Chapter 25
“Stop being so dramatic,” Sierra said with a dismissive wave. “You got a healthy heart, didn’t you?
Most wolves would kill for that chance.”
“But tell me honestly – you really had no idea it was your sister’s heart?”
Hidden in the shadows, Valdrin pressed the recording crystal closer, his breath stilling as he captured every word.
Winter’s laugh held no warmth. “Come on, Sierra. Months without a match, then suddenly a perfect. Honor appears? I’m not that naive.”
“I just played the innocent little sister. Had to keep up appearances.” Her voice turned smug. “That heart was always meant to be mine.”
“Her life was worthless anyway she owed me this much.” Contempt dripped from every word. “And now everyone’s acting like I’m the villain-”
Raw power exploded through the corridor as Valdrin emerged from the shadows.
Sierra vanished in an instant, leaving Winter to face her Alpha’s fury alone.
“What did you just say?” His voice could have frozen flame.
“Alpha, I… you misunderstood-”
“You} “You knew.” His eyes blazed with cold fire. “All along, you knew I would take Ravenna’s heart for f
you.”
Winter’s face drained of color. “Please, I don’t-”
“It was all lies!” The stone walls trembled with his rage. “Your devotion, your suffering a masterful performance. You played us all like puppets!”
Valdrin stumbled back, horror dawning. “I killed Ravenna for… this charade?”
In the chaos that followed, pack healers rushed to contain their Alpha’s fury while Winter fled into the night.
Back in his den, Valdrin tore through Winter’s healing records until bitter truth stared back at him. Her condition had never been fatal. She’d deliberately ignored healing protocols, choosing
The Alpha’s Substi
dangerous activities that weakened her heart.
She’d played them all exaggerating symptoms, refusing medicine, anything to force an immediate ritual. She’d known exactly how he would respond.
And respond he had with Ravenna’s heart.
The depth of his manipulation hit him like a physical blow. He’d been nothing but a pawn in Winter’s game, destroying the one who truly loved him for this… this orchestrated tragedy.
Fury drove him to Winter’s family den, where her parents waited with thunderous expressions.
“Father? Mother? Why-”
Her father’s strike sent her crashing to the ground.
“What are you doing?” she gasped.
Without a word, he activated the recording crystal, letting Winter’s own voice condemn her.
The Alpha’s Subakute
