Bad Love: An Alpha's Regret (Leah and Aaron) novel Chapter 175

Chapter 175
AARON
I hang up the call from James
And then before I know it, I’ve crushed my phone in my fist.
Da mn it.
1/2
That’s the third one this month.
I toss the pieces onto the nearby table as Lillian comes in from outside, bringing a swirl of snow with her. She looks at me in concern as she goes over to put wood on the fire in the hearth.
“Is everything okay, Aaron?” she asks.
She’s always asking after me and concerned about my welfare. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone more selfless or sweeter.
“I need to go again,” I say, and I don’t even bother hiding the disappointment in my voice.
Lillian looks crestfallen, and I don’t blame her.
I come and go, but she’s here all the time, on this remote mountain with no one else to see or talk to. I have guys patrolling the perimeter of the property, but they’ve got their own cabin down at the bottom of the drive, and rarely come up to the main cabin. unless there’s an emergency.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” I reassure her. “You know I don’t want to be anywhere else. But I need to take care of this in person.”
“I understand,” she says with a nod, a note of sadness in her voice.
I’m cursing Tobin as I go pack the bag I only just unpacked earlier today after getting home.
Dam n that wolf for sniffing around my mate.
What the h ell is he up to now?
Of course, with Tobin it could be nothing except the desire to stir up trouble.
Or, it could be something deeper and far more sinister.
I don’t think he’s foo lish enough to make a move directly against me.
Nothing so blatant as attacking my wife and mate.
However, Tobin is on the list of Council wolves I suspect could be behind the murder attempts.
Only because now I’m more powerful than Tobin, and I doubt he likes it one bit.
That night in the clearing, when Leah had absorbed her father’s Alpha powers, I’d worried Tobin would slaughter her for the power himself.
And maybe if I hadn’t been there, that’s exactly what he would have done.
However, I possess the Roberts Alpha power now, along with my own and that of the Leithrow pack. If Tobin were to k ill me and absorb that on top of his own Alpha power…it would be unheard of.
And there was every chance he wouldn’t even survive it.
However, I thought Tobin was ambitious enough to try.
And even if he doesn’t want to steal my power for himself, just getting me out of the way so I don’t take a seat on the Council might be enough for him.
So now I’m heading back to see what I can turn up about Tobin’s movements and plans.
Maybe I could confront Tobin directly-and maybe I eventually will-but I want to be armed with as much information as possible first so I’m not unpleasantly surprised by anything.
Because Tobin is unpredictable, to say the least.
And the one idea that haunts me worse than Tobin simply playing his usual power games?
The possibility that Tobin’s got it in his mind that maybe Leah is fair game.
That since I’m not around, my mate is available for other wolves to come sniffing around.
Yes, in rare cases, mating bonds can be broken and new ones can be formed.
However, Leah is a prized Luna.
Her new wolf is beautiful and fierce, I could sense it, even if I haven’t seen her shift yet.
No other woman could ever come close to being everything I need the way Leah is.
If only she wasn’t also the greatest threat to everything we value between us.
But, no matter what is or isn’t between us, one thing will always remain true.
Leah is mine.