Secrets Among the Alpha's Offspring

Chapter 35 Startling Plan B

Gabriel Zades P.O.V

The moment I reached the packhouse, I shifted back to my human form, my heart pounding in my chest. My eyes caught sight of some clothes hanging outside, and without a second thought, I grabbed a pair of pants and slipped them on. I didn't have time for modesty; I needed to get Lilith to safety.

Carrying her in my arms, I burst into the clinic, my voice echoing through the halls as I shouted, "Pack doctor, now!"

The urgency in my voice brought the doctors rushing in. I gently laid Lilith on the bed, but the moment she hit the mattress, her body convulsed violently. The doctors moved quickly, holding her down and placing a padded stick between her teeth to prevent her from biting her tongue during the seizure.

"Young Alpha, you need to leave," one of the doctors ordered, his tone firm but understanding.

Leave? How could I leave her like this? My heart was tearing apart watching her suffer, but I knew I had to trust them.

"Please, let us do our job," another doctor insisted, his eyes pleading with me to step back.

Reluctantly, I backed out of the room, fury and fear warring inside me. I paced the corridor, my thoughts a chaotic mess. I couldn't get the image of her swollen stomach out of my mind. Was it an aftereffect of the wolfsbane? Was there something more sinister at play?

"Riel?" My mother's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. She rushed over, her face etched with concern, and sat beside me, her hand resting on my shoulder.

"What happened?" she asked, her voice trembling as she noticed the raw worry on my face.

"It's Lilith," I sniffled, barely able to keep my emotions in check. "She got hurt."

My voice broke as I admitted the truth I'd been avoiding. "It's my fault. I was so consumed with this war that I neglected her."

My mother pulled me into a tight embrace, her warmth and love offering a fleeting moment of comfort. "It's not your fault, Gabriel," she murmured, trying to soothe the storm inside me.

I took a deep breath, trying to focus. "We found Valentine and carried their babies to safety," I continued, my thoughts finally catching up to the gravity of the situation.

My mother stiffened beside me. "Babies?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Twins," I nodded, the weight of the realization crashing down on me. I'd left them there, unguarded, with danger all around.

"Where are they?" she asked, her tone urgent, concern flashing in her eyes.

"Back at the hunter's territory," I confessed, the guilt tightening around my chest like a vice.

"Who's guarding the babies?" she pressed, her voice rising with a mix of fear and anger.

"Lilith's sister, Evelyn," I answered, watching the flicker of disappointment and frustration in her expression.

Valentine Winters P.O.V

The moment Achilles pulled the trigger, I braced myself for the impact, expecting pain, darkness, something—but it never came. Instead, I felt a pair of hands grasp me firmly, pulling me away from the line of fire. But these hands, this touch, wasn't Lucifer's.

I looked up, confused, to see a woman I didn't recognize holding onto me. Her eyes were sharp, calculating, as she quickly released me, stepping back.

Then, something strange happened. When Achilles turned his gaze toward her, his eyes widened in shock, disbelief clouding his features. His usually confident demeanor faltered, and his brows furrowed as if he were staring at a ghost.

"L-Laverna?" Achilles stammered, his voice trembling with a mixture of shock and something else I couldn't quite place.

"If it isn't my father-in-law," the woman responded, her tone dripping with cold amusement.

Father-in-law? My mind raced, trying to piece together what was happening. Who was this woman? And why did Achilles, of all people, react to her like that?

"You're not supposed to be alive. You're one of them?" Achilles's voice cracked, his usual authority replaced by fear.

Before I could process what he meant, two more women appeared, their movements blindingly fast. They descended upon the hunters surrounding Achilles, their fangs gleaming as they struck. The hunters barely had time to react before their bodies crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

"I was always one of them," the woman, Laverna, answered with a chilling calmness.

The air was thick with tension, and I could feel Achilles's world crumbling around him. A young hunter, who had been locked in the dungeon, suddenly broke free. His desperate eyes scanned the room until they landed on one of the fallen hunters, an older man whose body lay unmoving.

"No! Father!" the young hunter screamed, his voice filled with anguish as he ran to the lifeless body. He collapsed beside it, sobbing hysterically, his tears soaking into the dirt.

Lucifer Zades P.O.V

The rage boiled within me as I slammed Lucinda against the wall, my hand tightening around her throat. "I told you not to kill them!" My voice was a snarl, laced with anger and frustration.

Lorraine rushed forward, shoving me away from Lucinda. "Look outside, Lucifer! Look at how many of us are gone!" she shouted, her eyes burning with grief and fury. "These demons slaughtered us without mercy!"

"Enough!" Laverna—my biological mother—commanded, her voice cutting through the chaos like a blade. The tension in the room shifted as all eyes turned to her.

She turned her gaze toward my grandfather, Achilles Argent. He was the architect of so much pain and suffering, the man who had orchestrated this madness. Achilles met her stare with defiance, raising his gun and pulling the trigger. But Laverna's reflexes were lightning-fast; she caught the bullet mid-air, her hand closing around it effortlessly.

"Wolfsbane, I see," she mused, examining the bullet with a chilling calm. "You know this won't hurt me."

Achilles's face twisted into a sneer. "We ran out of vervain," he huffed, his bravado barely masking the defeat in his voice.

"What are you waiting for? Just kill me already!" he roared, desperation edging into his tone.

Laverna scoffed, the disdain in her expression unmistakable. "You're not going down that easy."

But Achilles had other plans. "I don't need you to," he muttered, a grim smile curling his lips. Before anyone could react, he turned the gun on himself, pulling the trigger. The deafening crack of the gunshot echoed in the room, and Achilles crumpled to the ground, lifeless.

For a moment, the room was silent, the reality of it all settling in like a heavy fog. Laverna closed her eyes, her jaw clenched in a rare display of emotion. "If only he'd done this before all of this started. Could've saved us a lot," she muttered, shaking her head as if trying to shake off the weight of everything that had happened.

But then, a soft, rhythmic beeping reached my ears, cutting through the silence. My brows furrowed as I strained to identify the sound. "Wait," I said, my voice sharp. "Can you hear that?"

Lucinda nodded, her eyes wide with realization. "I hear it too," she confirmed, and Lorraine's expression mirrored our growing dread.

Kneeling down, I rolled Achilles's body over, my hands working quickly as I searched his pockets, tearing open his shirt. My blood ran cold as I uncovered a major explosive device strapped to his chest.

"He always had a plan B," I muttered, my heart racing.

"It's a bomb! Run now!" I shouted, urgency surging through me as I barked the command to everyone. We had less than 30 seconds to evacuate the building.

As the others began to scramble, Valentine's voice cut through the chaos. "Lucifer," she called, her tone trembling with worry. "The young hunters—they're not fast enough to get out." Her eyes darted to Devon and the others, the fear in her gaze mirroring my own.