wake up from whatever fever dream you’re living in, and realize the raging bitch you’re choosing over your family.”
The next few days were a pain in the ass. My father had disappeared from his office after Logan’s little truth-circle moment, where he bared his heart and crushed our father’s soul. A sight to behold, truly. But we hadn’t seen him since, and I had a pretty good guess that he tattled to his bitch because suddenly, the hospital was crawling with guards. Heavily armed. On strict orders not to let anyone into the room where Olivia was recovering. Specifically, not me.
Maddie’s room had gained an extra guard, too, but she was let out for two hours a day to train with Trevor and prep for the Ember Ring. It felt like a walking warzone in here. A pressure cooker. A migraine just waiting to splatter someone’s brains across the walls.
The guards outside Maddie’s room told me I wasn’t allowed in. Not because of her, obviously, but I laughed in their faces when they said it. They lowered their heads and stepped aside because they knew I could throw them down the stairs or snap their legs to see my girl. But I hadn’t.
I just stayed outside. Sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for an hour. Listening to her shift around, hearing the soft rustle of pages turning, the steady beat of her heart. Every time I showed up, that heartbeat picked up just a little. And every time, I smiled.
She knew I was there.
She felt it. Smelled it.
Once, she whispered through the door, “Why don’t you come in?”
“If I come in—if I see you—I won’t be able to help myself,” I told her. “I’ll throw you in the car and take you somewhere far away. Some place that no one can find us. Where you’ll be safe.”
“And start a war?” I smiled at the door like she was standing in front of me, but I knew she was in bed.
“That’s why I can’t. Not yet. Soon, though.”
“It’s admirable,” she said, her voice so soft, like it was fading. “Your ability to hold on to hope, even when there’s no proof of its existence.”
My voice hardened because hers had lost that spark.
“It’s easy when the alternative is that I lose you.” That was a few days ago. We hadn’t spoken since. Every time I thought about walking down that hallway to her door, it was like a wall slammed down in front of me, reminding me that I wasn’t done yet. I hadn’t slept a full night since I last saw Maddie. Every hour was spent digging through spellbooks, wolf-shift cases, vessel records—trying to find something, anything. But there was nothing. No one to talk to. Everyone who might’ve helped was already dead. Labeled a threat to the species. Executed to protect the peace and keep our kind secret. My head was buried in my hands, elbows bruising on the edge of the mahogany desk. I was one “hey, I have bad news” away from breaking this thing over someone’s skull.
And the one person who might have answers was locked down like she was some classified government weapon. Olivia’s parents came by once. The healers filled them in with the fabricated story my father fed them: rogue attack on the southern border, she was among the first to respond, and took the hardest hit.
They were suspicious—rightfully so. There was no gossip, no whispers around the pack, and that never happened. Ten minutes after an incident and usually the whole damn town knows. Still, they bought it. Believed their daughter was a hero.
Logan asked why I didn’t just break the guards and storm the room.
But what would that have done? Knock down one, and ten more show up. Take out those ten, and another five would follow. An endless loop. I’d be too busy swatting flies to actually reach her.
The door creaked open behind me. I didn’t even look up.
“Leave,” I ordered, eyes shut, mind numb.
“It’s my office, son. I think I’ll come in.” What’s the penalty for throwing the Alpha out the window? I hadn’t read that rule anywhere, but I figured it was worse than being grounded.
I leaned back, jaw clenched, and the sight of him made my blood heat.
He and Clara were the root of this. Everything. The pain. The consequences. The idiotic spiral. I knew I wasn’t innocent, I had plenty of blood on my hands, but Clara… she was the damn puppet master. I didn’t know how she was controlling him. No one could be that good in bed. She had him strung up like a marionette. She whispered in his ear, and his voice came out.
He shut the door and locked it, standing tall at the far end of the office.
“Clara and I are leaving for a few days. Another Alpha invited us to discuss borderlines and persistent tensions. We’re thinking of expanding our grounds.”
Had to be Alpha Malikai. His pack was the closest to ours, though a human town stood between us.
“Did you come to hug goodbye?” I asked. His face didn’t change. Blank as always.
“I came to tell you that in my absence, you’ll be acting Alpha. The guards will answer to you. I expect you to rein in the shenanigans while I’m gone.”
Shenanigans? Who the fuck even says that? A shadow passed through his eyes, something dark and tired.
“Do what you need to. We’ll be out of your hair.” I narrowed my gaze, stepping closer.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Maddie’s young. I’ve come to care for her, even if it’s hard for you to believe. I don’t want to see her hurt.”
“Then you shouldn’t have handed her over to Volkov.”
“I did what her mother believed was best,” he admitted. “I realize now that was a mistake. Many things were. One day, you might understand the pressure of trying to make the right choices for your children. And how impossible it is to do so.”
His voice softened. “Nothing matters more to me than your safety. And Logan’s. And now, Maddie’s.” I nodded, shrugging. “That’s great, Dad. Really. But the one person with answers is unconscious in the hospital, guarded by your men.”
He shook his head—barely. Subtle. But I saw it.
“She hasn’t been in the hospital for a while. I had her moved after her parents visited.”
“Why?”
“There was something off about the way they swallowed that rogue story. Too eagerly. They know their daughter. She’s no hero, not the kind you paint in songs. She’s a fighter, yes. But the best fighters are the ones fighting for themselves.”
“Where is she?”
“The cellar.” I blinked. I’ll be damned.
“Clara knows?”
“She does. But she doesn’t know that you know.”
“How can you sleep with a woman who doesn’t give a shit whether her daughter lives or dies?”
That one hit him. He staggered a step back, hand on the door like he needed support.
“It’s hard to explain. I’m not sure I understand it myself. But I love her. And despite her flaws… there’s something redeemable about her.” I nodded slowly, deliberately, so he could see the disgust in my eyes.
“Let me know when you wake up from whatever fever dream you’re living in, and realize the raging bitch you’re choosing over your family.”
End of The Alpha's Gamble Chapter 95. Continue reading Chapter 96 or return to The Alpha's Gamble book page.