Alpha's STOLEN Mate (by Abigail Hayes) novel Chapter 190

Chapter 190

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Father watched in wonder, his eyes following the white wolf’s graceful movements. “God,” he breathed, catching my hand and squeezing it

with what little strength he had left. “I had no idea the mate you found was so… sacred. So magnificent.”

Despite everything, I smiled. “Neither did I. Not at first.”

Elowen’s healing continued for several minutes-longer than I’d ever seen her maintain it. When she finally stopped and shifted back to

human form, Father’s wounds had closed. Not completely healed, but stabilized. He wouldn’t die from them.

“Take him,” she said quietly. “Get him somewhere safe. Help him recover.”

I nodded, carefully lifting Father onto my back. He was heavier than I remembered, or maybe I was just exhausted.

“I need to deal with my pack,” Elowen continued. Her voice was steady, but I could see the weight in her eyes. “There’s so much to do. So

many people to help. So much to rebuild.”

“I’ll come back as soon as I can,” I promised.

“I know you will.”

After settling Father in one of the secure recovery chambers deep within the castle-heavily warded, protected, with trusted guards

stationed outside-I immediately sought out Faelan.

I found him in his study, surrounded by the usual chaos of books and scrolls and bubbling potions. When I entered, he looked up sharply,

clearly sensing my urgency.

I told him everything. The battle. Father’s transformation. His claims of innocence. The hints about copies and Morgath’s expanding plans.

Faelan listened in silence, his expression growing more troubled with each detail. When I finished, he pressed his palms against his

temples.

“God,” he muttered. “Our entire strategy was based on flawed assumptions.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t you see?” Faelan looked at me with something close to pity. “This witch-Morgath-she’s not just powerful. She’s theatrical. She plays with her prey.” He began pacing. “She deliberately had the real culprit leave before you arrived. Then, the moment you showed up, she sent your father-still under her control-to appear at the scene.”

The implications made my stomach turn.

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Chapter 190

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“She was setting you up,” Faelan continued. “Engineering a scenario where you would kill your own father. And not just kill him-murder

him in rage and confusion, while he was helpless to explain or defend himself.” His voice dropped. “She wanted you to live with that guilt.

To break you psychologically.”

I sank into a chair, suddenly feeling hollowed out. “We almost did exactly what she wanted.”

“Almost.” Faelan’s tone gentled slightly. “But you didn’t. And that’s what matters.” He paused. “Though I suspect her psychological warfare is only one aspect of a much larger plan. Her real objective-the actual endgame-is still unclear.”

“How do we stop her?” The question came out more desperate than I’d intended. “How do we fight someone who’s always three steps

ahead?”

“Actually,” Faelan said slowly, “her arrogance might be our advantage. She’s so confident in her manipulations, so certain she can control every variable…” He moved to his desk and began rifling through papers. “She’s given us time. Time we can use to strike at her

foundation.”

“What foundation?”

Faelan pulled out an ancient tome, its pages yellowed and fragile. “Remember when I told you about the Flesh-Weavers’ ancestral lair? The place where they draw power from enchanted gemstones that fuel their dark magic?”

I nodded, leaning forward. “You said you’d look for it.”

“I did better than look.” Faelan’s eyes gleamed with scholarly triumph as he opened the book to a marked page. Spread across two pages was a map-hand-drawn, centuries old, but remarkably detailed. His finger traced a path through mountain ranges and forgotten territories until it stopped at a symbol: a twisted spiral surrounded by runes.

“I found it.” His voice was barely above a whisper, as if speaking too loudly might somehow alert Morgath to our discovery. “The location of their ancestral lair. The source of their power.”

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19:48 Wed, Jan 14

Alpha’s STOLEN Mate