Sold to Bastard Alpha after My Divorce! novel Chapter 183

Chapter 183: Chapter 183

Kael’s POV

My hands were white-knuckled on the steering wheel.

The road blurred past. Buildings. Lights. People who didn’t matter.

All I could see was that phone call. All I could hear was my mother’s voice.

Shaking. Terrified. The kind of fear that came from living through something too many times.

"Kael, you need to come home. Now. It’s Lucian. It happened again."

Again.

That one word said everything. Meant everything.

The speedometer climbed. Sixty. Seventy. Eighty.

I didn’t care about traffic laws. Didn’t care about anything except getting home.

Except getting to my brother before it was too late.

"Kael." Aria’s voice cut through the haze. Soft. Worried. "Talk to me. What happened?"

I kept my eyes on the road. Foot pressed harder on the accelerator.

The engine roared. The world outside became a blur of colors and shapes.

"My brother." The words came out tight. Controlled. "He’s... in trouble."

"What kind of trouble?"

The traffic light ahead turned red. I blew through it.

Aria grabbed the door handle. Didn’t say anything.

Smart woman.

"Lucian used to be an Alpha." The words started spilling out. Raw. Unfiltered. "Not just any Alpha. He was brilliant. Strong. The kind of leader people would follow into hell and back."

My jaw clenched.

"Then he started using Wolfsbane."

I heard Aria’s sharp intake of breath.

"It started small. A little here and there. Just to take the edge off, he said. Just to relax. Just to forget."

The steering wheel creaked under my grip.

"But it never stays small. It never stays controlled."

I took the next corner too fast. Tires squealing.

"My father..." I forced the words out. "He found out. And instead of helping, instead of getting Lucian into treatment, he beat the shit out of him."

Aria’s hand found mine on the gear shift. Warm. Steady.

"Every time he found drugs in Lucian’s room. Every time he caught him high. " My voice got harder. Sharper. "He’d drag him to the basement. Lock the door. And we’d hear the screaming."

The memory made my stomach turn. Made bile rise in my throat.

I could still see it so clearly. Too clearly.

"My mother would beg him to stop. Throw herself between them." My knuckles went white on the wheel. "It didn’t matter. Magnus would hit her too. Throw her aside like she was nothing."

I could still see her. Crumpled against the wall. Blood on her face. Tears streaming.

Looking at me with those desperate eyes. Silently begging me to help.

"And Lucian..." I swallowed hard. "Each beating made him worse. Made him need the drugs more. Made him sink deeper into that hell."

The vicious cycle. The endless nightmare.

Pain led to drugs. Drugs led to beatings. Beatings led to more pain.

Around and around until my brother wasn’t my brother anymore.

Until he was just a shell. A broken thing held together by addiction and trauma.

Aria’s fingers tightened around mine.

"When I finally beat Magnus. When I drove him out and took over as Alpha." I paused. "Things got better. Lucian stopped using. Started healing. It’s been three years since his last relapse."

The mansion came into view. Looming against the night sky.

"Three years," I repeated. "Until tonight."

I parked the car. Killed the engine.

Sat there. Breathing hard.

"Kael." Aria’s voice was gentle. "Whatever’s waiting inside. Whatever happened. You’re not alone."

I looked at her.

At those silver-grey eyes. At the determination in her face.

God, I didn’t deserve her.

"My mother is kind," I said quietly. "Gentle. Nothing like..." I gestured vaguely. "Nothing like the monsters you’ve dealt with. She won’t judge you. Won’t look down on you."

Aria’s expression shifted. Something vulnerable flickering across her features.

I got out of the car. Walked around to her side. Opened her door.

She took my offered hand. Let me help her out.

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