Bad Love: An Alpha's Regret (Leah and Aaron) novel Chapter 239

Chapter 239
AARON
We’ve slaughtered our way through a good number of Havelock wolves when the Beta comes running out and yells at me that if I want to face Adam, I have to tell my own wolves to back down.
I send James a signal, and he takes care of it for me.
I didn’t want to come here and indiscriminately kill other wolves who are only acting on the misinformed orders of their Alpha, but at the same time, they stood between me and my mate and son, so I wasn’t about to show any mercy.
I follow the Beta past the line of injured and retreating wolves on both sides.
The Havelock pack have suffered more loss than my combined packs have.
Besides being outnumbered, it was clear the Havelock wolves weren’t as nearly well trained as my own packs, which surprised me a bit.
I would’ve thought Tobin ran a tight ship.
But then again, he was more feral, less in control of his wolf, and seemed preoccupied with the workings of the Council and his own power. Obviously, that’d resulted in his own pack being somewhat neglected.
I let the Beta escort me into Tobin’s mansion, even though I want to rush ahead.
Almost as soon as we’re inside, I hear the sound of Ethan crying, and I give up all pretenses of being civil
I shove the Beta aside and sprint, following both the sound and scent of Ethan until I reach a study.
I find Leah standing over Adam, his neck slashed open, while Leah’s claws and mouth are dripping with blood. She’s rubbing her own neck, and fury burns through me as I can already see hand mark bruises appearing on her delicate skin.
“What the hell did he do?” I demand, rushing over to Leah so I can check her over more closely.
“He tried to kill me, so I had to-” she replies, her voice scratchy. She wipes her mouth with her arm, but from the way she mauled Adam and slashed at him, she tasted his blood. It’s all over her hands
She’s getting upset, so I pull her into my arms.
“It’s okay, Leah. You were just defending yourself. You saved yourself. No one can blame you for that.”
Just as I say those words, Adam gasps his last breath and then goes still.
“Oh my go d,” Leah whispers, breaking out of my hold and looking at me with wide eyes. “Aaron, Adam was
Before she can say anything, she suddenly goes taut, her whole body stringing tight like a bow.
I lunge forward and catch her before she can fall
I know what this looks like, but I don’t understand.
“Leah!” I say frantically, holding her gently.
“Alpha,” she wrenches out, before she goes rigid with pain.
I curse as I sink to the floor, holding her in my arms as the power transfer begins in earnest, and she lets out a scream that makes my hair stand on end.
I don’t understand how Adam had any Alpha powers, but now they are transferring to Leah because she killed him, and Adam obviously hadn’t named an heir to take them on the event of his death
But where or how did Adam even get Alpha powers?
He certainly didn’t have them the last time I saw him-
Suddenly, I realize where I am, and things start to answer themselves.
Adam had the Havelock pack Alpha powers.
Which means he killed Tobin.
But why would he even do that?
By all accounts, Adam and Tobin were friends, and Adam had been helping Tobin with all his nefarious plans, right up to abducting my son and using Leah as bait so Tobin could kill me for my own Alpha powers.
As Leah’s body contorts and twists in my arms, and I see how she’s overcome with pain, I realize none of the answers make sense right.
NOW.
All that matters is keeping my mate safe.
I don’t know how the Havelock wolves are going to react if they find out their Alpha is dead, and Leah has taken his place.
Some will probably be accepting, but others may not.
We’re vulnerable here, while Leah is midway through the process.
Any other time-like that night in the clearing-I would fear moving her for worry that it might make the process more painful or even more dangerous, but I think it’s a risk I need to take tonight, especially with my even more vulnerable son nearby.
James enters the room just as I get to my feet with Leah in my arms.
“Thank G od,” I say. “James, grab Ethan.”
“What the hell is happening?” James demands, features pinched with concern as he sees the state Leah is in.
“The Havelock Alpha powers are transferring to her. We can’t stay here, it’s too risky.”
James nods and rushes over to pick up Ethan in his carrier, gently shushing my son who has been crying on and off this whole time.
I feel terrible that I can’t comfort him, but right now, I need to see to his mother.
We rush out of the house, and luckily in all the confusion, none of the Havelock wolves really pay us any attention. We jump into the SUV that James and Leah drove here earlier, with James behind the wheel.
I sit in the back seat next to Ethan in his carrier, with Leah unconscious in my arms. She’s shifted into her wolf now, so I know she’s probably faring a little better.
She survived the transfer of Alpha powers once before when she was human.
But that was her own family’s bloodline.
I know from experience that when it’s a completely different pack, the process is sometimes much harder and more painful.
It depends on the wolf
When I took on Brian’s Alpha powers, it was painful, but manageable. Besides, I’d had Leah’s safety to worry about that night in the clearing
I’m sure Leah will come through this fine.
But I still find myself praying for her, even though I’ve never been religious
I can’t lose her now, not when we can finally be together as a family.
“Please Leah,” I whisper against the soft ear of her wolf. “Please fight for us.”