Alpha Daddies And Their Innocent Little Maid (18+) novel Chapter 123

123|Let the game begin, Verek.

Silas pov

Tick tock, tick tock.

The sharp ticking of the clock cut through the heavy silence making the study feel charged, tense, electric. The atmosphere felt suffocating, thick with the oppressive aura of Alphas.

Four Alphas.

Me.

My brother, Lucien.

Lucas.

And Verya.

Alphas of the strongest packs in the world, all in one room but this wasn’t a normal meeting like before.

This wasn’t a discussion. What was happening now, right before my eyes, was someone on the verge of taking their last breath, someone dangling helplessly in the air.

I leaned against the desk, eyes cold, expression blank, watching the scene unfold. Lucien held Verya by the throat, pinning her against the wall. His expression was cold, chilling, fury barely contained. He said nothing, his hand unrelenting, his gaze sharp and devoid of any emotion.

And Verya?

She was barely breathing, her face flushed deep red, hands pressing lightly against Lucien’s grip, not in defiance, but in resignation. Her eyes were closed, as though she had accepted her fate, willing to die at that moment.

Lucas stood a short distance away, watching with unease, not for Verya, but for himself. He pressed close to the wall, silent, the sharp ticking of the clock and Verya’s choked breaths filling the tense air.

A full minute had passed, sixty seconds of Lucien strangling Verya with the clear intent to end her life. He hadn’t hesitated the moment we entered the study; he had lifted her effortlessly, as if she weighed nothing, and begun his merciless assault.

Yet, Verya hadn’t resisted. Perhaps she knew that this time there was no escaping Lucien’s wrath. As her face reddened by the second, it was clear that just a few more seconds and she would take her last breath, she would die.

I tilted my head, watching, not interfering, just observing, as my fingers tapped mindlessly on the desk beneath me. My mind processed everything that had happened today in a split second, and I stayed calm, thinking.

Yes, thinking.

It was useless to lash out now, pointless to assign blame. The only sensible thing was to analyze, to plan.

Everything that had happened today had been that bastard’ plan from the start. Everything from the very beginning had been orchestrated to lure us away from the packhouse and seize the golden dagger, a dagger blessed directly by the moon goddess with immense power

So powerful that no one before, not even me or my brother had been able to wield it. And the dagger had been his target all along.

To accomplish that, he had targeted Verya, feeding her the bait about his whereabouts, while knowing I was planning to use her to find him, knowing I would trust her sources more than anyone else’s.

It was so meticulously planned that I had let my guard down, allowing myself to be fooled, even though deep down I had known it was bait. Yet, I had still walked straigh into it.

And then, as we prepared for war against him, he had used the opportunity to sneak an attack on the packhouse, to seize the dagger, killing guards and maids, and specifically targeting Theila, the only person who knew its whereabouts.

This only meant one thing.

There was a spy.

A spy who fed Verek every detail- our plans, the golden dagger.

I tilted my head, a frown tugging at my lips as I realized it wasn’t just any spy. The spy had to hold a high-ranking position, someone with authority, someone who was in every meeting that we had.

And with how classified I had made this operation, there were only two possible suspects.

The very people in the study.

He was furious. Furious about the lives lost today. Furious about the fact we couldn’t catch Verek. Furious enough that the only thought on his mind was to kill.

The atmosphere thickened, each tick of the clock growing louder, each second stretching as if counting down to something inevitable. Our gazes remained locked, the silence between us heavy and suffocating.

My intention was clear: he should spare Verya.

And his was obvious: He needed someone to kill. To blame for the mess today.

But after what felt like an eternity, our eyes still locked, he finally moved.

Slowly, deliberately, he clicked his tongue, and without breaking eye contact, he released his grip.

The sharp thud of Verya hitting the floor echoed through the study, the tension in the room nearly suffocating.

As he released her, I pulled my hand back and slipped them into my pockets, my gaze flicking to Verya as she gasped for air, trembling, hands pressed to her chest as she tried to steady her breathing.

Technically, I hadn’t saved her because she wasn’t the spy, nor because she was blameless. No, it was because she couldn’t die now, she still had her use in catching Verek.

And as for the real spy…

My eyes flicked to Lucas out of the corner of my vision, a faint, dangerous glint sparking in them. I wouldn’t expose him just yet. Not now. If I did, it wouldn’t be fun. It wouldn’t be smart.

This was a game of chess between Verek and me, one where strength didn’t decide the victor, but intelligence, cunning and patience.

This time, perhaps I’d been caught off guard, perhaps that bastard had won a round. But there wouldn’t be a next time.

I would play him at his own game. I would be the one to checkmate.

So, let the game begin, Verek.